The Colorful Path

Chapter One: Saying Goodbye

It was the summer after high school, the short summer after the four longest years of my life. Four years of waking up every morning at six am, putting on the same uniform as every other girl, and going to the same hell hole every business day of the week. Graduating is an understatement to say that it was a dream come true. Never saying I was never going to, out of everyone in my family I was the only one without any doubt of graduating, but to do it with a three point five GPA? Now that is a real accomplishment.

I always knew that I would do it and I am even more happier to say that I did it with that high GPA, my key club presidency, a second place trophy for track, a prom queen crown, and with the same boyfriend I have had since the end of my sophomore year. I may have hated the last four years of my life, but I didn't waste my suffering to end up with nothing to show for it.

My parents have always been proud of me and when they saw me walk that stage a couple of months ago may have been one of the top five times I have seen them be overly proud of me. It was tied for my first track meet in freshman year and when I received a full ride to Berkeley college, in California. Yes, my parents are sad to see me go across the country, but they couldn't be more proud of me.

A little back story of why I am the golden child is because out of the three kids my parents had, I was the only one who ever applied themselves. My older sister, Jess, had to drop out of high school due to her early pregnancy with her boyfriend who fled the town when she told him. It was not her fault that he left and she did what she thought was right, not to mention the best loving mom I have ever seen. Her son is the cutest thing ever and I am glad I can be his Aunt Avery, but it is still sad. Jess was way smarter than me, just got tied up with the wrong guy who she still hasn't seen. Then there is my brother, Wade, he dropped out og high school because he simply hated it, but what he ended up doing was being the town's local drug dealer. You can see how I ended up being my parents' pride and joy.

I vowed to myself when I was young to never end up losing my potential to a child or to end up wasting my life being a low life. I vowed to be much more and I have pushed myself and applied myself for everything I could apply for in the last four years of my life. This scholarship to California is a great reward for all of my effort. I am so happy to leave this small town and become more than this.

As for my boyfriend, Samuel, he was a junior when I met him in my sophomore year. He was just the cutest and sweetest thing ever to walk this town. He was very intelligent, but never wanted to go to college. He graduated last year and started to work with his dad in the family car shop, but he has been saving his money the last year to move to California with me. We've been planning this ever since I applied to Berkeley and this is something we both want. He has already found a job near the apartment we are going to move into.

I am just so excited for this next chapter of my life and I am so thankful that I am going to do it with Samuel by my side and this deadbeat town behind us. This is the dream come true I was talking about.

"Avery! Are you all packed?" My mother screams from down the stairs.

"I am all ready!" I yell back to her.

"The moving truck is here! Start bringing your stuff down!"

"Will do!"

I look around my room and smile. I have grown up in this room all of my life and it has certainly changed as I have. The walls used to be yellow, but I painted them pink in middle school. I used to only have a twin size bed, but for my fifteenth birthday my parents bought me a queen size bed. I used to love ponies and horses, but I grew out of that a couple of years ago. All of my stuffed animals were horse based, but they have all been donated to the thrift store in town. All of that change for it to now just be an empty room, with pink walls, and an empty queen size bed frame.

I am kind of sad to see it, but it is not taking away the happiness I am feeling about the future. I walk out of the room to the hallway to see all of my boxes there. I see my dad walking up the stairs and he looks at me with tears in his eyes.

"There's my little princess." He pretends he wasn't crying. "Are you ready?"

Seeing him sad makes me sad. "Yeah."

"That's my girl. Samuel just got here. Is his stuff already in California?"

"Oh, no. He's just packing his clothes and stuff. Nothing big."

"Oh, okay. Well, should I tell him that you need help bringing these boxes down or will he figure that out on his own?" He jokes.

I laugh. "He'll figure it out. He always does."

My dad and I then pick up a box each and start carrying it down the stairs to the truck. At the truck, we see Samuel and my mother talking and I can already see her tears. They're talking quietly, but the closer we get the easier it is for us to hear their conversation.

"Just make sure she is safe and no one hurts her." My mom cries.

"Mrs. Geden, I have protected your daughter all this time already. Don't ever think I will let anything hurt her."

My mom wraps her arms around him and begins to cry into his chest. He comforts her and then looks at me and smiles. I smile back at him as I put the box into the truck.

"Mom, everything is going to be fine." I reassure her.

She looks up at me and then releases Samuel from her arms to lock me into hers. She begins to ball into my shoulder as if this was the end of the world.

"My baby." She cries. "You promise to call me every night."

"Every night, mom. Every night you will hear my voice on the phone." I reassure her.

"I sure hope so." She then looks into my eyes. "My last little bird, leaving my nest."

"Honey, if you keep saying things like this you're going to scare her into not wanting to visit us for Thanksgiving." My dad butts in.

"Don't say that." My mom cries.

"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Geden, we will be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas." Samuel reassures both of them.

My parents smile at him and then at me. They have never liked any boyfriend Jess had or any girlfriend Wade had, but all for good reason, but Samuel is the only one they have ever liked. They won't tell him that they're happy that I am in love with him, but I do.

After an hour or so, all of my boxes are in the moving truck and all that is left is the drive to California. The truck begins to drive there and will be there when Samuel and I get there. My parents sit on the steps of the front porch as they watch Samuel and I walk to his twenty-nineteen chevy truck. They watch as he opens the door for me and I hop in. I look out the window to see my parents crying. I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but I don't think that can see me. Their little princess is all grown up now and she is about to start living her life with her prince in a new kingdom.

Samuel gets into the driver seat and sees my tears. He rubs my thigh to get my attention. I look over from the window to him and smile.

"Everything is going to be already, baby. This is everything we have been wanting for a year now." He says.

"I know, babe. It's still not easy."

"This isn't goodbye, we will see our families again, but this is our time to start our new lives together. Everything is going to be okay."

"I know, babe."

"Avery, I love you. They love you, they want you to do this."

"I want to do this."

"So let's do this."

I look back out the window and I wave to my parents as Samuel begins to drive down the road. Once they are out of sight I begin to tear up more. With everything I hated about this town driving behind us a lot of good memories do come to my mind.

We drive past the library where I did all of my studying at, the mall where I hung out with all of my friends, the school track where I met Samuel, and everything else in this small town. We drive past the "Thank You For Visiting" sign and I know that I am crying now, but I know that I am still happy with this. Good bye to life as I knew it and hello California.