Summer is here which means one thing for Allison Brooke and her friends, the Hawaiian trip they've all been planning since they were freshmen. Allison thinks this is just another boring school trip but with new friends along the way, bitchy queen bees, fun pranks and a haunting past, Allison’s life is about to be filled with what her life lacked for the 18 years of her life; drama. Add a sweet Asian guy, some bloody rude hottie to the picture, and you can say Allison really is ready for an hilarious summer romance.
View MoreMaybe if we tell people the brain is an app, they'll start using it.
I'd like to see myself as brainy, but there are times when I put the spoon into the dustbin and place the actual trash in the sink. That wouldn't be much of a surprise if you've known me for a long period of time. The thing is, no matter how much I'm being crowned the Queen of awkwardness, I still managed to also get crowned Prom Queen during the last prom instead of Alexa Stratham.
Who is Alexa Stratham?
That's not the point.
I have bigger problems.
Senior year went by fast this year, and as I had previously planned, I didn't make the most of it. Another year of high school wasted. College could make up for it but that's still months away from now. I topped my last exams, so candidate scholarships barreled out from different angles I never expected.
I chose PreLaw, definitely not because my Pops asked me to, but I've also chosen Theater. The University of Albuquerque offers me both. That's where I'm going to be attending this fall.
I happened to turn the big 'eighteen' hours ago and it's like I was expecting my body to transform overnight into my own ordained body type since adulthood had started, but my scrawny self stared back at me in the bathroom mirror last night. In the glass, fogged from my shower, my skin looked pale as usual. As I subconsciously laid a hand on my breasts, long fingers and short trimmed nails became visible.
My arms still looked a little thin. There didn't seem to be any excess flab at my waist or hips. At about five-four, I wish I was taller. A unicorn-shaped tattoo laid at the side of my butt. It was crazy at first, exposing that particular part of the human anatomy to some needle-wielding stranger but at last, peer pressure conquered it all.
I groan when I feel a hand nudge my shoulders and cocoon the sheets closer to my body. It's a Saturday and I need my quality sleep, I haven't been getting those in the past couple of days. According to study, sleep helps your brain to forge new connections and helps memory retention plus without enough sleep, your brain and body systems won't function normally. No wonder my brain keeps telling me to do weird stuff these few days.
"Wake up you lobster!" Comes a voice beside me before I feel something hit me hard across the face, jolting me out of my dreamless slumber. My eyes fly open on instinct, staring at my kid sister wide-eyed.
"Did you just hit me in the face?" My gaze falls to the object dangling in her grip. "With a slab of raw meat?"
"Quit whining," Mabel rolls her grey colored eyes which are similar to mine and holds her phone to my face. "Simone wants you on the phone."
I snatch the cell phone from her hand and bring it to my ear.
"Why don't you ever pick up your phone?!" My best friend's shrilling voice pierces through my eardrums and I shift the phone a little farther from my ear.
"Could you like, talk without screaming? I'm not deaf."
"I just want to ask one question," She says, suddenly sounding calm. "You're not just waking up, are you?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"We're supposed to be at the airport an hour ago you lunatic!" I stumble over my bed and fall on my butt at the realization and shock that I forgot about our trip to Hawaii. We've planned this whole thing four years ago, how could I forget at the very last minute? Our flight leaves at 11 am and I cuss under my breath when I see my alarm clock strike 10:15.
"I'm driving over to your house right now. Get ready in five or the crew's going to leave us." She says and hangs up.
"You screwed up again, didn't you?"
"Just get out." I shove Mabel out of my room and try to focus on getting ready under five minutes. I can't blow this up, Simone would murder me. She's been dreaming about this day since I came up with the idea of doing something fun when we're done with high school, like going on a trip on our own with the rest of the school. We've been to various school trips but why is this one different? One thing is clear, we the students sponsored the whole thing plus there's no teacher chaperoning us. We're adults now. We can handle ourselves, or so we think.
I'm glad I already had my luggage packed last night. Maybe I saw this whole thing coming that's why I already got my things done early. I didn't want to leave behind a single thing, especially not the neck-chain now resting by the side zip of my bag. I take it everywhere I go with me like it's a part of my own body.
