The Summer Before Senior Year

Riley

I woke up with a pounding headache in a room that wasn't mine or my cabin

Where were you Riley?

I looked around and saw a small plate with some Advil, orange juice, water and a note that read:

For your hangover, 

Seth.

Then it all came back crashing to me - I got wasted at some party and Caleb's a major douchebag. Those were the highlights anyway.

I gulped everything down quickly and was about to go downstairs when I looked at the mirror and realized that I could pass for the zombies in The Walking Dead. My stupid hair was everywhere, my makeup was badly smudged and there was vomit on my clothes. I took a whiff of myself and ran straight to the toilet bowl where I wretched out my guts.

Pro tip to self: never ever drink again.

I stripped off quickly and brushed my teeth and opted for a bath instead of a shower where I scrubbed all of the grime off my body. I was relaxing in the massive tub when I heard a soft knock on the bathroom door.

"You in there riles?"

Seth.

"Yeah." I groggily replied.

"There's breakfast downstairs if you want."

"Okay. I'll be down in a few."

I heard the door slam a little too loudly a moment later after which he yelled an apology to me.

I quickly finished up in the bathroom, changed into a short, brightly-colored floral dress and made my way down for breakfast. I was hungrier than usual so when I saw a box of cinnamon toast crunch and some toast, my heart did little somersaults.

The woman I'd been talking to during breakfast, Mrs. Garcia, began cleaning after me after I'd finished eating but I didn't have it in me to let someone else clear up where I'd eaten so I offered to help but she declined and insisted on doing it herself.

"You're so hardworking Mrs. Garcia." I heard Seth say.

"Ah Seth," she beamed, "it's my job."

"Thank you. Always."

"You're welcome."

"Mind if I steal her for a while?" he pointed at me.

"No, no!" she gave a hearty laugh.

Seth winked at me before guiding me out of the kitchen.

"Do you have some kind of twitch in your eye?" I asked.

"You're a real piece of work." he rolled his eyes.

We had gotten to the pool outside the house where the sun was shining brighter than its usual bitchy self and I realized it was getting hotter in California. Summer was nice because there's no school for months and there are tons of beach parties you can attend but when you really sit to think about it, it's too fucking hot. Like it doesn't have to be as hot as it gets but I don't think California gets that. 

"Oh God, can we please go back inside the house?" I cried shielding my eyes from the sun because my headache was getting a little worse.

"You need the fresh air, trust me."

I rolled my eyes at him and dropped unceremoniously on of the deck chairs face down with my eyes closed before I started talking.

"So you were right all the while about Caleb."

"I would never lie to you."

"Not even if you really wanted something from me?" I narrowed my eyes at him.