chapter two:

Outside of the house was a giant van. Sleek black in color with windows spanning the entirety of it. There was a man standing in front of it, his back to the door that we were coming through as he did a thorough inspection of the windows.

"I guess they went out of their way for the road trip." I felt my cheeks flushing quickly. My mother and father had really gone out of their way for me. None of us would have to argue about who had the tedious task of driving long hours. It wouldn't have been Noah though, he failed his driver's test three times and none of us wanted to risk it.

We often joked about it, but when it came down to it, I always drove anytime we went somewhere.

The others in the group popped their head out of the door, some tumbling out into the walkway. "That's a big ass van Saro," Jeremey commented, saying what the rest of the group was thinking but didn't want to say.

" 잘, there's no reason to just stand around waiting. All of you should at least put your stuff on the bus." Mother told us, maneuvering through the others that towered over her, "You'll be late for the first stop which will mess with the entire schedule."

Skye looked over at my mother, raising her thin eyebrow, "Where are we going first?"

"Now, Skye, you know I can't tell you. It's a surprise." I explained, pulling out a thick stack of folded papers from my back pocket. "This is our itinerary for the next three weeks. Every stop, every resort, every attraction is listed on here. It's all mapped out. Mostly because I've had problems sleeping the last couple of weeks. It's very detailed though, there's a whole bunch of places that I'm excited to go see."

A couple of the others gave me a look of concern, solely because of my little slip-up about not begin able to sleep. However, I deliberately didn't look at them. "I guess we should go get our stuff then."

We returned back into the house, carefully filing through the door one by one. The others put their backpacks on their backs, grabbing their suitcases and moving into the heat of a usual Bando's summer.  I stuck back a little bit, acting as if I was making sure that I had everything in my backpack. But that's not what I was really doing. I hopped on Instagram, fingers moving quicker than my mind could stop me.

I should have had Hemani blocked. That was the Indian beauty that Santiago was dating now. We didn't follow each other, her account was on public, so as much as I didn't want to admit it, I often looked at her account.

Her last post was a montage of pictures of her and Santiago. That was the only reason I lurked on her page. Looking at those deep brown eyes that I had fallen in love with, his one dimple on the left side of his cheek. He looked at her like he used to look at me, in love beyond anything the universe knew.

My heart hurt so much. Tears filled my eyes, threatening to fall until a creak in the room caught my attention. Hiding my phone behind my back, I turned around quickly, wiping away the one tear that laid on my cheek.

"He doesn't deserve your tears anymore Saro."

"Taj," I mumbled underneath my breath. If I wanted anyone to see my crying, he would be the top on the list. It wouldn't be the first time either but talking about it now wouldn't help me stop, "I wasn't crying, I just got some of the ashes in my eye from the fireplace."

An easy lie, we had a gas fireplace and it was the beginning of summer. Even if it was a regular wood-burning fireplace, it hadn't been opened since late February when the weather spiked without reason and never went back down.

"I don't blame you, but we're not thinking about him. We've got an entire trip planned, for you, me, and the rest of the group. Nobody expects you to go back to the way you were but we can't watch you lose yourself in this town to some boy who can't respect you." Taj moved around the furniture until he stood in front of me with a sad look on his face. "Just think of how jealous him and that witch Hemani will be when they see all of us posting our trip."

A little laugh escaped my closed lips, slowly bringing my mood back up. "You're right. As always. Come on, let's get back out there before I get caught up again." We exchanged a quick hug and left the living room, going to join the rest of the group outside.

Everyone else was working on putting their luggage in the cavities below the van; my mother and father stood off to the side talking to a balding man. All that was left now was to join the rest of the group and get the trip I had been planning for weeks started.

Taj and I separated, him taking his luggage towards the van. Everyone else had their backpacks on full of clothes that we might need for the next couple of days, hygiene items, chargers, snacks that my mother had bagged up from our impromptu lunch, and anything else that might have kept us entertained for the extent of the first drive.

