My alarm echos throughout my room reminding me to wake up, as to not be late. But just like every morning, I have to force my self out of bed or my five more minutes of sleep will make me late. And so begins my daily routine. I brush my teeth, brush my hair, change clothes, try to make my bed, and head to the kitchen. I walk toward the kitchen to put some toast in the toaster, while that's going I head to the coffee machine to get my daily dose of caffeine. After breakfast, I grab my backpack, water bottle, and lanyard then head to the door. As I sit in the car waiting for mom I realize I forgot my phone. I quickly scramble to my room to grab it before mom starts yelling from the car.
Thus begins another uneventful day in the life of Lola Charisse Westbrook. As we pull up to the school I say bye to my mom and head towards the doors. I successfully reach my locker without any interaction. suddenly out of nowhere pops Carlie, my best, and only friend since 2nd grade. The overexcited redhead jumps up and down squealing. "What is it, Carlie?" I ask tiredly."We should have a sleepover!" She responds excitedly. Just then the bell rings, "We'll talk about this later" she says as she skips down the hall.
After a few boring classes, it was time for the worst and best part of the day, lunch. As I head to the lunch line again Carlie spots me and runs right over. "Like I was saying we should have a sleepover. We haven't had one in ages." She urges. " That because slumber parties are for baby's and middle schoolers," I say stiffly with discontent. She decides to use her secret weapon; the pouty face. As she stares at me with her pouty lips I can't help but feel sorry. I was constantly leaving my best friend hanging. And I know she would always be there for me, even if I didn't want her to be. That's what compelled me to say this, " Sure I guess, a spa night does sound great."And so I guess that one encounter made both our days.
The last bell of the day rings and for the first time in a while I'm actually in a hurry to get home. I scramble to get my things together and in my bag. Just then I get a text for my mom to meet her out front in the car because she waiting for me. I decide I'll ask her in the car about the sleepover instead of texting her.
As I climb into the car I notice something different about her. I contemplate whether or not to ask her when she smiles like a Cheshire cat. "What's wrong?" I ask. Suddenly with jazz hands and that silly smile, she says "We're moving to California." Instantly my jaw drops. "What" I yell. "How could you not consult me about this?" I ask. "Well, I didn't think I had to consult my sixteen-year-old daughter on weather I can do something to not only better my career but our family general." I feel bad because I know she is just trying to help me, but I still wanted a say in this.
We were silent in the car for a while. Finally, I decided to break the awkward silence with "When are we going to move?" "Well, I figure since spring break starts next week it will be a great time to move, and I've taken the rest of the week off to pack most of our stuff. But you will need to pack up your room and the bathrooms." Half a week to say goodbye. That's crazy. Then I quickly remember, "what about school?" I ask. "Well, I've picked out a great school for you to finish off Sophmore year." She responds. Well, I guess that's that. I know my mom is a smart woman, which means that she has probably thought out all the bumps.
The next two days were stressful, especially telling Carlie. When I told her the next and we both started to cry it suddenly became so real. We had been together forever, which is why I somehow convinced my mom to let me have the sleepover at Carlie's house on Friday. It was the most fun I've had in a while. We went to the mall, got drinks, went home, did face masks, watched movies, and lots of other things. But it was still hard.
Its Saturday afternoon now and we just left Carlie's house, we will stop by her house one more time to say by Wednesday. I know that we can still call, facetime, and text. We could also visit each other, but it still feels way to unreal. I'm really moving away from my home town and leaving my best friend, to go to a place that I've never even seen.
I spent the next couple days packing up my whole life to move, except I couldn't bring a big part of it, Carlie. Though it didn't always seem like it Carlie was like my sister, and I loved her like one. So the whole time I was packing all I could feel was gloom. Until I remember one of my favorite quotes, "When life gives you lemons make lemonade." This really gets me thinking how can I make the best out of this situation?
It is now Wednesday and we are going to Carlie's house to say bye. When we get there we hug so tightly I can feel the loss of blood in my arms, but I don't care I just wanted this hug to last forever. Finally, with both Carlie and I's shoulders drenched in snot and tears, we say goodbye for the final time.
The car ride felt incomprehensibly long and I was bored after the first hour, and Kansas City was about 1,400 miles from LA. So my intense boredom got me thinking about how I can make the best of my situation. My first thought was to go back, kidnap Carlie, and bring her with me. But that was not going to work. Then I had the idea, I didn't have to act the same way in LA as I did in Missouri, I could try new things and find out just who I was. AT home I was always just trying to blend in and be like everyone else, but in LA I could be whoever or whatever I want to be. Thus I decided I was going to reinvent myself, and that was my new mission.