The Bucket List

t w e n t y - t h r e e

I heard a knock at the door. Gently rapping in the near distance causing me to wake up. I lifted my head, peering into the room, noting it was still dark. The sun wasn't even up yet. Then I heard another soft knock.

Mia was sleeping beside me, her head hanging off the bed while her arms spread wide apart. I pushed her arm away from me and I sat up, hearing the knock again. Who the hell is that?

Oh, my god. Is it a thief? Are we being robbed right now? What if they're here to kill us?

"Ellie," I heard a voice.

Oh, my god. It knows my name!

"Ellie, it's me Daniel."

I groaned. Of course, it was. I got out of bed groggily and got out of our room. I heard the knock continue and I followed it to the front door. I looked through the eye piece, seeing Daniel dressed in a heavy coat.

"What?" I asked annoyedly.

"Come on, time for our new adventure," he whispered. Why was he whispering? This was weird.

I opened the door and glared at him with tired eyes. "Is this going to be thing during this trip? See who can wake each other up every day?"

Daniel smiled cheekily. "You won't regret this. Get ready and let's go."

It was four o'clock. How could he want to leave so early? Was he crazy? Unfortunately, today was the day I decided to be my 'yes' day and it was like Daniel somehow knew. So, I sighed and nodded.

"Fine. Give me a moment," I mumbled closing the door.

What in the world does he want to do at four in the morning? Stupid Daniel. Stupid bucket list. Stupid say 'yes' for the whole day.

In ten minutes, Daniel was walking out of the building with a smug smirk on his face while I sat in the car parked at the docks, glaring at him with all the hatred I could muster. Now I know how Mia felt yesterday when I forced her to wake up.

He got to the car and opened the door. A cold breeze blew in. Why did he have to do this?

"Okay, let's go," he said, grabbing a bunch of bags from the backseat and started walking on the pier. Since when did he pack a bag for this? Where are we even going?

I followed Daniel without bothering to ask. It was yes day after all. I slouched my shoulders together as I took small steps behind him. The weather was nothing in comparison to Melbourne winter, but it was still cold enough to make me want to sit in front of the heater until my skin dried out. And in addition to that, I was exhausted behind my mind.

We went to a restaurant yesterday after hiking, and Mia and I dressed in our best dress (that I bought). We went all out and fortunately, Beth didn't join. It was just me, Mia and Dina. It was perfect.

"Alright, Ellie. Open your eyes. I don't think you'd want to get into a boat with your eyes closed," I heard him say.

My eyes opened immediately, and I stared at the small boat in front of me. Daniel threw the bags inside before jumping in himself. He turned to me with a small smile before holding out his hand towards me.

"It's a boat."

"Yes, it is a boat," he nodded.

"Why are we hiring a boat?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes," I replied, finally being able to answer a yes when I really wanted to.

Daniel rolled his eyes and took my hand, pulling me into the boat. I almost tripped over but regained my balance once my foot touched the boat.

I immediately took the seat beside the driver side and tightened my jacket around me, closing my eyes once again. I heard Daniel chuckle, but I ignored it. I was so exhausted. I just wanted to go back to sleep. Would he hate me if I had a quick nap? Why did we have to go boating before the sun was even up? Were we going fishing or something? I don't like fish.