Katie laid on the mattress on the floor with a thin blanket that barely offered her any warmth against the cool night air that drifted through the old, drafty house. The mattress was lumpy and uneven sagging slightly in the middle, but it was the best thing they had until the damn moving truck finally arrived. The blanket was so worn that she had to be careful not to rip it into pieces accidentally.

She stared up into the ceiling the faint moonlight filtering through the dusty window casting shadows on the paint above her. The house creaked and groaned in the night, it's age and neglect apparent to her in every sound. It was unsettling and strangely comforting at the same time. This was just another stop, another place to get used to before moving again and then she reminded herself it was supposed to be different, that this was supposed be home.

Katie pulled the blanket close to her, trying to ward off the cold that seeped into her bones. She could hear the soft murmur of her parents talking in the other room more than likely discussing the delay with the moving truck, trying figure out the best course of action until the truck arrived. She knew that they were just as frustrated as her, though they tried not to show it.

As she lay there on the mattress Katie's drifted through the events of the day. The long drive, The sight of the dilapidated house and the feeling of uncertainty that hung over everything. She couldn't help but think of every time they moved meant a fresh start and a new set of challenges. This move to Gatlinburg was supposed to be the last one, the place where they could finally settle down, the place that she could have all that she wanted, To live in a place permanently, The place where she got what the other kids had and what she was always jealous of.

But as she laid there on this uncomfortable mattress it didn't feel like home yet.

She sighed, closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep but her mind was restless.

Katie stared up counting some of faded shapes on the paint for what felt like the hundredth time now. One shape looked like an lightning bolt, the another looked like a Sword. If she squinted she could see what looked to be a map of a kingdom like those in fantasy novels up there, but no matter what she did sleep wouldn't come.

She shifted her weight on the lumpy uneven mattress, trying to find a better position but it felt like she was lying down on a bunch of needles. "Bet this mattress could double being a medieval torture device," she muttered to herself, adjusting the thin blanket that basically was decoration than functional. She tugged it up to her chin trying to find warmth but she may as well be trying to snuggle with a piece of tissue paper. "Great, I'm one move away from turning this into a piece of confetti."

She rolled on her side, the mattress groaned under her, and she swore she could she could feel every spring pressing into her back. "I bet these springs are judging me." She grumbled, flipping onto her stomach. But that was no better—the mattress sagged, pulling her into a dip like a giant, uncomfortable taco shell.

Katie huffed and rolled onto her back again, staring at the ceiling. Maybe if she stays still enough, she could trick her body into falling asleep. She tried to relax, but her thoughts kept wandering to the strangest places. She started imagining what the springs in the mattress might be saying to each other. "Hey Tommy, she's back again! Think we can handle one more toss and turn?" "Not sure Ian, but I'm holdin' on for dear life over here!"

She suddenly burst out laughing but she quickly clamped a hand on her mouth, trying to make sure her parents didn't think she was losing it the first night in their new house.

Determined to get some sleep, Katie pulled the blanket over her head, making a makeshift tent. "This is fine." She whispered, even as the blanket slid off her shoulder, leaving her half exposed to the chilly air. She tried to tug it back up, but the blanket wasn't having it, slipping off the mattress entirely with a sad flop.

"Seriously." She groaned, sitting up to retrieve it. She was wide awake now and now the room was somehow colder without the shoddy blanket.

Katie sighed, resigning herself to the fact that sleep wasn't happening anytime soon. She wrapped the blanket like a cloak and curled up on the mattress, staring out the window. "This house had better be haunted." She muttered. "At least that would explain why I'm still awake." But the only thing that greeted her was the stillness of the night and the occasional creak of the old house.

She flopped back onto the mattress finally letting herself relax into the chaos of it all. "Ok , insomnia," she said to the ceiling, "you win this round." And with that, she settled in for what was promising to be a very long and uncomfortable night.

Katie found what she thought was the perfect position: On her side, legs tucked up, and arms wrapped around the sad excuse of the blanket. The spring had stopped poking her. She almost felt...cozy.

But just as she was starting to relax the mattress suddenly betrayed her. With a slow, agonizing creak, it sank pulling her into a dip like Quicksand. "Oh come on!" She whispered fiercely, trying to adjust without ruining the delicate balance she'd achieved. But too late. The mattress sagged even further, swallowing her like a lumpy black hole.

Frustrated, Katie grabbed her pillow, yanked it over her face, and screamed into it, unleashing every swear she knew.

"Mrmrghh mmpfff rrgh!" She snarled into the pillow, the muffled curses vibrating inside of it. She listed off every curse she knew from the not so bad to the downright colorful. The pillow didn't stand a chance, she didn't stop until she was out of breath and words.

When she finally pulled the pillow off her face Katie flopped back onto the mattress now too exhausted to care, "I hate this house, I hate this Mattress and I really hate this blanket.she muttered throwing the pillow to the side.

She laid there for a bit waiting for something else to go wrong. When nothing did, she let out a defeated sigh. "Fine you win. Lets get this night over with." she grumbled into the mattress, it creaked as if it was mocking her.

Finally too tired to fight it anymore, Katie closed her eyes and against all odds drifted into sleep.

It didn't take to long for morning to arrive. Drool was being absorbed into the mattress and what wasn't was being firmly planted onto her cheeks.

Soon enough Katie woke up and had to fight her way out the mattress. It took a bit but she was able to get out of the mattress and as a result rolled onto the floor.

After that Katie yawned into her hand and ran her hair hand through her now fuzzy bed head. She checked her hair in the mirror in the room's mid sized bathroom. If she wore a white dress, colored ninety-five percent of her hair black and the rest of it white. She could've auditioned for the role of the Bride of Frankenstein.

She screeched upon seeing her hair like that and started running water in the sink. She could hear what sounded like water running, and after about a minute the water finally started flowing out of the sink. She wasted no time in getting her hair brush and brushing her hair and getting it wet.

After that she walked back to the mattress and picked up her phone that was laying right next to the mattress. She checked her notifications and saw that she didn't get anything important, just updated from games and updates from streaming services. She checked the time at saw it read: 7:24 AM. Under it was a picture of her and her family at Times Square, that she used as a background. She knew that there was no chance of getting back to sleep. If she was anything like her parents, once she was up there was no chance of getting back to sleep. So she started to listen to hear if her parents were up and she couldn't hear a single thing which was surprising considering her dad was a light sleeper, probably due to years of sleeping on a marine boat and submarine. So there went the idea of going downstairs.

Katie sat down on the edge of the mattress and pulled out her phone and started playing a racing game. She moved off the bed as she felt herself sinking into the mattress and a spring poking her butt. She played the game for about twenty minutes before getting bored and laying down on the carpet. She stretched her arms and touched her face for a bit before getting up.

She decided to look out the window and watch the sunrise. She opened up the window and saw the sun rising above the mountains. Katie stood at the window, her breath fogging up the glass as she stared across the street.
The sun was casting long golden shadows across the town of Gatlinburg. Her eyes drifted to the house in front of her—the same house that she saw the boy yesterday. The blinds are now closed, hiding any sign of life inside.

She chewed on her bottom lip, contemplating "Maybe I could go talk to him? It'd be nice to get to know someone here," she mumbled to herself, the idea both exciting and nerve-wracking. Meeting new people was something she'd had to get used to, thanks to the moves but it never got easier.

Katie glanced at her reflection in the window.Her hair was still a bit of a mess despite her best efforts. She tugged a stray strand, trying to smooth it down, but it stubbornly sprang up. "Maybe he won't care about my hair....or won't even notice," she said sighing.