Chapter 1

"She's a wave and she's breaking. She's a problem to solve, and in that circle she's making, I will always revolve."

The lyrics to "Ultraviolet" by Stiff Dylans are blasting in my ears. I have it as loud as it can go. Music is the only thing that will get me through this dreaded trip to Sydney, Australia. People are looking at me funny, so I just stare at the back of the seat in front of me. The guy in that seat is big and sweating profusely. I can even see the beads of sweat forming at the nape of his neck.. Ew.

Of course I have to sit in coach while my sister Kim and her husband Mark sit in first class. Why did my parents make me do this? Oh, yeah: "bonding." Bonding my ass. All Kim and Mark will do is have sex and be all coupley while I do what, sit in the guest bedroom for the two and half weeks of my winter break? No, thank you. Why couldn't I have just gone to Hawaii with my parents? I won't even have a phone that works internationally. How the hell will I talk to Peyton, my best friend? This will be hell. At least it will be warmer than Michigan.

I don't even feel the plane land. A hand taps on my shoulder and my eyes spring open. I must have fallen asleep. It was the lady next to me irritated that I wasn't moving yet so she could get out.

"Sorry," I mutter. I get up and move over so she can exit, then I grab my backpack, wrap up my headphones, and make my way off the plane. As I'm getting off the plane I hear my sister's voice, "Kory! Over here! Let's go! Mark and I have things to get done." Yeah, like have sex? I slowly walk toward them, trying to irritate my sister. That always puts me in a better mood. I'm about to tell them I haven't gotten my luggage yet, but they already grabbed it; it's quite hard to miss. It is lime green with watermelon pink designs, courtesy of my mother, always encouraging me to be girly. Although, I don't mind the green, but the pink is just not me.

A taxi is already out front of the airport ready to take us to Mark's home. Sydney, Australia is where he's originally from. Kim met him when he was playing baseball for a college in Michigan a few years ago. They've been inseparable since then.

It's scorching hot outside, and as we all climb into the cab, I notice the wretched smell. Oh, this is just great. I scoot over behind the driver and roll down my window.

"It's not far from here," Mark says. "Just a couple miles. I think you'll really like it, Kory. It's right by the beach."

"Oh, yippie," I say sarcastically and look out the window. I'm fluent in sarcasm. Kim elbows me in the ribs, but I just ignore her.

As we drive by a park, a big group of girls catches my eye. It looks like there's something going on. It looks interesting. Maybe I can check it out later. A few blocks down from the park, the cab lurches to a stop and I'm the first one to get out. I've had enough of the cab that smelt like a mixture of baby puke and rotten meat. The fresh air smells much better, like salt and the sun; like summer.

I take a deep breath in through my nose. This actually doesn't seem that bad. The cab pulls away, Kim and Mark are already inside the house, so I grab my incredibly heavy bags and walk up the wooden porch. I stop and look up; the house is big and white, with a wraparound porch. I set my bags down and walk around to the back. There it was the big, blue ocean.

Umbrellas dotted the beach here and there. It was definitely a nice day for a trip to the beach. I sit down on the back steps for a few minutes taking in the view. Little kids were running with shovels and pales building sandcastles, and overly concerned parents were yelling at them about not getting too close to the water. There were a few surfers and some girls tanning, too. It was a typical beach scene. I get up, brush off, and walk back around to the front, grab my bags, and haul them inside.

"Did you get a good look at the beach?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, it's actually pretty cool," I replied.

"Yeah? I knew you'd love it. Here, let me show you to your room."

I follow Mark up a set of wooden stairs and down a hallway to the last room on the left. It's a nice room with light yellow and green walls and a big bed with a giant white bed frame and a lot of fluffy pillows, and on the wall opposite of the bed was flat screen television; nice! Mark gives me a brief lay out of the house instead of showing me, and then he leaves. I roll my suitcase over to one side of the room and flip it open. It's about time I get out of the clothes I flew here in. I rummage through my suitcase until I find a pair of old jean shorts, my swimming suit, a tank top, and my toiletries.

I walk down the hall way to the bathroom to change. It's kind of small, but it's perfect for just me. I change into my new set of clothes and look in the mirror. Jesus, I am a mess. I take my brush and brush through my long, auburn hair and then throw it into a pony. Next, I wash my face and put on a bit of mascara to accent my green eyes. Good enough I thought.

I take my old clothes back to my room and throw them in a pile in a corner, and then I grab my backpack and head downstairs. I find Kim in the kitchen.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna go for a walk," I tell her.

"Wait, here's something from Mark." She hands me a rectangular box. I flip it over and on the front is a picture of an iPhone. I open the box, and the picture wasn't lying. There it is a brand new white iPhone 4s.

"It works here in Australia. Mark thought you could have one for when we come here." Kim explained.

"Really? Cool. I'm gonna go now," I tell her as I walk out the door with the phone in hand.

"Kory! Really?! Just don't forget to thank him, please!" I hear Kim yell as I walk out the door.

I switch on the phone and it's already been charged. A few contacts were already added in, too. My parents' number, Kim's number, and Mark's number were all in the contact list. I quickly add Peyton's number in from memory, and then I hit call. It takes three or four rings before she picks up.

"Hello?" I hear her voice on the receiver.

"Hey, Pey. It's me," I reply.

"Kory! You got a phone?" Peyton asked. She didn't give me time to reply before she started talking again. "I miss you so much already! It sucks here. I hope you're having fun, though!"

"Yeah, fun. It's okay here," I tell her as I walk down to the beach.

"Well, what are you doing?"

"Taking a walk, getting away from Kim and Mark. Puke."

"Oh, well-" Peyton says, but then gets cut off by yelling in the background. "Sorry, Kor! I gotta go. My mom needs me. Text me! Love you, bye!" She hangs up before I even get the chance to say a word.

I keep walking toward the beach, but then the thought of the park comes to mind. So, I switch my direction towards the park. It's only a few blocks away so it doesn't take me long to get there, and sure enough, the group of girls are still standing in the same spot, but I think it got bigger. As I get closer, I can hear music. I listen for a while and realize an acoustic version of I Miss You by Blink 182 is playing. I push my way through the crowd up to where a group of four boys are playing the song. Huh, this is different. Three of the boys were playing guitars and one was playing on some bongos. The one that was singing at the moment had dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and was super cute. The boy beside him had dark hair and was almost Asian looking. The last guitarist had shaggy, light blonde hair and was shy looking. The bongo player was very cheeky looking with very curly hair. Peyton would definitely have a thing for that one if she were here. I listened to the rest of I Miss You and then they talked for a bit. After saying a few 'thank yous', they started up on another song, but it was one I've never heard before, so I just sat back and let their music take me away.