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Chapter 1 | Packing Up Our Lives

     I Folded Up A Shirt That Was Left In My Vacant Closet, And Stuffed It Into My Suitcase. I Zipped The Suitcase Up, And Placed It By My Door. I Landed My Hands Onto My Hips, And Looked At My Packed Up Room.

I Heaved Out A Sigh. There Are Plenty Of Opportunities Here In Chicago, I Don't Understand Why We Have To Move To Los Angeles. Lauren Is Lucky She Doesn't Have To Go With Us. I Heard Someone Knock On My Door, And Lucas Stepped In.

      "You're Supposed To Wait Until I Tell You To Come In." I Said.

He Brushed It Off.

      "I Was Just Checking On My Little Sister." Lucas Said As He Sat On My Bed.

   I Pushed Him Off Of My Bed, And Stood In Front Of Him.

    "I Hate When You Call Me Your Little Sister. I'm Eighteen, Going On Nineteen Next Month." I Complained.

He Gave Me A Look.

     "Hate Is A Strong Word." He Teased.

I Hit Him In His Shoulder.

     "Ouch. You Know, I Had A Surprise For You Outside, But Since You Hit Me Never Mind." Lucas Taunted As He Began To Walk Out.

      "Wait." He Stopped Moving. "What Surprise?"

   Lucas Turned Around With A Smile. He Motioned For Me To Follow Him, Which I Did. We Exited Out Of The House To Find An Unfamiliar Car. I Turned To Him.

     "Is This Mine?" I Asked Excitingly.

     "No, You'll See....Come Out!"

I Folded My Arms.

A Girl Turned The Corner Of The House, And She Approached Me. Who Is This? It Took Me A Moment To Realize That It Was My Older Sister Lauren. I Ran Towards Her, And Hugged Her.

She Smelled Like A Combination Of Things. Lauren Smelled Like Strawberries, Baby Products, And A Herbal Item. She Let Me Go, And Faced Me. Lauren's Freckles Looks Like You're Staring Up At The Sky And The Stars Are Littering The Canvas.

"How've You Been? I Could Hardly Recognize You." I Stated.

Lauren Shrugged Her Shoulders.

        "I've Been Good. Are You Excited To Go To Los Angeles?" She Explained.

I Looked Down At My Shoes.

   Lauren Grabbed My Face, And Looked Into My Eyes.

      "You're Going, And You're Going To Like It. There Is A Whole Other World Out There That You Need To Get Off Your Ass, And Enjoy." Lauren Said.

  I Looked Over At Lucas And He Was Nodding His Head In Agreement. I Placed My Attention Back On Lauren.

    "Fine. I'll Just Miss You Though." I Pouted.
She Let Go Of My Face.

"We Can Still Contact Each Other We're In The Twenty First Century." She Teased.

I Hugged Her Once More.

      "Uh-Oh." Lucas Murmured.

  I Turned Around, And Dad And Mom Were Standing There With Their Arms Folded. Lauren Patted Me On The Back.

"I Have To Go. I'll Text You." She Said As She Walked Towards Her Car.

As Lauren Was Pulling Out Of The Driveway, Dad Demanded Us To Come Back Inside. Dad Furrowed His Eyebrows, And Pulled Out Two Bibles.

"Didn't I Tell You That I Don't Want You Two Around Your Sister Anymore. Especially You London." Dad Scorned.

I Looked At Mom.

    "Mom, Tell Dad That Nothing Is Wrong With Lauren. She Just Lost Her Way And That Isn't Contagious." I Pleaded.

Lucas Touched My Arm, Warningly. I Moved It.

"I Have Nothing To Do With This." Mom Said As She Left The Room.

I Narrowed My Eyes.

"Here." Dad Handed Us The Bible. "Read That, So You Won't Get Any Ideas Like Lauren Did."

Dad Was The Next Person To Leave The Room. I Looked Down At The Bible, And Placed It On The Table. Lucas Was The Last Person To Leave.

    I Plopped Down On The Chair, And Let Out A Aggravated Sigh. Fluffy Hopped On The Kitchen Table, And Purred At Me. I Rubbed Her Fur, And Smiled.

***

   I Pulled My Last Suitcase Into The U-Haul Truck, And Walked Towards Dad's Car.

    "Are You All Ready?" Mom Asked From The Front Seat.

I Faced The Window.

     "Yeah." Lucas Answered For Both Of Us.

Dad Started The Car, And Pulled Out The Driveway. I Stared At The Houses Passing By, And Nostalgia Hit Me Like A Heavy Truck. I Sighed. My Phone Buzzed, And I Retrieved It Out Of My Pocket.

From: Lucas
I Know You're Upset, And I Just Want You To Feel Like This Is A Blessing In Disguise.
12:53 P.M

I Looked At Lucas, And He Was Holding His Phone Waiting For Me To Respond. So I Did.

To: Lucas
Fine...You're Probably Right, And That's Rare.
12:54 P.M

Lucas Looked At Me, And Smiled. I Hugged Him And Fluffy Jumped On My Lap. I Giggled. Mom Turned Around And Smiled.

A Month Later

      I Walked Through The Double Doors Of My New College. I Took A Deep Breath, And Viewed My Map. So, I'm In Room 201. I Began To Walk, And I Accidentally Bumped Into A Tall Dude.

    I Looked Up At Him, And I Quickly Apologized. He Chuckled To Himself, Which I Didn't Find Anything Funny. My First Day, And I'm Already Making A Fool Out Of Myself.

"It's Fine. I'm James." He Introduced.

"I'm London. By Any Chance Do You Know Where 201 Is?" I Asked.

He Nodded.

"Just Follow Me."

   I Followed Him Through Hallways, The Cafeteria, And Multipurpose Rooms. We Finally Stopped, And I Looked At Him.

      "Thank You So Much." I Said As I Walked Inside.

   Everyone Turned Toward Me, And I Felt My Face Get Hot. The Teacher Held Her Hand Out Toward Me.

     "Any Note Due To Your Tardiness?" She Questioned.

     "No, Ms---" I Stopped To Read Her Name On The Board. "Ms. Collins."

   She Narrowed Her Eyes At Me, And Waved A Dismissive Hand. I Quickly Sat Down, And Unloaded My Notebook To Take Down Notes. Someone Tapped My Shoulder, And I Turned Around.

     "Damn. Since I Just Tapped Your Shoulder, I Was Wondering If I Could Tap Something Else." The Guy Said While Looking Me Up And Down.

I Rolled My Eyes And Turned Around.

***

I Adjusted My Book Bag On My Shoulder, And Kept Walking. Some Type Of Paper Flew Into My Face, And I Removed It To Look At It.

     "You Received A Flyer Too?"

I Turned Around To See James.

     "I Don't Even Know What This Is, Actually." I Admitted.

     "It's Just An Audition Being Held At The Beach In A Few Days. One Of The Judges Is Zero, He's A Big Time Rapper." James Explained.

     "Auditions For What?" I Asked, Suddenly Interested.

      "Singing, Rapping, You Name It. Anything Just To Get A Deal."

   I Looked Back Down At The Sheet, And It Had Everything You'll Need To Get To The Location. I Placed The Flyer Into My Back Pocket.

This Could Be It...