You and Me

Goodbye Tennesse..For Now

Arizona's Point Of View...
I stood in the middle of my closet with my empty suitcase by my feet. It was Monday morning. The day I left for California. My flight left tonight at 4pm so we'd probably leave my house at about 2pm. I stared at all my clothes, lost about what to pack. I would only be there for 6 days/5 nights but I still had no idea. I wondered out of my closet and into my bathroom. I decided to pack all my toiletries first then worry about clothes. I packed shampoo and conditioner, body wash, face wash, a razor, and my cute fluffy loofa. I packed my straightener and curling iron, my makeup, deodorant and perfume, and of course a brush and hair bows, etc.. By the time I was done, I pretty much packed my whole bathroom. I had packed all my toiletries in my smaller suitcase, leaving my medium and large suitcases for my clothes. I plugged my phone into my speakers and hit shuffle as I walked back to my closet to try and pack again. The music on my phone was a mixture of pop, country, and a little bit of singer/songwriter. I hummed along to Drunk On You by Luke Bryan as I packed. I'd probably get over there and everyone think I'm some little county hick. It's not like I'm a hillbilly, it's just I live on a farm, I can fish and hunt better than some of the guys at my school, and I wear cowboy boots almost 24/7... After I finally packed enough outfits, I grabbed my favorite Vera Bradley backpack and began packing my laptop and camera with their chargers. I packed my extra phone charger and some head phones. When I was finally done, I pulled on a pair of jeans, an old softball tournament tshirt, and my old boots. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and put on a hat that was the same color as my shirt. I grabbed my phone from my speakers and made my way to our garage. I grabbed my fishing pole and tackle box then jumped on one of the four wheelers. As I made my way to my favorite pond on our property I thought about L.A. I was finally getting discovered. After dreaming of this for years, it's actually happening. Every "manager" from Nashville will found never did anything for me. They didn't take me seriously. I parked the four wheeler and jumped off, noticing that the dogs had followed me like usual. Grabbing my pole and tackle box, I walked towards the little dock and sat them down. I got the worms from the tackle box and hooked one onto my hook. My dogs laid on the dock behind me as I casted out. My boy dog, Toby, was only a year old Australian Shepard but he was fully grown. Molly was a 2 year old Boxer. I had got them both from the shelter that I volunteer at. I was out there for a good hour before I heard a four wheeler behind me. I turned seeing my dad getting off. I looked back to the water and continued to cast out my hook. My dad sat his tackle box on the dock by mine and began fixing his pole. We stood in silence for a few minutes before I finally caught something. I reel in my line before unhooking my fish from my line. I was about to throw it back into the pond when my dad shot his hands up. "Wait, wait, wait!" He yelled. I stared at him but leaned back a little while holding the fish by the mouth. He pulled his phone out and held it up like he was taking a picture. "Dad, what are you doing?" He smiled a little but I could tell there was something wrongly. "Zoni, this might be the last time we fish together for a while so I wanna remember it." I smiled sadly at him and then smirked. I held the fish up to my mouth and kissed its mouth. Dad took the picture then I leaned down and slipped the fish back into the water. Throughout the next couple of hours, dad took a picture of me with every fish I caught. I made him take selfies of us when we both caught one at the same time. We were goofing off when dads phone started ringing. He talked for a few minutes before hanging up an turning towards me. "Your mom has lunch ready for us. She said you need to hurry and eat so you can get ready to go." I nodded and reeled my line in and threw the worm that was still on my pole into the water since it was all soggy now. After packing up all my stuff, me and dad loaded up and drove to the house. We parked in the garage out back and put our poles and tackle boxes up before walking inside. The lights were off and when I rounded the corner to go into the dinning room, the light flipped on and people jumped out from everywhere. "SURPRISE!" I screamed and jump behind my dad. I peered around my dad and saw my brothers, my grandparents, Kian, Bailey, and of course my mom. I laughed and saw a big lunch on the table and a cake with pictures of me and everyone here and then it said "We will miss you!" I laughed again and walked around hugging everyone