(TITLE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS)

Chapter 1

As I finished fastening the metal clasps on my duffel bag I could hear my mom yelling downstairs at my brother to turn Call of Duty off and to come say bye to me. I'm only going to be gone for two days but my mom makes it seems as though it's a voyage on the Mayflower. I do my final check around the room- portable charger, check. earbuds, check. extra snacks for when my best friend, Liz, steals them, check.

After everything seems in order I walk over to my mirror and examine myself closely. My long, straight brown hair was pulled back in a bun, eyeliner making my brown eyes pop, and sunscreen on even though I have tan skin. Not to mention the hobo look going for me since it's just a day on a bus. What else would you wear besides leggings and a big sweater?! After deeming myself ready to go I decide to make the feeble attempt of carrying my oversize duffel bag downstairs.

To get one thing straight, I may not be super fat or anything but I am far from fit. Sure I have been blessed with a good metabolism so I'm pretty skinny but I have no muscle for the life of me. To put it in perspective, when Liz drags me along to the gym it's only to check out the hot guys while we drink the fruity water and just stand around the machines not actually doing anything. So when I tried to carry my bag downstairs I unsurprisingly tripped on God knows what. I then proceeded to gracefully tumble down the stairs till I caught the railing right before hitting the hard wood. Heavy sarcasm on graceful. It hurt like hell but I always fall down or run into a door some way or another so it's just another bruise to add to my ever-growing collection.

I finally chuck the bag by the door while silently cursing it to the fiery depths of hell. My phone chimes with a text from Liz reminding me to pack a cute bathing suit for the lake. I almost forgot how it's tradition for students on the first night to have an unchaperoned after dusk party on the senior trip.
Even though it's just the beginning of October I feel weird that this is my last year and that I am finally going on the traditional senior weekend retreat. It's bittersweet though since I want to get out of this town and move far away but I also am going to miss everyone. Akron, Ohio really doesn't have much and everyone just ends up going to Ohio State University for college. I'm not sure where I want to go yet but it has to be somewhere in a big city.

I'm dragged out of my thoughts when I hear my mom saying, "Athena honey, go grab the pie on the counter and put it in the car when you have a second. We finally have some new neighbors and after I drop you off I'm going to go welcome them to the neighborhood." That sparked my curiosity immediately since we haven't had neighbors in a while. Secretly, I thought the neighboring house to us was cursed because no one has lived there for years... but I guess my hunch was wrong. I grabbed the pie off of the granite counter and made my way through the front door to the car. I glanced to the left and could see a big moving truck and two men hauling a couch inside and I see a lady that looks familiar but I can't remember where I've seen her before. How the heck did I not notice this before and how do I know her I think to myself. I shake off the thought and finish putting the pie in the car.

Finally, we somehow got my duffel bag into the car too with the help of my 13-year-old little brother Jake since he finally got off COD. Now mom and I are on our way!

We pull into my high school parking lot where the bus is leaving at 8 am. It's a quarter till right now but Liz wanted us to show up early to get good seats. Seeing as this is a mandated senior retreat the buses will be packed pretty soon so I quickly hop out of the car after waving goodbye. I drag my duffel to a huge pile of bags where I eagerly dispose of it. and then I could see Liz frantically waving at my through the tinted windows of the bus even though she's barely 5'4". I'm at least 5'8", though that can be short in comparison to some people. I scurry onto the bus and plop down in the aisle seat next to her.

We do the ritual of me handing her half a package of strawberry pop tarts and her handing me a to-go cup of coffee. She takes the pop tart eagerly while running her other hand through her jet black hair and starts of by saying, "You wouldn't believe who actually showed up for the trip today..."