City Lights

chapter 1

Lauren's POV

As soon as I got out of school, I felt a sudden relief. This year had been kind of stressful and maintaining my straight A's hadn't been that easy either but somehow I still managed it. I cared a lot about my future. Summer vacation had finally started and I felt joy emerging within myself. Although I had no special plans yet, I sensed that this summer was going to be different. My friends were going on vacation while my family had decided to stay, well, actually we had no other choice. The house we had bought had been expensive and redeeming the mortgage was basically consuming all the money we could have used to go on vacation. It was a neat house though but it would be hard getting used to the lack of visiting another country. I loved foreign countries and exploring them, the residents were much nicer and open-minded than the ones in this town.

"Hey, Lauren, hold on ! I can't just let you go without properly saying goodbye since we're not spending this summer together", Normani yelled while approaching me.

She was gasping for air and slightly out of breath.

"Oh, come on, I would have never forgotten you. It would have been a tragedy leaving you without saying goodbye", I said while laughing and hugging her.

We had been best friends since kindergarten, we met each other through our parents. At first we constantly fought over stuff like who had stole whose pencil but we recognized we actually had a lot in common. That's how I met my best friend. Not spectacular, but I was pretty glad to have her, we teased each other a lot but we had been through a lot together. Our families went on vacation together each year, but this was the first summer I would spend without Mani. She was going to the Bahamas with some friends we had met last summer. God, I was going to miss her. I mean, who else would watch Twilight with me and critisize literally everything about it while eating Ben & Jerry's ? Or lay at the beach and hike with me ? I had other friends but none of them meant as much as Mani to me. We were gonna see how I would spend my summer without my best friend.

"Truly tragic", she said, giggling. "God, I'm gonna miss you so much girl. Vacation ain't gonna be the same without my bestie", she mumbled while hugging me. "I'm also gonna miss you. And get some, girl. When you're back I expect wild stories about you getting laid, honey." "Sure. You're gonna hear some stories which you couldn't even imagine in your wildest dreams", she said ironically, while laughing and hugged me again, but this time tighter. "Alright, I have to go. Can you imagine I haven't even packed yet ?? I wish you the bestest of all summers and well, get some. Bye, Lern, see you soon." "There is no such thing as bestest, Mani", I said jokingly. "Alright see you in a few weeks, Mani. Have a wonderful time". We let go of each other and we both drove away. We waved at each other for the last time.

I felt somehow lost. What was I supposed to do now ?