Family (Part 1 of 4)

Nobody moves to Jimonrat, it’s unheard of. So is Jimonrat, nobody’s heard of it. To visit this wreck you have to have an important reason, even the importance of seeing family isn’t as strong as the hatred of stepping foot in this place. First of all, there are no flights here, you have to travel by boat. It’s a long, humid boat trip from Rhode Island in a tiny, old, and stuffy sailboat that feels like it’s going to break any minute. But that’s all we’ve got because you have to be court-approved before you can operate a sailing institute here, or you’ll get fined. The only one we’ve got is the Jammer Brothers Sailing company, and all they’ve got is ninth-hand equipment.

Our town isn’t poor or anything, it’s just got nothing. We’ve got a full Island yet Jimonrat only takes up less than a third of it. The rest of the area is no man’s land I guess. We have a school, a courthouse, a toothbrush factory, a park, a general store, a bank, and a beach. Despite there not being a lot of things, there is a decent amount of people. We ship in almost everything from Rhode Island, except for our toothbrushes, we’re famous for them. That’s where all the adults work, the toothbrush factory. You don’t even have to apply, you can just go once you’ve graduated high school. A lot of kids leave to go to college and just never come back, I don’t blame them.

Now, this all might sound nice to everyone looking for a nice, calm, quiet place to live but you can bet it’s barely ever quiet here. There are graffiti artists who don’t hold back expressing their opinions of Jimonrat, and street gangs who love finding recruits and converting them. The crime rate here is pretty high. The judge doesn’t usually sentence people to jail since shipping them across the ocean to Rhode Island costs money, which we’ve got but are too cheap to use. We mostly get fined here, no jail, which might sound pleasant to an up-and-coming criminal but in any other case, not at all.

So now you see why no sane person would want to come to Jimonrat, let alone move here. The last person to move here was six years ago, and he was out within a day, so you’d believe how surprised we were to find out a new family moved here a week ago and hasn’t run away screaming yet.

The Simpnoia Family arrived last Tuesday and there was quite a discussion throughout Jimonrat about them. The children were enrolled in the school, all except for the oldest three, who were too old for school so they went with their parents to get jobs at the toothpaste factory. I had heard a lot of different things about them including that they had last come from Caracas, Venezuela, but I’ve also heard they came from Albuquerque or somewhere in Kansas, so I guess I have no solid information. The Simpnoias are quite popular in our tiny town, everyone’s heard about them, but no one knows much about them. They have a rather large family, there are eight kids, so there are ten of them altogether. No one seems to be wondering about their decision to move here, but that’s all I can think about. 

Isabella Simpnoia is in my class. She made quite an impression on everyone, and I think we all like her. I talked to her once, just briefly, and she’s nice, smart too. She was the only one able to figure out the riddle our English teacher gave us, and that was impressive. Jonah believed she’d heard it already, but I think she just managed to figure it out somehow. 

Last Thursday after school I was in the kitchen, raiding the fridge when my little brother, Kingston, took our dog, Kinley, out for a walk. 

“Why are you back inside?” asked my mom, coming down the stairs. 

“I forgot the leash,” Kingston responded. My mom came into the kitchen and gave me one of her looks for emptying the entire fridge.

“Hey hey hey, go back out and get Kinley now,” My mom yelled a few seconds later.

“Why, what’s going on?” Kingston questioned. I looked outside the window and I saw Kinley barking and chasing a girl who was holding some books and a backpack that was threatening to fall off.

“She looks scared half to death!” my mom exclaimed, “Go stop Kinley now!” I decided to go and get Kinley because Kingston was wasting time. This girl was screaming at the top of her lungs, so I knew I should get there quickly, no matter how funny it was. I put on my shoes and half ran out the door. 

“Kinley, stop it!” I yelled, “I’m so sorry for her, when she gets excited she goes a little berserk,” I said to the girl.

“Oh that’s ok,” the girl replied, dusting off her skirt, “Oh, hi Kathleen, I didn’t notice you at first.” I looked up, it was Isabella Simpnoia.

“Hi, Isabella. How’s it going?” 

“Pretty good.”

“Yeah, except that you just got manhandled by my dog.” I laughed, she didn’t. “Too soon?”

“Little bit,” she replied, “By the way, Mr. Davis said you don’t have a chemistry partner yet, and I need one.”

“So...partners?” I asked.

“Definitely”, she declared with a smile.

The following Saturday my mom took Kingston and me to the grocery store. While I was by the ice cream freezer I heard a bang. I turned around and saw a little girl who dropped a large bag of lollipops on the ground. She was one of the Simpnoias, Lana, I thought. I walked a bit further down the aisle to see who she was with.

“Can we get this, Eric?” the little girl asked.

“No, pick it up and put it back,'' scolded Eric, I’d seen him around at school, he was in grade 9.

“Kathleen,” Isabella said suddenly, I didn’t see her at first, in fact, their whole family was there and I didn’t see many of them upon first glance.

