if the sun shines

1. june 5th

June 5th

The heatwave that never seems to pass has been hanging over Georgia for the last weeks. There's not much to do besides spending time inside with the AC on. My sisters have been begging my parents for a trip down to Florida. A tacky state that nobody should ever want to visit, in my opinion. What's the point of going several hours in a crowded car when you can stay inside with books and a cooling AC? As one might guess my two younger sisters got their wish granted, we're leaving today for the four-hour car ride from hell. I tried begging my parents to let me stay at home alone for the week. Unsuccessful. This was a time for family-bonding as dad finally had a week of from his job at the company. Ugh.

"Leave your bags in the garage! Dad will organize them in the car!" My mother shouted from the kitchen where she was filling a cooler with the most random snacks ever. Carrots, go-gurts, trail-mix and sandwiches. Jesus, it's not like we're going to pass hundreds of fast-food places on the way. I grabbed my old Vera Bradley bag from the bed, what book should I bring? I gazed over my bookshelf and the endless selection of books from my to-be-read list. This would take all day; I grabbed a random book quickly and hurried out the door.

In the garage my sisters were already sitting impatiently waiting for my mum and me. I rolled my eyes at them and walked over to the car. The one perk with the large family SUV is the privacy I get in the back. I put my bag next to me ignoring my mums instructions from earlier.

"I am so excited! I wonder if theres a lot of kids at the beaches" my youngest sister Elle said to Louise as they both got in the car. They are so clueless, of course there will be a lot of people there. There's a freaking heatwave. The car rolled out of the driveway and my mother turned up the radio. That's my cue, I grabbed my headphones from the top of my bag and turned the volume up. Looking at my sisters and parents singing along to some stupid Pharrell song I opened the Instagram app. Looking doesn't hurt right? I searched for his name and started scrolling.

...

After what felt like an eternity we finally arrived at the hotel by the beach. Louise and Ellie were asleep and my mum tried to wake them carefully as I hopped out the back and exited the car. The hotel was your typical cheap-family beach vacation hotel. I know my parents didn't like to splurge on hotels. "We're here for the beach not the hotel" my dad said has he laid his hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah, I know it's ok." My parents hurried over to the reception to get our room keys. I quickly gazed over the hotel areas. Large full parking, seniors walking around with beach chairs, and a large pool. I walked over to the pool and quickly saw that there was a lot of teens there. Ugh, I turned around and walked over to my family.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice. I knew who that was. The voice screaming "Marco" from the pool sounded so familiar. More familiar than anything I've ever heard before. I couldn't match the voice with a face and it would be too obvious to turn around to look again. The laughter from the pool gave me shivers and a warm feeling. God, I've been in the sun for way too long I thought to myself and hurried after my family.