The Choice of a Lifetime

Week 1 Stary Writing Camp/Chapter 1: The Party

Chapter 1: A night of Discoveries

The Ocean, a place of wonder and mystery. The ocean will always be one of the world's most treasured and loved locations. A place full of great beauty with so many activities for people to enjoy when it allows it. The ocean can turn so quickly from peaceful bliss to a violent unpredictable storm. Every day thousands of people enjoy its water and splendor and yet every day people lose their lives to it. If only people had more respect and appreciation for this magnificent wild card of nature.

Ellie looked at the clocked listlessly, “Thank God the store closes at 5 tonight, I’m so done with this place.” She groaned to her best friend Jessie, whom she happened to be sharing a shift with that day.

“Tell me about it, but on the bright side, aren’t you getting excited for your party tonight? Only 7 more hours and your officially 18!”

“Yes! So excited, it is going to be the best night ever! You said your place at 7 right?”

“Uhhh yeah! Just don’t forget to bring your bikini, it’s a pool party, remember?”

“Of course, anyway let’s get cleaning so we can close on time, the last thing I want is to have to stay late because we decided to chat.”

They both laughed at this agreed to get cleaning. Little did Ellie know, Jessie had a big surprise in store for her birthday party. As they finished cleaning and closed the store Jessie’s brother Sean pulled into the car park out front to give Jessie a ride home. He stuck his head out the window and greeted Ellie asking, “Hey miss Ellie, how has your girl’s day been?”

“Yeah, fine thanks, just keen to get home and get ready for tonight. Are you going to be around for the party tonight?” This response got her a jab in the ribs from her friend. Jessie was never fond of how close Ellie and Sean were, he was like the brother she never had but Jessie was always worried one of them would try and make a move on the other. Jessie just piped up and answered for him. “He can come if brings some of his hot co-workers, ooo, and see if Micah can bring any of his hot university friends!”

“Typical Jessie, always looking for fresh meat to get your paws on. What happened to that Daniel guy you were seeing?”

“He was so boring! All he ever wanted to do was ‘Netflix n chill’. Can you get any duller?”

“Riiiiight, anyway, sure I’ll bring along some of the boys.”

Ellie paused, she hadn’t realized Micah was back in town already. Even just the sound of his name made her heart beat a little faster.

“Micah is back in town already? I thought the university semester still wasn’t over for a few weeks?”

“I don’t know about any of that stuff but yeah he’s in town, he stopped by the restaurant last night with some girl for dinner.”

Sean’s words caught her off guard, she thought she still had time to enjoy the start of summer, but Micah had already shown up and ruined her mood. Not only is Micah back for the summer but he already has his summer fling ready to go. It hurt her a little that he never really noticed her, so many guys thought she was one of the best-looking girls in town but why didn’t he? As she trailed off in thought the wind pushed through her thick dirty blonde hair. When her friend's sudden question brought her back to reality.

“Um hello, Ellie? What was that about? You don’t like that grub Micah or something, do you?”

“Ew, no way! That’s our brother’s best friend, that’s kind of icky don’t you think?”

“Right, your reaction was just weird, okay?”

She jumped in her brother’s car and they drove off with Jessie waving goodbye with her arm hanging out the window. Ellie waved back and was then left with her thoughts. As she started her short walk home, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Micah, he was so handsome. She loved the way his extremely wavy black hair perfectly framed his face, she was mesmerized by the way his green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, she loved that he was tall and broad and funny. She wished more than anything she could just stop thinking about him. She had feelings for him ever since he stood up to the kids who were picking on her and Jessie in 8th grade, Jessie would just beat them up and get into fights but then they would return with more of their friends from the higher grades. That’s when Micah turned up and forced them to leave us alone, I mean what girls would stand up to the senior boy. The bullying wasn’t even the worst part about that experience though. A couple of weeks after the incident I worked up the courage to say thank you to Micah and maybe even tell him how I felt when I see him locking lips with one of the 10th-grade girls who were picking on us. I ran straight to Jessie hurt and furious and we vowed to hate Micah for the rest of time. Over time our feelings of betrayal dissipated, they were kind of forced to since Micah was Sean’s best friend. We always swore neither of us would ever go anywhere near that womanizing pig.

