You stare into the distance at your mother’s car. She dropped you off mere seconds ago at your uncle’s farm, where you haven’t been in the past seven years. Your name is Jon, and you are almost seventeen. You are kind of muscular, but not buff or anything, and your height is about 5’8. You grab your lone suitcase on the ground, and turn to see your uncle’s rather large house. Its size impresses you; it’s two floors high with lots of windows, and is at least twice the size of your house in the suburbs of Detroit. You aren’t impressed, however, on discovering the distance between you and the house, which appeared to be about a half of a mile. Considering that it was noon on a hot summer day in Kansas, the temperature was at least 100 degrees with so much humidity that you are already sweating just by standing there looking at the house. Reluctantly, you begin your walk to your uncle’s house.
By the time you get to your uncle’s house, your clothes have become so wet with sweat from the sticky, humid air outside; it appears as if you have just gotten out of a swimming pool. Your clothes are stuck to your body with your sweat acting as glue against your skin. Even worse, you discover that your uncle, who is real old-school, doesn’t have air-conditioning, as the heat is even more brutal inside his house. Your uncle, Norman, enters the foyer to greet you. “How ya doin, boy?” your uncle asks with a wide, family-friendly smile.
“Fine.” You unenthusiastically reply. “It’s a little hot in here, though.”
“Oh, well sorry for that, boy, I guess you’ll just need to get used to it.” Your uncle says, you make a grunt with a hint of obvious disappointment. “Well, here, boy, let me show you to your room.” You grab your suitcase and follow your uncle up the stairs in the foyer, which leads to a narrow hallway. Your uncle opens the first door to your right, and you step in to see a rundown, large bedroom with two windows and creaky, wooden floors. “Well,” your uncle says, “this is it. If you want to use the john, the bathroom’s across the hall. If your gonna take a shower, be aware that we only get cold water in this house.”
“Do you have a TV?” you ask, causing your uncle to look at you like an alien.
“No. And we don’t have a phone, so if you need to call someone, we’ll drive down to the town and find one there.”
“That’s okay, I got a cell.”
“Boy, that fancy lil’ gizmo ain’t gonna work up in here. No coverage for a long while.”
You check your phone to be sure, and he’s right; you have no coverage and you evidently are in a dead zone.
“Now, I’ll let you get settled and all. If you need me, I’ll be out doin’ some chores around the ranch.”
“I though this was a farm.” you say, remembering the sign on the front gate.
“Used to be, I just never got around to changing out the sign once I started raisn’ livestock. Now, get comfortable, and we can catch up on things durin dinner. Otherwise, feel free to walk around, just don’t bother Enrique, Ben, or Jeff. They help me out around here, so don’t disturb them unless it’s important, understand me, boy?” You nod your head in reply. “Good. Well, see ya, boy.” with that, Uncle Norman leaves you in your room. You drop your suitcase on the wooden floor, which seems to creak at your every breath. You look at the mattress and can’t help but notice how it is practically yellow from all of the sweat of the people who have slept in it. No TV and no phone. You ask yourself what to do next. You look out one of the windows and notice a large barn outside with a pigsty next to it. You see some horses and cattle as well. A dog is running playfully towards Norman as he leaves the house. You then also remember that you have brought some Playboy magazines with you, just in case things got too boring. When you were driving to the ranch, you also noticed a hot neighbor, and she seemed to be just about your age.