Chapter One: The Summer Home*

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Pulling into the three story wooden house, I roll my eyes. The house had many windows on the front of the house. There was a porch wrapped around the back of the house on the second floor along with a hot tub. This was the last place I wanted to be. My summer was supposed to be spent with my friend Ivy and not with my parents and older brother on the Frisco, North Carolina beach. 

"Nick when we open up the house will you please help get the luggage in the house?" My mom asks in a tired voice while she gets out of the car.

"Yeah, okay," my twenty-two year old brother, replied.

Grabbing my suitcases I walk up the wooden steps into the first floor of the beach house. It's much bigger then it looked on the computer while renting it for the summer. The bottom floor has a pullout couch, ping-pong table, and television with Xbox 360. I turned the corner ascended up to the second floor of the house. There were 3 rooms. I was the first one in the house so I got first pick. In room one, there was a bunk bed that looked like it was made for kids younger than 8. I went to the second room and found a full sized bed with a television. It was a nice room, but to be safe I took a peak at the third room on the floor. I put my stuff down because I knew this is the room I wanted. I knew there was a fourth bedroom on the third floor, but my parents already made it perfectly clear that they would get that room when we were browsing the rooms online.

My room was yellow. There was a queen sized bed propped up against the right side wall with a flat screen tv across from it. It had a bathroom that was decently sized. Since the second floor had a porch wrapped around the back of the house there was a sliding glass door in every bedroom on that floor. Our house was right on the beach, so there was a clear view to it. That door would make it very easy for me to sneak in and out of the house on my own time. I quickly unzipped my one suitcase and rooted around until I found my new bathing suit at the bottom. It was pink and light blue on the top and the same color pink on the bottom. I stripped out of my original clothing and changed into my bathing suit and threw a pair of jean shorts and a blousy shirt overtop as a cover up.

I proceeded to check out the third floor of the house. As I turned the corner to the top floor I bumped into Nick. Nick has dirty blonde hair and lots of muscle. All the girls are all over him back home. He’s the perfect gentleman, bright blue eye, and a nice smile. Girls can’t help but fall at his feet, but all that never gets in the way of him being an overprotective, caring brother.

“Hey, aren’t you going to help out?” He asked me.

I shrugged and attempted to move around him, but before I could slip away he grabbed my arm, “Hey, I know you don’t want to be here, but you are now so might as well be happy about it or at least act happy.” I gave him a great big fake smile, tugged my arm away and walked up the stairs. My brother practically raised me since my parents were always at work, so he can get a little bossy with me.

When I get to the top floor I’m not very surprised at what it looks like. The first thing you see is the kitchen and the door to the master suite on your left. I peek into the master suite. It was a king size bed and television just like my room but no sliding glass door because it’s on the font side of the house. The bathroom connected to it is huge. There is a shower and enormous bathtub to take nice relaxing bubble baths that my mom loves. I walk out of the bathroom and take in the rest of the floor. The kitchen has a breakfast bar with it and behind the breakfast bar there is a dining room table to have dinner. On the other side of the floor there is a lounging area to watch tv and play on computers. The wall on the right, after coming up the stairs is made up of multiple sliding glass doors all connected together.

Without a word I go out the sliding glass door next to the dinning table and climb down the three stories of stairs until I reach the ground. I turn my back on my mom who is struggling to get more crap out of our car and head towards the beach. I notice a pool in the back area of the house as well as an outside shower. “Delightful,” I think to myself. I start to bite my nails, which has been a habit of mine since I was three. I bite my nails when I am trying to avoid something and at the moment that something is my mother and father.  

It’s only about 5 o’clock, so there are many people still on the beach. I pass lifeguards, couples, and families spending time together, but I keep walking and don't bother to stop to dip my feet in the water. I don't know how long this beach goes on, but if it brings me back to New York I wouldn't mind. I come by a pier and decide to go see what the gift shop has in store for me because I'm starving. 

The pier was going out to the ocean. Before you could get to the pier part you had to go through a little gift shop and a restaurant that was attached to the side of the gift shop. I decided on ice cream since the restaurant serves take out to eat on the benches on the pier. I had a cone of mint chocolate chip and $5 left in my wallet. In New York, I had been working at a convenient store, but I quit because I hated it and wanted to spend more time with my friends and boyfriend.

The pier was old and weak. It had probably been beat up in a hurricane and not repaired very well. I found a bench at the end of the pier that looked out onto the ocean. I ate my ice cream to the sound of the crashing waves. I needed a job. I wasn’t planning on spending much time with my family, and I knew a job would give me the excuse I needed to get away this summer. As I ate my ice cream I started to get lost in my thoughts and plans on how I was going to find a job for the summer.

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