My Summer Boy

Chapter One

Chapter One

Sitting on my suitcase with my tiny frame didn't accomplish much. It wasn't going to shut. This was the problem with travelling in the British summertime, the weather was just so utterly unpredictable. One day it would be shorts weather, the next I needed my woolly jumper and a raincoat. How was I supposed to fit all the clothes needed for two weeks into one tiny suitcase?

It just wasn't going to happen.

So, dragging out a second, smaller case, I stuffed my coat and jumpers in there. If my parents asked, I'd explain that this suitcase was because they'd decided to go to Butlins as opposed to the south of France, which had been the original plan.

"Antonia!" My mother's shrill shout travelled to my room and I scowled around my room, double checking I'd got everything. If I ended up stuck without something vital I'd probably cry. "Hurry up! We really need to get going if we're going to avoid the rush hour traffic."

It was a Sunday. Rush hour traffic definitely didn't exist on a Sunday.

"Coming!"

Lumbering down the staircase with both of my cases was a difficult task, but I just about managed it without falling over and embarrassing myself. "What are those? I told you to pack small and light. Our car isn't a TARDIS."

"Don't tell me your cases are much smaller." They weren't, I could just about see them under the piles of beach stuff. "Is that a tent? If you're about to tell me we're going camping then I'm just staying at home."

My mother clicked her tongue. "It's a beach tent. We're staying in an apartment, I already told you that. Now, try and fit those cases in, otherwise you're going to have to sit with them under your feet."

Ten minutes later, I was sat with my knees to my chin, cramped up in the back of the car with the biggest grimace I'd ever worn. "We did tell you to have your suitcase ready yesterday when we were packing the car," my dad sighed, pulling out of my driveway. "Then maybe it would have fit."

"I was saying goodbye to Sam yesterday. There are only so many hours in the day."

"You've only been together three months, I'm sure you could have spared fifteen minutes to get your stuff together."

They didn't understand. Sometimes I wondered if they'd ever been teenagers. "Whatever." Sticking in my headphones, I could make the three hour journey bearable if I blasted out music and enjoyed the scenery. Thankfully, my dad always picked the country back roads rather than the motorway.

"Antonia," my mum tapped my knee multiple times until I pulled out an earbud. "This is a family holiday, you aren't just going to sit around being antisocial. Come on, take them out and join in the conversation."

Being forced to enjoy my younger brother Joey's nursery rhymes was pretty high on my list of least favourite things to do. "So, what do you want to do when we're there? Joey?"

"See the sea!" He chorused, kicking his little legs against the car seat.

"And Antonia?"

"Eat all the fish and chips and donuts in the world," I muttered, wondering if pity eating would do anything other than make me fat. I was a sucker for seaside donuts.

"Excellent! I'm quite sure we can manage both of those. Now," she launched into a spiel about what was actually at Butlins that I happily zoned out of. The south of France had been deemed too expensive for it to be worth it for my five year old brother. So, staying in sunny England had been the solution and going to a complex meant for children just wasn't something I was interested in doing.

I could have been laid on the beach with a book and some music and been perfectly content in France. Here, I was going to be seeing petting zoos and bad entertainment. Surely there could have been some compromise.

Having a good journey?

The sarcastic bastard sure knew how to rile me up, but it was part of what I loved about our relationship. He irritated me in the best possible way, keeping me laughing even if I wanted to hit him. We might have only been going out three months, but I really enjoyed spending as much time as I could with Sam.

I text back my irritated response, before my mother sent me another death glare. "I mean it Antonia, I really want us to spend some time together as a family this holiday. Sam can be put on hold for a couple of weeks, can't he?"

Could I really not spend time with both my family and my boyfriend? All my parents did was fuss over what Joey wanted, anyway.

Pretending to stare out the window, I held my phone on the other side of my leg, successfully hiding it from them and continuing to complain about the whole situation. This holiday really didn't bode well.