"딸, you weren't going to leave without saying bye, were you? I know I raised you better than that." My mother called out, a frown overtaking her pale face.

"Of course not, I was just making sure everything was set back in the house. I thought I might have left something behind." I explained to her quickly, meeting them halfway. My father handed me my usual backpack and the three of us fell into a heavy embrace, with me in the middle.

Father held the two of us in his strong arms, ones that he had been strengthening since he was in Kenya building houses as a teenager, long before he became a doctor. Reluctantly, we let go and both of them placed a kiss on my forehead. "Be safe, and text us occasionally."

"Of course I will. Bring me back something. A snowglobe or something."

I was the last one on the bus after my parents and I quietly depart. After sophomore year, a bunch of us stopped riding the bus but now we were acting like underclassmen again, fighting for seats in the back, as far away from the driver as we possibly could. We stayed back there as if it was another dimension, one that couldn't be touched or bothered by others that weren't there.

I saw towards the back, the boys had saved me a seat, though they were exchanging words about who was going to sit together. I walked down the middle of the bus, trying to avoid any tails or backpacks that were resting there, passing different pairs that made sense when I thought about it.

Beatrice and Elowyn sat together, both looking down at the gaming device that Bea had brought along with her. They had a baby blue and pink switch set it up on a tray table, putting tops on their single controllers. Each of them had in their own pair of headphones but they held a small conversation between the two. They were both so quiet with each other, but on their own, I knew how loud they could be in the heat of the moment.

Cordelia and Emma took seats diagonal from the other girls. They didn't say much to each other like the others were. Cordelia held her ukelele case to her but she didn't take it out. I didn't think anyone would have minded if she played some toons for us but while her fingers itched, she never did. Emma leaned her head against the window, her eyes closed, and put headphones in, focused on the music instead of the chattering of the rest of the van.

Skye and Adalyne took a row almost without a second thought. It was obvious that they found comfort in their similar skin tones. A majority of us didn't think anything of it, Bandos High School has always been grouped by ethnicity, and if not that then clubs. It was rare to see people mix, even I got looks from other groups.

But I didn't have a single group to call my own, I didn't want to be in a group so I made friends wherever I managed to and I wouldn't want it any other way.

What was surprising though was the fact that Loki and Ezra sat next to each other. They have almost nothing in common that came to the top of my head but they exchanged words between the two of them. Nana, Loki's black boxer sat in the middle of them as she looked around the bus, tail waggling in excitement. Jaxton laid in the outside of the aisle, occasionally looking up at Ezra for reassurance and a quick rub. As I passed them, I swooped down, running my hand down his back before standing up straight once more.

Even Noah and Jeremy sat together, cracking jokes about our driver and how they could make the bald spot on his head even bigger. Since their personalities were so similar, some could call it fate that they found each other so quickly. Laughter was not rare from their little section, and I'm sure they shared the same mischievous smiles as I walked behind them.

There were only two sets of seats in the very back. Azurite, Taj, and Ty, all looking up to see who was going to sit with me as if we wouldn't be sitting in the same row together. Azu and Taj were in a deep argument about how I was guaranteed to sit with them because they were my brothers. Out of the corner of my eye, Ty grabbed my arm slightly and plopped me down in the aisle seat next to him.

The other two boys yelled at him, but they could never stay mad for too long for seconds later, laughter fell from all of our mouths. Never a dull moment with them.

I sat my backpack in my lap, throwing open the flap quickly. My hand rummaged through the contents, which I may or may not have overpacked until I realized something was missing. In the background, I could vaguely hear the bus driver tell us about our first destination, which was Ezra's house but my mind was completely focused on trying to figure out what I could not find. Even in the mess, I could tell exactly what was missing.

The bus began to lurch forward and without even thinking, I stood up quickly, "Wait, Mr. Smith! I forgot something!"

There was a collect groan from my own friends and the bus driver alike.

Ok, so maybe after everything that happened, I was still an airhead. I jump from task to task because I get bored and they knew that. I also knew that as soon as I got off of the bus they would be talking about my forgetfulness.