I stand in front of my mirror to style my hair after I dash in and out of the bathroom. I don't have enough time to wash my hair, so I cover it in hairspray. I'm wearing a denim mini skirt and a yellow crop top that exposes the lower part of my belly.
I grab my makeup kit and about putting on the eyeliner when my sister yells my name, making me smudge my makeup.
"Allie! You're going to be late. What are you waiting for? Christmas?"
Kid sisters are the worst I tell you. If your parents ever have a new baby girl, put her in a box and ship her to China before she turns fifteen.
I drag my traveller's bag down the stairs and reach out for the door when I hear my Mom's voice behind me.
"You're leaving already?" I turn around to face my Mom standing in the kitchen. "At least give me a hug before you go."
"Tell me why I'm not allowed to come to this trip again?" Mabel asks as I rush over to envelope Mom in a hug.
"Sophomores aren't allowed. It's strictly Seniors, Capiche?"
"But... But..." She goes silent for a minute. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"Bye Mom!" I reach out for the door when I hear her call me again.
"Wait, have breakfast before you leave."
I hear Simone's car horn outside the house as I carry the whole bowl of beef soup with me, watching as Mom and Mabel exchange weird looks.
Simone brings out her head from the window of the white Mustang when I'm outside on the porch. "Move your butt!"
It's not even afternoon yet and I'm already feeling sweaty and sticky from the scalding sun battering down my back. One of the main reasons why I hate summer.
I scurry into the backseat of the car and notice Simone's not the one in the driver's seat, but her brother.
"When did Zach get back from college?" I ask.
"Last night," Simone answers. "Says he's not used to the cafeteria's food."
"Why is he such a wimp?"
"I know right?"
"Hey! I'm sitting right here." We both stick out our tongues at him as he shakes his head in defeat.
Despite being siblings, Zach and Simone share no resemblance in common, because of course, they both got adopted by two Moms. I first found out their family relationship years ago and blanked out for a bit, trying to figure out how two vaginas got to reproduce children. I thought I had been lied to my whole life.
"What's that on your hand?" Simone points to the bowl of beef soup between my hands.
"It's my breakfast. Big surprise," I roll my eyes and dig into the soup. The rest of the car ride is filled with nonstop banter from me and Zach after I mistakenly spilt soup in his new car.
Someone had to tell the guy the stain can easily be removed if I lick it off the car seat hard enough, but he says he doesn't want my saliva anywhere his car, so the banter went on and on until he stops abruptly in front of the airport.
"And stay away from my sister while I'm gone," I say and slam the door shut when I'm out of the car with my luggage. "She's five years younger than you. Don't be a paedophile."
"Come on, age is just a number."
"And jail is just a room."
I feel someone drag my ears towards the entrance of the airport and I yelp. "Leave my dumb brother alone. We're late."
"ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS BOARDING FLIGHT 666 FROM FORT MYERS TO HAWAII, THE CHECK-IN COUNTER WOULD CLOSE IN TEN MINUTES."
We both sprint past the crowd of people roaming the airport when I bump into someone, which sends my handbag flying across the floor with my things scattered everywhere.
Oh crap.
"Watch where you're going," Says a deep voice as he bends too to pick up his stuff.
"We don't have time, hurry!" Simone's panicked voice makes me hastily shove everything into my bag and I get back on my feet to keep up with her strides.
"What the hell was that back there?"
"I bumped into some sicko..."
"There they are!" She points to our crew and drags me by the hand.
"We are going to be late, where's Allie and Simone?" We hear Cory groan.
"Allie and Simone reporting!" Both of us say at the same time as I place my hands on my knees to catch my breath from all that running.
"You guys are an hour late," Cory says and runs a hand through his dark hair in frustration. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to my all-time crush, Cory Simpson. Not just my crush, he's every girl's but I got privileged to be noticed by him, but there's that stupid word called friend zone he decides to put me in. Cory's half Asian half American which makes him all the more wanted by hormonal teenage girls.
Is it just me or Asian guys who are exceptionally hot? I can feel my cheeks heating up from his mere gaze. He's staring me down and I'm grinning widely at him, ignoring stink eyes I'm getting from girls I recognize from English Literature class.
