Chapter 1- Welcome Home

Alice Smith looked out of the plane window; her eyes wide with sorrow. 

The sky was a murky grey and little splatters of rain were pouring endlessly from above, showing no means of stopping soon. Her eyes could make out maintenance workers scurrying back and forth from down below, frantically doing final checks to see if the plane was in working order. She could see the latecomers racing up the steps, looking stressed and worried, carrying odd handbags and young children. 

She didn't want to leave America, she didn't want to leave the country that had been her home for 16 years, she didn't want to leave the only place that had any lasting memories of her childhood. It hurt her chest too much to realise that she would be saying goodbye to America within the next few or so hours. 

Alice tore her gaze away from the window and looked down at her fingernails, looking very downcast and miserable. She was going to miss waking up in the land of sunshine and opportunities each morning. 

"Alice darling, don't look so upset," Her dad's voice said softly from beside her, "We're going to England! It'll be just as good as America, I assure you." 

"Right, yeah of course..." She muttered back in response, unenthusiastically.

"Not only is this a great business opportunity for me," Mr Smith continued, acting as if he hadn't heard his daughter's response, "But it's a great one for you! You can go to a new school and meet new friends and learn new things! Some kids would die for this opportunity!" 

"Yeah, some kids," Alice said quietly, "But not me, Dad. I like America." 

Mr Smith sighed and looked at his daughter sadly. 

"Please Alice, try and give it a try. Just for me?" He asked, patting Alice fondly on the head. "It might work out, you might love it in England!" 

Alice gave her Dad a half-hearted shrug before she returned to gazing wistfully out of the window. The maintenance workers were now no longer to be seen and a sinking feeling in Alice's gut told her that they were due for takeoff very soon. Her worst suspicions were later proved correct when the stewards and stewardesses appeared in the aisle and told her sternly to fasten her seatbelt. She obliged, reluctantly. 

"Hello, passengers and welcome abroad American Airlines.  I am Jason Bell and I will be your pilot on this rainy day," The captain's voice boomed out of the loudspeakers on the plane, "Today we will be flying 38000 ft above sea level and we will be experiencing slight turbulence during descent. Thank you for choosing to fly with American Airlines." 

Mr Smith eyed Alice with excitement. "Isn't this going to be amazing!" He merrily said, planting a huge grin on his face, "I can't believe we're actually going to England!" 

"Yeah, really amazing..." Alice said sarcastically, crossing both of her arms. After seeing her dad's hurt expression, she added, "Dad I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude, it's just I don't think I'm ready for such a big fresh start like this." 

Her Dad seemed appreciative of her genuine apology and he gently put his arm lovingly around his daughter. 

"I understand it's going to be hard," He said gently, "But this is for the better. You couldn't possibly continue attending GreenOaks high school after that...that incident. And after what happened with Claire-"

His voice trailed off and he squeezed Alice's shoulders gently; his eyes misting over with tears. Alice could detect that her Dad was upset, and gave him an extra big bear hug. They just sat like that, in the middle of a plane, holding each other close, protectively. Alice rested her chin on her Dad's shoulder, stroking her hand through her Dad's brown, shiny, well-groomed hair. She inhaled the faint scent of his aftershave as she clutched onto his arm. 

"Don't be upset, I'll make mum proud, I promise," She whispered, "Everything's going to be okay." 

Mr Smith nodded and sat upright, regaining his usual composture. Alice gave him an encouraging smile which he returned. 

"Look at me, a fully grown adult falling to pieces in public," He chuckled weakly. "Thank you, Alice dear-" 

They were both interrupted by the plane suddenly jerked forwards into life and made its way slowly down to the runway. Alice felt her stomach fluttering with panic. 

What if this is all one big mistake? She thought, apprehensively to herself. What if this is all just one, big, immense mistake? 

She grabbed her Dad's hand and squeezed both of her eyes shut. 

"Goodbye America," She whispered to herself, keeping both of her eyes shut, "I'll see you soon. I hope."

The plane began to gather speed as it hurtled down the runway. The noise of the roaring and rumbling engine was starting to become unbearable, and it began to hurt Alice's ears slightly. Before she knew what was happening, the plane hurled itself into the sky. Then they were off... 

Off towards a new fresh start, off towards a new country, off towards their new home. 

What could go wrong?

---

"Hello, passengers. We have landed at Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom. Please do not unfasten your seatbelts until the plane has come to an absolute stop. It is 6 am and it is 15°C. Thank you for flying with American Airlines." 

After hearing those words, Alice sat bolt upright in her plane seat and peered curiously out of the window. Her eyes flickered briefly over the gloomy and miserable skies to the heavy downpour of rain that flew helplessly down from the dark sky. 

"I heard rain is quite common in the UK," Mr Smith said, catching a glimpse of what the outside looked like through the window. "We better get used to it soon, but the Summers aren't so bad." 

