Boston
Everything Bellamy needed from home was packed into four bags.
Two for clothes, one for toiletries, another for some bedding and his course books, and finally, his carry-on which held all his electronics, his laptop, tablet, chargers, headphones. The rest of his belongings would be delivered later in the week by mail to his new apartment in Boston, Massachusetts but the four bags were the only thing he’d need for the time being.
Bellamy had lived in Portland all his life along with his mom, dad, and two older siblings. His family ran a vet clinic that would be taken over by his older sister, Camille and her husband, Liam. Bellamy’s older brother and childhood tormentor, Henry, was working on getting a doctorate in world history at the University of Portland. Bellamy was the only one of the L’Archer kids that was leaving home. He was moving across the country to go to culinary school at Cambridge.
It was an overcast day in Portland, the early morning fog hung in the air, it would surely storm but hopefully after his plane was safely off the ground. He was at the airport, checking his bags before going through security himself along with his family who would be seeing him off at the boarding section.
There were a bunch of other people waiting to board, Camille nearly knocked over a ‘Wet Floor’ sign as she fell into step next to Bellamy. The floors smelled like chemicals, and there were a few kids crying mixed in the mixture of chatter from the intercom and other people. It was pretty chaotic.
“Bellamy, are you sure you have to go all the way to Boston? Why can’t you go to UP like your brother and sister?” His mother asked she had a crease between her eyebrows and the corners of her thin lips were turned down. He resembled his mother with his father’s pale green eyes, his mom brushed his messy, brown hair away from his eyes and gave him a pleading look.
Bellamy kissed her cheek, “don’t worry too much, Mom. I’ll be fine. I gotta grow up some time.”
“You could grow up right here in Portland like you’ve been doing quite well for the last eighteen years.”
Cami snickered, “Jeez, Mom, he’s a grown man.”
Henry snorted, “a grown man? He looks like a middle schooler.”
His sister elbowed him and Bellamy scowled at his older brother. He did not look like a middle schooler, “you’re just jealous because you’re four months away from thirty!”
“And you already look thirty-five,” Camille teased.
Their father heaved a sigh, “stop being idiots, you’re not children anymore.”
Camille slung her arm around Bellamy’s shoulders, she was around the same height as him, five foot eight. Her long, brown hair tickled his bare arm. “You better call me every day, Lamb.” Bellamy was used to being called ‘Lamby’ by Camille. It started when his mother dressed him up as a sheep for Easter when he was a toddler, even Henry would snicker and call him ’Bellamby’.
Bellamy nodded, “maybe not every day but like a couple of times a week.”
She squeezed him in a hug, “I’ll call you every day then, be good, visit on the holidays, be safe.”
“Uh-huh, ’course, Cami.”
He gave a brief hug to his parents, his mom’s eyes were watering. He nodded at Henry and got a nod in return, “don’t be an idiot, Lamby.”
“Back at you,” Bellamy shot back with a hint of a smile.
Bellamy picked up his carry-on, not looking back as he boarded the plane. He got the window seat (thankfully) and the seat next to him was empty and the aisle seat was occupied by an old lady who took a sleeping pill with a mini-bottle of brandy before buckling up, pulling down her eye mask and adjusting her neck pillow, snoring before the plane even lifted off.
On the plane, he was sitting criss-cross in his chair with the tray down, listening to music on his phone as he did his homework, reading the first three chapters of his coursebook and writing an essay. It was a nearly six-hour flight, it was pretty nice except for the crazy amount of turbulence that took place halfway through the flight.
It reminded him a bit of a motion simulator, jostling around in his seatbelt, the dipping and rising. When he looked out his window he could see the dark grey clouds swirling beneath the plane. If Henry were there, he’d be yelping like a little bitch, he could never go on any of the rides at the theme parks. The thought made Bellamy smirk a tiny bit.
He put on a cloth hairband that held his thick, dark hair from his eyes as he worked, the end of his pen looked more like a dog had been gnawing on it. Bellamy finished five hours into his flight, he reached up, stretching out his back with a couple satisfying pops.
Bellamy nestled up in his chair under his jacket and closed his eyes and didn’t open them until the intercom crackled to life to say that the plane would begin its descent to Boston. The landing was a little bumpy but they eventually stopped moving and everyone got up to get off the plane.
When Bellamy got off the plane, he felt a terrifying amount of liberation, he was completely alone in Boston but he was also completely free. He didn’t have to worry about his family popping into his apartment randomly or running into people who knew him. It made him feel alive.
Baggage claim took forever, Bellamy looked around at his surroundings. It was late afternoon, it was just like any other airport, bustling with activity. He could smell soft pretzels and a melting pot of other scents. Once he had his bags, Bellamy got into a cab that was waiting out in front of the airport and prattled off his new address, reading it off his phone. It would take some time to remember his new address, his new phone number.
His apartment was near the Downtown Crossing of Boston and just northeast of the Back Bay area. Bellamy’s school was a twenty-minute drive away from his apartment, across the Charles River and in Cambridge, near Harvard. He paid the cabbie and managed to get his bags up to his apartment, the flat had a pretty decent view of the city. It was a nice size, but it was currently very empty, excluding his sofa and the bed and dresser in his bedroom.
The walls were painted a light cream colour with light-coloured wood floors. He had a smaller kitchen than Bellamy was used to but it would be good enough to cook and bake in. Large windows let in plenty of natural light. Bellamy felt bubbles of giddy laughter rise in his throat, it was his apartment. He didn’t live with his family anymore, he didn’t have to share the bathroom or worry about anyone eating his snacks or snagging his things.
Jumping back on his bed, Bellamy sighed, kicked off his shoes and decided on taking a short nap. His classes would start on September tenth, but for his first day in Boston, Bellamy just wanted to sleep. Boring, yes, but after that flight, he was exhausted.
Bellamy couldn’t wait to assimilate to his new life as a university student in Boston.
