Chapter One
The world seems to be turning at such a fast pace and I’m struggling to keep up with it. Just a month ago, I was just thinking about how I was going to make the last few days of my senior year the best. How was I going to make myself memorable? Now I'm worrying about how I'm going to survive on my own.
College has always seemed so terrifying, but I never let myself give it much thought. It was always “I can think of that later. I still have time." But here I am, staring at an email on my computer from a college in Austria.
Going to a college outside of the country has always been a dream. I always wanted to go out to a brand new place and experience a new culture in Italy or Paris but turns out, it’s a lot harder than it seems. Out of all the colleges I applied to out there, not a single one had accepted me. I only have one more college letter to open and absolutely no hope. Nevertheless, I slide my finger through the edge of the envelope and take the letter out.
To,
Olivia M. Romero
Date: 07-28-16
Subject: College Acceptance Letter
Dear Miss. Romero,
This letter is being sent to inform you of your recent acceptance to our Performing Arts and Music Academy. After reviewing our sources we have recognized you are very qualified for our college and we look forward to having you attend our school. Attached we have a brochure of all the classes our school offers so you can plan out your semester. Please have your courses picked out by August 1st.
Congratulations on the admission and we wish you the best of luck in your future classes.
Sincerely,
Mr. Maximilian Jefferson
“Oh, my-” My eyes open wide as I reread the letter over and over again. “Mom!”
“Livia! What’s wrong?” My mom asks, rushing into the room. Her long dark brown hair lies on her shoulders as she stands in the doorways.
“Look! Look! Look!"
I point to the computer, trying to have someone confirm I wasn’t just dreaming all of this.
“Oh my goodness, Olivia! Congratulations!” She pulls me into a hug, a cloud of rose-scented perfume surrounding me.
My mom is a lawyer in Miami so she only bought the most expensive perfumes, and of course, the only perfumes that made me feel like I’m going to die every time I walked into the same room as her.
“Thanks, Ma,” I smile softly, fixing my glasses.
“We need to tell your father! He’s going to be so proud of you sweetie!” My mother pinches my cheeks before turning away, “I’m going to go call him!”
Before I could protest, she was already out of the room. There is no point in calling her back in here. She probably already has him on the phone. Sometimes I swear she has him on a mental speed dial. Every time a thought comes to her head, she can just send the message to him mentally.
I get up and go to shut my bedroom door before beginning to dial my best friend Mackenzie. Kenzie and I have been friends since kindergarten. She shared a bag of goldfish with me and we’ve been friends ever since, but things have been a little hard lately. Mackenzie has brains, and I mean brains. She is so smart that she passed an advanced placement class with a perfect score and has never failed a test. She’s always had a work ethic I was never able to understand. Sure, I love what I do, but I could never stare at my computer for over 24 hours and not get bored with it. The only thing she doesn't have is street smarts.
“Kenzie! Kenzie! Guess what?” I smile as I jump onto my bed.
“What?”
“I got accepted to Innsbruck! I’m going to Austria!’ I squeal.
“No way! Congratulations! You’re going to have so much fun! I wish I was leaving the country too,” She sighs. Mackenzie’s parents are not fond of the idea of Kenzie going away. Kenzie was their second born. Her parents loved children and don’t like the idea of having to give one away to another house even for a sleepover so the idea of her leaving the country exploded itself off the table.
“I wish you could too,” I frown.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be living in Austria. When are you leaving?”
“July 31st.”
I can't believe the words coming out of my mouth. July 31st. I am going to be leaving the country and living in a brand new place that barely even speaks English. I am going to be leaving so much behind but I’m ready for this new start. I’m ready to say goodbye to all the drama in America and try something new. Meet new people. Try new foods and traditions.
“Then we are going to make the next three days the best days ever,” Mackenzie replies. By her tone, you can tell she's smirking. Going with her plans is like getting in a car to drive when you have never seen one in your life before. She always plans something crazy. When it was my 16th birthday and I had nothing planned, she arranged hair appointments. Appointments to dye our hair. I had no clue till pink dye was being slathered onto my head and the hairstylist said, “Ooh I love working with hair like yours! No damage, just pure life!” For the next month, I looked like a flamingo. Because Mackenzie has the perfect skin tone and perfect brown eyes, she rocked the pink hair but I could not. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if I was part of the circus, I think I’d be a billionaire.
“Should I be concerned?”
“No! I’m going to pick a great list of stuff to do.”
“No turning me into a clown or anything close to that,” I replied, putting my phone on speaker and beginning to organize my stuff for moving.
“I promise I won’t turn you into a clown. I don’t promise anything else though.”
“Oh boy,” I smiled.
