June 19th. Day One of my Summer Vacation.
I need a new journal title, but I'm not exactly a writer. Summer vacation. It's usually one of those phrases that gets tossed around. My "vacation" was going to be a vapid wasteland of random baby-sitting jobs, maybe a trip to New York, but probably just shopping (not that's shopping's all bad) and summer reading. Besides, this really wasn't day one, I'd been out of school for over a week now, but this is day one of the real vacation part.
It started when Dawn invited Mary Anne to California, and Mary Anne invited us, and we all got permission, and everything fell into place. So now we have six weeks of sunny California ahead of us. I still have to do the summer reading.
Dawn said that at their school they're all required to write journals, and suggested that we all should too, just because everyone around us will be making time for it as well. Which I think is sort odd, but how many times have I forced everyone to write journals for me? More than once, and this isn't required. Plus it'll be nice to have. A reminder of my trip to California in the summer between eighth and nineth grade.
Right now we're on the plane, and I'm a little nervous. This isn't just a visit out with Dawn and her friends. I mean, Sunny's mom died. What are we supposed to say to her? "I'm sorry?" Or is that like saying "I'm sorry I have a mom and you don't?" Do I not say anything at all? Or is that rude?
The only person I know who died was Mimi, but Claudia's my best friend, not a person I've met once. I liked Sunny when we met, but it's not like I really know her.
"Mary Anne, what am I supposed to say to Sunny?" I asked in a quiet voice. Claudia was asleep on my other side and Kristy, on the other side of the aisle was listening to music. Mary Anne was reading pamplets she'd picked up in airport about Hollywood and Anahiem, but she sort of knew something on the subject of mothers who had passed away.
"I'm not sure, but I doubt she wants to talk about it. So if it comes up, it comes up, but I wouldn't bring it up," she replied.
"What do I say if it comes up, though?"
"I'm not sure," she repeated. "But I know if it comes up, you'll know what to say."
"What about Dawn's new friends? You mentioned something about new friends." I couldn't remember.
"She's friends with a girl named Amalia, who seems really sweet, and a boy named Ducky, who also seems really nice, from what's she said. And Maggie joined a band, and they all hang out together, but I don't know all the details there." Mary Anne smiled.
"Ducky?"
"From Pretty in Pink, I guess," she said. Mary Anne knows her Molly Ringwald movies.
"That's not what I meant. He's sixteen, right? Is he like her... boyfriend?"
"No, not at all, according to Dawn. But I'm just going on what's she's said." Mary Anne was grinning now. She loves anything romantic.
Hm, Dawn dating a high school guy, I could see it. I mean, I've dated older guys, two in fact. And guys in a band? This could be a huge possibility. I'd been broken up with my last boyfriend Ethan (one of the high school guys) for a while now. I'd be in California for six weeks, who knows what could happen?
I smiled. This is going to be great.
We're landing right now. I should start getting together my stuff. I have CDs and makeup spread out everywhere.