𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕

01. Summer Nights

══ ⋆ ROSE'S POV, SUMMER 2024 ⋆ ══

Tick tock, the rusted and versed grandfather clock across the hall unrelentlessly nagged at me, rolling his eyes every time I procrastinated. He kept on constantly reminding me that the bus would arrive at 10:20, which was only fifteen minutes from now.

Every time I yearned to retrieve my suitcase and step downstairs, he'd furiously fume in a mad energy. He'd purposely make the seconds chime faster than before, causing my head to frantically spin round and round like a carousel.

Instead of hunching myself up in a motivated manner, I instantly laid my head back against my lavender sheets. I snuggled, sniffing the toasty scent of my cat's hair- who I named after one of my favorite singers, Billie Eilish. Billie's cat hair situated and twisted all over my bed sheets, but I don't mind the furry mess. In fact, it reminds me of how having a cat companion is one of the beauties in life.

I gently ran my fingers through her tender fur and watched as she obnoxiously hissed at the fact that despite being a cat, she's well aware of my month-long departure to summer camp. She's so soft and silky like a rag doll I once had as a child, I don't wish to ever let her go from my arms, but I know that I must or else I'll be tardy for this summer camp I clearly don't care for. 

I've officially been an adult since my birthday in March, so I technically don't have to go, but my mom signed me up for this last cruel summer during my "Anne Of Green Gables" era. At the time, I assumed it'd be fun to roam around the woods as if I was Anne Shirley Cuthbert in the late 19th century, befriend a bosom friend like Diana Barry, and perhaps even find my very own Gilbert Blythe. As much as I still very much consider this classic by L.M. Montgomery to be my favorite book of all-time, it doesn't mean that I have any interest in roaming through nature in the present day.

I hazily rose up from my bed, tensely wobbling around my room in dumbfounded circles. I had previously completed packing my clothing a day prior so there wasn't really any remaining tasks to fulfill. 

" Rose, are you ready yet? " My mother agitatedly called from the kitchen, where she spends most of her mornings baking abundant loafs of banana bread and purifying orange juice marinated from scratch.

" Totally! " I fibbed, reluctant to admit my uneasiness about spending all my summer far from the busy New York City scene that I've been accustomed to since I was born. Yep, I've been born and raised in New York my entire life and just like the rest of my friends and classmates, I'm bias to claim that Broadway is the best and nothing can beat the Big Apple.

Be fearless, Rose, you can do this. It's only a measly month, I'm bold to remind myself over and over again. 

" Rose, it's ten-twenty eight! You're bound to miss the bus if you don't come down this instant. " She hastily pressures me in a stern voice, emphasizing that she means business. I sighed once more before rushing down the stairs, grabbing the pre-packed breakfast that my Mom just handed me.

I jaggedly latched the apartment door slowly open, quick to lightly shut the door a few seconds later right after I've shifted outside. I take the elevator to the lowest level and rush through the many tenants, aggravated to reach my chosen transportation on time. I ran through the over-crowded streets until I arrive a few blocks down to where the summer camp bus is picking up all of us who signed up. I take one last glance before hesitantly stepping into the abstract vehicle that'll abruptly take me far from my beloved city of New York.

I looked around, as if the Schyler sisters were telling me to so through their singing, though they're obviously not as I highly doubt anyone is going to be staging a production of Hamilton in the woods. I hummed around to the tunes of Hamilton, which are still stuck in my head after streaming the soundtrack on Spotify last night. Perhaps I'll stream it again right now since I'll have no companion on this bus ride. It'll just be me and the rhytm.