Summer is over, and the first day of high school is approaching.

I am incredibly nervous about how my first day is going to be.

Its the weekend before school begins, and I want to end it with a bang. Liam and I have stayed in contact so far and met up multiple times to play Basketball at the river court. My chest pain hasn't gotten any worse when playing, but it hasn't been getting better either, which I had hoped. Last Friday, Liam and I were playing Basketball when he mentioned that there was a party he got invited to and he wanted me to come too. It is a bonfire party on the beach to say goodbye to the summer holidays practically and say hello to the new school year.

I accepted his invitation, and now I am here.

I first didn't know if it was a good idea to come here. i don't know a lot of people yet. Although I don't mind making new friends, I do know too that Americans can be different from the dutchies. I have noticed the differences sometimes in the Netherlands also. I remember mum having trouble with it in the beginning.

One evening when I was around 14 years old, mum, uncle bass, and I were eating diner together, and the topic arose of cultural differences and what they found different then back home. Dutch people or dutchies as they call themselves abroad sometimes can come over as blunt and direct. We don't talk around the bush when we are discussing things. When working in teams and someone is not doing work, you ask them about it if something is wrong and what the reason is why they haven't done the job yet or adequately. Uncle Bass told us he discovered this when he started working again. He sais that it is not that they want to be rude or anything, but they want to be more honest and trying to help people by asking if they need help. Its a bit more direct he said but also sometimes more efficiently.

I think some people here will give me a hard time because I was born in the Netherlands. Giving me the usual crap, " Do you do drugs? Do you have drugs with you? Where are your clogs? Didn't you live in a windmill there?" I'm not too fond of those stereotypes because they aren't even true.

I am walking towards the bonfire, trying to find Liam somewhere between the crowds. I can't see him anywhere and decide to grab a drink and enjoy the guy playing guitar at the bonfire. People are singing, and I am nodding my head on the ritme when suddenly someone taps me on my shoulder. I turn around and see Liam with some other guys behind him.

"He Mell, How are you doing? Didn't think you would show up?"

Well, here I am, I was looking for you, but couldn't find you. I reply.

"Well I am glad you came" Liam turns to his friends

"Hey Guys, this is Mell, Mell. This is most of the Tree Hill basketball team.

He points to a guy with a charlotte hornets cap on and says this here is Richard. He is our point guard. Here are Alex and Charles. They all say Hi to me and then started talking with each other again. Expect for Charles.

"So how did you end up in this town, Mell?"

"Well, my mum and I recently moved back to where mum grew up."

"Ohh cool, so where are you from then? you do have an accent i haven't heard before."

"Uhh, well, i moved from the Netherlands to Tree Hill."

"Seriously, you're from Amsterdam? That's so cool. So have you ever smoked weed?"

I looked at him and saw he was serious about his question; i thought this was going to happen. Why won't i make a joke out of this, right?

"Well, actually, I live in a windmill in Amsterdam, and i had a side job as a drug dealer back home, I say sarcastically.

"Really?" Charles asks

Liam looks at me and starts laughing when he hears Charles's reaction.

I start laughing while saying, "no, dude, i am just joking."

Hahaha, very funny, he says, but yeah, so the Netherlands I know nothing about that country, so let's skip that for another time when we are not drinking he?

Yeah, let skip that for now; I agree. So whats going on in this town except for Basketball, which I gathered from my family and Liam here.

"Nothing much except for this party and basketball-related parties but you should come next time too, I like your jokes, but I will leave I think Alex had a bit too much to drink and I don't want him puking on someone again."

"It was nice meeting you, Charles, and if you wanna know what the Netherlands is like, let me know I joke. Maybe see you around another time."

"Nice to meet you to Mell. It was right. See you around."

Liam and I were left alone at the bonfire and started talking when suddenly a love song came up, and couples were dancing together.

Want a dance, I asked. I saw Liam looking around and replying yeah, why not. We started dancing and getting slowly closer together when suddenly it happened. I looked him in the eyes and kissed him.

Liam kissed me back, and when we stopped and looked at each other, he said, " Wow didn't expect that" Me neither I replied.

We continue dancing, and I laid my head on his shoulders. After the song was done, we decide to talk and sit nearby the shoreline till almost everyone was gone. We talked about a lot of different topics from serious to silly, and we kissed again. The party ended when the sun came up, and Liam and I walked home.