Not that it bothered me, at least they could bond over making fun of me. With a giant smile on my face, I ran off the bus and back into the house. I need exactly what I was looking for and where it was.

On the left corner of my room desk, sat a small green box. I grabbed it quickly, feeling the weight of it in my hand and before I could jog back out of the house, I looked around at my room once last time.

Light purple walls that were covered in pictures of the same people I was about to be gone with for nearly a month. There were painfully empty spaces where I tore down pictures that have Santiago in them. They were no longer on the wall, but in a shoebox in the back of my closet with everything else he had given me in our long relationship.

I was going to cry if I stayed in there any longer, so I left, closing the doors behind me as I went along my way. It didn't take me long to get back onto the bus. Everyone looked up from what they were doing to see what I had ran back to get.

I raised up the box like it was a Grammy trophy and smiled brightly, "It's extra film for my polaroid!"

There was a slight moment of silence as it settled in and then some began to yell at me, others filled the bus with their chuckles.

"Out of all of the things, you could have gone back inside for? Some store-bought film? Saro we could have got some more at the store!"  Elowyn asked me, pulling out one of her earbuds as I walked past for the second time.

I'm sure if they had paper balls, they would have thrown them at me in a playful way. All of it was a joke. They knew my tendencies and I knew them each of theirs. We were all family, or at least they were to me. I hoped soon enough they would be family with each other as well.

"Are you ready now Ms. Saros? Are you sure you have everything or should I keep the bus in the park?"  Our bus driver asked, turning around and looked dead at me, despite the fact that I was in the very back.

I felt my ears heat up in embarrassment and I quickly nodded. I wouldn't have told anyone if I did forget something, I didn't think I could have taken anymore embarrassment. Hopefully, it was just something we could stop and buy if I had forgotten something.

"As I said, let's get moving. Once more, my name is Mark Smith. I'll be driving this bus until the last stop. I have one rule, you keep this bus clean and the way you got on it and I will return you home the same way you got on this bus. Simple as that."

For the second time, the van began to move, this time going farther than it had before. It drove away from the structure that I had called home for eighteen years. If I squinted my eyes just enough, I could see my parents waving their arms goodbye from their bedroom window.

I had been so excited to escape the whispers and the glares that I didn't recognize the knots in my stomach. I had never been away from my parents for an extended period of time such as this. It was always a week at the most when they had conferences to attend to in the state and I had class. Even then, I was always staying with Taj and his aunt. But this was completely different.

By the time my parents got home from their overseas medical conference, I would be halfway across the country. Three weeks without seeing them seemed like an entirely new journey that I wasn't sure if I was ready to do yet.

I looked to the left, out the window as the world zoomed on by without a care. Ezra lived fifteen minutes away from my house but we always had to use Bandit St, the only street in the town where you could legally go over forty-five. This street accessed everything: the high school, the community college, the strip mall, the ghetto parts of our town, and the high-end parts. 

Cars full of teenagers our age passed the van, most likely on their way to strip mall and any adults were on their way out of town to work. The trees passed in a blur of greens and whites as this was the season for them to finish their blooming.

"What about a game?" The boy next to me asked, cutting through the collective quiet of the van. Heads turned to see who had suggested the idea, and Ty Brown gave them his signature smile.

Cordelia must have sat up on her legs to see into the very back of the bus, "What kind of game? There's not much we can play so separated like this."

"Truth or dare car version, or padiddle?"

"What's padiddle?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. Happily, he threw his arm over my shoulder.

"I'm glad you ask dear disciple. Basically, we're looking for something on cars, like a headlight that's out or a certain letter on the license's plate. If you see if then you have to say padiddle. The last person to say something for the person next to them." Ty explained to the group. Luckily, he was naturally loud so it didn't take him much effort to be heard in all parts of the van.

"We should play after I get Jax's stuff," Ezra suggested, obviously taking a liking to the idea of the game. He must have noticed that we were getting closer to his house as we took a turn on the side road. There wouldn't be many cars for us to look at once we got into the neighborhood. The rest didn't know where we were but Jaxton did, as he raised his head in excitement.

