Awakening to Life

Chapter 23

"Which one are we doing?" I ask cautiously as I pull on my jeans. Hailey ignores me, flipping through my phone with fascination.

"Why is he ignoring you?" she whines loudly.

"Because he knows it's you using my phone," I reply happily. "Now which one are we doing?"

"I'll give you one clue, but then you have to stop bugging me... deal?" she says, still furiously punching the call button on my phone.

"Ok fine."

"It's not number six because Jayden and I need to practise before we go out with you." She sends me a cheeky grin before huffing angrily and throwing the phone roughly onto my bed. "Oh, and Josh is bringing Emily. It sucks... I'm going to be the fifth wheel Allie! You have to promise not to get all affectionate with Jayden."

I giggle at her devastated face. Hailey just glares at me. Then we both jump up as the doorbell rings. "Ok, let's go!"

I stumble down the stairs after her, clinging to the rail while she takes two steps at a time. Hailey reaches the door before Mum can walk across the room. She rips it open eagerly. Emily stands in the doorway, her mum waves as she drives away.

"Hey Emily!" I grin, pushing Hailey out the way to usher the girl inside. "So, will you tell me what we're doing today?"

"Nope," she replies shyly. "My lips are sealed."

"Good girl," Hailey chuckles. "Looks like you'll just have to wait Allie..."

"Is that Emily or Jayden?" Josh yells down the stairs.

"Hey Josh!" Emily yells back, seeming slightly taken back by her own confidence and loudness.

"Come down lazy!" I yell back.

Josh stumbles down the steps. His shoe laces drag loosely behind him as he tries not to trip. When he reaches the bottom he sweeps Emily up into a hug. "Hey beautiful," he grins.

Hailey shoots me a look of terror. I give her a sympathetic look, trying to silently reassure her.

"Are you excited Allie?" Emily asks smiling widely.

"Of course she is!" Josh replies. "Hey Hailey, can we get some food on the way?"

"Boys and their one track mind..." Hailey grumbles.

Josh and Emily burst out laughing and I start to get an inkling of which item on the bucket list they intend to cross off.

"Hey, we're not -"

The doorbell rings again, cutting me off. Hailey bounds to the door and rips it open. Jayden pushes his way past her without a second glance. I laugh at Hailey's dejected expression, knowing that Jayden was just teasing. He grins at Emily and Josh as he takes my hand.

"Are we ready?" he asks.

Everyone practically flies out of the house in excitement and pile into the car. It's a tight fit, but there are seats for everyone. I sit shotgun while Hailey sits wedged in the middle seat between Emily and Josh. Despite her complaining earlier, Hailey chats carelessly with the group. She's the centre of attention as she recounts her run-in with her neighbour's aggressive bulldog the night before. I'm in fits of laughter when the car finally pulls into the car park. To my dismay, I recognised the large, purple building.

I groan.

"I had the same reaction when Josh told me where we were going Allie," Emily replied.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Hailey grins widely as we walk through the door and into the building.

"Yeah, this is going to be so much fun! Haven't you ever been go karting before?"

Before I know it, I'm strapped into a go kart alongside everyone else. With each lap I get dizzier. The fear doesn't fade.

Adrenalin pumps through my body as I rush around the corner. I'm going faster than I could even conceive, but I'm still about a lap behind everyone else. The kart dashes around the corners and pushes into a faster speed without me telling it to.

Jayden's kart pulls up besides mine. "Come on Allie!" he yells across the track. "Let's see what you're made of... one last lap!"

We cross the line. He's supposed to pull over, but no one stops him as he races around with me. I urge the kart to go faster, forgetting about my fears. Jayden dropped behind bit by bit. I crossed the finish line and pull over with the others before Jayden raced around the final corner.

He pulled to a stop next to me. "You were holding out on me the whole time just so you could beat me, weren't you Allie?"

I grin in return. He pushes himself from the kart and walks over to pull me out of mine. My legs shake as they return to solid ground. Jayden's arms keep me upright as we walk over to the table that the others have claimed.

A plate of steaming fries lay in the middle. Hailey and Emily both roll their eyes at me as Josh and Jayden practically inhale the food. We girls fight for every mouthful.