𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 [𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐚𝐮]

02. | anxiety list

7:00. just in time. nini woke up from her slumber, angelic birds cheeping out, as if in a movie. she stretched her arms out, letting out a tired moan. her mind was still racing from her conversation with ej last night. she couldn't stop thinking about college, camp, and even their relationship. she rubbed her temples, reminding herself to just have fun and take ej's advice. she sighed, maybe scrolling through social media would help her calm down. instead, she tweeted something on her rant(which didn't help anything). she lightly chuckled as she saw ashlyn's reply, shaking her head. after she replied herself, she turned her phone off, nodded her head, and got ready for her trip to camp. 

she went through her usual routine. she changed first, then did her bathroom business next. she did a light layer of makeup since she didn't want it to ruin while in the woods. she slipped her phone down the back pocket of her jean shorts and put on a white cropped jacket. she gripped onto the handles of her huge suitcase, hauling it out of her room. she grunts, the luggage much heavier than she could manage. her arms fall down at her sides, sore, as she arrives at the kitchen. however, the smell of freshly made pancakes lifted her mood.

"morning, neens!" mama c greeted as she spotted her daughter, hands splayed out for a hug, "i made some pancakes for you before you leave."

"thanks, mama." nini said, holding her mom in a tight embrace. she left her suitcase at the bottom of the stairs and headed over to the kitchen counter. she ate her mama's special pancake recipe, closing her eyes with satisfaction from the taste. she was going to miss this type of food while she was at haven pines. she finished her meal, leaving only 10 minutes to get on the bus. 

"shit, i gotta go." she cursed, jumping out of her seat and rushing over to her suitcase. "um, mama? would you mind helping me with this?"

"oh, of course." mama c comes to her rescue, helping her drag the bag out the front door. "jesus neens, how much did you pack??"

"too much," she replied, smiling sheepishly.

they eventually got nini's baggage into the trunk of the car with a few minutes to spare. mama c quickly started the car and pulled out of the driveway. she kept glancing at the time while also keeping her eyes on the road. meanwhile, useless thoughts lingered in nini's mind. she kept fidgeting with her phone, anxiety creeping upon her. she shakes all the panic off, thinking back to what her boyfriend had told her. her panic was interrupted as mama c pulled up to the bus drop-off area.

"here we are." mama c said, giving nini a sweet smile. 

she returned it, then got out to heave her bag out of the trunk. the two of them both pulled hard to release it from its grasp with the car. mama c wrapped her arms around her daughter, hugging her tightly. 

"you be safe, okay?"

"i will." 

they broke apart, mama c's hands still resting on nini's shoulders. she gave her another big hug, not wanting to let nini go.

"mama, i have to go now!" nini exclaimed, giggling.

"okay okay! i love you, nini." she said as she pulled out of the hug.

"i love you too." nini smiled.

"okay, you should go before they get mad." 

nini nodded, lugging her suitcase towards the long, yellow bus. she waved back at her mama one last time before they would see each other again in three months. she turned back, spotting jenn, one of the camp leaders of haven pines. she held a clipboard, checking off people's names as they boarded.

"jenn!" nini jumped up with excitement.

jenn turned in the direction of her name, her eyes lighting up, "oh my god, nini! it's so good to see you again!" she reciprocated nini's energy, giving her a short embrace.

"yeah, i missed you so much!" nini replied, trying to lift her suitcase. 

"do you need help with that?" jenn asked as she saw nini struggling to put her suitcase in the storage area.

"yes please," nini confessed, eyebrows raised, as she looked at her suitcase. 

together, they both carried it up and dropped it on the bus. jenn checked off nini's name on her clipboard, scanning the rest of the page to see who she was missing. her eyebrows furrowed, turning back to face nini.

"have you seen ricky?" she asked nini, hoping she would know where the curly-haired boy was.

"he's not here yet?" nini said, just as confused as jenn was. great. now #345 has been added to the list of "things to worry about". 

"i'm sure he's fine, he's probably just running late. don't worry about it." jenn said, smiling at nini.

nini nodded, deciding to just head into the bus and get situated first. once she found an empty seat, she pulled out her phone to text ricky. her thumb hovered over the send button, as she heard a familiar voice ring out in the bus. 

"the best camp counselor has arrived!"