Sugar

chapter 1

I was always left out. It happened in elementary school, when everyone in class was paired up in group activities. It happened in middle school, where I wasn't invited to parties or didn't have friends I could rely on. And high school, oh, don't even get me started on that topic. It was like living in hell for two years.

I still have one year left, yes, my senior year.
"Nat? It's nine o'clock. Don't you have to go get a life or something?"

I opened one eye lazily. I could see my sister Emily applying a fresh coat of lip gloss while staring at me.

"Just five minutes more," I groaned.

Em laughed, "you said that an hour ago, idiot." I sighed loudly and sat up in bed. She is so annoying, I thought to myself, scowling.

"Hey mom," I mumbled, through a mouth full of toast, twenty minutes later. My mother looked at me in disgust, but didn't say anything. She knew better than anybody else that I wasn't a morning person.

"Have you gotten yourself a job for the summer?"

"Um, I was hoping I could head out to Uncle Norman's lake house for a month or two. I could help out there," I told her about my idea.

"Oh, that's nice. He's been so hassled lately, with some of his staff quitting and all. When did you start planning this, Nat?" Mom smiled knowingly.

I shrugged. "That doesn't really matter. Can you talk to him; Make sure he's okay with it?"

My uncle owns this huge cabin near a lake which he rents out to two or three families every summer. I've been there two times before, and I love it.

"I'll call him up later. What're you planning to do today?"

"I really don't know. I'll probably just hang out at home, or go meet Tyler. If I get any mail can you just keep it on my desk?" I asked. She nodded.

As soon as I stepped out of my house, I felt like I was free from all the pressure my mother dumps on me to be perfect. She doesn't seem to understand that I have my own thoughts about what I want to do once I graduate.

Tyler is my best friend. Although I've known him for only one and a half years, we're close enough to tell each other our deepest secrets. He's definitely been a better friend than some other people I've known in the past.

"Hey, Westwood," I smile, once he lets me into his house. Tyler just nods at me and goes back up to his room. I follow him quietly. We settle down - him on his bed and I'm lying on his couch. While I'm going through his music on his phone, Tyler doesn't say anything, resorting to playing with his hair.

"Nat, do you think I'm invisible?" He suddenly asks, looking up at me from where he's sitting on his bed.

I forget about the music playing softly on his speaker, and quickly sit up, facing him.
"Ty, what happened this time?"

He avoids my intense gaze and stares at his hands. "Kent came over yesterday, and my parents just forgot about me. I tried to, I mean, I know he visits rarely, but I can't help feeling jealous."

Kent is Ty's older brother. He's basically our town's golden boy, who graduated from high school with good grades and a scholarship in football from UCLA.

"Aww, come on Ty, he's Kent. He's the cute quarterback whom everyone adores. And it was just one night," I point out.

"You think my brother is cute?"

I am quick to roll my eyes, "No! I was just talking about the entire female population of our high school." But I can't deny the dull red color creeping into my cheeks.

Tyler lets it drop, and we get around to talking about how I'm spending my summer in the lake house.

"You lucky bitch, getting to spend two months alone in a cool place without your parents. I'm off to Houston with my family," he said, gloomily.

I giggled, running my hands through my short brown hair. "Don't run off with a Texan girl," I teased him, though I knew it would be the last thing he would do.

Tyler smiled, "Nah, I'm saving myself for someone I really like." Ooh, someone has a crush. I knew he would tell me when he wanted to. That's just how things are with Tyler.

We watch some youtube videos and I go through some of his recent poetry. As soon as it's one o' clock, I decide to leave for home.

"You know you can stay for lunch, right?" He said, after I announced that I was leaving.

I shook my head, "Sorry Ty, but I really can't handle your parents right now." I don't mean to be rude, but his parents are annoying as hell. He seems to understand, as he lets me leave in peace. I plug my earphones into my phone and try walking and listening to music at the same time.

I've never been one of those people who can do that. The earphones keep falling out of my ears and I soon give up.

I end up walking home in silence.

-

Later that day, Mom told me that Uncle Norman wanted to talk to me himself. I dialled his number and waited patiently until he picked up.

"Hi! How are you?" He asked, once he heard my voice.

"Oh, I'm fine. What about you? How's Aunt Barbara and Max?"

We spoke for a few minutes before the real reason of my call was uncovered. "So your mom was talking about you heading down here for a few weeks. Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. I want to get out of this place, and the lake is beautiful. I'm dying to stay there," I said, hopefully.

Uncle Norman chuckled. "Well, if you're so eager, I'm sure it'll be okay. Is it fine if you stay here for about six weeks?"

"That would be amazing," I gushed, excited at the prospect of staying there instead of lying around at home, bored out of my mind.

"You can come over any time, honey. I'll see you sometime next week?"

"Uh, I was thinking of driving up tomorrow," I said sheepishly.

"Wow, you sure are ready to leave your home. I'm assuming you've already packed your suitcase?" Uncle Norman said.

"No, but I'll get down to it now," I couldn't keep the grin off of my face.

I was going to have the best summer ever. Or so I thought.