"There's beef crumb hanging from your teeth," Cory says which earns a lot of snickers from his fangirls. He tears his gaze from me and walks over to meet the rest of the guys.
"You didn't tell me there was beef in my teeth!" I snap at Simone and fetch for a floss inside my bag.
"It wasn't so noticeable until you had to grin that hard."
"Wait..." I spot a familiar brunette walk up to Cory and runs her hand down his chest.
"Who in the Lord's name invited Alexa Stratham?"
You might have guessed who Alexa is. My rival since middle school. The little flirt stole my boyfriend when we were twelve and now she's after Cory.
"Probably Cory. She follows him everywhere he goes, like flies when they see rotten food." Simone concludes. "Will you be okay with her coming along?"
Even if I'm not, there's absolutely nothing I can do but watch her ogle at Cory. I plan to have the best summer spent in Hawaii and no one's going to piss me off, not even a certain dumb brunette.
"I have just one thing to say," A small smile makes its way to my lips. "Simone, let's go to Hawaii."
I've always suffered from this horrible disadvantageous condition— it's called waking late on days I'm supposed to have early flight schedules. I'm starting to think it's an actual thing, so I'm not surprised it's less than an hour for my flight and I'm still on bed, feeling something fat and fluffy on my face. "Whiskers?" Its Mabel's voice that wakes me up. Not the fluffy stuff on my face. Whatever it is. Gradually, I open my eyes, and I'm face to face with a white feline. It brings out its tongue to lick my nose before purring with pleasure. Last time I checked, we didn't have a cat. "Whiskers! There you are." I hear footsteps approach my bed as Mabel carries the feline off my face. "Sorry. I thought I left her downstairs." I ask the obvious question. "When did we get a cat?" "Last night. I found her outside beside our waste bin. She seemed so lost. Is it okay if I keep her?" I ease out of my bed. "Just make s
Five years later."Fuck out of my room.""It tastes good, you should try it.""You know I hate pineapple toppings on pizzas."Mabel dumps the box of pizza on my bed. "Have you ever wondered why pizzas come in rectangular boxes, shaped in a circle, and eaten in triangles?""I guess we'll never know."With a sigh, Mabel folds her arms across her chests. "Could you at least act like you're happy to be home for thanksgiving?"I point towards the door. "Leave. I have work to do and I won't get it done if you're going to stand there all day and talk about pizzas.""Work?" She scoffs. "The only work you do is sit behind your laptop and stalk your boyfriend on Instagram.""He's not my boyfriend! MOM," I call out. "Mabel's bullying me!""Real mature."Zack, Simone's brother, walks into the room and hugs her from behind. "Hey babe."Even now that Mabel's much old
It feels like the first week of summer all over again where we hosted this Welcome party. Now we're hosting another, and this time it's a send-off party. The kind of gathering where we say goodbyes to the friends we made over the holidays.I overhear a couple promising each other to call and text everyday, some breaking up because they can't commit to a long distance relationship. I can't even find Noah anywhere, and I'm nervous about how we'll end up after this summer. I don't want to be remembered as some random girl he hooked up with during a summer vacation in Hawaii. Yes, I want to be remembered, but not that way."Hey, lover girl." I holler at Simone, signaling for her to come over. The sun went down hours ago and it's a beach party with bonfires lighting up the whole place."Hey to you too." She downs a bottle of beer in one gulp and throws the empty bottle to the sand. "So, this summer ended, and so did my relationship.""W
It's 2' O clock Pm on Thursday, and I won't stop pacing my room.I'm already dressed in a maroon dress, the skirt flowing smoothly below my knees with a pink cardigan on top of my shoulders to make it look a bit more casual, and my black flats are beside the door, ready to wear. I leave my hair falling loose to my shoulders, its waves free from the hairband I'd used on it almost everyday."Would you chill? It's not like it's your first date with a boy." Lacey lays upside down on my bed. "Or is it?""It's not. Last date with a boy was just before this vacation.""How'd it go?""We were in a fancy restaurant. He left for the restroom halfway into our meal and never came back.""At least he paid the bill before he left." I give her a look. "Oh, he didn't.""I just want tonight to be perfect, but I'm scared I'm going to mess things up.""Relax. I'm sure Noah's as nervous as you are right now.""You th
