3,000 Miles

Chapter One

     Lightly, I placed my index finger on the 3D touch home button, which caused my silver iPhone 6S to turn on. As fast as a jackrabbit, I scrolled to my second page of apps and quickly clicked on Instagram. As usual, I went on to the popular page to look at random pictures people had recently posted. One particular picture out of thousands caught my eye in an instant. My light brown eyes were staring at a beautiful picture of a rose bush, which was most likely taken on a dSLR camera since the beautiful photograph included bokeh; bokeh is the unfocused, blurred, circles of light in a picture.
     I glanced up at the username listed above the photo; I clicked on avery_4376, the photographer's Instagram account. After what seemed like centuries of waiting for Instagram to load, an assortment of beautiful pictures popped up on the screen. Taking my time, I clicked on each individual picture and read the captions. Ten minutes had passed, and I couldn't stop looking through her gorgeous photos. From what I could tell, avery_4376 seemed like a very kind, funny, and sweet person.
     "Nyla, dinner is ready!" Mom called.
     "Coming!" I hollered back as I stood up from my swivel chair and placed my phone on my white bedside table.
     I skipped down the wooden steps with white carpet layered on top at record speed. Just as I entered the kitchen, the smell of my mom's famous recipe for authentic spaghetti wafted into my nose. Impatiently, I hovered over the metal pot as Mom scooped the long noodles into three bowls. As soon as my mom drizzled the marinara sauce over the noodles, I snatched my bowl and ran to the wooden kitchen table and sat down in my chair.
     "Someone's excited to eat dinner," Dad mumbled as he twirled his spaghetti around with his fork.
     "You know how much I love Mom's spaghetti!" I agreed as I began to eat.
     "Nyla, we have something important to tell you," Mom announced all of a sudden.
     "What is it?" I curiously asked as I tucked a piece of my extremely thick shoulder length chestnut brown hair behind my ear.
Dad started,"We are going on vacation to-"
     "Where? Where are we going?!" I interrupted anxiously; I couldn't stand the suspense any longer!
     "We're going to Washington D.C.!" My parents both exclaimed in perfect unison.
     "Really, when?" I questioned my parents as my voice cracked with excitement.
     "August 3-8!" Mom exclaimed as her mouth curved upwards into a huge grin.
     "Mom, why didn't you tell me sooner! Now I only have two days to pack!" I complained through mouthfulls of spaghetti and garlic bread.
     "Oh, I almost forgot to mention that! Our trip is next year," Mom explained.
     As soon as my brain fully processed the fact that I had to wait another year to visit the nation's capital, the city that I wanted to go to the most, my mouth immediately dropped open. Mom glanced at Dad and back at me again, signaling to him that she didn't know what to do. I stared down at my bowl while I violently stabbed my fork at some of the noodles, and suddenly my spaghetti didn't seem too appetizing.
     "Honey, are you okay?" Mom asked with genuine concern.
     "Yeah, I guess so," I answered as I stood up from my chair and started to walk up the stairs.