Troublemakers

1.0

Tan lines, big sun glasses, dippin' dots, sandcastles, and lemonade. These things are just a few of the things that describe summer. Of course, these are only the physical things that summer offers to teenagers.

Love, jealousy, silliness, family, and laughter also come along with summer. Without these things, summer would just be boring.

Okay, maybe the dippin' dots would not make summer so boring.

Summer is something that everyone cherishes. It means that kids are out of school and have the free will to do whatever they want. In context, of course. It is the time where you can go outside and hit that beach or go for a nice jog or go out and shop or do whatever. Everyone cherishes every day of it until school starts again.

I cherish it more than anyone else.

Every year, my mom and I go down to Sandy Hills in North Carolina. The area contains a few beach houses spread apart and it is beach front.

My mom's best friend, April Johnes, has owned one of those houses and it has become a tradition for us to come down there annually. For eighty-three days we join April at her house.

April has two sons, the Johnes boys, as most people call them. Although they are brothers, they could not be more different.

Brice Johnes, is the older one out of the two. His last year of high school had wrapped up this year and was considering checking out some colleges over the summer. To sum him up in three words is lazy, fun, and self-centered. He has short brown hair, which was short on the sides and was highlighted from the sun.

Carson Johnes, who is completely different from Brice, is sixteen and just finished his sophomore year of high school. He's the kind of guy who you want to have as your best friend, and is not as laid back as his brother. He is always moving around and cannot seem to sit still. He has dark hair, and depending on his mood it will either be styled or sticking out all over the place.

"You excited for this summer?" my mom asks, glancing at me for a minute and then looking back at the road.

"Yeah," I say looking at out the window.

"What is this?" she starts off. "The eleventh year?"

"Twelfth," I correct. "I was four when we first went there, remember?"

"Oh yeah," my mom says. "The first time the trouble makers ever met."

"Brice is going to be there this year right?" I ask her. "You know because of college coming up and all."

"April said he was," she replies as the corners of her mouth turn up. "You miss him?"

"I miss him as much as I miss Carson," I reply to her, which was a complete lie. Not that I did not like Carson, but I had had a crush on Brice since forever.

She nods her head and I look out the window and watch as the many different rows of colorful stores pass by us. My mind starts to wander and think about how the guys have changed.

I myself have changed quite a bit from last summer. Last year I had braces, glasses, those Bermuda shorts that went to your knees, and baggy t-shirts. This year I have no braces, I wear contacts, and my style has been upgraded very nicely.

I wonder if Carson got those braces he was nagging about last summer. He had gotten news that he might need braces and he said he would rather slam his head into a wall.

Repeatedly.

"We are here!" my mom exclaims as she pulls up in the driveway. "I can't wait to see April."