Ones left behind

~ CHAPTER I ~ Kaia

I wake to a soft whistling breeze. Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I push aside my covers, stepping onto the cool wooden floor. I shove my feet into my pink slippers, closing the window screen as I went—heading toward my bathroom.
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"G'morning mum" I mumble; still groggy from sleep
    
"Did you sleep well Kai?" She asks worriedly, looking away from the stovetop to me, still adjusting to the light.

"Spent all night finishing up a report." I respond, eyeing a pastry lying on the counter; probably my sister's. Mum clicks her tongue in a matter of disapproval and continues to stir batter—starting to hum a soft tune.
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"Shoot! I'm late." I cry—half to myself—as I tap my phone on, seeing 12:53 glowing neatly on the glass screen. I jackknife myself off my bed and rush down the stairs—brushing my hair as I went, my head tilted to the side, hair falling in a messy jumble. A ping vibrated my phone, drawing my attention to it. Strings of messages from my friends listed endlessly is the groupchat—most urging me to "get your lazy bum out of bed and COME TO SALLY'S RIGHT NOW" Scrolling further down with a smile, I see that most of the messages are stickers of goofy kittens, speech bubbles above their heads—of course—all sent from Nova.
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"Sally's Booth," a niche joint in our downtown area with surprisingly good fast food has always been my group's hangout spot.
    
The golden bells about the door give a soft jingle as I push it open, relishing the feel of AC against my sunburnt skin.
    
A couple minutes before, I decided to run to the area, and not some half-assed jog either—a full on run. I suppose I had wanted to get in shape but that was stupid as is considering I quit the track team and summer had started.

My friends; Jax, Axel, Nova—wave me over to a corner booth. I slide in beside Nova, planting my elbows on the table and ordering a quick meal; a chicken sand-which and coke.

"So—plans for the summer?" Axel suggests, sweeping his arms in a dramatic arc. "Zero, none, nothing." Nova and Jax recite nonchalantly almost simultaneously with their fingers pointed at each other, grins spreading across the twins faces. "My line." An expression of sarcastic exaggerated disdain spread across my face eventually morphing into the same infectious smile Nova and Jax are wearing.

Axel, his lips curving into a proud smirk announces, "I got keys to a cabin from my aunt; she's moving to the coast in July."

"Serious?" I ask, opening my palms in a gesture suggesting him to drop the keys in my hand. Ax promptly pulls a set of bronze keys from his pocket, gives them a little jingle, and let them fall into my awaiting hand. "There's no way." Nova states, but still, she leans toward me and gapes at the heavy pieces of metal resting in my fingers.
    
The waiter soon comes over; his hands busy with a tray. He lies it in the space in front of me before retreating to another table.

"Exactly—No. Way." I say—voice muffled by the sandwich I had practically inhaled—leaving deliberate gaps to emphasize the absolute certainty that no being would give Axel, of all people keys to a property. After all, he's always been a troublemaker.

"Well there clearly is and now we do have plans for the summer."
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tysm for reading this !! of course it is much shorter than the following chapters will be but still , i hope it was entertaining !