Cindy looked out the window of her dad's Chevy Trailblazer. All she has seen for miles were corn fields. At least it was better than see flat land like back in Montana. The corn here in Minnesota swayed back and forth, it at least made an effort to look interesting.

Cindy has been riding in the Chevy with her mom and dad for what seemed like days. They left Montana, heading for Minnesota. It's a whole cliche kind of life for Cindy right now. In Montana, she had just finished fourth grade. She had one best friend that lived down the street from her, and they hung out everyday. Of course now, her dad got a new job, in Minnesota. It was time to pack up the family to go to a supposively better life. Cindy got the whole lecture about how this was the best thing for the family. It was going to help all of them and their lives would improve. Blah de blah de do. She didn't see how. Her life was in Montana, and she liked it there. She had one friend that understood her and that was all she needed.

Rhonda and Cindy had been best friends since kindergarten. When you forget your glue at home and your friend lets you borrow theirs, it's a forever friendship. Cindy was shy, but Rhonda always made her feel like they belonged together, like they were long lost sisters. When Cindy's parents would fight, she would sneak out and run down to Rhonda's house and Rhonda would help cheer her up. Rhonda and Cindy also did their homework together and were always science partners.

Now she looked out the car window, and she thought she had nothing. She had to start over. Rhonda was gone forever.

Cindy's mom, being pregnant, made the trip twice as long. Stopping for the bathroom every ten miles, Rose was about to pop. Another month and Cindy would be a big sister to a beautiful baby brother. Cindy didn't know how to act around a baby. She didn't know how to change a diaper or give him a bottle, she felt awkward just thinking about it. How can something be that small?

Cindy was one of those rare children that were different. She never wanted to fit in and she was OK with that. Like it was said before, Cindy was awkward. She liked staying indoors and reading. She didn't like playing video games, she would rather count the stars at night. She believed that mermaids were real and Santa was not. She thought that if you travelled far enough, you would reach the gold at the end of a rainbow. Her parents offered her a tablet at one point, but she refused and asked for a 3D puzzle instead. It was a great white shark. It took her about two months to complete, but she was determined and she finished. Now it was in the U-haul that was following them. Her mom and dad hired someone to drive it for them. Eventually she would ask for another 3D puzzle and she would start a collection. Maybe a flamingo next time. She could have a zoo and the animals would be her new friends.

"Mom? Can I get another 3D puzzle after we move?" Cindy asked her mother as she was directing her dad to exit, at another rest stop.

"Sure sweetheart," Rose told Cindy as she squirmed in the front seat. "We will stop at the nearest Wal-Mart in the next couple of day."

They stopped and Cindy watched her mom waddle into the rest area's bathroom.

"I am going to go too dad." Cindy got out and walked inside. Instead of heading straight to the women's restroom, she walked to the pamphlet rack. She grabbed some from Montana before they left, and she collected them from North and South Dakota. Now she needed some from Minnesota, maybe some would show what to do in this state. She picked up one that had a fisherman on the front, and another one that showed some cherry looking thing on top of a giant spoon. She also grabbed one that had a picture of a lake on the front with a loon swimming in the middle of it. It looked calming.

"Cindy, what are you doing?"

Cindy jumped back and turned around, hiding the pamphlets behind her back. It wasn't that she was stealing, Cindy's mom just hated clutter.

"Nothing mom, just looking at all of the fun that we are going to have in Minnesota." Cindy stepped back to show Rose all of the pamphlets. "I am going to go to the bathroom now, I will meet you in the car?" Cindy walked into the bathroom as she watched her mom head back to the SUV. She shoved the complimentary pamphlets into her back pocket. Maybe Minnesota wouldn't be too bad.

On the road again Cindy stared out the window. There was nothing better to do. She had already read the book that she brought with, and it wasn't night so she couldn't watch the stars. She didn't even have a puzzle to do.

"Are we almost there?" Cindy sighed.

"About another two hours dear. We just crossed the boarder an hour ago," Cindy's dad answered. Cindy cringed at the sound of his voice, she thought her mom would answer her. Cindy still wasn't happy with her dad. Rose was in the front seat snoozing. Carrying around another human is exhausting.

Cindy looked over at her cat, Gus, who was in his kennel in the seat next to her. He was snoozing as well. "We are almost there buddy," she told him. Cindy felt that Gus was her only friend now. Even though he was sleeping, Cindy knew deep down that he heard her.