A few others nodded in agreement, though I couldn't tell if they were agreeing to playing the game or waiting. I hope it was the first.

A few more turns of the giant bus and it reached the first destination, though this one was not on the itinerary. Down the long gravel drive stood a brown-bricked house.

"Oh, are you excited buddy? Look we're home but you're not staying here. Come let's go get Ducky and some food." Ezra said out loud, getting a bright reaction from his German Shepard. The two departed the bus together, Jax in front of Ezra, and walked into the house, closing the door behind them.

While we waited, I began to daydream again, letting my mind wander until I was hit with a realization. Without letting another second pass, I opened my backpack once more, sticking my hand until I reached the bottom. Out of all of the things that I could have forgotten, I forgot one of the secret reasons I wanted so badly to go on this trip.

I pulled out the professional-grade camera from my backpack and wiped off the invisible dust. The tripod would take too long to set up and I had packed within my suitcase so it was not accessible, to begin with. "Come now, everybody off the bus. Before Ezra comes back. We don't have a lot of time or we'll get off schedule."

I met Adalyne's eyes and she gave me a look of concern. When we got off of the bus, she touched my arm softly as if I would break had she touched any harder. "Saro, what's wrong? You're not having second thoughts about the trip or anything?" She questioned, keeping her voice low so that the others could not hear.

I couldn't keep my smile down, even though she seemed worried. I raised the camera and shook my head quickly. "No, of course not. We haven't even left Bando yet, I'm so tired of this little town. I was supposed to take pictures and we don't have one as a group yet. Memories for USC."

Addy gave out a sigh of relief, nodding as she understood what I was talking about. Pictures to hang up in our dorm rooms at the start of the fall. "I wish you had told me, I wouldn't have dressed so sexily." She joked, motioning to her BCC (Bando Community College) sweatshirt and biker shorts.

"When the USC boys come into my dorm and see the picture, I'll be sure to give them your Insta." I joked back, throwing my head back in a laugh. "We should hurry though before Mr. Smith decides to drive away."

She joined the rest of the group and I walked a little farther, "Hey everybody! Small up! The frames not big enough for everyone to be in their own little bubble." I yelled at them, adjusting the zoom and settings on the black camera until I was happy with it.

It was like clockwork for me, my hands moved by themselves until my mind was satisfied. Hesitantly, the others got closer to each other, though it was still stiff and awkward. "Mr. Smith," I beckoned over with one hand, "Will you take our picture when Ezra comes back?"

He grumbled something under his breath but at last, a nod came from him. "You children and your new technology. How does this work?" He held the camera in his hands in the most awkward way I had ever seen.

I held back a laugh and adjusted it in his hands, "Don't worry it's quite simple. You press this button when we're ready. I've already set up everything else."

While we waited for Ezra to return, the group had sparse conversations there. Nothing like you would have with a bunch of close friends that could go on for hours and hours with thousands of topics. No, this was awkward small talk and I couldn't even find the words to make it anything more than that.

Luckily, Ezra didn't take too long to collect what he needed. "The Achytis siblings are ready to go if I do say so myself. But you all didn't have to come to wait for me outside of the bus."

Beatrice quickly took up the task of explaining what was going on, I'm sure so that she could get back to her game. After hearing the plan, Ezra took a spot in the back since he was towering over a majority of us and Jaxton politely sat next to him.

"Ready Mr. Smith? Just like I showed you!"

The bus driver nodded, holding the camera to his eye level even though I told him he could just look through the screen. His hands were steady at least. But then without warning, he snapped three or four pictures.

There were only a few people in the group that was ready for it, and I was not one of them. My head was thrown back in a laugh because someone had cracked a joke. The boys were all looking off in the distance as if they had planned it. Some of the girls were smiling, others had their eyes closed. The only people who seemed to take the picture seriously were Nana and Jaxton.

It didn't matter though, I was in love with it. It was the start of our road trip and the start of the recovery of my broken heart.