1 MONTH LATER
Ananda struggled with a huge box filled with her books - mostly play scripts and books on ancient Egypt - and her CDs. "Come... on... move!" she yelled at it angrily as she pushed it slowly out the bedroom door.
"Need some help?" AJ asked, coming up the stairs.
Ananda let go of the box and collapsed against the wall. "Knock yourself out."
AJ lifted the box easily and carried it downstairs.
"Showoff!" Ananda yelled after him. Then she looked about her empty room. She was so happy they were moving. She would miss this house, of course, with it's pretty western-style structure - but some of the memories were just too strong.
Ananda wiped her sweaty brow with her forearm. She had no idea it would be such a pain just to move a few blocks over. Slowly she rose to her feet and made her way downstairs. The house seemed impossibly big when it was empty. Ananda walked to the front door. Brian, Kevin, Nick, AJ and Howie were all standing in the driveway. They had just finished packing the U-HAUL.
Ananda stared out at the green lawn. It was so hard to beleive that just a month ago, so many terrible things had happened there.
Suddenly Nick was at her side.
Ananda started. "Don't do that, you scared me."
Nick giggled. "Sorry. You ready to go?"
Kevin, Brian, and Leighanne were pulling out in the U-HAUL, followed by AJ in Brian's BMW and Howie in Kevin's 4-runner.
"Yeah, let's go." Ananda followed Nick to his Durango, then watched behind her as the drove off and her old home slowly disappeared around the corner.
