This Just In [ON HOLD]

2. The Beginning {Lauren}

"You sure you'll be alright there?"

"Yes."

"Got everything you need?"

"Yes."

"Your books?"

"Yes."

"Equipment?"

"Yes."

"Clothes?"

"Yes."

"Cow?"

"Yes. Wait. What?" I turned to my brother.

"Knew it. I hate it when you say yes blindly. Hate it. That has to stop. Stop it, Lauren. Stop that right now." My brother's eyes never left the road as he said this, but I knew that he was irritated from the way his hands were gripping the steering wheel. His knuckles looked like all his blood had drained from them right then.

I held up my hands. "Okay, okay. I'll stop. Ask me those questions again."

"Forget it. I know you're probably old enough to remember what you packed and what you haven't. Plus, you coming all the way back home to pick up something you've forgotten would be a blessing. More time to see you." He took one hand off the steering wheel and used it to ruffle my hair, as if I were six or something.

"Cam, stop that. I'm not a baby." I whined, patting my hair. "You know I don't like that."

"A normal sister would've been mad at me for 'ruining her hair'." I saw him shudder out of the corner of my eye. "Glad you're not normal."

I whacked him on his left arm, causing him to flinch.

"Yep. Totally not normal. She's sporty, violent, un-petty and a freaking genius. Don't be so mean, sis. Any more and you'll be a Dylan Johnson case."

"Don't call me that." I said quietly.

He nodded, knowing that I was talking about him calling me violent. "Sorry. I forget."

We sat in silence for a little while longer, with me looking out the car window and him silently humming a tune to himself.

The day was bright. The trees looked like green fuzzes as we whizzed past them. We drove past a friendly-looking neighbourhood and a road that was surrounded with trees, making our driving path shady.

"Well. Here we are." Cameron whistled after half an hour, tearing apart the cloth of silence that had draped over us.

But there we were; we were turning into the campus that I'd always wanted to drive into ever since I was young.

It was exactly how I'd imagined it would be: the block of dorms were lined up somewhere at the west of the campus, barely visible from the road we were driving on. The school came up after we drove a little further in.

We drove past the field, the sports centre, and then there it was. The swimming complex.

My brother must have noticed it too, because he whistled and said, "You are gonna rock the socks out of those swimmers there."

We drove a little more and found ourselves turning into the school parking lot.

"Why they locate the car park here, at the end of campus, I'll never know." Cameron said once he had parked the car and switched off the engine.

"There's a back entrance right there, you know." I pointed at it. I'd practically memorized the entire map of the school even before I got accepted into it.

"Leave it to you to know all this."

Before I could get out, he was out of the car and standing outside of my door as if there were a stampede heading right toward us.