Growing Pains | Nowhere Boys

episode one

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24 Hours Earlier

"I thought we had a place, just our place, our home place, my headspace

Was you and I always, but that phase has been phased in our place

I see it on your face, a small trace, a place laid, we been erased

But if we're way too faded to drive, you can stay one more nig-"

"I swear if you don't shut up, your phone might not live for one more night!"

"Fine, fine, I'll put it softer! Jeez, don't have a cow!"

Maisey snickers cheekily as she lowers the volume on her phone. She could hear her brother, Cole, sigh in relief and close his bedroom door, probably to go back to sleep- even though it was already half an hour till school starts. But then again he is in his senior year, so he probably didn't care.

Maisey hums to the song as she combs her knot-ful hair and looks at the calendar that hangs crooked on her wall, she makes a note to put it straight. Big red crosses marked the days up till one with a big red circle on it - the day of the Nature Walk.

'It's finally this stupid Nature Walk today,' Maisey thinks as she packs in her phone and earphones in her bag. She contemplates if putting her reading book in the bag is a good idea then remembers that she had been dreading this day since the beginning of the school year and would need a certain dark haired demigod if she was ever gonna survive it.

After double-checking that she has everything in her small red backpack, she stands in front of the mirror to check her hair and make sure everything is in order.

She pulls her shoulder-length brunette hair into a small ponytail, even though some strands still brake free and frame her face. She wears black jeans and a white loose shirt, if she was going to be forced to be stuck with over a dozen sweaty teenagers, she had to at least be comfortable. She wears a white and yellow flannel over along with black finger less gloves.

Around her neck is a chain necklace with a blue heart pendant on it. Her mom and dad had given it for her tenth birthday and she has treasured it forever, especially after the accident. A long scar runs down her neck and she shivered as she tries to repress the memories resurfacing.

"Maisey! Are you ready to go?" Her aunt, Molly, asks and snaps her out of her daze.

"Sure, just give me a sec."

Maisey quickly goes to her desk to get a pen and notebook in case they would need to write notes. As she rummaged through her messy draw, she came across a woven friendship bracelet. It wasn't very pretty looking after all those years, a strand had escaped and it looked slightly chewed thanks to her dog, Loki. She sits down on her desk chair and takes the bracelet out to inspect it further.

She sadly smiles at it as she remembers who gave it to her all those years ago. Even after all that happened, and she still doesn't have the heart to throw it out. She sighs and contemplates putting it on. 'He probably doesn't even remember making it...' She bites her lip and decides on putting it back on her bracelet rack.

'Not the time Maisey.'

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By the time she makes her way to the small kitchen down the hallway, her brother is already up and eating some cereal. And when I say that he is 'up', I mean he is half asleep and nearly falling into his bowl of cereal. Which is why Maisey thinks it will be the perfect time to scare her poor brother.

"Boo!" She screams and jumps up behind him without him noticing. Cole jumps awake and a high pitched scream leaves the nearly eighteen year old, causing giggles to erupt from his sister and aunt.

Cole chuckles too after glaring at them both for a bit, deciding he can't stay mad at them for too long. Maisey takes a seat next to her brother, who punches her jokingly in the arm.

"Maisey, your nature walk is today right?" Her aunt asks while making two sandwiches for herself and Cole. She, herself would be getting lunch at school so she only packed in a granola bar and a bottle of water, just in case she was extremely hungry.

Maisey hums and bites into a sour green apple.

"I remember those!" Cole exclaims, getting up to put his bowl in the sink. He snickers into his hand, "Mr Bates took us and he absolutely hated my group because we did a prank on his car. Won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that it involved three packs of toilet paper and marmalade. Good times, good times."

Their Aunt whacks the back of his head, trying and failing to give him a threatening look, as if to say, 'don't influence your sister'.

Maisey shakes her head, 'Of course you did.'Cole lets out a happy sigh with a stupid grin on his face, probably relieving the moment, "I wonder if he remembers it."

Maisey rolled her eyes, "I really hope he doesn't remember that. He is taking our group too, ya know, and I would like to not be on probation because of you." She hops off her chair to give her aunt a kiss on the cheek, "I'm gonna go so long. See you later."

She fist-bumps her brother on the way out, also grabbing her bag and skateboard along the way. "Bye," her brother calls out.

"Enjoy your walk!" Her aunt shouts after her, she also shouts at her to remember not to eat random berries in the forest for some odd reason. Maisy leaves the house, hearing the last bit of her aunt scolding her brother to "get a move on."

But before she could start the journey to the school on her skateboard, her aunt calls out, yet again.

"Wait, Mais!"

Maisey turns around with the skateboard in her hands to find her aunt hanging out of the kitchen window looking ridiculous as she tries to balance three cookbooks in one arm and her phone in the other.

"Yeah?" She asks, trying to hide the grin that is appearing.

"I'm not sure what time I'll be back so your brother will probably pick you up!"

Her aunt works at a restaurant a few blocks away, and she would often work from the afternoon till late at night. The family owned one car that their aunt would normally take to work, so when her aunt says that "her brother will pick her up," she means that her brother would probably just walk home with her since Maisey would be home late. Even though Maisey had been skating to school since Year 6, her aunt was always a bit hesitant with letting her go alone.

Her aunt sends an apologetic look, but Maisey honestly didn't mind it when her aunt couldn't pick her up. She had already sacrificed so much for them when they moved in and, more than once, Maisey felt that her Aunt was always tripping over her feet because of them.

Maisey gives a smile and thumbs up," No problem! Love you too!"

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Hi! This is just a filler chapter for the actual story begins.