* Anne *
It was the usual type of sunny day in downtown Elk Cove , Maryland . At least I thought it was . It was the first day of summer and it was hard to believe the school year was already over .Not that I was complaining . I hated school so the sooner it flew by , the better . I was walking through town in my jeans and a tight v-neck in a deep smokey sky blue color when I saw my friend , Haylie . She saw me and smiled , walking over . I knew we were secretly both happy to see eachother here . We've never really fit in . I mean, this was my home town and I loved it and in a way , we DID fit in , but sometimes we just felt awkward . I guess everyone has those times .
" Hey , Annie . " she greeted me with a small smile.
I returned it .
" Hi , Hayl . "
" Can you believe it's actually summer already ? " she said excitedly .
I laughed and nodded .
" Actually , yes . Yes I can . You know what that means .... " I said trailing off , looking at her with a knowing glance .
We both laughed and exclaimed " BEACH ! " Maryland had alot of beaches and alot of water , but Rahobeth beach was less crowded and so that was where we liked to go .
" We could go today , if you wanted . " I offered .
I'd just gotten my lisence early . Like litterally a few days before school let out.
She nodded .
" Sure . " she smiled .
I nodded , grabbing her hand .
" Come on then . No need to be slow !" I laughed , pulling her along as we made our way to my house .
She laughed and we got to my colonial house in the spread out development of Colonial Acres . My house was the last house in the north end of the turn around . We had one of the biggest lots and we'd worked very hard on making it one of the most beautiful places in the nieghboorhood . Haylie lived at the end of the south road by the end of the cornfield owned by the farmer that lived down the road . I was happy that living in the north end gave me access to the small creeks and rivers on our side . In fact , our nieghboors across the street have been trying to sell thier house for years so they never used the creeks . That means more water time for me . And it was a pretty wooded development . I was snapped from my many observations about the nieghboorhood when Haylie sighed .
" What is it ? " I asked her , crossing my arms .
" I don't have a swim suit . " she mumbled .
I burst out laughing .
" You always barrow my swimsuits . And you're just NOW complaining that you don't have one ? " I asked as we walked threw the house and upstairs to my room with the wide window and the awards on the walls .
She shrugged.
" I guess you're right . "
" You GUESS. Pfft . " I muttered , pulling out a swimsuit for her .
We were about to talk about something else when we heard the sounjd of a truck outside .Haylie and I looked at eachother and then ran to the window , looking out of it as a big moving truck pulled in across the street followed by an exspensive car that must've cost more then the house.
" Guess they Roger's sold that place afterall . " I muttered , watching as 2 young men got out of the car .
They were actually pretty good looking . I was extremely surprised .
" Uh ... what were we doing again ?" Haylie asked , blinking a few times .
I cleared my throat .
" They're not even good looking . " I lied , walking into the bathroom , changing into a neon yellow bikinni since Haylie had my one piece and my other ones weren't clean from when I was swimming in the pool out back .
I grabbed my shorts and slid them on over my bottoms and waited for Haylie to change .
" Haylie , I'm gonna go downstairs and start the car ! " I called as I walked downstairs with my tank top in my hands , not bothering to put it on over my bikkini top just yet because I was in a hurry .
I wanted to leave the house before my dad got back . I grabbed the keys on the way out and heard a yipping at the door . I turned around to see my chocolate lab , Pooka , standing there eagerly . I sighed , opening the door , letting him out with me as I opened the door to the car , watching him jump in easily as I bent over the opened window and turned on the car as I waited for Haylie . I felt someone watching me and turned around to see the new nieghboors watching me . I had my sunglasses on , but I still found it a little strange . I decided now would be a good time to find that tank top and I slid it on over top of my bikinni and got into the car , beeping the horn for Haylie to hurry up . I beeped the horn and she came walking out in her sweat pants and a t shirt . Seeing the guys across the street watching us , she gulped and got in the car .
" That was embarressing . " she said .
I nodded , adjusting my mirror .
" I know . We look like hell . " I said.
She rolled her eyes.
" You look fine . "
I backed out of my driveway in my old antique mustang . A friend of the family was a mechanic and also a porche dealer so he just had old cars lying around and I got this one pretty cheap from my parents since they both worked and I didn't have a ride anywhere . I hit the radio and " Whistle " by Flo Rida came on , blaring through my speakers . I slid my sunglasses back on and drove past the nieghboors , not even looking at them with my best friend riding shot gun and my puppy riding in the back .
" Have a nice day ! " one of them called after us .
Haylie started to flip out and looked out the windo watching them as I focused on getting the hell out of dodge .
" They're looking at us ! They're looking at us ! " she said , hyperventatling .
I rolled my eyes .
" Of course they are ,what's not to look at ? " I said , winking .
She laughed and turned the radio down , rolling the window down as well . We started the hour ride to Rahobeth Beach , Deleware and once we got there ,the beach was practically deserted . Just the way I liked it . It was a little more crowded then normal , but not to bad since the summer crowd hadn't hit yet . We got out of the car and as usual , Haylie carried the bags and towels while I grabbed Pooka and locked the door , pulling his frisbee out , throwing it into the shallow water . Because I'd been taking him to the beach since I got him , he was a pretty smart dog when it came to the ocean . He never went out to far and I would only throw the frisbee so that it skimmed the very edge of the waves . Watching Pooka and I , Haylie thought she could get away with munching on some chips without teh seagulls finding out . Big mistake .I'd never seen so many sea gulls attack a living creature like that before ! I'd also never heard Haylie scream so loud . I rolled my eyes and grabbed her bag of chips , spilling the contents on the ground . I thew the bag away and when I came back , seagulls had consumed all of the chips . I sighed .
" Haylie , come on ! You're smarter then that . They would've EATEN you . " I scolded .
She laughed and rolled her eyes.Normally the roles were reversed and it would've been HER scolding ME for something stupid I decided to do .
" So , what do you think of your new nieghboors ? " she asked , cocking an eyebrow .
I sighed .
" Nieghboors are nieghboors and guys are guys . " I shrugged , not really caring .
" Oh come on , Annie ! They were checking you out ! " she said .
" You sound like my mother . " I said , rolling my eyes .
The truth was , I didn't have many friends . I didn't want many . I would rather have 1 true friend then 1000 fake friends .And with that little philosphy , I also hadn't really ever had many guys interested in me . It was just awkward for me to hang around anyone except Haylie and Erica . I'd known them for YEARS . Ontop of that I was the girl that never let anyone in . If you would ask people that didn't know me to describe me , that's probably what they'd say . I was reckless , I spoke my mind , and I pushed people away . But it was summer . Maybe something would change . Maybe not . You never know , right ? Life is an ever constant and changing thing . I like to think that life is very unpredictable journey , but evey once in awhile you get a road map . For example it could be someone that comes into your life and changes it or helps you on your way . Like my mom or Haylie or maybe even Erica . They were some of the very few people that actually knew me . That could get passed my flaws and faults and the wall I built to keep people out . And that was okay . For now.
" Anne , do you ever think that we'll meet anyone ? That our lives will ever get interesting ? " Haylie asked looking over at me .
I sighed , sitting down in the white sand next to her and put my arms behind my head thinking about the question .
" I guess . I mean ... how much more dull can they be as they are now ? You really can only go up from here . " I said sarcastically .
" You know , I never used to know why you liked to come here , but now I do . It's nice . " she said .
She was really being random today . That was normally Erica's job .
" You know whay , Hayl ? I think that today is the first day of the rest of our lives . " I muttered looking up at the Eastern sky that met the beautiful Atlantic Ocean .
This ....was all I'd ever known .