while my eyes teared up. "Guys, I'm only gonna be gone for like a week, after that I'll be back home." They all rolled their eyes. "Arizona Lee," my grandpa started in his playful stern voice, "You'll get that recording contract. You're incredible. They'd be stupid not to sign you." I smiled and walked over to him, hugging him tightly. Me and dad went into the kitchen to wash our hands and then we sat down at the table. My dad said the prayer for us and then we all dug in. During the lunch we all just talked and had a great time. "Zoni, are you gonna miss living on a farm and not getting to go fish like everyday?" Kian asked. I nodded and sighed, "It's gonna suck because everything I do now, I won't be able to do while I'm there." My dad patted my hand and smiled. "Just keep in mind that this is what you've always wanted." I smiled and took a sip of my drink. "Arizona, it's one o'clock, we need to leave in an hour." I nodded and stood up. "I'll go get ready and be right back down." I jogged up stairs to my room and went into my bathroom. I stripped down and got into the shower, leaving my hair dry. Once I washed up a little bit, I got out and dried off. I went into my closet and found a lacy long sleeve dress to slip on. I put on some leather brown wedges and some gold jewelry. I brushed my hair out and decided to leave it in its natural straight locks. Not bothering with makeup, I put on a tan hat and grabbed my tan purse and sun glasses. I motioned my body so I'd be nice and soft.I made sure I had my drivers license and wallet. I grabbed my keys so I could give them to my mom incase they need my jeep while I'm gone. I grabbed my backpack and slung it on my back while making my way downstairs. I sat everything on the couch in the living room, where everyone was now talking, and went back upstairs. I heard footsteps behind me and looked back. "I figured you'd need help with your bags," Nathan said. I nodded and we went to my room to grab my bags. I took the medium sized back while Nathan got the large and small one. Kyle and Mason helped me load all my bags into the car as everyone watched. I turned and dusted my hands off. First I hugged Bailey and Kian bye. "Promise to call us every night and tell us everything that happens. Okay?" I laughed and nodded. I then hugged my grandparents tightly. "Were so proud of you Zoni," grandpa said while kissing my head. "So so proud," grandma added. After I told everyone goodbye, they left. My brother and I climbed into our "family car", which is a suburban, with my parents. "Go ahead, Troll." Kyle told me, while holding the car door open for me. I laughed and climbed in. Mason lost our rock/paper/scissors game so he had to sit in the back row of seats while me, Kyle, and Nathan sat in the middle row. Me and my brothers sang along to every song on the radio while our parents laughed at us. It was moments like this that made me realize how important family is. If I do get the recording contract, it's gonna be hard to not see these idiots everyday. All too quickly we had arrived at the airport. dad parked the car and then the boys all grabbed one of my suitcase while I grabbed my backpack and purse. We all walked into the airport and mom walked with me through all the lines to make sure everything in my flight was set and then we all walked toward baggage claim. "Did you bring your whole closet?" Dad asked. I grinned, "Just half." Dad rolled his eyes, knowing there was 50x as much clothes still in my closet. My family sat with me in the waiting area for the next 45 minutes. Me and the boys were basically playing rock/paper/scissors the whole times. "Flight 193 to LAX is now boarding, Flight 193 to LAX." we all stood up and I put my backpack on my shoulders and grabbed my purse. "I'm gonna miss you kiddo," dad said pulling me into a hug. I hugged my mom tightly while she kissed my head and was ranting on making sure I didn't forget anything. I hugged Kyle and he ended up knocking my hat off. Nathan picked it up and hugged me tightly. Mason was left and he hugged me for a long time. "See you later little sis," he smirked. I rolled my eyes and smiled at all of them. "Guys, y'all are acting like I'm never coming back. I'll be back next week." Mason rolled his eye a little hatefully. "Only to pack your bags and leave the next week." This time I stayed quiet. "I'll see y'all next week, okay?" They nodded and I made my way to the terminal. I looked back before rounding the corner and waved again. I walked through the terminal and then walked onto the plane. I took my seat and sat my bags by my feet. I buckled up and then plugged my headphones in. The sound of "California Dreamin" engulfed my thoughts and I shut out the rest of the world. Goodbye Tennessee..For Now.