Illusional

The Plan

December 18

Hi, I'm Mason. I'm just your average ADHD-filled teenage boy. Not too much is interesting about me, and life for me continues to work just like a clock continuing to tick and tock.

    I've been journaling for quite some time now, but so far I haven't caught anything that's worth actually reading about, such as crime scenes or uncovering juicy gossip. You know, the big stuff. However, over the past couple of days, I've been researching fun Christmas getaway places for Christmas vacation on my phone, and found a cozy winter cabin. It was for a great price, too. I wanted to go and bring my sister, Marleigh, and some of my friends with me, but I didn't want to include my dad, Bill (his real name, by the way. Obviously, I call him "dad" or something like that) because I wanted to bring my girlfriend, Stella, with me, and my dad isn't too fond of her.

    I'll be honest, my dad doesn't approve of the relationship I have with my girlfriend. He lets us be together at the very least, but... he's generally unimpressed. I've never been able to truly impress him, no matter what I did. Not even consecutive perfect scores on my exams could force a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Dad supports my sister's boyfriend, Brandon, though that may only be because I've met him for a long time, he's close to me, and he has helped Dad on numerous occasions. He often compares me to Brandon, though.

    Actually, in hindsight, I think I'm starting to remember why I ceased contact with Brandon... and the rest of the guys. However, I wanted to tell Brandon the truth while my father was around. My dad will regret choosing favoritism with his daughter over me...

    Now, you might be wondering who my friends that I'm inviting are, especially Brandon, so let me give you a perspective: A couple of years ago, I came across an office building seemingly out of place after taking a different turn on my way home from school since my dad's car was at the repair shop one day, and he insisted that I walk home. I don't initially know why, but I actually went inside the building. Turns out, there were a bunch of boys. They were very welcoming and each of them greeted me individually. Now, I get bullied a lot at times so This meant a lot to me.

    Turns out, it was a secret Christian club which was founded by a 16-year-old boy named Brandon and his twin brother Phillip. They explained that they're always looking for kids like me to join their group, and they asked me if I would like to take part in it. At first, I was skeptical to join their group because I wasn't sure how my dad would react, but I decided to join anyway.

Flash forward to now, I haven't been as active in my friend group as I used to be, nor do I like this fact. I had tried to get the courage to just say hi, but I couldn't. Almost as if something was stopping me from putting myself out there, though it was likely just my subconscious telling me, "They hate you. You're forgotten. Forget it."

I didn't even come across them for about a year now, even missing Thanksgiving dinner with them, and I also skipped seeing them on Halloween, Easter, and last Christmas. I know, I know... I'm being a horrible friend right now. but I plan to change that.

Of course, I had to text them (I'm too cowardly to go up to them in-person) so I sent the one I was closest to, Brandon, a text saying, "Hi there! It's been a bit." I wasn't taking that back. I'm not going to make it awkward. Nope. Not at all...

    He texted back. It read, "Hello! Yeah, it's been a while. Why haven't you connected with us?" I knew I was going to regret my decision of texting them. I should've just listened to myself and continued to live life like I never knew them, they never knew me, and our friendship never existed. Of course, I just had to be polite... which I don't mind doing at all, by the way.

I texted him back, "Uhm... just forgot tbh. Uhh, I just wanted to know what y'all were doing this Christmas."

    I already made it awkward... shoot. I wanted to hide under my couch blankets. When Brandon responded, he said, "Nothing much. I take it that you wanted to do something with us?" How did he know?! There is no way he just read my mind...

I just texted him I was researching a cozy winter cabin vacation, and asked him if he and the rest of the guys if they wanted to come. Brandon said, "WOW A CABIN TRIP?? YES PLZ!" I've never seen him that enthusiastic before...

...okay, fine... It was definitely worth texting him.

    I told Brandon my sister was coming, and he was very happy that his girlfriend was coming (I was very concerned about their relationship at first, but my sister is a particularly... picky one, so I decided not to interfere and let them be) so I told my sister that me and the guys were going on a vacation.

    "Hey sis, want to go on a trip to th-"

    "Already packed."

    "You didn't even know what I was gonna ask..."

    "Is Brandon coming?"

    "Yes, bu-"

    "Then it's settled. I'm coming, too. When do we leave?"

    "Like at 4 AM tomorrow, but we'll be going t-"

    "Great, I'm excited!"

    "But, I..."

    "Love you, big bro!" She hugged me real big before telling Dad what is happening.

    "But I just wanted... to..." I gave up at this point. She's not the open-minded type. "Love you, too..."

    I went into the kitchen with Marleigh and my dad (he was making spaghetti again) and heard the conversation he had with my sister. When I walked into the kitchen, he told me, "You can go on your winter cabin trip with your sister and your Christian friends, but I must come with you. I know how much trouble you can get into." Drat, he required me to take him with me. I couldn't do that! I was also bringing my girlfriend, and I did not want my dad knowing I was bringing her...

    I actually had never told my girlfriend about the cabin trip, so I called her, but I had to go in my room with the door closed, because I didn't want my dad finding out I was bringing my girlfriend.

    She picked up the phone...

    "Hey, Stella! What's up?" I asked with utter nervousness.

    "Hey, babe! Uhm, nothing much, really. I'm with my dad... say hi, Dad!"

    Her dad picked up the phone. "Hey, man! What's going on?"

    "I wanted to ask my girlfriend if she could come on a cozy winter cabin vacation with me, my sister, and my Christian friends! Oh, and my dad, of course..."

    Stella's dad was happy to hear my offer, though it was mostly to try to get her daughter out of the house. He gave Stella her phone back to talk to me, and she agreed to come to the trip with my family and friends. She just wasn't comfortable with my dad coming. She, too, knows that my dad isn't happy about our relationship...

    With that, I made the reservations for the cabin on December 19th, 11 AM. Even though the destination is quite far away, I'm just glad I can finally connect with my closest friends and family now!

    Now I just need to make everyone else happy...