The Last Summer Apart

Chapter One

Please vote and/or comment. This is my first story for the Wattpad audience. Enjoy!

We were driving June 30th, a Monday. It was a beautiful morning. Not quite hot, not cold either. Blue skies, perfectly shaped white clouds, a slight breeze. Summer was starting, and we were about to make the most of it, because it would probably be the last time we were all together before college started in September. There were 6 of us in total, including myself. Me, and my two best friends, Mahira & Lauren, then Lauren's boyfriend Ethan, his friend Roger, and one of my very close friends from junior high, Lucas. He didn't go to the same high school ad me, so we barely saw each other anymore. We had planned a 4 day camping trip that went over Canada Day. It took us the whole year to plan this trip, and we were going to make it happen rain or shine. This was Mahira's first time camping, so the whole process was foreign to her.

"Why is this bin so damn heavy!?" Mahira shouted from my front porch. Being the novice camper of the group, she didn't exactly have a wardrobe ready for camping, but we got her the essentials. She was wearing denim shorts, a simple red t-shirt and a denim jacket that all complimented her caramel colored skin. An outfit I picked out for her, if I may say so myself.

Roger started to laugh, his British accent making it sound musical. "That has the water in it, here, let me help you," he said, taking the bin from her and lifting it with ease and putting it in his truck.

Mahira began to chuckle, "You can't blame me for not knowing. You guys were so organized in your packing you got it done weeks ago!"

I leaned out the kitchen window and shouted, "If it was up to Mahira, we wouldn't have even started packing until 1:00am last night."

Ethan came into the kitchen in what seemed like a panic. "Have you seen Lauren?" He asked. "We're supposed to be leaving in 15 minutes and I can't find her anywhere."

"Relax Ethan, she lives two doors down. If she doesn't show up, I can break down her door and get her out in 30 seconds. Take a breather." I assured him.

"I know I know, I just-"

"Just go help load the car, it will take your mind off things" I said.

Ethan smirked at me and grabbed a large bin to take to Roger out at the cars.

I took a deep breath and checked my phone. Lucas was MIA as well. I hadn't heard from him since the night before. What if he bailed last minute? I thought No, Lucas wouldn't do that, he was just as excited as I was about this trip. Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulders from behind and shouted "BAH!" I jumped and turned around.

"Did I scare you?" Lucas asked with a cheeky grin. He was sporting a navy blue striped t-shirt and lightly tanned colored bermuda shorts, and grey canvas shoes.

"Do you want to get your teeth knocked out?" I asked, holding my hand over my chest.

"That wasn't the goal! The goal was to scare you! Someone's a little jumpy today..." He teased.

"Ugh you're impossible. Why haven't you texted me back all day? We gotta go in 15!" I said.

"Relax, I just had some stuff I had to deal with at work, then I had a few errands to run," Lucas and I worked at a Marnie's Steakhouse, until I resigned a month earlier when I was offered an internship with the Board of Education in my city to further my dream of becoming a teacher. "May I say you look lovely today?" He added.

I looked down at my outfit. I had on a pink plaid collared short sleeve that tucked into my shorts, showing off my large brown belt. I had my sunglasses on top of my head, with my brown curls cascading from my head, framing my face.

I shook my head at him; that was Lucas, always playing the charmer. "Whatever, you're here now and that's all that matter. You better get out there and start loading the cars since you showed up so late. And send Roger in here!" I said as he bounded out the back door.

"What's up?" Roger said, peeking his head in the back door. His red flannel shirt was rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned to about halfway down his chest. His fade-cut hair was perfectly brushed at the sides and a curly mess at the top.

"Can I see the checklist?" I said, reaching for the notepad in his shirt pocket. "Wow, we've got almost everything... Wait what's this?" I asked, noticing some writing at the bottom of the pad in red ink.

"Just some stuff I thought we should add..." Roger said looking sheepish.

"You thought we should add beer?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know Mahira can't drink right?"

"I know, and she doesn't have to. Nobody has to. But my dad always said, what's a good camping trip without grabbing some Buds and sitting around a fire singing songs and laughing till the sun goes down? Don't worry Audrey, you can trust me. We worked on this whole trip together. We're practically brother and sister now considering all the time we spent bickering with each other."

I laughed. I looked at my watch. 5 minutes left. "You win this time, I gotta go look for Lauren. I'll meet you guys in the car. Great work out there."

Roger nodded and waved as he went out to his truck.

I walked out my front door and went two doors up the street. I knocked on Lauren's front door. Her mom opened the door to greet me. "Hey Audrey! Lauren's moving like a herd of turtles, as usual."

"I'm almost ready!" Lauren shouted from behind a closed door. A few moments later she came out, she was wearing high waisted black shorts with a flower print, with a cream colored t-shirt tucked into them. Her hair was in a high ponytail sticking out the back of her cap and she was carrying a packed camper's backpack.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yup. Let's move!" She said. Her mom waved us off as we walked back to my house.

Everyone was gathered around the cars chatting when we walked up. "Alright guys. Is everyone ready?" They all nodded. "Great. Let me give you the lowdown on the place. Roger has a cabin by a small lake close to Hillspring." I pointed to it's location on the map. "That's where we're staying. It's about a 4 hour drive. Claresholm is the last town we'll pass through, which is about an hour and a half from the cabin."

Everyone shook their head no. Roger cleared his throat and began to describe the cabin. "The cabin is not luxurious, let's get that straight right now. There is electricity, but the running water has to be boiled. The rest I can show you when we get there. Any questions?" He finished.

Mahira asked, "Is there a shower there we can use? There's no way I'm going 3 days without showering."

Roger chuckled, "Yes there is a shower, but your showers have to be super fast. You also can't blow dry or flat iron your hair."

Mahira sighed and nodded. "I'll take what I can get."

"Well if that's everything, let's get going!" I said, clapping my hands together.

"I'll take Mahira." Roger said.

"Great, Lucas, Ethan and Lauren can come with me. We'll meet in Claresholm for a break. Roger I'll follow you. Be safe!" I shouted before they got into his truck.

"Shotgun!" Lucas called, rushing into the front seat of my Corolla.