Cindy started imagining what her new home would be like. Her parents told her that their house was in the suburbs, whatever that meant. She was used to living in the woods. In Montana, their closest neighbors lived a mile away. When she would look out her bedroom window all she could see was forest. She liked seeing the birds flying through the trees at night. When evening came she would make it a game to find the moon in between all of the leaves. She won every night. She would also count the bats that would fly by her window, and she would whoo back at the owls in the darkness.

She once saw a picture of New York in a magazine. It was one of those night scenes where the sky was lit up by the fake lights of the tall buidlings. Cindy loved the natural light of the moon. She hoped the moon would still be in Minnesota. The picture of New York scared her. It looked loud and too busy. There were also too many people there. She wondered if Minnesota would be the same. She hoped not considering now when she looked out the window all she could see was farm land. Every mile or two she would spot cows and horses behind fences. She loved animals, maybe the suburbs was another word for a farm.

The farm land turned in to small towns. Cindy would see a gas station, two houses, she would blink and the town would be gone. The next town would have an abandoned church, a little farm, Cindy would blink and it would be gone again. She felt like the character off of "I Dream of Jeannie." Cindy folded her arms in front of herself one at a time, blinked, and nodded at the same time. She then laughed at her foolishness, but was having fun being her dorky self.

Cindy's dad saw her in the rearview mirror and laughed along with her. Cindy immediately stopped and turned to look out the window again in frustration. Cindy's dad, Ray, was the best dad ever. He laughed and played with Cindy. He even seemed interested when she would tell him about how she likes the forest at night. He helped her put together her 3D puzzle and would tell her mermaid stories. He supported Cindy's awkwardness and always complimented her on how unique she was and would tell her that being unique is what made her more important. When Cindy found out that they were moving away from their home, Cindy and her dad had a huge fight. Cindy never wanted to leave, but Ray would talk calmly to her. He kept explaining why they had to go and how everything would improve. Cindy asked if they could bring Rhonda with, but her dad said no. Ray never rose his voice at her, but Cindy kept screaming back at him and crying about how she would never fit in anywhere else.

"Cindy, we have to move and that is that." That was the last thing that Cindy heard him say that day, and he walked out of her room leaving her to cry by herself. Cindy hasn't talked to her dad since. He would always try and visit her in her room and help her pack, but since Cindy wasn't talking it made it awkward and Ray would end up leaving to pack somewhere else. She knew he was trying to make things better between them, but she never forgave him for leaving her to cry by herself. Cindy knew she was acting like a brat, but she never wanted to leave Rhonda and her old life behind. Ever since then, Cindy had felt a tension between them. Her dad would try to butt in and make it seemed like the argument never happened, but Cindy would never forget.

Now here they were on the road, Cindy's dad being the winner of the argument. Deep down she knew everything was going to be alright, she just wished they were at that point already. She never wanted her dad to know that she was OK. She wanted him to think that she was mad at him for a little bit longer, just to make him feel guilty.

The towns got bigger as they road along. More houses popped up and less farms appeared. Cindy even saw a few Wal Marts. She wanted to go, but refused to ask her dad. Plus, she knew the U-haul following them wouldn't be too happy to be making another stop, again. She'd ask her mom in a couple of days, when she was too uncomfortable to unpack and too bored to sit still.

**********

Cindy was startled awake by hearing the howls of a train whistle. She tiredly opened her eyes and realized they were stopped. Up ahead, there was a train crossing the street, its horns blaring to make sure everyone has stopped, and the red lights were flashing on the side of the street.

"Rise and shine sweetheart." Cindy's mom noticed her awake from the front seat. "We are almost to our new home. This is Northfield."

Is it north of a field? What kind of name is that? Cindy looked around outside, she saw a gas station and a Walgreens to the right. To the left, she saw a Subway and an empty building from a failed business. She tried to look up ahead, but the train kept getting in the way. She decided to count the train cars instead. After twenty four, the caboose passed and the gates went up. The lights turned off and they were able to drive again. Turning left at a stop light, the passed over a bridge with no water under it. There was a dog park on the right side, next to a Culver's.

"There's our destination for dinner!" Cindy's mom laughed excitedly. There was something about pregnant women that loved fast food. It made Cindy giggle too.

The passed a Target and a Cub Foods. Maybe Target would have 3D puzzles for Cindy. A few more blocks down the road, they took another right at a different stop light. Down the street all she could see were houses. More and more houses. This must be what suburbs meant. Endless streets full of homes.

Cindy was starting to get excited. She wanted to see what her new room would be like. Mom and Dad said she could paint it whatever color she wanted and decorate too. They slowed down and pulled into a driveway that was surrounded by trees and shrubs. Cindy looked out at her new home and was disappointed.