Spark

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Zia

Five minutes.

Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

I swear that the last day of school is the longest day of the whole year. On this particular last day of school, I am at the end of my sophomore year of high school. As Mrs. Davies rambles on and on about our summer extra credit projects (which no one ever does), all I can do is look at the clock, counting down every second. 

As you may have figured out, I love summer. It has everything: my best friends, my birthday, my crush, my family, and Lake Occaneechi, (It’s a mouthful, I know.) North Carolina. It’s the best place in the world. My family owns a cottage right by the beach, and we spend every summer there. 

A lot of other families spend the summer there, including the Sawyer’s and the Dawson’s. Camille Sawyer, Emmett Dawson, and I have been best friends since before we were born. Our moms were pregnant up at the beach around the same time. Emmett was born on June 10th, I was born on July 10th, and Camille was born on August 10th. 

I take a break from my focus on the clock to look at Camille, who sits on the other side of the classroom due to our talking habits.

She holds up one finger and grins. One more minute. My stomach does somersaults. I gather all of my stuff into my bag and prepare for the bell. Five, four, three, two-

BRRING!!! The glorious bell sounds. Everyone gets up and cheers. I run to Camille and tackle her with a huge hug. We laugh and run out of the classroom and down the hall. We emerge from the school into the brilliant Hickory, North Carolina sun. I look around at the people pouring out of the various exits, and I see him.

Emmett Dawson: captain of the football team, a down-to-earth guy, and unfortunately my only crush since third grade. He flashes at big smile at us, and he jogs over.

“You ready for the game tonight, Zia?” he asks.

“If by ready you mean feeling confident about my team kicking your team’s butt at soccer then yeah. I think I am.” I smirk.

“We’ll see about that. Are you gonna come Camille?”

“Will I have to do anything that involves physical activity?” she questions.

“Just watching it. Unless that makes you too tired.” he jokes.

“Oh shut up Emmett. I guess I will come, mainly so I can watch Z beat you.”

“That’s a good reason to come.” I agree. “Well I’m gonna go home so I can get ready for the game. See you in a little, or should I say beat you in a little.”