"Ready to go?" Mrs.Warren questioned when Maggie came down the stairs, duffel bag and guitar case in hand.
"Not really," Maggie pouted. "Do I really have to go?"
"If you want to go to that music camp you've been talking about since January, yes," her mother answered, pointedly.
"But, what about Josh?" Maggie asked, trying to find an excuse. "Who will watch him if you and Dad have to jet off to New York or something?" It sounded ridiculous, but Maggie's parents were top-notch surgeons, and could be needed anywhere, at any time. It was really annoying and inconvenient sometimes.
"Joshua would stay with the Morring's then," her mother answered, "that's where he is now anyway, and we're supposed to be there in fifteen minutes," she observed, checking her watch.
"Okay then, what about Bruno?" Maggie asked, regarding her beloved toy poodle, who scampered to her feet at the sound of his name. "Who is going to take care of him while I'm gone, since he ismyresponsibility?" she sounded as if she was just making excuses now, which she was.
"You have a point there, darling..." her mother trailed off.
Yes,Maggie thought,she'll let me stay home now.
"You can take Bruno with you," Mr.Warren offered, coming downstairs. Bruno barked when he heard his name.
"Great idea!" Susan chimed. Maggie groaned, all hoped of getting out of this trip vanishing.
"Okay, let's go," Brian piped, picking up Maggie's yellow duffel bag and waltzing toward the double front doors. Maggie picked up her guitar case and latched Bruno's collar to him, following her mother and father to the car.
~
"I'm ready," Collin Morring sighed as she set his bag and guitar case on the couch where his dad sat, watching a baseball game.
"That's great, honey. The Warrens should be here any minute now," Mrs.Morring replied, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room followed by two ten-year-olds playing "Poke".
Ding! Ding!
Time for the most uncomfortable weekend of my life,Collin thought. Mrs.Morring opened the wide front doors and in walked Mr. and Mrs.Warren followed by a solemn-looking Maggie. Her headphones connected her phone and ears. She scowled when she saw Collin.
"Alright," Mrs.Morring began, clapping her hands together, "let's talk for a moment shall we?"
"Maggie," Mrs.Warren called to her daughter, "Maggie!" she tried again, to no prevail. "MAGGIE WARREN TURN THE MUSIC OFF NOW." She demanded finally catching her attention. Maggie removed her headphones and paused the song she was listening to-- "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, one of her favorite artists. She started to slide her phone into her pocket but was stopped by her mother's hand.
"No phone. First rule," Mrs.Warren declared as she snatched Maggie's white iPhone and slipped it into her purse.
"But, Mom--" Maggie began to protest but was cut off by her mother.
"No 'buts' about it. No phones. This is a chance for you and Collin to get to know each other, not be distracted by your phones." Maggie looked into the living room where she saw Collin was handing his Android to his dad with a solemn look.
Maggie and her mother walked into the living room where Liam Morring was talking to her father about Collin's baseball team. Mrs.Morring was arranging pillows on the unoccupied sofa. She was always a big fan of Collin's parents. They were always very warm and friendly and genuinely interested in their children. Unlike Maggie's parents who pretty much only cared about work.
"We have to leave soon, so here are a couple of things you two need to know," Mr.Morring began, "we've already put food at the cabin, so you don't have to worry about that. Since we took your phones, you're probably going 'what will we do if there is an emergency blah, blah, blah..' teenager talk, whatever," Liam continued, using the humor he's known for, earning a playful shove from his wife.
"There's a phone at the cabin, but you can only call the police, or one of us," Mrs.Morring picked up, referring to the four adults in the room. Maggie and Collin simultaneously groaned.
'I'll be driving, so you also have no way out unless you'd like to walk through miles of woods in the middle of June," Mr.Morring continued with a wink.
