Arianna Rose: The Awakening (Part 2) by Christopher Martucci, Jennifer Martucci

excitement stirred within her.  Though she was going to Rockdale under troublesome circumstances, she was looking forward to taking a break from her new school, from the idea that she was the Sola, from her life, and hanging out with Luke.  He was fun and funny and they got along well.  She felt certain that the six hours they’d spend together in the car would be enjoyable ones. 
    “Hey you,” she said and smiled.
    “Hey,” he replied and smiled.  “Ready to go?”
    “Yeah, I’m ready.  Where to first?”
    “Let’s go to your house first and get what you need then we can head to my little circus tent so I can grab a few things.”
    “All right,” she said.
    Luke opened the passenger side door for her then climbed in to the driver’s seat.  His truck protested twice, sputtering and choking , before the engine turned over , roaring to life grumpily.
    “That doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence with a six- hour drive ahead of us,” Luke commented.
    “No, it doesn’t,” Arianna agreed.
    They drove for less than ten minutes, chatting lightly about their respective days, until Arianna’s trailer park came into view.  A depressing display of metal, synthetic turf and plastic ornament s intended for rolling green living lawns, it resembled a junkyard with paths carved though the mountains of debris.  Tires of varying brands and sizes littered nearly every front porch , and clothing lines laden with atrociously patterned clothes spanned as far as the eye could see.  To many who enjoyed a more lavish lifestyle than she , her community was the material of nightmares, offensive and tasteless.  To her, it was home.  After years of living in one trailer park or another, she’d grown tired of apologizing for where she lived and what she didn’t have.  She ’d made peace with the fact that belongings, were just, well, stuff.  And stuff was not what made a person interesting or exciting or worthy of respect, character did. 
    Luke stopped in front of her trailer and turned the engine off.  He reached a hand out and was about to pull the lever on his door when Arianna asked, “Oh, you’re coming in?”
    He froze for a moment.  “Not if you don’t want me to.”
    “No, nothing like that.  It’s just that this place is cramped and smelly.  It belonged to my uncle and he was either a slob or had rented it to slobs.”
    “Arianna, you saw my drugged out mother unconscious near a pool of her own vomit. Nothing in your house could be as bad as that,” he said sincerely.
    “Fair enough,” she said then added, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    Th e walked together, up three worn wooden steps, to the front door.  Arianna unlocked it and they st epped inside.  The small living- room area was free of fat men sleeping on the couch and there were no fast-food boxes or bags cluttering the coffee table.  That was always promising.  They walked past the living room and a quick glance at the pea-colored vinyl flooring made Arianna suspicious.  A strong lemon scent hung in the air and the floors looked freshly mopped suggesting that her mother had cleaned.  And Cathy Rose cleaned for one reason and one reason only: for a man.  A man was either coming over in the next few hours or had just left.  Either way, a new man in her mother’s life did not bode well for them remaining in Herald Falls for long.
    “This isn’t bad at all,” Luke said from behind her.  “No drugs, no vomit.  Already it’s an improvement from my place.”
    She reached behind her and took his hand in hers, gave it a gentle squeeze before releasing it.  They walked down the short, narrow hallway past the bathroom to her room.  She emptied her backpack of books and began grabbing things she’d need.  A change of clothes was chief among them , then underwear and something to sleep in.
    “So this is your room,” Luke smirked and sat on the sleeping cushion that served as her bed.
    “Yep. And that thing is not