Wishful Thinking

Chapter One

chapter one

               "Please?" I begged, lowering myself onto one knee.

               My mother shook her head as she took off her apron, an amused smile playing at the corner of her lips. "The answer is still no, Teagan. It will always be no."

               I huffed, not ready to give up. "It's Australia, mom. You're the one always daring me to travel frequently in my future. Well, the future is now and I want to go to Australia."

               My mom raised a brow and whistled a tune, ignoring me while she cleaned up the kitchen area. I pouted slightly, now ready to accept that I'd been defeated. I took to the stairs, ascending them two steps at a time, and ran into my room. From my desktop, my friend Ava smiled at me eagerly through the Skype video chat border.

               "So...?" She mused. "What did she say?"

               I threw myself onto my bed and stared at the headboard for a second before turning to look at Ava. I raised my eyebrows, as if challenging her to read my expression.

               Ava slumped back in her chair and her smile dissolved. "Oh."

               The extremely rich, extremely gorgeous, and extremely my best friend Ava Cameron, had invited me to a summer with her in Australia, where we would "bask in the sunlight and soak in the waves (que dramatic hand gesture)," and although my ticket and expenses would have happily been paid for by Ava's dad, my mom had denied the offer because she refused to burden Mr. Cameron.

               "Well that sucks." Ava noted.

               I tilted my head in thought, then smirked. "Maybe," I began, "we can get your dad to ask my mom instead." I laughed, winking suggestively. It was pretty obvious that my mother found Mr. Cameron attractive. If he happened to be near, she'd blush and run her fingers through her hair. She'd stumble over words, all the while Mr. Cameron smirked at her clumsy nervousness.

               But on the other end, Ava gasped. "Genius!" She glanced at me. "I'll be right back." She sat up quickly, knocking her computer chair down. With that she was out of her room, leaving me to hear her repeated shouts of "Dad! Dad! Dad!"

               A couple minutes later, she returned, grinning."He'll be calling her." Downstairs, I heard the muffled ringing of the house phone and grinned, shrugging hopefully. I crossed my middle fingers over my index fingers, and urged Ava to do the same, but she didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes and sticking up her freshly manicured middle finger at me first.

               Down on the first floor, the phone receiver clanged and my mom bellowed up, "Fine! Pack your bags now, T!"

               I crossed my arms triumphantly as Ava clapped. "We're going to Australia!" She squealed.

               The next afternoon, my mother drove me to the airport in silence, giving me specific orders every now and then. ("Don't bug Mr. C too much." "Stick with Ava's family when out at tourist attractions and such.") When we pulled up and made it inside the airport, we found Ava, her sister Lynn, and her father standing in the check-in line. We pushed through the angry but excited crowd to get to them. While my mom flirted with Mr. Cameron, I hugged Ava and waved politely at Lynn.

               "Its kind of unbelievable, you know?" I pointed out. "In all my seventeen years of life, I've usually spent my summers excited at first, then bored and lonely a few weeks in. And now this summer I'm actually doing something. Just the idea is so foreign." I stared off into the distance dramatically before cracking a smile.

               Lynn chuckled. "When you're part of this family," she said, gesturing to her father and older sister, "you're always doing something. Like it or not." I smiled. Lynn was somewhat in her emo phase, with a mixture of a hippe, hipster vibe. She was distant at times and dressed the part, but underneath her shy, angry, sad exterior, she was a friendly and approachable person.

               We were next to check in. I tried to make pleasant small talk with the woman behind the counter, but she just sighed and snatched my passport out of my hands. She followed through with the procedure, weighing my luggage and in return gave me my passport, baggage check, and plane ticket. "Enjoy your flight." She dismissed, her voice robotic and dull.

               I said my goodbyes to my mom and she gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before leaving.

               While the Camerons checked in, I contemplated if that woman behind the check in desk was even human.

               Ava snuck up behind me and latched her arm into mine. "Australia here we come?" She asked, nudging my torso with her elbow.

               "Yeah!" I cheered, fist pumping the air. "Right after they scan our carry ons and then of course there's boarding, and-"

               Ava slapped me, laughing. "Shut up, T."

               After completing regular pre-flight procedure and a torturous wait, I happily sank into my first class seat, courtesy of Ava's father. Ava shifted in her spot next to me and reached into her carry on. She handed me a small makeup bag and a hand held mirror. I began to protest but she frowned, shaking her head and pushing the bag back towards me. "This is all I ask of you Teagan. Please."

               I agreed just to humor her. The girl was my best friend and I knew exactly what she was hoping for; a summer fling for the both of us. I applied my eyeliner smiling at my tiny, defined reflection. I watched in the mirror as stray eyelash landed on my cheek and I picked it up to gently rest it on my index finger.

               In hopes that this trip goes well, I thought, and blew the lash off of my finger. My hands slipped and I dropped the mirror causing the handheld to crack and break in certain places. Ava looked at me with slightly sarcastic wide eyed. "Bad luck?" She teased.

               I picked up the mirror and the bits of it's astray glass on the floor. I shook my head. "Ava, sweetie," I cooed mockingly. "I don't believe in bad luck."