S T R A N D E D

{1} 1 Day Before Departure

"I can't believe my best friend is leaving me to fly across the country."

I laugh at Kimberlee as she pouts on my bed. Which causes her to stick her tongue out and flip her strawberry blonde hair.

"It's not like I'm leaving forever. I'm just visiting my father for Christmas, as I've done EVERY year." I chuckle.

"Yea, but your dad didn't live in LONDON years ago. He lived in the next town over. Now my bestie is going to be across the pond with cute British boys, sipping on tea, and riding on double decker buses....without me." Kimberlee sighed exaggeratedly.

I laughed at her again. She technically wasn't wrong. "You know I'd take you if I could. I just found out he moved last week, and to London of all places." I explained.

"True, but it still bums me out. It's so boring here in Colorado during the holidays. All the college guys go home, the parties stop, all the lame tourists show up, and my mother gets even more naggy. Which I didn't even think was possible." Kimberlee started rubbing her temples.

Kimberlee Kirkpatrick was the daughter of Queen Busybody. Her mother was constantly trying to get her to do things she didn't want to do. Join pageants, dance, cheerleading, and other things Kimberlee considered "girly". Kimberlee was the biggest tomboy around. Big as in you'd have to pay her to even get her into a dress.

"Doesn't your family come up for Christmas? You have the biggest extended family out of anyone I know."

"Yea, they do. But it isn't as great as it seems. There's just so many of us. And my cousins are SUPER annoying, especially the devil twins. They're constantly playing pranks on everyone, they make a mess while eating, and they never shut up. It's a nightmare, and my mom won't let me eat in my room because it's "rude". Kimberlee puts up her hands to do air quotes and rolls her eyes. "What's rude is my relatives thinking that studying Sports Medicine isn't a real major, nor is it a real career. They want me to become a doctor, how ironic." She sighs and falls back onto my bed covering her face with her hands.

"Isn't Sports Medicine a doctor for athletes? So they don't get hurt and sick, and....stuff?" I wasn't entirely sure what it was. But I did know it was time consuming.

"Exactly!!" Kimberlee shouts at me. They're like "It's not the same thing", how would they know?!! They're not the ones studying it. Plus to make it even worse, they're constantly comparing me to my cousin Kayla because she is a young, successful lawyer. It makes me sick how they're practically making us compete against each other." Kimberlee rants.

Kimberlee never fails to amaze me with her lengthy rants and her crazy family stories. I only have a younger sister named Stephanie, and her being in high school and me being in college means we don't see each other much, except for the holidays and weekends because Kimberlee and I live in our own apartment during the school year. But when we do see each other we get along pretty great. I think it's because we aren't that far apart in age, with me being 19 and a college freshman, and her being 17 and a high school junior.

"You're so lucky Sienna. Only one sibling, and she's also pretty cool." Kimberlee glances over at me with a forlorn look.

Sometimes I felt bad for Kimberlee. But other times I definitely feel like she's the lucky one. I would love to have more siblings. Stephanie and I even agreed that a brother would be awesome. But because our mother is single, we don't expect that to happen any time soon. And our father is also single, so no other kids from him either.

"Ugh, can we go somewhere? With every item you put in your suitcase the more depressed I get. Let's go ice skating or something. You owe me for leaving me in this hellhole alone." She shot me her signature smirk that causes me to, as usual, roll my eyes.