Hey readers! I have been inactive for so long I'm soooooooo sorry, I've had school, basketball, and I'm in the musical Grease right now, so I'm balancing homework and practices for sports and Grease. I'm super excited to ease myself back into writing. I shouldn't be too rusty because I just finished taking a semester writing class, but no promises *laughy face emoji* Onto the story...
Clary
As we pulled away from my house one last time, I glanced behind me to catch one last glimpse of my home. I couldn't believe my mom had actually sold our house. Our home. I had lived at 1230 Rose Anna Street since the day I was brought home from the hospital. Now, my home is gone. Technically not truly gone, but I would never return back and it would never be the same. My mom had sold our home because she was chasing her teenage dream of living by the ocean. She had snatched me away from my school, art club, and my job at Starbucks so we could have a "fresh start" she claimed.
I plopped my head against the head rest and started to unwind my orange ear buds.
"Wait, Clary, before you tune us out we need to tell you something," my stepdad, Luke, said excitedly.
I looked up at him in the driver seat, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"When we get to Stoneybrooke, we will have a surprise waiting for you!" my mom exclaimed with a smile on her face.
I could tell they were trying to bribe me to be happy. It wasn't going to work. Most people would be ecstatic to move to the coast. Not me. Being a pale, freckled, red head doesn't exactly agree with being exposed to harsh sunlight. The humidity was going to do a number on my thick, curly hair, too. I hated change. Change usually meant good-bye and I wasn't ready to say good-bye to my life here in Russel's Point.
"You know how I love surprises," I said with sarcasm dripping off every word.
My mom thrust her phone in my face and all I saw was a picture of a black puppy.
"You got us a dog?" I said with a hint of doubt in my voice.
"Yup!" squealed my mom as she turned to face the front again.
I had been wishing for a dog since I was 5, putting it on my Christmas list every year and being disappointed every year. My mom and Luke were really sucking up to me if they were getting us a dog. They really wanted me to be happy in Stoneybrooke. As I put in my earbuds, I promised myself to at least try to have an open mind about Stoneybrooke. I started day dreaming about Stoneybrooke as my music blared in my ears and got comfortable to prepare for the seven hour drive to my new home.
Jace
"ALEC, HURRY UP THE WAVES ARE PERFECT TODAY," I shouted upstairs.
Alec trudged down the stairs with half of his hair sticking straight up.
"Jace, how many times have I told you to not wake me up this early on the weekends," Alec said with an exasperated sigh, "Some of us actually have to sleep in on the weekends because we don't sleep in class every day."
I smirked and shrugged as Alec shuffled into the kitchen.
"I'll get the boards ready while you're eating," I said to him as I walked the front door. Our boards were leaning against our shed and I grabbed both mine and Alec's.
I had lived by the ocean almost my entire life with my adoptive family, the Lightwoods. My stepsiblings, Alec, Isabelle, and Max and their parents, Maryse and Robert, had adopted me when I was four years old. I had lived in the beach house since then. The Lightwoods taught me everything from learning how to surf to making s'mores around the fire. I considered them my real family, although I kept my real last name, Herondale.
I grabbed a rag that was sitting on the front porch and started washing the sand and scuff marks off the boards. I was sitting on the porch steps with my feet in the sand. The sand was already starting to get scorching hot so I dug my feet under the top layer of sand and wiggled my toes around in the cool sand.
Right as I finished, Alec burst through the front door and let it slam loudly behind him. He had grabbed us two water bottles and a tube of sunscreen. We lathered up with sunscreen and walked out towards the ocean with our boards. I like to dive right into the water while Alec liked to take his time and get used to it. I noisily splashed in and got my board wet, and Alec was still hip deep. I paddled out farther and sat on my surf board while waiting for Alec to come out. We usually paddled out to the section with no waves so we could chill on our boards for a little bit before actually surfing.
I laid on my back on my board and felt the sun soaking into my skin. This, I thought, is living the best life. Nothing could compare to the feeling of laying serenely on my board while listening to the sound of the water swirling around and sun heating up my skin.
I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard Alec shout my name. I shot up and almost lost my balance, half of my body going in the water. I saw Alec gesturing me for come in so I started paddling back in, toward him. When I got closer he pointed to the big U-Haul truck parked right next to our house. I remember Maryse said something about new neighbors but I didn't know they would be here so soon.
"Should we go help them?" Alec asked.
"Well, as fun as that sounds, I'd have to go with a solid no," I told him shielding my eyes from the Sun, trying to get a better look.
Alec gave me a nasty look, "We should help them and introduce ourselves."
"Alec, it's a Saturday and these waves are perfect," I told him, gesturing out towards the water.
"Looks like we've already been beat to it," Alec said with a chuckle, "Mom and Dad are already out there helping and they're signaling for us.
"Ugh, I just wanted one perfect day to surf," I complained, whining like a little kid.
"There will be plenty of perfect days," Alec told me as he looked at me over his shoulder.
I knew he was right. It was the end of Spring and school was almost out for summer. That meant we could surf every day without interruption. I grudgingly trudged out of the water and followed Alec as we walked toward our new neighbors.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I will be updating this soon and regularly. If it gets good feedback it will probably be updated more frequently. Have a great day!
