Mine Again

Chapter One

Chapter One

I watched in silence, soft music filling my ears, as the buildings zoomed past. My family and I were on our way to a much-needed family vacation to Lake Winnipeg, in Ontario, Canada.

Even as I turned up the volume on my iPod, the voices of my two younger brothers still filtered in over the music.  What a vacation this was going to be. Long, with almost no escape from my family. I was going to be trapped with them in a small cabin with nothing to do and none of my friends to talk to. I had looked forward to this summer so, so much. The promise it had held for me and my long-time crush, John, had been immense. On the last day of school, he had finally talked to me, after all these years, and said maybe he'd see me around this summer. When translated bymy all-too-eager friends, they told me he;d meant he wanted to see me this summer. I'd been overjoyed. But then came that fateful family meeting three days after school let out. I was going on a vacation for the two long months of summer vacation.

All of it. Gone, in an instant.

So now, here I was, sitting uncomfortably in the family mini-van, my eyes slowly, slowly drifting closed, until I was no longer aware that time was passing, and that the five of us were swiftly nearing the destination that would inevitably change all of our lives forever.

-----<3------

As the car came to a jolting halt, my eyes popped open. I looked around herself for the cause of the jolt, and saw that my father had slammed on the brakes in order to allow a lonely dog cross the street...wait, no, road...unharmed. The ground we traveled on no longer was pavement, but gravel, and as my father pressed the accelerator again, I watched all the trees pass by, so different from the buildings I last remembered passing before I fell asleep.  Just how long had I been out?

Now we were approaching a small, old-timey looking town. The only people in view were the elderly, and I made a face full of disgust. This was the last place on earth I wanted to spend my summer vacation. But here I was, with no escape in view.

The car soon pulled off the main road, on to a road that I assumed led to what would be our home for the next two months.

Ten minutes later, we arrived, a small, dilaptidated row of log cabins coming into view. I groaned internally. The condition of the cabin had been my last hope. But no---my parents had to be their cheap selves and hurl the family into a proverbial pit of despair.

I opened my door roughly the minute the vehicle was put in park, maybe even before, and I slammed the door behind me, earning a wince from both my parents. I slung my worn leather purse over my shoulder, storming off the the direction I assumed the lake was in. If I just had some me-time, maybe things would seem a bit better. Maybe even this, the darkest of summers, had some light in it that was yet to be seen.

My father poked his head out of the car window and called after me, "Sierra, where are you going?"

"The lake," I replied simply, wondering why I even tried to get along with them anymore. It's not like they cared. Sometimes I wondered if they'd ever cared at all.

On the up side, for one, the place was beautiful. Even despite the fact that it was a forest, which was normally something I avoided like the plague. Soon I reached the lake, and the sunlight that reflected in the water was almost blinding. Blindingly beautiful.

I walked down the shore, my earbuds still nestled safely inside my ears. The music floated through my mind, the lyrics mindless and unimportant, but they still took my mind off of the mediocrity that surrounded me. Just then, my favorite song came on.

Mine Again, by Black Lab.

I began smiling as I walked, closing my eyes as I sang along to the familiar words without thinking. By now, I knew the lyrics by heart. And by the time the chorus had come upon me, I felt the need to open my eyes. That simple urge that drew you to doing things you really probably shouldn't. Looking to my right, there was a boy, with long, dark hair and golden brown skin, standing by the edge of the lake. My eyes kept on him, as I walked by, and even for quite a while after. But then, without warning, his eyes drew near to my own, meeting them briefly, and then it was over. He looked away, just like that, and so did I.

But as I kept walking, I couldn't help but think of how beautiful he was. 

Before I knew it, I'd walked all the way back to the cabin, and my father was outside setting up the barbeque, while my mother set the outdoor table and my  twin brothers ran wild. I was jealous of how carefree they were. I could barely remember now, when I used to be like that. It had been a long time. A very long time.

"Sierra! There you are," My mother said suddenly, bringing me back to reality with a jolt. "Good that you're back, we have company coming over soon."

"Who?" I asked bluntly, not bothering to sugar-coat my words with politeness.

"The neighbors, dear," She replied.

I sighed loudly, before heaving my bag over my shoulder once again and heading into the cabin. The doors were all open inside, leaving me free to roam. The inside of the cabin didn't look quite as bad as the outside, as I'd earlier suspected. That was a good sign. Now all I needed was to see that beautiful boy again, and maybe this summer wouldn't be half bad after all.

I soon found what was to be my room, and once I found my suitcase I rummaged through it to find a white and black checkered sundress. My favorite.

As soon as the sundress was on, I looked in the mirror expectantly at my appearance, smiling when I liked what I saw. I took a moment to curl my fiery red hair, before finally grabbing a pair of high-top converse to wear. My favorite red ones.

Then I walked back outside, only to see a boy in front of me on the porch.

The very same boy I'd seen by the lake.

Beautiful.