“Hi there Isabella,” I replied. I saw Isabella asking her younger brother, Eric, something. He nodded and Isabella walked towards me.

“Why don’t we get out of here?” she beamed and dragged me out of the store.

“Wait, maybe I should let my mom know where I’m going,” I struggled. 

“It’s ok, we won’t be long,” Isabella said impatiently. 

“Wow, you seem eager to get out of there,” I joked. “How come your whole family came shopping? No offense, just wondering because there are a lot of you.”

“Oh, we just like to stay together,” she explained. I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

“Well that’s sweet,” I laughed, “My family could learn from yours.”

“Have you seen Nadia Heldington’s new movie?” I shook my head, “Well we should see it together.”

“That would be great,” I cheered, “When?”

Isabella poked her head through the door of the store, “Now?” she mumbled.

“Uh, sure, just let me tell my mom” I started, but she had already gone back inside the store. I followed her in, then headed over to find my mom and Kingston.

“Can I go watch a movie with a friend from school?” I asked her.

“Sure, just tell me when you’re going,” she replied.

“Thank you,” I rejoiced while running out of the store. I found Isabella and she was waving to me from a car.

“Kathleen!” I heard my mom yell, “Ugh, just text me.”

“Is this your car?” I asked her. It was really big, so I guessed it must’ve been her family truck, not her car.

“Yes. Isn’t she a beauty?” she pleaded sarcastically. The cars in Jimonrat aren’t exactly what you’d call a beauty. Even mine is an old Nissan, handed down from generations. Don’t ask me what model it is. I don't know.

“She is something to look at.” Isabella laughed. “How come you got it so fast? It usually takes weeks for someone to find a car around here.”

“We were able to pull a few strings with our neighbors. They’re the sweetest,” Isabella sighed.

“That’s nice, so how many cars did they give you?” I inquired, trying to count the number of Simpnoias that drive on my fingers.

“Just one, I’m the only one in my family that drives.”

“Except your parents?”

“Including my parents,” Isabella said coolly. With that, she opened her door and got inside. She motioned for me to do the same. 

Once I was in, I turned to her and asked, “Where are we going? Won’t we just watch it on your phone or something?”

“I found the DVD inside, is it ok if we watched it at your house?” she requested.

“Uh, yeah, sure. I can show you the way”

“No need, I remember where it is. I’ve got a pretty good memory.” And with that, we were on our way to my house. Isabella was a good driver, but she went pretty fast.

“Easy there Turbo, you could get fined.”

“Oh,” she laughed and slowed down a little, “I guess I’m not used to you small towners’ driving rules.”

“Oh haha. Very funny.” I mocked. “So, where did you come from anyway? You know, before rock bottom.”

Isabella chuckled, “We’ve been in lots of places, too many to count. But I think we’ll stay here for good.”

“I know your older siblings work at the toothbrush factory, but surely you’ll want to leave next year after we graduate.”

“No, I wouldn’t dream of it,” she grinned, “I’m gonna stick by my family no matter what, and honestly this place is starting to grow on me.”

“That’s fair, I guess.” We both laughed as we pulled up in my driveway. 

Isabella struggled to try to turn off the car, “Still getting used to it.” We walked up the driveway and I turned my key in the lock. 

“We can watch the movie in the basement, the TV down there’s got a DVD player.”

“Perfect,” she said.

“I can get some popcorn and sprite.”

“Even better,” Isabella smiled. I headed over to the kitchen and put some popcorn in the microwave. When I took it out after a minute or two I heard Isabella swear loudly from downstairs.

“Is everything okay?” I yelled.

“Oh yeah. It’s all good. The movie’s ready by the way.” I picked up the popcorn and grabbed two sprite cans from the fridge, and made my way to the basement.

Isabella grinned at me, “The DVD didn’t work so I had to cast it from my phone. The quality might be horrible, and I hope that’s not a problem.”

“No, not at all,” I said sweetly, and I sat down next to her. “Just let me text my mom quickly to let her know I’m already home.” I pulled out my phone and texted my mom. Isabella played the movie and opened her sprite.

About 20 minutes in, Isabella’s phone buzzed. She replied quickly, then it buzzed again. 

“Sorry,” she sighed. 

“It’s not a problem.” Then her phone rang, and she left to go answer it. She went pretty far, honestly. I wondered who was calling her.

Another hour into the movie, Isabella went to the bathroom. Then her phone rang again. The screen read Eric.

“Isabella, your brother’s calling,” I yelped. She came out rather quickly then left to answer it. A few seconds later she returned, apologizing.

“You and your brother are pretty close, aren’t you?” I reckoned.

“Yeah, he’s pretty dependent on me,” she replied, laughing.

“That’s cute.”

“He’s not that cute.” She frowned. Her phone rang again.“Oh gosh, really?” She shook her head and put the phone up to her ear. “Again Eric?” She listened for a second and then hung up. She put her phone on silent and clicked play on the movie.

