Love at First Sight

Completed

Prelude (Lauren)

I grabbed my iPod and leaped onto my bed. I tried to get as comfortable as possible while shoving the earphones into place. I laid back, closed my eyes, and just... listened. The music pulsed through my body, forcing my heart to beat in time with the music. Each beat in harmony with the rhythm. I blended into the song, letting it capture my mind, eliminating my thoughts, questions, and uncertainties.

Eventually and unknowingly, I fell asleep. Only when I heard my cell phone ringing did I awake to realize I had been asleep for hours. My eyes flew open, and I lurched out of bed to see who was calling.

It was him.

Chapter 1 (Lauren): A Conductor

I read the question over and over in my head, "What is one word you would used to describe yourself?" I stared at the bright yellow paper my new high school wanted me to fill out before my first day of school tomorrow. And oddly enough, this was the one question I could not answer. All of the other answers came easily to me, "Where are you from?", or, "What are some of your hobbies?" Most people could come up with twenty words to describe themselves. Nevertheless, I could not think of even one.

My life was extremely complicated as a seventeen-year-old girl. School was an constant chore with homework and tests, let alone having to get up at 5:30 every morning. Plus, it did not make things any easier when I stayed up until midnight perfecting my English paper. I couldn't help that I was somewhat obsessed with doing well in school. However, this obsession did was created from a foundation laid by my father. He was always pushing me to do my best in high school so that I would get into a good college. My dad did not just live for the moment; he lived for twenty years from the moment. He had me in all of the advanced classes, and had researched every scholarship option I could possible apply for by the time I was in eighth grade. Don't get me wrong, I loved him for it, but sometimes it got overwhelming.

Then, I had to deal with not only the work of school, but actually going to school. This involved talking to people, and attempting to blend into the walls to go unnoticed. The social part of school was never been easy for me. I was not exactly outgoing, and I tended to bottle my emotions. Besides being unnaturally shy, I did not really connect well with people my age. My mom was always teasing me that I have the maturity of a thirty year old. Therefore, I never really had many friends. My main goal was to get in and out of school without getting involved in the social drama. Of course, I had a few friends, but extending outside of this small circle was virtually impossible for me.

However, my old circle of friends wouldn't be able to protect me anymore. In fact, chances were that I would never see them again. Because on top of school, friends, and all of the other problems a normal seventeen-year-old girl has, my family decided that to move.

It was one thing to move a couple of blocks down, or even a different town. But it was entirely something else to move to a different state. Moreover, it became an even bigger problem when moving involved picking up, leaving your life behind, and moving five states away.

I knew I would always miss what I left behind in Florida. Sometimes I wished I could go back one more time just to smell the salt of the sea as I drove down A1A. I wished I could go back to see the town of Boca Raton just one more time. I never realized all that I had when I lived there. I missed the really good Italian restaurant, and the canal with the alligators, and even the grocery store. All of it.

And for all that I gave up, what did I get in return? I got Lemont, Illinois. Lemont! I had not even heard of Lemont before my parents "sprung" the idea of moving on me. They ensured me that I would just love living in Lemont. Boy, were they wrong.