Under the Radar

Goodbyes and Car Rides

"Oh, honey! Are you sure you want to do this? Why don't you stay home for a year? Take a break from school and then go to college." My mom cried as I loaded the last box into the car.

I gave a sad smile and shut the trunk. Charlie, Andrew, Molly and Diego (yes, you heard correctly. Molly and Diego met again at a party and went out a few times. They're together now), Jax, Tanner, Vinnie, and Ronnie were standing with my parents on the side on the driveway. But not Daniel. He never showed up.

After graduation, we didn't really talk. He continued his life at parties and getting into trouble. I had gotten a scholarship for the University of California. I never heard whether he was going to stay here or not.

I dusted of my hands and sighed. I looked up at my house.

I sat on the floor of the theatre-room holding one of the puppies while my friends did the same. It was quiet until Molly said, "Why haven't I gotten a unicorn for Christmas yet?" We all bursts into laughter, Molly stayed serious the whole time.

I looked at my car. Even though it was filled with my luggage, memories still came flooding in.

Charlie, Molly, and I were having a girls night and the song Naturally by Selena Gomez came on. We blasted the radio and belted out the lyrics to the song. This was one of my favorite memories.

I looked at my friends, remembering each time the went out of their way to help me. I grew up with Charlie, she was my sister. We used to play dress up and pretend we were the queens of the town. Her dads would of course go with it, they would call us "your majesty" and would make us picnics in the backyard. When we grew up a little, we were secret agents like Kim Possible. We'd have little toy phones and answer them saying, "What's the sitch?" We continued to grow, and never once did we get tired of each other. I was going to miss her. Charlie was going to stay home for a while and help her dads with her new brother, Tony. She wanted to figure her life out before she moved around.

Andrew and Molly were surprisingly separating themselves. Andrew was going to NYU in the fall while Molly was going to travel the world to become a zoologist and Diego was just going with her because he could. Andrew was always like my little protector. He was the big brother I never wanted. Andrew was a sweet guy with a crush on one of his friends. In the way he looks at Charlie just makes you want to shove him at her and tell him to grow a pair. It was so obvious and Charlie knew. She just wanted him to come to her.

Molly was always the "pick-me-up" sort of girl. She was always happy and excited about everything. She and Andrew would always come over and want to do everything. Whether it be camping, singing, sleeping, cleaning, dancing, partying, or even just watching a movie; they would always be down for it.

Just meeting the guys this year, you would think that I would only have a few memories of them. But I actually have a lot. They saved me, numerous times. Besides my older friends, they are my heroes. Tanner made himself seem closed off and bad, but he was like a big teddy bear. He may flirt with girls, but you'd never see him kiss any or just screw them, because he wants to wait for someone he cares about and someone that will care for him. Like the rest of the guys, he opened himself up to me. Like I vented to him, he did the same to me. I remember one time, he showed up at my door soak and wet from the rain storm going on outside. Once I opened the door, he smiled and said, "So, I might be scared of thunder?" I let him in right after that, and we watched movies until the rain stopped.

Ronnie was like a boy version of Molly. He was a big goofball. He could make anyone smile just by looking at you. He and his brother Vinnie were the best pair; polar opposites. Vinnie was smart and adorable. He gave the greatest hugs too. The pair took me to a skateboard park and tired to teach me how to skateboard. It ended up with Ronnie getting a bloody nose from when I tired to flip the board, and Vinnie falling asleep on the park bench.