"Allice, wait for me!"

"Hurry up!"

We were hurrying through Central Park, New York, trying to catch the 1 A.M. metro to Manhattan. Sophie and I were on our way to meet my older sister at her apartment there. As you can probably already tell, Sophie's my best friend. Soph, my sister, and me all hang out pretty regularly. Especially now that Soph and I are out of school for the summer.

* * * * * *

I've always been close to Izzy, my sister. Growing up, she was like a mother and a best friend to me, with mom being gone and all. She died when I was seven. Izzy is only five years older than me, making her twelve at the time and at the perfect cover mother age. She was all I had left.

You're probably wondering if we even have the father figure. We do. Although, he's almost always working over time. And when he's not working, he's out with friends, or on a date. I think after mom died he went into a depression but didn't want to let us kids know about it. So we hardly ever see him, leaving Izzy to take care of me. Several years later, she went away to a college in Manhattan on a full academic scholarship. By then, not only was I able to take care of myself, but I was also a freshman and I had already met Sophie. Oh, and I also had Matilda, the house maid/cook, who happened to be a blessing in disguise. That was two years ago.

Now I'm going to be a senior in high school, and I am sixteen years old, going on seventeen. I have a summer birthday.

* * * * * *

"Allice, what are you doing?" Soph asked me.

"Huh?"

"Were you even paying attention?"

"Uh, I was thinking, " I told her.

"Sure you were."

She flipped her long, blond hair over one shoulder. There were very few things Sophie and I didn't have in common. Our hair color was one dramatic difference. Hers was a strawberry blond. Mine was so dark it was almost black.

"Izzy is expecting us, right?" Soph asked.

"Yup," I replied. "Hey, Soph?"

"Huh?"

"What do want to do this summer? Besides hang out with Izzy."

We were on the metro now. It was old and smelled bad, as usual.

"Oh, um, I don't know. Same thing we do every summer, I guess. Why?"

"I was just wondering," I sighed. Maybe we could go somewhere."

She laughed softly. "Where would we go?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe Michigan."

She looked at me incredulously. "Michigan! What's in Michigan?"

"Water. Lakes. Beaches. And probably hot guys, too."

"We have water and Niagara Falls here in New York, Alli," She laughed.

"I know, but I guess I just want to go somewhere different. And we're always doing the same thing every summer."

"I know, Alli, but do you think we could actually pull off going to Michigan? I mean, I assume we'd be going by ourselves. Would we be?"

"Of course we'd be going by ourselves. Who else would we go with?" I laughed gently.

"OK, so back to my previous question. Do you really think we could pull that off?"

"Yes," I told her confidently,"I do. I mean, we're sixteen years old, Soph. I'll have my license within the next few weeks. You already have yours. And i practically already have a car, no thanks to Dad."

She laughed at the last part. She knew everything there was to know about my dad and that's not saying much. "That may be, Alli, but I still don't understand why you want to go. Or why Michigan, for that matter."

I sat there and pondered for a better explanation. I was not going to give up on this. And Sophie knew it. Looking out the window of the dirty metro train, I could see the dark outline of trees, green and luscious, even if it was dark, flying past. And the flowers, almost looking peaceful in a way, sleeping like most of the world.

Just then, the train came to a screeching halt. At the same time, the announcer came over the trains' A.P. system "This is the stop for Manhattan. This is the stop for Manhattan." Jeez. These people were so monotone.

"Come on, Soph. Izzy will be waiting." It wasn't until I had opened my mouth to speak that I realized I had been clenching my teeth in total thought and concentration.

* * * * * *

"Allice? Sophie? Is that you?" My sister called from the tiny kitchen in her apartment.

"No, it's the cookie monster and Elmo," I called down the hallway. I thought I heard Iz laugh. All of a sudden, strangely at the same moment, Soph and I seemed to get a burst of hyperness. I stuck my tongue out at her, and she started making weird faces at me. We both started cracking up. We walked into Izzy's elegant kitchen laughing hysterically.

"What in God's name are you two laughing at?" Izzy said, on the verge on laughing, herself. "Or do I want to know?"

"She started it," we both said unison, making us laugh all over again.

This time, and there was no mistaking it this time, Iz did laugh. "Soo, it's Friday night. What do you chicka's wanna do?" Izzy inquired.

"Hmmm?" I said. Suddenly, I got a whiff of the, most likely gourmet, food Izzy had been cooking. It smelled delicious. "Watcha cookin' Iz?" I asked as Soph and me sat down at the table.

"Mexican food," she replied happily. "I wanted to try something different."

Not only was Izzy incredibly smart, she could also cook, really, really well. Like Chef Ramsey or Rachel Ray. It wasn't as if I had had their food before, but I imagine that it was probably weirdly similar. Izzy mostly cooked because she enjoys doing so, but her being fantastic at it didn't hurt.

"Allice, here, wants to go to Michigan this summer," Sophie informed my sister.

I kicked her leg from under the table.

"Ouch," she mumbled.

"Whaat?! Allice, is this another one of your "smart-ass" tricks?" My sister asked curiously, she sounded suspicious, too. I was however know for my "smart-ass" tricks.

"No, Izzy, I want to go to Michigan. I don't really know why Michigan. But I'm kind of getting tired of doing the same thing every summer. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love ya, sis, but there's still things I want to do before I go to college."

"So, let me get this straight. You want to do things, such as go to Michigan and conquer the world, before you go to college. And how are planning on getting there? Or have you planned anything else out besides 'I want to go to Michigan'?"

"FYI, Iz, I always plan ahead. Okay, most of the time."She glanced at me skeptically. "okay, almost never. But I have this time. Soph, here, already has her license, and I'll be getting mine in a few weeks. And I practically already have a car. Last time I talked to Dad, he said as soon as I get my license, he'll give me the money for the car I want."

"Okay, one, what makes you think your for sure you're going to get your license? You don't want Sophie to get stuck with all the driving. And, two, what makes you think that even for a second, Dad is going to live up to his word, even if you do pass the driving test?"

I hated it when she pounded all that reasonable logic crap into my head. Of course, I knew she was right, and I was wrong. Again.

"Well, you know what?" I asked the both of them. They threw a glance of questioning my way. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. And now, I'm hungry." Sophie giggled and Izzy smiled as she got up to go dish out the food.