Summer in London

Chapter 3: The News

"We really think this will be a good opportunity for you, Melody," my mom said, probably seeing the horrified expression on my face.

"London, England is a great city, I've been there multiple times. There are so many amazing things to do there! It will be a blast," my dad said, trying to convince me. He was a traveling journalist and was often traveling North America and Europe. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps by becoming a writer as well.

"It won't be that bad, your Aunt Natalie is very fun! I'm sure she'll make you feel at home," my mom said, seeing my head droop even lower.

"I know Aunt Natalie is fun and I'm sure London is great, but I wanted to spend this last summer with my friends! It's our last summer together maybe.. ever!" I whined, still looking at the floor.

"Please don't be selfish, it's very important for you to see your aunt. You haven't seen her in six years!" My mom sounded unsettled.

"All the more reason why I shouldn't go." I pleaded. "Shouldn't I spend time with my friends who are all going off to college right when summer ends?"

"Melody, we already planned this trip for you, and you are going. You can be with your friends next summer," said my dad.

"No I can't, do you not understand?" I looked at him, giving my best attempt to convince him with my eyes not to make me go.

"Go pack, you're leaving on Sunday." That was the day after tomorrow. My dad looked upset over the reaction I was having.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Sunday? That's too soon, how will I get to see my friends?"

"The plane leaves at 6 a.m., so we'll leave for the airport at five in the morning. Figure it out, Melody, I don't know what else to tell you," my dad commanded.

I got up from the table and stormed off to my room. I hadn't meant to sound like an ungrateful bitchy teenage girl, but my emotions were out of control at this point. I shut the door behind me and threw on a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in. Pulling my hair back into a messy bun with one hand, I dialed Sophie's number on my phone with the other. I sat down on my bed, waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?" I heard her say.

"Sophie! I have awful news, I just.." I said, almost breaking down into tears.

"What's going on?!" she said, sounding worried. "Are you okay?"

"My parents are making me go visit my Aunt Natalie and I have to spend my entire summer in London! I don't know what to do, I'm devastated!" I heard a gasp on the other end of the line.

"London as in London, England?!" she exclaimed. "We won't get to see you at all!"

"I know, I don't want to go, but the trip is already booked and I'm leaving Sunday."

"SUNDAY?!"

"I know, it's way too soon. I will barely get to see you or Chris or anyone else for that matter," I said, close to tears again. I heard a heavy sigh from Sophie, and silence was all I could hear after that. She must have been processing everything I had said.

"Well... It's not the end of the world," I finally herd her say. We will keep in contact while you're there. We can video chat and text and call and write letters, whatever works best," she said, trying to stay positive. Sophie was always one to have a "glass half full" mentality. It was one of the things I loved most about her. It was also one of the ways we were so different.

"All right, well I guess you're right as usual," I said, laughing a little. I wiped away a tear falling down my cheek. I looked at my finger, stained with all the mascara that had come off while I cried. "I'm going to get some sleep, all that dancing tonight wore me out."

"Same here! But did you tell Christie about this yet?" she asked.

"I'll tell her tomorrow, I'm too tired right now to talk anymore. Night," I said, yawning.

"Kalinikta!" she said, using her limited Greek language skills, then hung up. Sophie's parents were born in Greece and had been teaching her some of the language. She was proud whenever she could put her skills to the test.

I put my phone on silent so I would be able to sleep and lay down on my bed. I laid there looking up at my glow-in-the-dark star covered ceiling, thinking about what my newly planned summer was going to be like. To say the least, it was not what I had been expecting.

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The next morning, I woke up at around 10:30; it was the first time I'd slept in later than 6 a.m. in a long time. It was also Saturday, which meant I had less than a day to spend time with my friends, plus pack for my trip. UGH. This may be a nightmare, I thought.

I realized it wasn't when I looked at my phone which had six missed calls and four text messages. Sophie and Christie were the ones who had called me, and they were responsible for 2 of the texts. I saw Nick had texted me "Hey I heard you're going to England for the summer?! Fill me in, Harris!" There was also a text saying "Hey it's Aunt Natalie! I'll pick you up tomorrow night at the airport, can't wait to see you! :)."

Aunt Natalie was definitely one of my more cool relatives; I knew this even though I hadn't seen her in years. She was on Facebook, had a Twitter account, and knew how to use a smartphone. Most adults, like my parents, didn't even know how to send a text. (She is my dad's youngest sister, so I guess it makes sense.) Natalie always sends me cool presents through the mail on my birthday, too. Usually, it's CD's with the music of the newest British music sensations, like One Direction or Ed Sheeran. Other times, it would be vintage clothing pieces or trinkets she finds in stores across the U.K. I always love receiving her presents.

I called Christie right away, since she called four times.

She answered the phone on the first ring. "Hey! You're going to London? Why didn't you tell me? And why are you going?" I was overwhelmed by all her questions.

"Hi well I'm going to spend time with my aunt and I'm sorry, I was going to tell you first thing today! I was so tired and overwhelmed last night," I explained.

"Ugh, when will we get to see you then?" she whined.

"I don't kn- Hold on, I have another call coming in," I said. It was Sophie, so I made it a three way call.

"Yassou! That means hello, by the way. Why did you sleep so late, Mel? We have to hang out today! I mean, we have to before you leave! London is so far away plus we might not be able to see you until next year which would be the worst possible thing that could happen and..." Sophie was rambling on. She sounded so perky for a Saturday morning.

Christie cut in. "Yeah, she's right, we have to get together today and give you a proper sendoff!"

"Okay, we will. Hmm, how about you guys meet me at El Mambo's in a few?" I suggested. "We can grab breakfast.."

"Sounds like a plan, let's g-," Sophie hung up before she finished her sentence. I heard Christie laugh.

"See you there!" she said. I said "bye" then hung up and quickly got dressed. I looked like a sloppy mess, but I was only meeting friends. They wouldn't care, especially because I was leaving in a matter of hours. My dad was in the kitchen drinking coffee while writing on his laptop. "Hey Dad, I'm going to Mambo's for breakfast and meeting Soph and Chris there. We're probably going to hang out around town for the day, too. Is that okay?"

"Yes, be back by seven tonight, though, you have to get up early. And I'm guessing you haven't packed yet?" he said, giving me a questioning look.

"No, I haven't but that won't take long anyway. Bye dad!" I said, as he nodded with approval of my day's schedule. I grabbed my keys from the hook, my Miami Marlins baseball cap, and headed out the door into the morning humidity.