Prologue

            Malia Littrell had just turned fifteen in June and she was looking forward to her Sophomore year of highschool, and even more so because she was moving with her parents and older brother to Los Angeles, California. She pulled her dirty blonde hair up into a ponytail and got to the task of packing up her room, before her parents got onto her for not doing it. It was really supposed to have been done two days ago, but in all the excitement and sadness of leaving she hadn’t done it. The friends she had grown up with here in Georgia had all wanted to do one last thing with her and one thing always turned into one more thing and one more and so on. She could never say no to her friends and that was the reason that she had yet to complete packing up her room before tomorrow.

            Across the hall Baylee, seventeen years old was blaring music from his stereo and haphazardly tossing things into boxes that were only labeled as -Baylee- in his messy handwriting. He walked across the room to his bed to see if there was anything underneath it, his stuff often got kicked or thrown under there somehow.

I’m just sayin’, you could do better

Tell me have you heard that lately?

I’m just sayin’ you could do better

And I’ll start hatin’, only if you make me

Uh, cups of the XO

All my people been here

I see all of her friends here

Guess she don’t have the time to kick it no more

Flights in the morning

What you doing that’s so important?

I’ve been drinking so much

That I ’ma call you anyway and say

The stereo was blasting away while Baylee was under his bed clearing things out, there was all kinds of junk under there and most of which probably just should have already been thrown out.

            Malia could hear her brother’s stereo and tried not to roll her eyes, she didn’t know but he seemed to really like this song a lot or atleast he had since his girlfriend left him, she wondered if there was any connection. Mood music was the conclusion that she came to on this one, and sometimes it was best not to comment on things to Baylee when he was in a mood. She was packing up the books on her bookshelf when her cell phone beeped, the phone was a birthday present from her Uncle Kevin and she had also gotten a new laptop from her parents, she was so super excited about both. It was the first time that her parents had allowed her to have a cell phone and a laptop, she had only been allowed to use the family computer when deemed necessary which meant school work only. The laptop was all hers and for her personal use she couldn’t wait to start using it more once she got settled in after the move.

 Turning away from the books she grabbed the phone from where it lay on her pillows to see a text message from her best friend- Kendall.

To : Malia

From :  Kendall

    : * (, I can’t believe u r leavin! Majorly sucky.

She had to admit the worst part about moving was leaving behind Kendall and her other friends, but then moving also meant that she would get the chance to make new friends and have new adventures.

To:Kendall

From : Malia

            :/. It sucks that we won’t finish highschool 2gether. I wish I cud take u w/me.

She hit send after she had finished typing the message and then tossed her phone back onto her bed, then resumed taking the books from her shelf and packing them into a box. The box was neatly labeled as Malia’s Books # 1.

To: Malia

From : Kendall

            U should just move in with me ! my mom won’t care.

there was another beep indicating a reply from Kendall.

            Turning towards her bed she grabbed the phone and read the message laughing softly, ever since Kendall had found out that she was moving she had been begging for Malia to move in with her and her mom and finish highschool. As appealing as that idea sounded it was not for the best in the long run and both girls knew it, well Kendall would eventually know it anyway once she got over the shock of Malia moving away.

            She hit the reply key and started to type a message to Kendall, it was hard to believe that the two girls had been best friends since grade school, and now they were going their separate ways.

To: Kendall

From: Malia

            U kno I can’t. We can still keep in touch though now that I have a laptop too.

She hit send.

“Baylee! Malia! Dinner is ready!” Leighanne called from downstairs. She had been cooking for most of the evening to have dinner on the table by the time that Brian

got home. He had been out finishing up some last minute work and getting things settled with the moving people who would be arriving bright and early in the morning to get moving.

          The stereo in Baylee’s room got turned off as he was exiting his room and making his way downstairs to the kitchen for dinner, while Malia had stopped what she was doing and put her phone away before making her way downstairs too.

          “Everything is packed right?” Leighanne asked the kids as they settled themselves at the dinner table.

          “Give or take a few things,” Baylee said with a shrug.

          “I’m almost done,” Malia replied.

          “Well if it’s coming with us tomorrow then it better be done and boxed by tonight,” Brian said.

          “Yes sir,” both Baylee and Malia answered.

          “Who wants to say grace?” Leighanne asked as she brought their delicious dinner to the table, there was baked chicken with veggies, a salad, fresh bread from the oven and dessert was cheesecake. To drink there was ice cold water for everyone sitting beside their place setting at the long oak dinner table in the middle of the kitchen.

          “I will,” Malia offered.

          Leighanne took her seat at the table and Brian nodded towards Malia to begin, as the family all joined hands and closed their eyes and Malia gave grace blessing their food , thanking god for the family all being together and for them to have a safe journey to California tomorrow.  Once they had said grace they all dug into the food on the table.