I sighed as my stomach did yet another flip of anticipation. I looked down at my best friend Gemma, who was making lots of hand motions as she explained her plans for the summer. I lover Gemma, but I really didn't care about her trip to Las Vegas right then. I was internally freaking out because in less than 10 minutes, the bell would ring, and then summer would officially start, and then I would go home, and then I would have to drive to some town named Sherman where I'd be spending 3 weeks at a summer camp where I didn't know anyone.
How fun.
I have to admit, I was excited despite the fact that I'd be all alone. I mean, what kid wouldn't want to be away from their parents for a month?
"So, do they have wifi over there in Herbert? Because you cant be unactive during the summer. It's, like, the best time to be in the fandom!", Gemma interrupted my thoughts.
"First of all", I replied, sighing, "it's Sherman. And second of all, how am I supposed to know? I hope they do, I cant imagine not having Twitter for a month..."
I cringed at the thought of not having Twitter, the place where I could be with others of my kind and freak out about One Direction in peace.
"Well, if there isn't, I'll make sure to keep you updated", Gemma replied with a very creepy wink.
"Oh my God, please don't do that", I said, laughing.
Gemma glanced down at her phone.
"Four minutes left!" she squealed.
My heart started thumping even harder at her announcement, and I jumped off of the counter I was sitting on. Kids were getting their backpacks on and I noticed that the noise level in the room had increased greatly.
Gemma got up out of the desk she was sitting at and looked me up and down.
"You're nervous, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not nervous at all, going to a camp for three weeks where I don't know anyone isn't nerve wrecking one bit!"
"Aw, don't worry about it. You'll meet some great people there, I bet."
"Yeah, maybe."
The bell rang then, and my ears were flooded with the sounds of kids screaming and laughing.
Gemma and I were the last ones to leave the class, and I made an effort to exit the building as slowly as I could.
"Why don't we go find Abby? She must be looking for us", Gemma suggested.
"Sounds good", I said with a sigh of relief. Anything to get to my moms car slower.
We walked around the school to the hallway that Abby came out of every day. We looked around until we saw her running towards us, her backpack bouncing violently on her shoulders.
"Suuuummeeeertiiimmmeeee!", she hollered.
"Hurry up before I combust in this heat", Gemma said.
One of the things I hated most about El Paso was the constant heat that came with living in the desert. The three of us walked over to the shade of the huge tree that stood in the front of our school.
"What time are your parents coming?", I asked them. I definitely was not going to leave until absolutely necessary.
"Mine are already here, actually", Gemma said, pointing to her dad's red pickup truck.
"What the heck, that was fast", Abby said.
"One of the perks of living close by", Gemma replied with a smirk. "I'll see you guys when I see you!"
Abby and I watched as Gemma ran towards the truck and hopped in, waving at us as her dad drove away.
"Please don't tell me your parents will be here that soon", I said to Abby.
"Wow, you're really nervous, aren't you? They'll be here in 5 minutes"
"Damn it. I really don't wanna go home."
"Why not? I'd be jumping out of my skin right now if I were you"
"Because, I'm not good at talking to people or making friends, both of which I'm gonna be forced to do over there"
"Oh, shut up. You're gonna be fine"
"I hope so", I said with a sigh.
"Welp, that's me", Abby said, pointing to a white mini-van.
"Ugh. Well, have a nice summer"
"You too, Madelyn!", Abby shouted from across the parking lot.
I watched as she drove away, and then slowly walked across the street to where my mom was parked, as always. Her abundance of excitement made up for my lack of it, and she had the whole trip planned out to the hour. I walked around to the back of the car and waited for her to pop open the trunk. When she did, I flung my backpack in and walked around to the passenger side and slid into the seat.
"How was your day?", my mom asked, her tone laced with anticipation and excitement.
"It was fine", I replied.
I was mostly silent the rest of the way home, due to nerves and the fact that I was internally freaking out at the thought of no Twitter for 3 weeks.
***
When we finally pulled into the driveway, I saw my dad running around the house and putting suitcases by the door. He greeted me with a hug when I got in.
"There's a slice of pizza waiting for you on the table. Hurry up, I dont want to be driving 'till midnight", he said.
I walked to the kitchen and quickly ate my dinner. Then, I walked to my room and changed out of my school uniforn into shorts and my P.E. shirt from school. I had just finished twisting my hair into a ponytail when my dad opened my door.
"Everything's in the car, honey. Make sure not to forget your bag when you come out", he said before turning the corner to my sister's room and shutting the blinds.
I put on some lip balm, threw my headphones into my bag, and walked outside to the car where my brother, sister, and mom were already waiting.
A few minutes later, my dad came out and locked the gate to the house before joining the rest of us in the car.
"Alright, off we go!", my mom said enthusiastically.
I shut out all thoughts of social anxiety and wifi-less places as I put in my earbuds and listened to Foster the People as I watched the desert mountains fly past my window.
•
Author's note:
Hello everyone :)
This story is based on true events and I really want it to go somewhere, so please leave a like or a comment if you enjoyed this chapter!
Also, if anyone makes covers, would you consider making one for this story?
Thanks 💕
Dyan, x.
