The Road to L.A. Read Free Page B

it.  They had played a car racing game for what seemed hours that afternoon.  After finally boring of that Jake had suggested heading to the creek, which was a place she was not allowed to go.  But no one had been there to stop them, save the inattentive baby-sitter.  As was customary, the teenager hired by Mr. and Mrs. Harmon had simply greeted the kids, plopped down at the kitchen table with her school books, and immediately got on the telephone.  Seeing the baby-sitter at the Harmon house had become more commonplace than seeing Jake's parents.  Mr. and Mrs. Harmon were hardly ever home.  Of this Carly was somehow grateful because Mr. Harmon intimidated her.  He was such an imposing man and almost always had a characteristically stern look on his face.  He was tall and athletic, definitely bigger than her own father.  Mr. Harmon reminded Carly of some of Jake’s action figure men, strong and unyielding.  There was another completely different side to Mr. Harmon, though, that revealed a very laid-back and easygoing nature, something Jake had inherited.  This alternate nature often surfaced when Mr. Harmon was seated in front of the television watching a football game on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  The tense and rigid Mr. Harmon popped back up when he was studying game footage from a Friday night high school football game.  Mrs. Harmon was the exact opposite of what her husband personified.  She was a petite woman with dark blonde hair, a pretty face, and friendly blue eyes.  Fragile and dainty, she reminded Carly of a Barbie doll because she always looked so stunning in her beautiful dresses and with her carefully made-up makeup.  Jake inherited his mother’s light blue eyes and dark blonde hair, and he inherited his father's enormous build.   
    She remembered that the sun had begun to descend into the horizon when she and Jake had hopped on their bikes.  On the way down Winchester Road to the edge of the neighborhood where the woods started, their attention had suddenly been diverted to a green moving van parked in front of the huge brick house that had been vacant for almost half a year.  They stopped their bikes and viewed the procession of furniture and boxes being hauled into the house with curious eyes.  Their curiosity rose two-fold when they noticed the two children sitting on the front stoop, their hands cupping their pale, miserable faces.  Both children seemed to be about the same age as Carly and Jake, and both seemed to be fraternal twins judging by their similar age and appearance.  Both had the same wavy black hair, except the girl’s hair was a lot longer than her brother’s and was pulled back into a ponytail.   The boy was a bit smaller than his stouter sister and also seemed to be the more miserable of the two.  Jake’s curiosity grew to the point that he decided to postpone their trip to the woods.  Carly reluctantly followed him to the house, all the while marveling at how bold and outgoing he was. 
                  “You guys just move here?” Jake asked.  The girl looked up at him and tried to smile in greeting, but her melancholy conquered the effort. 
                  “Yeah,” she answered, her frown deepening.  “I really don’t like it here.  This place looks boring.”   
                  “It’s not that bad.  There are some fun things to do.  My friend and I are on our way to the creek right now.  If you want, you can hang out with us,” Jake offered. 
    He waited for a response.  The girl finally allowed a grin to form on her lips and she said in a grateful tone, “That would be cool.  What’s your name?” 
                  “Jake.” He turned to point at his female comrade. “And this is Carly.”
    The female twin introduced herself then nodded at her brother and said, "This is Aaron." 
    “We just moved here from Florida,” she continued. 
                  “Florida!”