Summer's Gift

Chapter 1

Almost time... 

A little bit longer... 

Come on!

RIIIING!

My entire Biology class erupted into cheers of satisfaction. I couldn't blame them, though. There I was, right in the thick of things. And why wouldn't I be? It was finally summer, for God's sake! Two months of endless partying and sleeping in late. Not to mention more than a few hot and heavy makeout sessions with my boyfriend of four months, Jesse Peterson. I grinned widely as my classmates surged around me, anxious to get away from the school's imprisoning walls and skid their car's tires in the parking lot on their way to their summer's infinite paradise.

"Jinx!" my best friend Abby Matthews yelled from the crowded hallway. Quickly, I shoved my way through the jostling students over to her.

"Hey!" I enthused, tossing my thick blonde hair behind one shoulder.

"Oh my God, guess what?" she chirped, but barrelled on before I could respond. "Jesse's having a end-of-school party tonight! He just told me a few minutes ago, but I don't know where he disappeared to after that."

"We're definitely going. I mean, what's a party host like Jesse without his beautiful girlfriend?" I joked. Abby flashed a Colgate-white smile and looped her elbow through mine before towing me toward the main entrance.

"Anyway, it starts at nine, but he said for us to be there around seven to help set up. Something about hiding his mom's crystal Murano vases so that nobody would break them," Abby said with a careless shrug.

"Oh, yeah. I don't see the big deal about all this designer crap Mrs. Peterson obsesses over. I mean, it's basically the same as regular things but with a higher price. Crazy," I commented.

Abby shot me a disbelieving look. "Seriously, Jinx? You obviously don't understand the better quality of designer items. I blame your mom."

"Shut up. My mom is fine. It's not my fault she likes normal things," I said and rolled my eyes. Abby scoffed before pushing our way into the jam-packed parking lot.

"Yeah, 'normal' my ass. Your house is practically decked out in every color of the rainbow."

I elbowed her. "It's vintage, okay? And it's pretty cool. No one else has a house like mine. I love it."

"That's because no one would want a house like yours," she teased.

I shoved her away from me before pulling my car keys from my cinnamon brown leather Etsy purse. My car itself was a red 2003 model Alfa Romeo convertible. It was totally adorable according to Abby, who happily drove a jet black 2014 Corvette.

"I'll see you later," I told her and hopped into the car. She smiled, nodded, and jogged away to her precious Corvette.

After cranking the Alfa Romeo, I stomped on the gas and zoomed out of the parking lot, my long hair lashing about behind me. The drive home seemed shorter than usual as I jerked the car along tight hairpin turns and revved the engine to eighty miles per hour. Soon, I was pulling into my smooth brown cobblestone driveway and crawling up the slight hill toward the two-door garage that connected to my four-bedroom-three-bathroom home. When my car was parked safely inside, I jumped out and let myself into the house.

"Jinx? Is that you?" my mom's sweet alto voice called from somewhere inside. I kicked the door shut behind me and wound my way through the house, finally locating her in our shared art room.

The room itself was  colored in a palette of multiple greens and numerous purples. Touches of black and white eclectic accessories added depth and light to the cluttered space. Mom was seated on a kelly green Ballard bar stool, her slippered feet locked backwards around the rungs. Her wheat blonde hair was gathered up into a messy bun atop her head and stuck through with two takeout chopsticks.