As she approached home, a small quaint country house with a faded white exterior and a red tin roof she could smell her dad's cooking. It was one of her favorite meals lamb ragu. It made her all the more eager to enter her home. As she walked in the gate she was greeted by Stella, her 2-year-old Australian Shepard. She bent down giggling and ruffling the energetic dog’s fur and she was thanked with licks and tail wags. She entered the house called out a quick hello to her father, Richard, before going to the kitchen and giving him a quick hug then hurrying off to her room to wash up and prepare herself for dinner. She washed up and change from her work uniform into shorts and an oversized dark green t-shirt. She pulled her hair loose, brushed it, and threw it back into a messy bun then made her way to the dining room to set the table for dinner. Richard served both their meals up and set them on the table, he looked Ellie up and down smirked, and said, “Is that really what you’re wearing to Jessie’s tonight?”

I rolled my eyes and smiled, “No dad, but it’s not for another hour. I have plenty of time to get ready.”

Richard shook his head, “You always say that, and you always end up being at least half an hour late.”

She laughed. Her dad was right, she is never on time for anything. It was one of her biggest flaws, Jessie always said it was fine and that she was just fashionably late but Ellie always felt guilty for it. They continued to eat in silence, Ellie was too busy enjoying her meal to notice the silence, her dad was used to this it’s just how she is around her favorite foods. He broke the silence by clearing his throat and asking the question: “So are you looking forward to your birthday tomorrow sweetheart?”

She looked up from her meal, “You bet I am, don’t think I’ve forgotten this is the year I get to open mum’s present!”

She has been looking forward to this day for years. Ellie's mother, Nevaeh, was killed in a car accident when she was only 5 years old. They said it looked like she swerved to avoid hitting a kangaroo when she skidded and went down a steep drop overlooking the ocean, rolling the car multiple times and only being stopped by a large tree. It was the worst moment of their lives. This present has been one of the thoughts on Ellie’s mind since she found out it existed, it felt to her almost as if a part of her mother were still here with them in the gift and she wanted to find out what it was. Her dad just smiled he knew how much it meant to Ellie. He said teasingly, “Yep, that’s right kiddo, just one more day, so don’t get home too late tonight.”

“I’ll try my best, but no promises. Anyway, dinner was great, thanks dad! I better go get ready for the party though.”

On that note, Ellie raced to her room to carefully select an outfit and a bikini. She was determined to have a great time and look fabulous doing it. After trying on really everything she owned she decided upon a white halter bikini with small floral blue on it and matching bottoms and an off-the-shoulder white romper with nude strappy heels. Ellie looked at the golden clock hanging beside her vanity and groaned, her dad was right she was already 20 minutes late and hadn’t even done her hair or makeup yet. Ellie loved her natural hair, so she decided to just leave it out flowing past her shoulders almost down to her waist. She decided she wasted enough time and kept it natural with her makeup and only used a little tinted lip-gloss and waterproof mascara. She raced into the living room where her dad was already waiting, keys in hand, looking at his watch and shaking his head.

“I told you Ellie, you’re half an hour late! Come on let’s go.”

They slide into her dad's Hyundai and made their way to Jessie’s house as quickly as they could. Once they got there Ellie kissed her dad's cheek said her goodbyes and made her way over to the house. She knocked on the door waiting for Jessie to answer. Jessie always told her she didn’t have to knock and she could just walk in whenever she wanted but she still felt like it was just plain rude. The door opened and behind it was none other than Micah. Ellie looked and his perfect face and felt flustered just from the sight of him. He must have been working out while at university because he was twice as big as she remembered. She looked into his gorgeous green eyes and it was almost like his gaze left her frozen. All she could manage was a simple, "hi."