Chapter 1 - The Eagle Has Landed

Posted on Friday, 1 April 2005

"Byeeee Mom! Bye Dad!"

I watched as Jane waved a final goodbye and closed the front door. she turned to look at me and sighed.

"I thought she'd never leave," I grumbled. Jane just gave me a look that said 'I'm not going to say anything negative about our mother' and waded through the sea of cardboard boxes to plop down on the floor next to me. We just sat for a few minutes, neither of us really knowing what to do next. Wow, it felt weird. Our own place.

Our mother 'the realtor' had found it for us. "Wonderful location!" she had told us, and went on to describe everything immaculately as if we were a newly-wed couple looking for a place to settle down, instead of what we were: her daughters, moving away to college and happy to live anywhere that wasn't our parents house. We had convinced our dad just two days earlier to let us move in a week ahead of schedule. It was a rash decision and our mother was in hysterics when she learned that he had Okayed the early departure; for the shopping and decorating extravaganza had not been planned until the following week. I knew full well that if she had it her way, our new place would be decorated in cows and apples.

"We have no furniture," Jane stated. I grinned.

"WHAT Lizzy?"

"Weeellll.. " I said getting up, "then there won't be anything to move out of the way when we paint!"

"Lizzy!"

"Do you want to come with me? I'm gonna pop on down to the Home Depot and pick out some colors....I'm thinkin neon green."

"Lizzy... we can't paint this place! Mom'll kill us!"

"She'll get over it... or better yet, we just won't tell her.."

"Lizzy...........! oh..."

I walked out the door and to the car, knowing full well that Jane secretly loves the idea. She hops into the passengers seat.

"Oh what? Your coming now?" I asked her, eyebrows raised. She grins big and silly, "We'll I can't very well let YOU do all the choosing."

Three hours later we made it home. Barely. Who knew a 87' geo metro could carry so much weight? While we were out I made a few important discoveries. One was the location of the city of Merryton's Salvation Army. In fact we hadn't even made it to the Home Depot before Jane, in a moment of weakness, had accidentally pointed it out. A decision she claims she will regret because of my-called junk fetish. I love old things. I love bargains, and (almost) anything free. Which brings me to my 2nd grand discovery: Tuesday is trash-day. As it was a Monday night, there were heaps of 'junk' piled on the curb every block or so. Most of it was actual rubbish, but you never know when you'll find a diamond in the rough... after all one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?

"OOOH! Janie, did you see that, a YELLOW FILING CABINET... I've got to go and snatch that off the curb before someone else does..."

Jane giggled and gave me a look, "Liz.. I'm SURE it will be there later on tonight, but if you need it...."

I pulled over and somehow jammed it into the hatchback.

Jane and I were never more thrilled to walk into a home improvements store. We had been with our parents dozens of times to pick out boring stuff for the house, but now it was our house we were improving. (well.... our leased house, but either way..) We quickly found our way to the paint selections. Luckily, we had discussed color choices in the car so all it didn't take long to choose the shades we wanted and ask the paint clerk to mix them. We only bought paint for the living room and kitchen, they are what needed the most help. Our bathroom was tiled white so there wasn't much we could do there, and I had no idea which direction I was going to go in for my room. The 'office/workroom' wasn't important yet, either.

As we browsed the store waiting for our paint to be sufficiently mixed, I came across the wall-paper section and squealed -

"JANE! OH MY gosh, get over here, pronto!"

Jane came around the corner and saw what I was looking at - a wall sized photoscape of the moon's surface and with space in the background... I had found a direction for my room.

After making our purchases (paint, that photoscape thing, brushes/rollers, dropcloth, etc.) we returned home, but not before we stopped at the grocery store for "provisions." This included mostly frozen pizza's & easymac. We also picked up some paper plates an cups since we hadn't actually brought anything like that from home. Mom had wanted to buy all that stuff for us, but I convinced her to let us borrow her credit card so that we could pick up a few things this week. If its going to be kitsch, its going to be MY kind of kitsch. (Well, mine and Jane's anyway.)

When we pulled into 108 Sycamore Drive, our lovely and humble abode, the third important discovery of the night was made:

"Man, Jane we've got some really hot neighbors."

Three boys were kicking a soccer ball around in the yard next to ours on that humid Monday evening. Consequently, there were a lack of t-shirts. Two girls were sitting on the stoop watching them, girlfriends or sisters I imagined. Oh well, doesn't hurt to look, right? I spotted bare chested boy with dark chestnut curls and a very lovely physique.... whew! "Man, Jane, we've got some really hot neighbors!" It seems I didn't need to tell her, as she was about to find out.

As we got out of the car and began to unload, a jolly looking blonde soccer-ball dribbler came across the lawn.

"Hi there! My names Charles Bingley! Could you use a ha......." He locked eyes with Jane and was in another world, "... a hand??"

Jane looked equally mesmerized, and I realized that THIS hot neighbor was already unavailable. I smiled, and realized I would have to answer for us, as Jane had not yet shaken from her trance.

"Yes! We would love a hand with the groceries!" Charles finally noticed my presence and i motioned to our car, practically filled to the brim with bags.

"No prob! Hey Will..!. Hurst..!.." Charles turned around quickly to find additional aid, but it seems all other occupants of the yard had suddenly vanished indoors. "Hmmm... I wonder where they all went. Its no matter!"

I unlocked the house while Jane and Charles loaded themselves up, looking nervous and enamored and not knowing quite what to say.

"So! Do you go to DBU?" Charles asked. Jane answered shyly, "Yes! I am transferring over as a sophomore from Longbourn Community College, and my sister Liz is an entering freshman.. this will be our first semester here."

"Sisters?" Charles looked surprised. "My the two of you don't look a thing alike! I say!" He was looking back and fourth at us.

Indeed Jane and I don't look a thing alike. We're practically opposites, but when you see us with our family it fits. Jane is everything that is lithe and graceful. She is tall and thin with soft blonde hair and soft blue eyes, soft curves. A dancer's body. She wears soft colors and looks as if she's stepped out of J.Crew. She has a soft appearance.

I'm not soft. I'm clumsy and short (well.. 5"3') with the most unruly brown curls and the most brown brown eyes. "Brown, Brown, Brown!" as Henry Higgins called Eliza in My Fair Lady. Only I'm not tall and graceful like Audrey Hepburn. I seem to be a walking catastrophe.

On bringing bags into the house, I had to apologize for the lack of order. Well.... there was really NO order. Jane and I hadn't even begun to unpack our things, and it was mostly just clothes, books and trinkets from our other house. A dresser and bed had been set up in each of our bedrooms but we hadn't gotten around to even moving our boxes out of the living room.

"Um... you can set that bag on the... counter." I told Charles. Seeing how we lacked a table.

"Wow, you guys sure do need some furniture!" He said merrily, looking around. Jane appeared from the front door somewhat struggling behind my big yellow file cabinet and grunted out, "Nonsense! We've got all the furniture we need right here!"

I think Charles felt really bad for us, because he invited us over for dinner so that we wouldn't have to eat on the floor. Or maybe he just wanted to become better acquainted with Jane.

I refused the invitation, I really wanted to get some stuff done since we had already wasted most of the day. I think Jane stayed home because I did.

That night we had a feast of frozen pizza and ginger-ale, served atop a file cabinet with cardboard boxes for seats. We cleared most of the boxes out of the living room, unpacked a little, cleaned a little. Before I knew it I was ready to get into bed.

I grabbed a blanket out of a box and threw it onto my bed, threw myself up there too, and was fast asleep.

I dreamt that Orlando Bloom had a crush on me.

This was going to be a good year.