(you can envision the characters however you want)
(best read in dark mode + times new roman)

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐄

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ever since I was little I have loved the waves. Most specifically, I have adored the waves in Green Day which was the place me and my mother went for every summer since I could remember. And as we head there now, I can already smell the salt of the beach.

Frank Ocean blasts through my ears from the radio. 'Pink + White' is the song that plays, and I also hum along with the reination of Beyonce's backup vocals. And as my mother drives I look out to a whole new world. One much brighter and happier compared to the depressing town of Alexander in east New York my mother and I live in.

Here in Green Day is where my life really happens.

I always remember my summers. In Green Day, nothing else matters. Because here I have friends, freedom, no school, and my mom.

All the windows are rolled down and Mom joins in on my humming which turns into silly singing.

My mother, Amelia, is awesome. She is my best friend and we practically do everything together. My boring life in New York is only tolerable because she is in it. She'd organize these trips after my dad died. She got a new job at the time of his passing working as a surgeon which would buy the beach house we are now driving to.

When I was little my mom and I would pretend we were mermaids, swimming through the house like it was an extension of the ocean. My best friend, Mackenzie, would join in after we'd met on the border walk. Then my other best friend, Cleo, who was a mutual friend of Mackenzie. And Mackenzie's mom would even buy us mermaid tails for full effect. And I look forward to another sea adventure this year. We always do one even though we are about to go to college. Old traditions never die.

But, we've barely spoken since last summer. And every time I request a video call for the three of us it is only Cleo who answers. Mackenzie is always busy.

I shake off my suspicion and sing the rest of the song with my mom. And when it's over the wind is the only music I hear. Me and my mom sit in a comfortable silence I feel would last until we make it to the house but it is disrupted by my mom clearing her throat.

I looked over to her, "What?" I ask.

The more I look at my mom I can feel bad vibes. I know my mom and when she's nervous and hiding something. I don't speak again, I wait for her response.

"Well, Kiddo I just — " She stops herself which slightly scares me. I am afraid she will say we've lost the house or that this will be our last stay. But instead, she says ...

"I've invited Morgan to come stay with us ..." She practically blurts out, "And her son too."

Immediately at her words, my heart drops a little in my chest. My mom is talking about the same toxic Morgan who basically kept ripping out her heart and stepping on it for a decade and just recently stopped doing it.

From my perspective, Morgan Hayes is selfish, toxic, and narcissistic. She is a bad person and I have never met her son, but since he came out of her I can already infer that he is no good either. None of the Hayes are.

Once, Morgan came rushing to my mother to get away from her crazy abusive husband, Grayson Hayes, which resulted in my mom having to get another door because he kicked it down. And my mom still forgave her and allowed her to continue and destroy her life.

It took brownies for my mom to cut off Morgan. Morgan would come over and bring brownies saying it was open for both of us to eat. She hadn't expected me to eat one because I was twelve and telling everyone I was vegan. But I caved in and ate one anyway. Turns out they were actually weed brownies and a prank for my mom. My mom freaked out and went off on Morgan and I never saw her again. And I hoped to never see her again because my mom cried hard the night she blocked Morgan out of our lives. They've been close friends since forever and Morgan ruined all of that.

From that day on, I hated Morgan.

Now I had to spend my favorite time of the year with her.

"And if she drugs me again?" I ask sarcastically while trying to mentally fight all the real questions I have for my mom. Like, Why? And, out of all people?

My mom chuckles nervously while pulling up to a gas station, "Me and Mo would like to fix things ... that is all." She pulls up to a pump and pulls twenty dollars out of her purse and hands it to me,

"Ten on pump six please," Her lips lifted to a tight-lipped smile.

There are a lot of things that go unspoken between me and my mom. Unlike for some people, she was my fun parent. My dad, from what I can now only remember from pictures and videos, was the strict one. But I love and miss him all the same.

"The other ten?" I ask.

"Gummy bears and mango juice."

I smile before I exit the car and walk into the gas station.

Me and my mother have stopped here plenty of times and it never changes. It seems as if the snacks are never changing. They are always where I have seen them the last time. The clerk still stands at the register and he smiles at me like always. And since this place is like it was before, the gummy bears are in the second aisle beside the cherry ones and gummy worms. And the mango juice is in the fourth freezer underneath a rack of water. And when I get two bottles of juice and close the door of one of the freezers a boy awaits me. One that isn't familiar to the store but really nice to look at.

I cautiously watch as he browses through the chip section. He holds hot Cheetos in one hand and takis in the other one. And it is like I am choosing with him. It is seconds until I make my decision. But he still switches his head between the two when the hot Cheetos are an obvious pick.

What I do next is impulsive. I walk up to him and hum attentively, to get his attention. And immediately regretted it when he ignored me. So I speak next,

"If you're having a hard time ..." I say a little loud so that his head will pop up from his options. And they do. He stares at me with really pretty brown eyes — as if the irises had melted into his entire eye.

"The hot Cheetos are much better. Especially for the weather." I say, "It'll be like hell in your body...their light on the spice."

I finished off my opinion with a chuckle as I tried to make a little joke. But it obviously doesn't work with him. He doesn't laugh. He only puts the bag of takis back and holds up the bag of hot Cheetos to me, muttering a light thanks and walking away to the register.

I vent to my mom in the car.

"I will never talk to a boy again." I declare as my mom laughs manically at my story. I shove a handful of gummy bears in my mouth as I turn annoyingly to my mom, "It's not funny!"

"It's a little funny!" My mom protests. "Really Lottie? light on the spice." She laughs even harder but I don't say anything to her as I am still trying to swallow my gummy bears. So my mom continues talking,

"You just need to learn how to talk to boys," My mom suggests as if it is easy.

Unlike me, my mom is perfect. She is the perfect woman a man could ever want. She has really nice skin and curly hair. She's very loving and fun and has a warm personality. And most importantly she is a natural at scoring men. As we speak she has our landlord, Steve, wrapped around her finger. He is obsessed with her.

When people see me beside my mom I know they think, That came out of that? Because I didn't get my looks from her I got them from my dad. I'm short awkward and midsized. And my nose is really big. I am not the ideal for most boys...I don't look like any of those girls on Instagram. And I have nothing to back me up ... I'm boring.

Instead of responding I groan and cover my face with my hands. I can feel my mom comforting me with a hand on my shoulder but I didn't budge in my position. Not until she shakes me,

"We're here!" She practically squeals and I have never gotten up so quickly. I scoot up in my seat to get closer to the window for a better view, and can't help but smile when I see the familiar white exterior of our summer home.

Mentally, I am begging my mom to drive faster so I could get in and call Mackenize and Cleo but that thought is rudely interrupted when we finally get to the driveway and another car is there too. My smile slowly falls when I see a familiar face get out of the driver's seat.

My mom is quick to park the car and greet Morgan. And when I watch them hug I feel like gagging a little. I watch them interact and get those bad vibes again and instantly I feel my summer falling apart slowly in front of my eyes. And even more when her son stepped out of the car.

Because he wasn't at all what I expected him to be.

Authors note 🌺.
Any predictions on the story so far? If so comment them! And don't forget to like if you've liked this chapter. Thank you for reading 🌊💛

there's a playlist you can read while listening!