Distance (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter One

I step off the plane and look around for the familiar faces of my family. My eyes scan the sea of faces in front of me until I see a group of three people smiling and waving at me.

I see a short woman with a blonde pixie cut and big brown eyes. Next to her is a tall man with dirty blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He has one arm around the women's waist and the other arm resting on a little girl's shoulder. The little girl has beautiful, long blonde hair that is in two braids down her back. She has stunning green eyes and a round face.

I smile and run over to say hello to my family. My dad smiles at me, showing every one of his perfectly straight, cavity free teeth. My dad is a dentist so he's all about 'oral hygiene'.

My mom doesn't work. She used to be a surgeon and she made a ton of money. She was working a lot and we never saw her though. Right before Aubrey was born my mom announced to the family that she wouldn't be working anymore so that she could spend time with us and the new baby.

Combining the money my mom saved up and the money my dad makes from working as a dentist my family is pretty rich. I don't like to brag about it though.

My mom wraps me in a hug and tells me how much she missed me while I was away. I'm taller than her now and it feels a little strange to look down at her.

Finally I bend down to hug my 10-year-old sister Aubrey. She smiles at me as I lift her up and spin her around. Her laughter fills the airport and it makes me smile. I haven't seen her since my family visited me in April during Spring Break.

I have been in the UK at a boarding school for my entire three years of Junior High. My parents sent me there at the beginning of sixth grade. Now that I have graduated eighth I get to come back home to the small town of Omaha, Nebraska, to take my high school classes.

Usually my family members would go to study abroad when they reached Junior High until they had completed High School. My dad told me if I get good grades in Junior High then I could come back home for High School.

I can't even begin to say how nice it feels to be home again in the town I grew up in. I have missed all my friends so much. I made many more during my three years in the United Kingdom but as they say: There's no place like home.

The car ride home is filled with excited talk about what I have been up to and how it felt to finally be in high school. School doesn't officially start until tomorrow, August 25th, but since I graduated eighth grade I have considered myself in high school.

"We're home!" My mom announces minutes later, and as soon as we are parked I jump out of the car. I take in the familiar sight of my childhood house. There were so many great memories here; some bad, but I push those to the back of my mind.

I smile at the familiar sight of the three-story white house. The while pillars in the front make me smile as I think of how Jack, Mia, and I would sit in the shade under the poles for hours and just talk.

As happy as I am to see my family, all I'm really thinking about is seeing my best friend Mia and the boy who lives next door, Jack.

Jack Gilinsky. The boy who has been my neighbor my entire life. He is also the boy who I've had a major crush on my entire life. I never told him and I was hoping one day he would take a hint.

I had a boyfriend when I was living in the UK; his name was Harry. I liked Harry a lot. He was really cute, sweet, and very kind. His green eyes were beautiful and his curly brown hair was adorable, but it's very hard to forget your first crush.

"Chloe!" My dad's voice calling my name shocks me out of my thoughts and I run inside, Jack still on my mind.

"Yeah, dad?" I call back, wondering what he wants and pushing Jack out of my thoughts. I'll see him tomorrow at my first day in high school. There's no need to stress about it now.

"Come on! It's time for dinner!"

I leave my suitcase in the front hall of my house and run to the dining room. I haven't eaten since my small meal on the plane and I'm starving. I sit down at the table with my family. Maria, the cook, brings out a salad.

Maria has a pixie cut just like my mom but instead of blonde hair, Maria's is pitch black. She has tan skin and a welcoming smile that I missed so much. Her brown, almost black eyes, are warm and comforting.

Living in England, I had forgotten about family dinner. Every Sunday night, my whole family gathers together and spend quality time together to catch up on everything that's been going on.

I sit down at the table across from Aubrey. My mom and dad sit at the heads of the table, and as I look around at the faces of my family I realize just how great it is to be home.

We all eat our salad in silence and we all sit there awkwardly, chewing our food and looking at each other.

Once Maria clears our salad plates and brings out her world-famous hamburgers my mother finally breaks the silence.

"So Chloe, please tell us about your graduation. I'm so sorry that we had to miss that." She smiles at me, and I smile back when I finish chewing my juicy burger.

"It was great. I was so happy to finally graduate and be able to come home. You guys have no idea how much I've missed this place." I say and gesture to the house around us.

"I missed you too Chlo" Aubrey says, using her old nickname for me from when she was little.

I smile at my baby sister. I really did miss her. Living away from her for so long really helped me to realize how great it is to have a little sister who really looks up to you.

My father clears his throat. "I hope you realize how amazing an opportunity that was for you. Most children never have the chance to attend such an amazing school, especially at this age."

I glare at my father. "This wasn't an amazing opportunity Dad. Yeah, I had fun, but every single day I was there I wished I was back here. How could you ever think that I would be happy away from everything and everyone that I live for? Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? You made me go through that just because of some stupid family trad-"

My dad cuts me off. "Young lady, you have no idea the sacrifices I made for you to attend Zeta Academy. Also, this is not a 'stupid family tradition'. Our family has sent the oldest child to Zeta Academy in London since before your grandfather was born. This is very important to me, and it should be important to you too."

"WELL ITS NOT IMPORTANT TO ME, OK?" I explode before I can think about the words coming out of my mouth. "You just don't understand" I start to cry and before anyone has a chance to respond to my outburst, I push out my chair and run up to my room.