My mouth was hanging. "Hold it! Back up, Kaitlyn. Who's gonna be there?"
"Everyone."
"Who's everyone?"
"You know them! They were at the clean-up and the...," she choked a bit. But she continued, "and at the hospital. You know who I'm talking about!"
"Ok...why are they coming?"
"Mom and Dad are their parent's friends. Geez, you don't know anything!"
I smiled. "Ok, sorry. Anyway, who's Aaron?"
I heard giggling on the other end. "Aaron Carter, Nick's brother! I don't know him that well, but we played on the beach together a few times. He's really a nice guy. Cute too!"
"Awww," I teased. "Kaitlyn has a crush!"
"Shuttup!"
I saw the traffic begin to flow again. "Hey, I gotta go. See you soon!" We hung up the phone and I decided to concentrate on my driving. Don't tell anyone, but I got a speeding ticket once. *oops* I'm so naughty. If my parents ever found out, they would've taken away my car for months! They're strict that way.
"OHMIGOSH!" I screamed. I accidentally stepped on the brakes so I got honked at a bit, but I didn't care. I forgot I had the HUGEST essay due after my break! Sounds stupid, I know. But I've really been paying attention to my education lately because I want a great job soon. I don't plan to work behind a counter in McDonald's anytime soon. Now that I thought of my essay, I began to hate my vacation. You know whenever you think up something REALLY bad coming up, it ruins all your time until it comes? Well, that's exactly how I felt right then. The essay topic was something about religions, government, and medical stuff. It's too long to make my mind remember.
I groaned as I pulled up into my driveway. As much as I missed it, I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be sitting at my desk in my dorm writing furiously because if I got below a B in that class, I would totally die. I sighed as I picked up all my bags and started up towards the front door.
"Well, I guess I should be nice around my family," I said. "I haven't seen them in forever and I missed them. It's time to forget, and be happy!"
I turned the doorknob, and was surprised to find it unlocked. I stuck my head inside. No one was in the hallway, but I did hear the tv turned on. I tip-toed in and gently dropped my stuff next to the staircase.
"Hello?" I called out into the quiet house. I peered into the family room, but found it empty with the telly on, tuned to MTV. I scratched my head in confusion. Where could they be? I walked around the whole bottom floor with no sight of anyone. All of a sudden, I heard laughing coming from the beach. DUH! Of course! They should be outside since there were so many people! It wasn't that cold, it is Florida you know. I opened the back door and walked out onto the deck.
"NICOLE!" I heard my name being screamed from the other side of the beach. Little Maggie sprinted towards me and wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed as hard as she could. I laughed and hugged her back.
"Hey Maggie! I missed you so much!"
"Me too! What took you so long!" she demanded with her "annoyed" voice.
"I was stuck in traffic," I held up my hands. "Wasn't my fault!"
Maggie played with my hair. "What did you do to your hair?"
I had my hair cut about 7 or 8 inches, so now my long strawberry-blond hair was just above my ears. I was devastated at first, but now I loved it. "I cut it. You like?"
"I like."
I turned my head quickly to see who said that. I smiled shyly. It was AJ, who I haven't seen in months. I just then realized how much I've missed everyone. It nearly broke my heart in two.