The red hand on the clock ticks with every passing second. Everyone in the class stares anxiously as it ticks away.
The time passes slowly.
Five more minutes...then four...then three...and before we know it the last school bell before summer rings. It's a quite beautiful sound as we don't have to hear it for another two months.
Erin finds me in the hall, excitedly grabbing onto my arm. "Are you excited?" She has a little hop in every step she takes. "I know I'm excited." She says before I can muster up an answer.
"Of course I'm excited," I look into her bright blue eyes, matching her mood. "I came up with this trip."
Erin crosses her arms sadly. "I just don't understand why my stupid brother has to come." She turns her head around. "Speaking of the devil..."
Ajax puts his hand on Erin's shoulder and nods to me. "What time am I picking you up?" He looks at me with the same blue eyes.
"I'll be ready in like two hours. I still have some stuff to pack."
"Alright." He turns to his sister and messes up her hair with his hand.
"Hey!" She yells but he takes off outside before she can do anything, so she grumbles while trying to fix where her hair perfectly sat on her head.
I just shake my head, looking around as we leave the school. It's hot outside, which is normal for Texas, but today is more muggy than usual. My clothes almost instantly feel like they're sticking to me.
Everyone is already to their cars, pulling out of the parking lot or hopping onto busses for one last time, until they have to get back on in August.
"Wells." A familiar voice puts a smile to my face. He calls me by my last name, like he always has since he came to this school. I turn around and look at Kyle, keeping my smile as he walks closer, one backpack string over his right shoulder. He stands in front of me, blocking the sun from my eyes with a small smile. "You're still going?" I nod in response and he sighs. "I can't believe you'd go into those woods."
I cross my arms and stare up at him. "Well, I need a little excitement in my life. This small town isn't for me."
Kyle raises and eyebrow at me. "And you think some big woods are going to fix that?"
"At least it's an adventure worth taking." I can't help but keep my smile. "You'll be alright with me gone thought, right?"
He shrugs and looks around over my head. "I mean, there's plenty of other girls here that I could choose-"
"Oh shut up," I stand on my tippy toes, kissing him finally. We were never official, but this is a good way to tell him I want to be. When I stand back down, a big smile is playing across his handsome face. "I'll text you before I go in, alright?"
"Yeah," He nods with one final smile.
I pull my keys out of my pocket and rush to my car, glancing at Kyle who's still smiling while walking to his own car. Once I pull off I roll the windows down and feel the wind dance in my hair, whipping it all around. It feels like I'm flying when I drive, like someone else takes the wheel and I'm watching from above.
Sadly my house comes up within minutes, and I lug my backpack inside, throwing it on the floor and running into my bedroom. My big backpack for hiking is sitting on my bed and I look at the picture frame on my nightstand.
My whole family was together for the last time when we took this picture. Dad and Chase were going on vacation to Europe but the plane just disappeared and was never found. Dad is hugging mom from the back while Chase is giving me a piggy back ride, and our old dog laying at our feet. Not long after, Lightning passed away too and now it's just mom and I.
I kiss the picture and take it out of the frame, putting it in the clear side pocket of the huge backpack.
A car door shuts and I open my window, looking down to the driveway. Mom is coming inside so I rush down the stairs to meet her as she walks in.
She sees me and hugs me before she can even register that she left the keys in the door. "I thought you were already gone." She pulls back and stares at me for a minute. "There's no way I can talk you out of this one, huh?"
"Probably not," I can't help but give her a small smile. "But I'll be back in a few weeks. It won't be that long, I promise."
Mom nods slowly, taking the key from the door in defeat. I hug her one more time before I hear the beep of a horn.
Ajax and Erin are sitting in the driveway so I grab my bag from upstairs and nearly float back down them. "I love you mom, bye."
"Bye, baby." She holds the door open for me as I leave.
I blow her a kiss before I stuff my bag into the trunk, then I walk over and get into the back seat.
Erin looks at me with evil eyes and she grins. "Look what we got," She raises two bottles of liquor and I quickly push them back down before my mom sees them. "Oh, sorry."
We all laugh together and Ajax turns to the both of us. "So who's ready for this trip?"
The only thing audible as we pulled out of the driveway were our woops of excitement and thrill of the adventure that awaits us.