{WATTYS 2021/2022 SHORTLIST}{Editor's Pick} {Featured Story}
One girl. Two boys. An impossible choice.
Stella LaFever, a theatre student from California, can't wait to spend a summer in Newport, Rhode Island, with her best friend. She is in despera...
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Chapter Song: You're On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift
I rolled my window down and let crisp ocean air whip through my hair. High on adrenaline and excitement as my best friend and I made our way across the final bridge of our cross-country road trip.
"Girl, turn down the music!" Leona shouted from the driver's seat. "I'm trying to hear the directions! These roads are like a pot of noodles."
I let out a bubble of giddy laughter, then turned the radio down. Letting my gaze drift over the jagged coastline and choppy waves. Bright patches of sunlight danced over water that was a calming shade of steely blue.
"Your grandma better have some food at this campsite." Leona flashed me one of her bright smiles. "I would literally kill someone for a fish taco."
We shared a laugh, but I knew the decision to leave her family back in Imperial Beach for two months had been hard.
"Thanks for doing this with me," I said. "I owe you."
Leona just shrugged. "Don't get all sentimental. This summer is about fun. And we're going to soak up every ounce of it," she said with a smirk. "Even if I did have to drive this truck across North America."
I tried to swallow down the stone of emotion lodged in my throat, looking back out the passenger window.
Last month, when my world fell apart, Leona and I made a promise to each other. We were going to stuff this summer full of distractions.
Beautiful Newport, Rhode Island distractions.
Beaches, bonfires, and hot ass rich boys, as Leona had put it.
We weren't going to worry about next semester. We weren't going to worry about my impending surgery, or the fact that I might never be able to sing again.
