"It's only a computer error."

Her head on a swivel, she meticulously scanned the swathes of students before her, and her eyes wandered to a far-off tree where one girl leaned against it under the shade with her arms crossed. Her mouth was moving, but no words left it. She was chewing on something.

"There you are,"

Alisa shoved her way through the crowd toward the direction of the ground. Her 'excuse me's fell on deaf ears as the outside scene was far too loud for her voice ever to pierce through. Well, it's the thought that counts.

Practically 'swimming' through her peers, she finally reached the tree occupied by the lone girl. She was a tall young woman, a fact that Alisa was jealous of but kept it to herself as she did not want that to be used against her in the relentless teasing sent her way before.

"Naomi," Alisa greeted. "The first one out, I'm guessing?"

Naomi blew a bubble to the point it popped. "Yup. First as always."

"Well, having your final class of the day right by the school's front door has its benefits."

"That it does," Naomi chuckled. "Now, you mentioned something to me this morning about a 'plan'?"

"Right!" Alisa shouted right in Naomi's ear. She glared at her, but Alisa was oblivious to it as she tore open her bag and fetched a notepad. She showed Naomi the first page. Right on the center was written 'Operation SUMMER' in bold blue letters.

"I've got my theories," Naomi shared as she read the page. "But, I'll let you explain it."

"Gladly," Alisa cleared her throat as if she was about to prepare a highly professional presentation. "Operation SUMMER is our plan for the summer. What you and I are going to do for our break," she passed the notebook to Naomi, who accepted it. "Take a look through it and tell me what you think."

Naomi opened it and read what Alisa wrote. Puzzlement quickly spread across her face as she finished the first page and turned to the next, the next, and the next before closing it.

"Alisa, only the first page has words on it, and only then, all it says is 'Mall.' The rest of the book is empty."

"We can do a lot in the mall."

"Sure, but is that gonna be our whole summer?"

"Nooope! All those blank pages are purposeful, Naomi. You and I are going to fill them together and come up with all the fun things we'll do."

"Hmm," Naomi hummed. "Alright. The brainstorming session sounds fun alone."

"And don't forget, this ship is heading for America," she said magically. "That's a whole adventure right there!"

The mention of America was more than enough to make the ordinarily calm Naomi excitedly hop in place.

"America," she repeated with a pleased sigh. "Do you know how long I've been dreaming of visiting that place?"

"From what you tell me, all your life."

"Oh yeah. I've got a big, long, bucket list of things to do and see in America, and I intend to scratch every item on it. The Golden Gate in San Francisco..."

"The Space Needle in Seattle."

"California's Redwood forests."

"The sparkling neon lights of Las Vegas!"

Each girl placed a hand over their hearts and sighed.

"We got a lot to plan," Naomi remarked.

"We sure do, but we can do all that later tonight. For now, let's hit the mall. Search for those perfect vacation outfits, and once the shopping's done, we hit the food court."