I wake up with Noah braced on his elbows and gazing down at me, idly playing with my hair. The sheets are covering my body up to my bare chests, and his is just above his waist."Hey," I murmur."You sleep with your eyes open, do you know that?" He says it with a smile. "It's quite mesmerizing."I glance towards the window and see it's still night out. "How long was I gone for?""A little over an hour. It's 10' pm.""I'm sorry I feel asleep.""It's alright." He rubs a thumb between my eyes. "I liked watching you sleep."I stretch, then shift so that I'm cradled by the pillows. Experimentally, I lay a hand on my breast. My heart is bumping along at a normal rate now rather than with that snare drum riff it had reached when he nuzzled just there. It's an odd feeling, to have someone suckling you, to have him pull you inside him. And to experience those mirror tugs in the womb.Everything he did makes my body feel diff
Noah's clicking away on his phone when I meet him in the private room and my stomach jumps again.I could always change my mind, I remind myself. There is no obligation there. But his head shoots up from his phone to study me before I can turn back and run away.Like I always do."Sorry I'm late," I say.He waves it off. "Lacey told me to meet you here.""Yes, that was the idea."He doesn't ask any more questions like I thought he would, just steps forward. "You look great.""I feel great." I smile. "Lacey and Simone get a charge out of going through my closet and criticizing my wardrobe. I'm told this is about the only decent thing I own." I pluck at the skirt. "They've threatened to take me shopping."Stop babbling! I order myself, moving behind the mini bar. "Want a drink?""I'm driving.""Actually, I was thinking we could just stay in." There, now I'd done it.
Every night for three days, I wake in the grip of a nightmare, drenched in sweat, with screams locked in my throat. Always the same: I'd be in Noah's house again from two years ago, and everything would play out accordingly the way it did that same night, except it's Clarke aiming the gun at Noah and pulling the trigger.Night after night, just before I pull myself awake, I'd watch him whimper and writhe as the bullet bites into his flesh, draining all life from his eyes.But this night, it gets too intense that I wake up with a scream, my whole body trembling with fear and terror. I pull the sheets off my body and head out the door, walking straight down to his room to see if he's okay.I know he is, but the dreams are beginning to get out of hand that I now fear for his safety. What do the dreams mean? Should I be worried? Or is my head just playing tricks on me?It's midnight and the halls are empty. The door to his room creaks open w
It's not until I'm back at the hotel and unpacking that I realize that through the last twenty-four hours of my stay at the spa, I hadn't thought of my troubles, my responsibilities at all. And now that I do realize it, there's a quick wash of guilt that it should have been so easy to leave it all behind, to immerse myself in pampering and pleasure.Like walking into an alternate reality, I suppose, and grimace as I tumble pretty gold boxes onto my bed. Which might explain why I'd barely put up a struggle when Lacey and Simone had urged me to buy creams, lotions, scents, shampoo.Christ Almighty, hundreds of dollars worth of female foolishness that I'm unlikely to remember to use.I tug my jeans on, trailing my shirt from my fingers as I walk to the window. The air swooping down from Oahu is bitter. There's no sun in the sky, and I'm grateful for that.I study the scatter of gold boxes over the simple quilt on my bed which looks li
"Oh. My." Is all I can say. Almost all I'd managed to say since we'd driven to the Mountain King Spa and Resort. And by 'we' I mean Lacey, Simone and I.The main lodge of the Spa spreads for acres, glass and wood and clever pebbled paths through evergreens and heated pools where steam curls in dreamy mists.I clutch the strap of my purse tightly as we check in, my head swiveling in wonder around the plush lobby with it's double fireplace, atrium ceiling, and lush plants.They somehow managed to drag me down here for a proper clean-up after I told them about my not so official date with Noah. I wasn't even half as excited about it as they were, and it's almost as if they've been planning this for a long time.Lacey greets the desk clerk with a friendly smile, calls him by name, and chats easily about how much she and her companion had enjoyed their stay earlier in the season.He all but simpers over her, calling up a bellman
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