The movie was good, I really liked it, and I thought Isabella did too. But I got the feeling that she was feeling guilty about something, I could see it on her face. By this time it was two in the afternoon.

“Hey, if you’re the only one in your family who drives, how did everyone else get home from the general store?” I questioned.

“They walked, we don’t live too far away,” she replied, “Do you want to do something else?”

“I’d love to, but there’s nowhere we can go. There’s nothing here.”

“Wow, you seem to really hate this town.”

“Well, no offense because I know you’re starting to like it, but it’s really not where I want to be. Not now and not ever.”

“I get it, not feeling like you belong somewhere,” Isabella said, “Kathleen… can I call you Kathy?”

“Well… that is my mom’s name.”

“So Kathy....”

“Ugh.”

“Why don’t we go to the factory…”

“The factory?”

“Your mom works at the toothbrush factory, doesn’t she?”

“Well of course,” I said, “Where else would she work?”

“Exactly, so let’s go there.”

“And we’ll do what?”

“Have a good time,” Isabella grinned. Soon enough we were driving in Isabella’s car in the direction of the toothbrush factory. We got pulled over twice for speeding, but we didn’t get ticketed because Isabella was new in town.

“I don’t get it, why are there police if there’s no police station?” she asked once Cop number two let us go.

“They work out of the courthouse. They have to share the building. It’s funny because they fight the way toddlers fight over toys.”

“There are more than I would have thought,” she mentioned, “I mean, we’ve only been driving for like ten minutes and I've seen countless cop cars.”

“Not to mention the undercover ones.”

“True. That makes me wonder why they don’t have their own building.”

“Which they’d somehow create out of thin air.”

“No, they’d get tools obviously.”

“And get the workers from…? There are no construction workers in Jimonrat. We have teachers and bankers and toothbrush factory workers etcetera.”

“You’re making me not want to spend the rest of my life here.”

“Maybe that’s for the better,” I teased. Isabella giggled. 

Soon enough we pulled up to the toothbrush factory and parked in the parking lot. Isabella pulled a pen out of her pocket and started writing on a napkin.

“What does it say?” I asked her.

“Dear Toothbrush Factory of Jimonrat, it is I, the tooth fairy. I would like to thank you all for your services to perfect the tooth cleaning world. Together we can make the world a better place! Listen carefully, this note shall remain a secret, for anyone who reads it or learns of it that has not dedicated their life to the fine art of toothbrustry, shall implode and be projectile-vomited at by Hades. Thank you, and keep up the good work.”

“Oh my gosh that’s hilarious, but maybe change that last part a little.”

“No way that’s the best part.” Isabella reached into her purse and pulled out a tiara and a wand. “And this is where you get involved. You’re gonna play the part, Kathy.”

“Oh heck no, that won’t be happening,” I announced.

“Come on, I wrote the letter, all you have to do is go give it to someone important while wearing the tiara and waving the wand. I’ll be in there with you, recording and probably laughing.”

“Ok,” I agreed. Soon we were all set to go inside and Isabella pushed open the door. Inside there were rows and rows of workers, working hard on their part of making the toothbrush. From behind Isabella threw glitter at me. I scowled at her.

“It’s pixie dust,” she cackled. I wanted to get it over with so I gave the napkin to the closest person I could find, I think I picked right. 

“Hey, I said someone important,” Isabella whispered violently. But that didn’t matter because after reading the letter, the man I gave it to gasped and went to show his coworker. The coworker completely ignored the man and the man reread the letter. Soon enough someone important-looking came out of a door, so Isabella grabbed my arm and dragged me out the main doors.

We laughed so hard Isabella almost fell over.

“His face, he actually believed us?!” 

“I gotta admit, that was more fun than I expected,” I said.

“Well you know the saying, ‘If a tree falls in the forest and Isabella didn’t cut it down, did it really happen?’” she declared. I stared at her blankly.

“Oh, you’re no fun.”

“I’m fun,” I argue.

“Then why don’t we go have a good time at the bank too?” she urges. 

“You’re crazy, we could get-”

“Fined? Ok, Kathleen, we can just pay it off with the money we steal.” Once again, I couldn’t tell if this girl was joking or not, and it was scary.

After a long day of running around town and causing trouble, Isabella and I came back to my house. I was feeling really tired, and my mom and brother were already sleeping.

“Hey Isabella, it’s getting late, shouldn’t you be heading home? I mean I thought you and your family loved being together twenty-four-seven,” I teased.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. You go home to your family at night. I’ll see you on Monday Kathleen.”

‘Wait, Isabella, I had so much fun today, we should definitely do this again sometime. And before you say it, no, not now,” I clarified, giggling.

“Of course, today was the best day ever. You’re way more fun than any of my siblings.” Isabella’s face dropped and it looked as if she wanted to take that last part back, which made me a little disappointed because I really had fun that day. “Goodnight Kathleen.” Isabella walked down the driveway. She got into her large family car and drove off into the night. (Go to my page if you'd like to read the rest of the parts)