started with a bet // c.a.

chapter 1

<prologue>
cleo, a 16 year old girl from wildwood, new jersey who is about to witness the best summer she's had ever. she decides to get a group of friends together and take a road trip across the country to san diego, california. at one of the places they stop at she has the experience of something she never thought was real.

<cleo's pov>
watching haters wonder why Gambino got the game locked
half-thai thickie, all she wanna do is bangkok
got her hair done, french braids, now she with A$AP Bino so insensitive
i wake up to the blaring noise of my favorite alarm clock, sweatpants. yes, i know i'm 16, i shouldn't be excited about waking up to an alarm at 5:30 in the morning, but today is the day i leave with kat, malia, kris, elly, and leah to drive across the country for our summer living in california.

elly is coming at 6:30 to pick me up, so i have an hour to get change and eat. definitely more than enough time for me to get ready. luckily i don't have to shower because i did last night. in that case i go into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.

i'm going to be in the car most of the day today, which means no makeup except my eyebrows. i put my short, wavy blonde hair half up in a bun and the rest down. now the hardest part, finding clothes to wear. after 30 minutes of trying on and off clothes i decided with black cropped leggings and orange pocket tee with white converse i've had for too long.

after getting everything i will need in the car together i go downstairs to eat a little breakfast. im not really that hungry and i know malia will want to stop somewhere, so i only eat oatmeal.

finally the moment i've been waiting for, elly has arrived. i run upstairs to grab my suitcase and bag of things i will be using in the car. once i came back down elly was already inside, like all my friends do.

"elly! how have you been cutie? how's nick?how does it feel to be a senior next year?" i asked. elly and her boyfriend nick have been dating since eighth grade. they are the worlds cutest couple.

"good! amazing! scary!" she responded.

"we should probably get going kat keeps texting me asking when we are coming to pick her up," i told elly.

before i leave i write a quick note just to remind will, my older brother, and andrea, my younger sister, that i was leaving and wasn't going to be back for the rest of the summer. my parents already know so i don't need to let them know.

i walk out of the house and put my stuff in the back of the classic volkswagen bus we rented. i get into the passenger seats and put in one of the cds i made for the summer. i put the most random songs on these cds, they range from high school musical to twenty one pilots to barenaked ladies to childish gambino to one direction. the first song to come on is work this body by walk the moon, we just got in the car and the volume is ready up all the way.

we get to kat's house and she runs out in leggings and her the 1975 sweatshirt, which she never takes off. she has her beautiful long brown hair in two french braids. once she gets in, she starts jamming with us and we go to pick up the rest of the girls. after we finally pick up leah, the last one to be picked up, we are off!

"new york city here we come!!!" i screamed