A Drop in the Ocean (Spending Seasons #1)

Chapter 1

A Drop in the Ocean

One - RYN

"Come on, Ryn! Please! Please, please, please, please, please!!!" begged Audrey, visibly falling to her knees on the screen with her green eyes doing its best puppy dog look.

Just like me, I could see that she's inside her huge bedroom. Its floral-patterned wallpaper is hard to miss same as the pinkness of the furniture inside.

I rolled my eyes at the exaggeration but smiled at the gesture nonetheless. It was the day after graduation and I was already on a group video call with my closest friends while eating afternoon snacks in my room.

They've been persuading me for an hour now to ask permission from my parents to go with them in a week-long out of town trip. Although knowing my parents, I'm pretty sure they will say no just like the many times I had asked them permission whenever I wanted to go out with my friends or attend a party during my last year in high school.

As usual, I only laughed at my friends' attempts to persuade me with their arguments. After all, my life is the epitome of #GrowingUpWithStrictParents.

"You know we'll do anything to get you to come, right Ryn-chan?" said French, before drinking from the anime-designed tumbler I gave her for her birthday a few weeks ago. A woman was behind her, trimming her hair.

She must be in the salon.

"Oh, I know," I replied. "But we've been friends for years now so you should know it won't work."

"It worked on Mitch's 18th birthday," Jupiter quipped while Indie nodded beside him.

The couple: Jupiter the adorkable almost-six footer who is also Indigo's lanky boyfriend and Indigo or Indie, the school's dark-skinned theater actress with a Johnny Depp character obsession. The couple in our group were hanging out at Indie's house to look after Indie's younger siblings.

"And on French's," added Mitch, her face and hands dark from the charcoal she's using to sketch. Typical Mitch, using anything she can grab quickly for art. Same as Jupiter with his music, there's always a guitar nearby. It's what made them friends in the first place.

"I already got my mom in on the plan," Dino said, smiling brightly as always.

His hazel eyes twinkled excitedly after hearing the planned vacation which I just learned through the video call. "She'll call your parents later to assure them that you're going to be safe with us. And then, we'll all beg on your behalf."

I have no doubt Dino's mom will have an influence with my parents' decision. After all, my parents have known Mrs. Carbone and Mrs. Williams – Errol's mother – since they met when Dino and I were only six years old. They were the ones to introduce us to each other and we have been friends ever since.

However, I don't think it will be enough especially since my mom hasn't forgotten what Audrey did last time. Not to mention my current state...

"Those are different scenarios, guys. Sleepovers are different from going out of town for a week. And besides, it's nobody's birthday," I argued half-heartedly.

My parents can be difficult when they want to and when they've set their minds onto something, it's set on stone. This is the main reason I've learned to give up immediately when talking to them.

"But we're all going to college after this! Who knows when I will see your dumb faces again," Audrey said, exasperated.

The only one missing in our video conference was Errol and that's because the internet provider has cut off their connection again after Errol's mother forgot to pay the bill.