The First Wave

Chapter 1

When I open my eyes, at first I'm not quite sure where I am, the sun is bright and annoying and the crisp morning wind is whipping my hair at my face, some going into my mouth in the process. As I turn my head I see Mom with her hands on the wheel of her run down 1993 Ford Aspire, tapping along to an old Beatles song that I know is her favourite, and suddenly I remember where we're going. Today is the day my life begins, Mom doesn't like when I say that, she says that if I forget the last 17 years then I forget her as well and she never wants that to happen, of course I'd never forget her but that doesn't mean that I don't want to forget everything else. Going to The University Of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) and becoming a writer is what I'm going to do, it is my future, it's been the plan since day one. "Hey look who's finally awake! I've been dying here without yuh hun, a 14 hour drive isn't necessarily my idea of a fun Saturday outing but the least you could do is suffer with me". My mother a beautiful women with maroon dyed hair and a laugh that could make even the saddest person smile has been my best friend and greatest motivator my whole life, she got pregnant with me at 16 after "falling in love" with some jerk who took everything she had to offer then disappeared as soon as the strip turned pink, she says she doesn't care and that it's me and her and that's all she wants in the world, but I know that's not true I think it broke her more then she cares to admit, even to me. My mother has always been a very positive person and overwhelming happy and upbeat about everything, I used to think it was because I was her daughter and that's how she had to be around me, but I learned pretty quickly that that's just Kelly McKenna, someone who in our very small town of small minded people was still excepted and brought into the town after showing up pregnant at 16 years old and getting welcomed into a loving home which soon became ours, a small house on top of a small hill in Maple City Michigan. My mother Kelly McKenna can be described as many things but to me, brave, cheerful, loving, and hard working are by far the most meaningful, she set aside all her dreams to get me here and I'm not going to let her down. "Sorry, I didn't sleep great last night...overly excited I guess". "Well ya! I'd be shitting my pants right now If I were you, I never went to uni or anything but I have to assume it's pretty exciting". I grab the hair elastic from my wrist and tie my ugly blonde hair up into a bun so that I can enjoy the breeze coming from the window, as I look out I see it, the beautiful ocean before me, waves crashing down on each other and the sun shining just right making the water shine like diamonds, we don't get much of the ocean at home but it's my favourite thing in the whole world, any water is really. I think my dream if I had to pick one would be to sit with the sun in my hair, with the sound of the waves dancing around me, on a boat in the middle of the ocean with only my thoughts to bother me. Not that I've ever been on a boat or really seen one in real life but that would be the dream. Looking at the masterpiece of the waves playing out in front of me, it suddenly hits me... I'm looking at the ocean!? "Wait mom where are we?" "About 30 minutes away". "What! I missed the whole trip" " I know sweetie that's what I'm saying, this trip really was boring without you" "Mom! Why didn't you wake me. Ugh I can't believe I missed it all." With the calmest look and a smile on her face she looks at me and says "Oh calm down we still have a ways to go before we get there, plus you'll have lots of time to see all the things you missed when you come back to visit your mommy who you will miss so much you'll have to come back every weekend!" With an overly eccentric smile she turns to me and grabs my cheek like a child, and as always I can't help but let out a laugh and forgive her for not waking me up. "Haha I will miss my mommy but with a 14 hour drive between us your lucky if you see me on Christmas, ugh I wish I wasn't so long!" "Ya says the girl who slept through the whole drive" I hit her with my pillow that I packed for my new dorm and we both can't stop laughing, I'm gonna miss this, sometimes I worry about my mom, it's always been me and her against the world and now it's just gonna be her, alone, in the house we created together. Who knows maybe when I step out of the car in just a few hours her life will begin as well.
The rest of the drive is met with stories and laughter and a little bit of planning for UMB, and then after a little while we both went silent as we saw "WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON", that's when I think it hit both of us, everything is going to change...if only I knew how much.