All In

Chapter One

My alarm blares, waking me up suddenly. Shit. I'm gonna be late. It was already 7. First period starts at 7:15. I came downstairs, and much to my suprise, the kitchen was empty. So was the living room, basement, back yard, and bathrooms. My family should be getting ready. I have little siblings who don't leave until 8.

My older sister, Liv, walks in.
"What the hell are you doing up so early?" She asks, and clearly she just woke up.

"Early? What do you mean? I'm supposed to be on the bus by now!" I shout, frustrated.

"It's summer, dumbass!" Liv yells as she opens the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Hey! What have I told you two about cursing! Not so loud because the little ones can hear you!" My mom yells from upstairs.

"Everyone's still, you know, on school schedules," explains Liv.

I grab a donut from our fully-stocked cupboard and make my way upstairs. As I walk upstairs, I'm ambushed by my younger siblings.

Let me just set this straight. We're not rich, but we have money. My father started a company, but I never really asked what it was. I never cared, really. My mother is a surgeon at a big hospital, but somehow she seems to always have extra time on her hands.

Since we have extra money, and my parents love kids, I ended up with 5 siblings. And another "bun in the oven." Yes, my mother is pregnant. She's only 42.

Josh was born when my mom was 19 He's 23. It wasn't an accident. Like I said, my parents just love children, and they wanted to start as soon as they could. Liv was born when my mom was 23. She's 19. I was born when my mom was 26. I'm 16. My sister, Alexis, was born when she was 29. She's 13. My brothers, Jack and Kurt, where born when she was 31. They're both 11.

My mom is pregnant again, hopefully for the last time. She told us last month, and she's almost eight and a half months.

I run upstairs, out of breath from dodging my brothers and sister, and into the safety of my room.

I grab my phone and text my friends, asking what everyone's plans are. They all reply that they're doing nothing. I explain to them what I'd like to do, and they agree. It's set. Time for the beach.

I open my closet, and look for my bathing suits. I set them out on the floor, thinking about the pros and cons of each one. The first one has underwire sticking out. I should probably throw that out.

After much thinking, I decide to go with my black bikini. It's very simple, but a bit high-cut, and shows cleavage. I rush to the closet, and grab my towel. I shove it into my beach bag, which already has two waters, a change of clothes, a fitted sheet, sunscreen, sunglasses, another towel, and my portable charger. Oh, and a book.

I hug and kiss my mom goodbye, and run to my car. It's a convertible. And the best part? I completely used my own money. I don't live far from the beach, so in about 25 minutes, I'm there. All my friends are already here.

My friends are amazing. Most of us have known each other since fifth grade. (we're juniors now) There's Danae, Jenny, Lana, Palmer, Sara, and Bree. A lot of people have told me that we're popular, and but I don't think we are.

I run up to them, since they have been waiting for me.

"So this was your idea, yet you're still somehow late," says Danae, who I know is kidding, but can have an attitude a lot.

"Shut up. I lost track of time," I reply, out of breath from running from my car to hear. I really need to exercise.

We make our way to the usual spot. It's not too far from the ocean or the snack bar. We spend a lot of our time at the snack bar. Plus, it's where we meet cute guys.

I lay down the sheet, which is odd, I know, but it's actually pretty cool. If I put the bottom upwards, and put stuff in each of the corners, no sand can get in, and it's kinda closed off at the bottom. Everyone puts their stuff in the sheet, and we head towards the ocean. It's super hot today (t's always hot in Cali), and we all want to cool off.

As I'm about jump into the water, I glance over. I see a guy. And he's staring at me. ME. He's HOT, too, and I feel myself blush. He smiles a wide, perfect smile. His hair is blonde, perfectly cut, and it's as if he just did it. His abs are very defined. He motions for me to come over, and just as I'm about to, Palmer pulls me away, into the water. He looks worried for a moment, and then waves goodbye. And he walks off.

Just like that. In this moment, I hate Palmer. I despise her. I'm not sure why. It's probably just PMS. But I never know if I even had a chance with that guy. I don't know, but something tells me I should go after him. I brush it off.

I join my friends in the water, and begin asking questions. I explain.

"So, that guy. I looked over and saw him staring at me. I blushed, and he smiled. And it was so hot. But PALMER" I gave her a death glare," had to pull me away before I could get his number."

"As if. You're too scared to ask for a refund in a store. There's no way you could ask a guy for his number," replies Palmer, brushing it off.

"But still-" I'm interrupted by the girls screaming as they begin to play marco polo.

The ocean is quite possibly the dumbest place to play that game.