The Railway Series

Chapter 1: New Neighbors, New Problems

Dear Readers, Here is a new story for your reading pleasure. Not many people know of the truth of these stories. This one will tell you everything that needs to be said. I hope you will like it because you are the coal for the fire.

Signed, The Author

"Dad, are you sure there wasn't any other place you could have been transferred?"

I don't know how many times I had asked this question, but it didn't feel like it was enough. I never got a straight answer out of him, and girls are supposed to be an expert at doing that.

I sighed and put my head on my hand while I looked at the rows of houses rushing past us. Children played out in the yard throwing balls and hiding from friends. They all smiled as they enjoyed the sunshine and warmth.

Of course I was just enjoying sitting down and having too cold air blasting in my face. The car never had a proper way to adjust the temperature, and Dad never wanted to get a new unit. He said this car was "classic" and didn't want to ruin the value.

"I told you Jess, the company said it was either here or Canada. And I prefer to have normal temperatures than having to wear a jacket inside every day. You need to open your eyes to new possibilities and stop focusing on the bad ones" said Dad, who always wore a big cheesy smile.

"But I don't want to live in America. All my friends are across the sea and no one wants to be friends with a new kid at this age. My social life is basically ruined," I said, maybe with too much wining in my voice.

I had spent my whole life living in England with my mom and dad. My dad worked for a company that produced kids TV shows, like Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam. My mom was a nurse, although she said she had always wanted to be a writer. She had tried writing her own book, but she never did. She got in a car wreck a few years ago, and her injuries were too severe. It's just been me and my dad ever since.

A few months ago, dad got wind that the company wanted to transfer him to one of their side offices to work in making new shows. He could have gone to Canada or the US, and he chose the US. So we packed up our stuff, got on a plane, and flew over to the United States.

Nothing against America, but I'd rather be back in England.

Dad turned right and stopped in front of a nice house two down from the corner. It was large and painted bright red, with the roof being black. The overall condition said it was old, but had been refurbished to be more modern. The front yard was big, but not very spacious. Overall, I'd give it a seven out of ten.

"Alright, let's check out the place before we unload our stuff. It'll give us a feel of where to put everything," said Dad, and he jumped out of the car and walked towards the house.

"You know dad, there are plenty of more modern houses that we could have moved into," I said as I climbed out and walked onto the front lawn.

"Aw come one Jess, this house has CLASS. Where can you get something like that in a modern home," he said, before opening the door and disappearing inside.

"Great, stuck in an old house in a weird neighborhood," I said, kicking up some dirt with my foot.

"It's not too bad when you live here a while."

My head popped up and looked around for the sound. It was definably a voice, but I couldn't see anyone around.

"Over here girl."

I looked over to my right, and found myself staring at an old house. The paint was exactly the same as our house, but a lot more faded. Plants grew all over the outside, and a dark iron fence separated our properties. But I soon found who I was looking for.

A boy, looking to be about seventeen, was looking at me from a window on the side of the house. He had light brown hair and wore a dark blue hoodie, underneath was a red t-shirt. A smile was plastered on his face.

"Oh, hi…didn't see you there," I said, walking towards the fence. "We're just moving in, so I guess we'll be neighbors."

"Yeah, I guess we will. At least this time we got a cute girl as our neighbor. The last one that we had was some one woman who always smelled like tomatoes…never knew why," he said, staring up at the sky.

I chucked a little bit at the comment. "Well I'm glad I'm living up to your expectations. I didn't think I'd find someone who would actually want to talk to me."

"I'm always up for making new friends. I don't have many myself, so I like to make a good impression." He squinted his eyes at me "you sound British."

I ran a hand through my hair, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I moved over from England. I didn't want to, but my dad got transferred."

The boy smiled "yeah, I know the feeling. I lived in England when I was a little kid. But my dad moves us around a lot. First it was England, then France, then Canada, and now here. A lot of places you can live in just twelve years."

"Wow that must have been hard. Did your dad get transferred those times, or did you just want to try new countries," I asked.

The boy frowned a little, making me think I'd upset him. "No, my dad had other reasons to move us. He works a pretty hard job, and situations meant we had to move every few years. It's difficult, but you get used to it after a while."

"Well I'm sorry about that man, this is my first time moving, so I can't say I know what you're dealing with," I said.

The boy smiled again "no worries, I'm cool now. Oh, I didn't tell you my name. I'm Christopher, but everyone just calls me Chris. You can do the same."

"Alright then, Chris, my names Jess."

"Cool name, is it short for…" was all Chris could say before we heard the sound of footsteps coming down stairs.

"Christopher, what are you doing!? Get away from the window this instant!" called a voice.

Chris looked back, scared, before looking back at me. "Sorry, got to go," he said, and then disappeared behind the curtain.

I didn't have a chance to react before another figure appeared in the window.

He looked much older, so I could only guess he was Chris' dad. He had dark brown hair with a few white streaks in it. Wrinkles covered his face and parts of his hand. He wore a black coat with a black shirt and white collar. His face was formed in a glare, and he was looking right at me.

I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat. I decided to try and talk to him.

"Uh…hi. My names Jess. My dad and I are just moving in here. So…we're going to be your new neighbors," I said with a nervous smile.

The man looked at me for a few second. I was beginning to think this would go on for a while. But then he actually talked to me…sort of.

"Do you see that fence right there?" he asked sternly, nodding to the metal bars separating our yards.

I looked at the fence questionably. "…Yeah," I said.

"If you know what's good for you: STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF IT," he said sternly. Then he drew back from the window and snapped the curtains shut.

I blinked and stood there for a few seconds while I tried to process what had happened in the last few minutes. I had just possibly earned a new friend, while at the same time making his dad super angry at me. Great way to start your new life.

"Jess, come inside. You got to see this kitchen," called dad from inside the house. He sounded happier than a child on Christmas morning.

Still thinking about what had just happened; I slowly walked to the door, pulled it open, and walked inside.

Not once noticing the man was watching me from the window.