Australia - 2

Instructions

-Ryder- I can't believe he did this! Me and Mitchel, and a girl, Mitchel's daughter I guess, run back toward the cattle. Three men on horses surround Mitchel's cows. "HEY!" Mitchel yells. One of the guys looks at us and laughs. "What do you think you're doing with my cattle?" Mitchel asks, anger rising in his voice. "Lauren, call the police." Mitchel mumbled so the men wouldn't hear. "What number?" she asks, but Mitchel ignores her. "Zero Zero Zero." I tell her before running up to the cows. "The police are on their way, you'd better run." Mitchel threats. "Pah, they don't scare me." Another man says. "Err, I don't know Pat, I don't wanna go back to jail." The smallest of the three says. "You'll surely be arrested if they catch you." Mitchel says. The smallest man glances at his companions before riding off. "Sorry, boys! Can't go back!" he yells. Something taps my shoulder and I turn to see the girl. "What?" I whisper. "Whats the address?" She asks. I groan. "Just say Mitchels Cattle, they'll know." She glares at me before whispering into her phone. "You should follow your buddy." Mitchel's tone is cool, but I know him. He's angry. Angrier than I've seen him in a while. One of the men loops their lasso around one of the cows and runs off. "No!" I yell. I try to chase after the man but running is nothing compared to horsepower. While I was distracted, the other man ran off, taking another cow with him. I walk up to Mitchel and apologize. "There's no need to apologize, Ryder. You did nothing wrong. Let them have the cattle, I still have eighteen." Mitchel smiles. I don't know how he can joke about that. Eighteen cattle isn't a lot. "Ryder, can you help Lauren with her bags? Show her her new room? I've got to talk to the police." As he said that, sirens sounded and blocked out every other noise. I motioned for Lauren to follow me. -Lauren- The sirens are so loud it feels like my eardrums will burst. I dont know how its even louder than the sirens and traffic in LA. I follow the boy, Ryder I think, back to the car. I grab one of my suitcases, he grabs the other two. I follow him into the house and up a set of stairs. At the end of the hallway. Inside my new room is an old bed, dresser, and a window looking out toward empty fields. "Where'd you like these?" Ryder asks. "Uh, anywhere works." I reply. I sit on the musty bed and stare at the floor. Australia. Away from my friends. Away from the only parent I've ever known. Away from everything ever. "Are you okay?" I look up and Ryder is still in the room. I thought he left. "Oh, er yeah. Everything is just so very..." "Hot? Disgusting? Sandy?" I laugh. "New. I've never been outside of LA." I say. -Ryder- She's from LA? Like Los Angeles the place famous people live LA? "Oh yeah thats understandable." Understandable? If she lived in LA then who's her mom? Someone super famous? What if this girl is like the daughter of a crazy famous singer or actor? Wait, if thats the case then why is she here? In dusty old Australia? "Why'd you come anyway?" Wow, talk about welcoming Ryder. "My mom made me." She mumbles. Oh. "Well, if you ever need a friend, or someone to show you around, I'm here." I smile. Hopefully that isnt too creepy. Or creepy at all. "What are you doing here? Dont you have family?" I wince. "I, uh, I used to. My parents died about a year ago. Mitchel took me in, so thats why I'm here I guess." "Oh. I'm sorry, I didnt mean to pry." She says, looking back at the ground. "Nah, its fine. Its probably weird to have a stranger live with your dad." "He's a stranger too." I barely hear it. Just the tiniest of whispers. But I did. My heart sank. This girl was dumped by her mom in the middle of knowhere to live with a man she hardly knows. Thats awful. I know Mitchel didnt talk about her much but I didnt know he doesnt know her. I would've thought they'd talk on their phones or something. "RYDER!" Mitchel calls my name. "I'LL BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!" I yell back. "I've got to go. See you at dinner." I wave and head downstairs. -Lauren- Alone. Finally. I close the door Ryder left open and unpack. Clothes in the dresser, books on the tiny shelf, and my blanket on my bed. I fold PJs and put them on my bed. I grab a book and walk downstairs. No one is in the main room, nor the kitchen, so I sit on the couch and read. I read and read. I read until I can't anymore, until my eyes are forced shut.