WALKED OFF

Chapter 1

SOPHIE

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An instant wave of relief washes over me as I get out of bed and place my laptop down on my nightstand. I'm finally done with all of my assignments for the week and can now turn the rest of my focus to the only thing that's been on my mind since it was planned nearly two months ago... Spring Break.

Originally, I had planned on taking the three hour drive back home to my small hometown of Springfield to visit my parents and younger brother. However, after much internal deliberation, I had decided against it. Mom would be too busy running her flower shop and Dad would be too busy coaching my younger brother's high school baseball team.

Mom owns the only flower shop within a fifty mile radius of our hometown. And with Easter and proms coming up around this time of the month, I know she will be too busy to take any time off for us to be able to spend time together.

Dad, on the other hand, is a high school PE teacher and the head coach of Springfield High School's baseball team. They've been to the state semifinals the past five seasons, but they have never won the state title. With playoffs right around the corner, I know he'd also be too busy to spend any time with me.

So, after a quick rant with my best friend Addison and two of our sorority sisters, Haley and Claire, we had all decided to spend the entirety of Spring Break week at Haley's parents house in Florida. The best part, it is only a forty-five minute drive from the sunny Florida beaches. I couldn't refuse to take her up on that offer.

Haley is my 'big' in our sorority and Claire is Addison's 'big.' They both sort of took us into their friend group immediately after we had pledged into our sorority. Fast forward a couple months later, and the four of us were all practically best friends.

It's nearing 9 P.M. and the need to pack for tomorrow's eight hour ride to Florida is becoming more and more urgent as every second ticks away. I'm usually not this much of a procrastinator, but with the overload of homework my professors decided to pile on before Spring Break, I had no other opportunity to pack until now.

I quickly pace over to my small dorm sized closet while dragging the chair from my desk behind me. Being a whopping 5 feet 4 inches tall definitely has its disadvantages, and having to grab your suitcase off of the top shelf of your closet is definitely one of them.

After many minutes of trying to balance myself on the swiveling desk chair, I'm finally able to reach up and pull the dramatically large, matte black suitcase from it's home on the top shelf.

Now for the fun part, having to go through the obnoxious amounts of high-waisted denim shorts, tank-tops, bikinis, and other clothes that will be suitable to wear in the Florida weather.

"What's up bitch," Addison, my roommate and best friend, barges into my room. "How's the packing coming?"

I look up from my position on the floor to see her standing in my doorway. Her black hair looks winded as she wears a light coat of sweat from what I'm assuming was her nightly work out.

"Eh- it's going okay," I shrug. "Just don't really know what to pack so sort of overpacking at this point." I look back towards the mess that lays in my suitcase and continue stuffing clothes into it.

She slightly laughs. "All I'm saying is, you better have at least one cute outfit in there." She points towards my suitcase.