Forever Doesn't Mean Always

Chapter 1

    "John Atia."

    "Here."

    "Sophia Berman."

    "Here."

    "Delaney Briggs."

    Silence. Mrs. Mavery glanced up from her clipboard and found Delaney, who appeared to be gazing out the window.

    "Delaney Briggs," she repeated forcefully.

    "What? What happened?" Delaney said, delirious.

    Mrs. Mavery let out a loud sigh and moved on. What she didn't realize, though, was that Delaney wasn't staring out the window. She was staring at the clock. All Delaney could think about was that she was just 45 minutes away from summer vacation. 45 minutes from finally getting a break from this awful place. Delaney couldn't bear the thought of having to sit through an entire period before she was released from the gates of hell. Tik-tok, tik-tok, tik-tok. "Be slower. I dare you," Delaney silently hissed at the clock.

    When the bell finally rang, she sprang from her seat and marched through the door with pride. As she went outside, her eyes searched wildly through the crowd. "Jay," she yelled towards a tall, brown-haired boy. Jay locked eyes with her and they rushed toward each other. Delaney and Jay had been best friends since kindergarten. Their parents had been very close until all four of them died in a car crash. Since then, Delaney and Jay had practically never left each other's sides. When they came within reach, they hugged. "I have an idea! Let's go to the beach to celebrate," Delaney exclaimed as the biggest, most beautiful smile spread across her face.

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    When Delaney and Jay arrived at the beach, they set up their towels and umbrellas and began to head toward the ocean. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came through and blew Delaney's hat across the beach. As Delaney sprinted after it, the hat ended up in a stranger's hands. However, Delaney wasn't paying attention to this person and was only focused on her hat. When she caught up to the stranger, she took the hat and looked him in the eyes to thank him. And boy, was she glad she did. The boy was tall and blond and looked like he was about 16 years old. He was probably the most handsome guy Delaney had ever seen. As soon as they made eye contact, it felt like time had frozen.

    "Hey," said the boy. "I'm Jackson."

    "Delaney," she said as she extended her hand toward his and shook it, not wanting to let go. Delaney must have been staring at him for over a minute because when Jay reached the two of them, he seemed to be growing impatient.

    "C'mon," he said as he nudged Delaney away from Jackson. "Let's go in the water. I'm burning up over here."

    "Right," Delaney frowned. "Sorry."

    Once again, Delaney and Jay headed toward the water and had a great time splashing around. If it hadn't been for what happened next, she might have forgotten all about her interaction with Jackson. As they got back to their towels, though, Delaney picked hers up and shook the sand out of it. Instead, a small piece of paper fell out. Curious, Delaney picked it up. It read:

Delaney-
    Call me. 424-740-1589
-Jackson

    Delaney folded up the piece of paper and stuffed it in her bag. She didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.