My Summer Of Untold Truths

ONE

I run out of my room to the kitchen "Mom, did you pick up my package in town?" I say, walking in to find my mom standing at the counter with a large cardboard box and some bills in hand.

It's so bright in here. It honestly makes my eyes hurt a little. The summer sun is bouncing off our white kitchen, making it like a flashbang when you walk in.

"It's right here," she says, pushing the box towards me. "Thanks," I say, grabbing it and tearing into it.

I sit on the gray, hardwood floor next to the counter and tip the box upside down. The individually wrapped clothes spill out. I pull the zipper from the plastic bag back and pull out a large green t-shirt that has LOS ANGELES spread across the chest.

"Okay," I pause.
"So it's a bit bigger than I thought it would've been," I say, holding it in front of me. "Oh boy," my mom laughs when looking at the shirt. "It's okay, I'll style it so that it works," I shrug.

I put the t-shirt down and open another one. Two cropped tank tops spill out. One a pink marble and one a gray marble. I show my mom "look at these," I say. She sits down on the floor with me.

"This is so cute," my mom says, holding a small white purse with a gold chain and an intricate clasp. "Wow, that's beautiful." I touch the gold clasp and the faux leather cover.

The doorbell interrupts us.

"That's probably Bri, I'll get it." I pick myself up off the floor and walk to the door.

I open it to see Bris standing there, her backpack hanging from her shoulder. Bris red hair spilled over her shoulders, perfectly. "Heyyyyy," Bri says, tilting her head a little, looking at me with her hazel eyes. "Hey! C'mon in," I say with a smile.

She walks through the door and follows me to the mess of clothes spilled on the floor. "I was just opening some clothes I ordered" I scoop up all the clothes and shove them into the box. "Oooh! You'll have to show me later." "Yeah, sure." I say.

"We can go outside if you'd like," I suggest. "Sure!" I walk over to the fridge and take out a pitcher of strawberry lemonade that just turned pink. "You want some lemonade?" I walk over to the cabinet and pause before her answer. "I'd love some." I take out two glasses and walk back over to the counter to pour us both a glass.

Bri and I became friends a year ago and we had just discovered that we were neighbours. Our houses are spaced pretty far apart, so we hadn't seen much of each other. We're not the closest but we've been friends ever since.

We walk out on the patio and sit down on the wicker patio set. I hand her the glass I poured for her.

"So, some friends of mine are going to the creek later today, do you want to come along?" Bri takes a sip of her drink and adjusts herself on the chair.

The creek is a small branch off of the river that runs through our town that teens usually go to to hang out and swim. Its not actually a creek. It's about five and a half feet deep. Most kids who live in my town don't have pools so it's a way for everyone to cool off. It's not very clean there and it's really muddy, especially when it's hot and humid.

I've been there before with Bri and my friend, Alyssa. It was a really hot day and Bri had to work so Alyssa and I figured we'd go ourselves.