Alice could only nod, her eyes transfixed on the English landscape. She shivered unexpectedly. It looked so different from America, Alice couldn't quite believe that this land was going to be her new home. 

The plane came to an abrupt halt and all of the passengers stood upwards and scrambled for bags and handbags and briefcases. They all looked uninterested, bored and expressionless as if a lot of them had seen sights like this every day.

"Let's wait a bit," He grinned, watching the unorderly chaos that was forming in front of his eyes, "I don't fancy getting trampled or hit in the head by a briefcase-OW!" 

A man accidentally hit Mr Smith around the head with his backpack. He gasped with horror and quickly shot Mr Smith with an apology. While he was delivering his apology, Alice noticed his accent and realised how different it was to the way American's spoke. The man didn't slur his words as much as Alice did.  

When he had walked off, Alice turned to her dad and said,

"I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb by my accent," She groaned, smacking her face with both of her hands, "I can bet school will be a nightmare..." 

"Aww, don't say that," Mr Smith replied gently, "The students at the secondary school won't treat you like that, I'm sure."

"Secondary school?" She asked, wrinkling her nose with confusion, "What's that?" 

"It's the English version. Secondary school is from grades 7 to grades 11. And they also call it years." He explained, unbuckling his seatbelt and standing up. "It's clear now, let's go." 

He grabbed both of their bags and handed Alice her red, polka-dotted handbag that she was gifted on her 14th birthday. She clutched it tightly against her chest, seeking comfort in something familiar to her. It was the only thing that she could recognise in this unknown country. 

"Let's go, Alice," Mr Smith said, gripping his daughter's wrist. "Welcome to England." 

Alice didn't know what to say but let her dad lead down the plane aisle to one of the exits. The stewardess that was stood by the exit gave Alice a faint smile, but because Alice felt so out of her depth, she only gave her a stony stare back. 

Her first step out into the cold English air was something she was always going to remember. She felt the frigid, cold, British air blowing fiercely against both of her cheeks and the droplets of rain splashing bitterly onto her skin. Alice slowly walked down the steps, gritting her teeth and pushing through the horrible weather. The only thing that kept her going was knowing that the airport would be warm and toasty and nice. 

"It's not ideal weather," Mr Smith shouted over the whistling wind, "But I guess we should get used to it!" 

"How do people live through t-t-t-this," She yelled in response, her teeth chattering. 

"We can ponder about that once we're inside!"

They both pushed through the typical weather until they reached the airport. When they arrived, they both were shivering and soaked through to the bone. They made their way through security and border control before they took refuge in Costas. 

"I wish I put on a coat," Alice moaned, "I'm wearing Shorts and a tank top." 

"This is why you research the places you go to before actually heading to them," Mr Smith chuckled weakly, handing Alice a coffee that he had ordered in the nearby Costa. 

Alice took a sip and sighed, savouring the taste of a strong cup of black coffee. 

"At least the coffee here tastes nice," She admitted, taking another hearty sip, "And it's a great deal cheaper." 

Mr Smith laughed at that and put his arm protectively around his daughter. 

"Shall we grab a cab and head off to our new apartment?" He asked, grabbing his own suitcase and Alice's. 

"Sounds like a plan!"  

---

An hour later, Alice and Mr Smith were sat happily in a Taxi, sat side by side one another, watching the houses and shops pass by in a blur as they zoomed past them all on their way to their London flat. Alice looked out of the car window, mesmerized by her new surroundings. She picked out how the weather didn't interrupt the citizen's everyday lives. She saw several families walking amicably in the rain, wearing waterproof coats and wellington boots and she noticed how they all were smiling and laughing and didn't care what anybody else thought of them. They looked like the perfect family, the perfect family that Alice always dreamed of having. 

The Taxi turned one more corner and stopped in front of a vast block of flats.

"Your destination, sir." The Taxi driver said politely, hopping out of his Taxi and opening up his boot. He heaved both of their suitcases out of the boot and placed them both gently onto the pavement. 

"Thank you," Mr Smith smiled amicably. He handed the driver the money and waved him goodbye with a small brandish of his hand. The Taxi pulled away and began speeding away from both Alice and her dad. Alice didn't tear her gaze from the vehicle until it had completely vanished from her view. 

"Right Alice dear, let's head on inside," Mr Smith grinned and unlocked the front door of the block of flats with a key that he pulled from his pocket. Alice took a deep breath and pushed open the door, wheeling her suitcase nervously behind her. 

"We're flat 3b," He mumbled to himself, pulling out another set of keys. "It's on the ground-floor and I believe it's this door here." He pointed to a white door, which was decorated with old-fashioned-looking swirls.

He fitted the smallest looking key into the lock and he twisted it with his long, slender fingers. There was an audible click before the door swung open to reveal a cosy, orderly, well-furnished flat. 

"Welcome home, Alice."