Westgate is a beautiful seaside town just on the outskirts of a large city. Beaches, shops, parks, and gorgeous houses fill the streets. Reagan lived on Westgate’s largest hill crowded with houses and one way streets winding up and down. At the very top of the hill was the town’s landmark, the red, white, and blue water tower.  From the top of the water tower is the most breathtaking view, the whole world stretching out for miles and miles. Reagan loved to spend countless hours at the top; it was her escape from the chaos and stress of the world around her.

“Come on, Reagan, get up! You’re going to be late for school!” yelled Reagan’s mother Janice from the bottom of the hard wood steps.
“Don’t make me come up there and drag you out of that bed!”
Reagan rolled over and pulled the covers up over her face. It was the first day of school and getting up at 7am was not ideal. By the time 7:30am rolled around, Janice was about to have an even bigger fit so Reagan decided it’d be best to get up even though every muscle in her body told her to stay.

Westgate’s high school is located in the center of the town. Behind the school is a huge open field connected to a skate park, playground, and tennis courts. Across from the field is a rundown basketball court; all the lines are faded and vertical cracks run along the sides of the cement. The high school itself is relatively old too, but no one would be able to tell from the outside. A tall set of grey cement stairs run up from the street to four glass doors. Red brick walls encase long windows, spread out evenly around whole school.

“Good morning!” chimed Vanessa from a bench at the bottom of the stairs. “Happy first day of school!”
“Oh it’s a happy day alright.” Joked Reagan
Reagan and Vanessa have been best friends since the fourth grade. They are the kind of best friends that people often mistake as sisters.

“It’s so crazy to think how we are already seniors.” Spoke Reagan as she took a seat next to Vanessa. “Honestly just yesterday we were sitting here as freshman having absolutely no clue what to do.”
“Oh, stop reminiscing about the past! It’s senior year and that means we own the school!” Vanessa smirked, “we have to live for the now!”
Reagan laughed and was about to speak when she was cut off,
“Well good morning ladies!”  Spoke a young man smoothly, taking a seat right in between the two girls and wrapping his arms around their shoulders.
Reagan rolled her eyes jokingly while Vanessa laughed a good morning back to Liam. Reagan and Vanessa had met Liam a while back during summer vacation, along with two of his friends, Jack and Noah. Ever since that day the group had been inseparable.
By the time everyone got to school it was around 8:20 and the dark clouds were starting to roll in.
“I heard there is going to be a horrible storm tonight, like practically a mini hurricane” explained Reagan “My mom is going psycho buying every last thing from the Market Place.”
Liam laughed. “That doesn’t even surprise me one bit. I’m pretty sure my parents have no idea there even is a storm”
“I think my mom is just treating it like any other ordinary storm” Shared Vanessa as they started walking into school.
“Yeah an ordinary storm that’ll blow the roof off your house!” Jack joked. 
“Oh, shut up, Jack!” laughed Vanessa but on the inside she was starting to get nervous. Before she entered the school she took one last look at the sky, darkening with every passing minute.
School was passing by like any other day, boring classes filled with tired faces barely giving the teachers any attention; when an announcement came on the loud speaker.
“Attention students and faculty, due to the storms increasing strength we are going to dismiss students early. Students should report right home and not linger in the streets as a safety precaution. Thank you.”
The second the loud speaker turned off, everyone was already out the door and by this time the rain was falling and the winds were picking up.
“Guys! Over here!” yelled Liam from the bottom of the front steps. Vanessa, Jack, and Noah ran over to Liam, using books to cover their heads.
“We can all go to my house, since it’s the closest, I ain’t looking to walk a marathon is this storm” said Liam “but wait, where’s Reagan?”
“She had to go home real quick, but I’ll text her to come to your house after.” Explained Vanessa.
Reagan finally made it home absolutely drenched head and toe. As she was running down the sidewalk a car thought it would be a great idea to drive right though an ocean sized puddle. She checked on her mom to make sure that the storm hadn’t made her do anything too crazy. Regan’s mother had been struggling with anxiety since she was little and Reagan knew that this storm would only heighten it.  Reagan changed out of her wet clothes and was sitting down with her mom on the coach, trying to help her relax, when she got Vanessa’s text. Vanessa knew it wasn’t a good idea for Reagan to walk the whole way alone, so she decided to meet up with her half way at the town’s center.
Reagan began walking at first very slowly to make it down the steep streets of the water tower hill, but once she made it to the main road she started to run. She passed by Pico beach and looked out at the dreary sea turning and building power. The rain started to fall heavier and Reagan just got this feeling in her gut that something was about to happen. Before she even had time to react a huge wave came crashing over the barrier wall, smashing down onto Reagan. She was tossed all the way across the street smashing her arm into the sidewalk. She jumped up as quickly as she could and kept running despite the intense pain coursing through her. When Reagan was at the top of the street leading to the center another wave came crashing down this time with even more force.

Vanessa had just made it to the center when she looked up and saw the huge wave cashing on the street and rushing towards her. She knew Reagan was hit by it, she just knew. Vanessa started off sprinting back to Liam’s house while calling his cell phone a hundred times until he finally picked up.

“Hey, what’s up Vanessa?” said Liam
“OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO HELP!” screamed Vanessa into the phone “REAGAN WAS JUST TAKEN OUT BY A HUGE WAVE”
Before she could say any more Liam was out the door. He caught up with Vanessa who was screaming “RUN! COME ON HURRY!.”

The streets were starting to flood now slowing them down. Once they made it to the center, Liam instructed Vanessa to stay there as he continued his hunt for Reagan. At the top of the street, Liam was frantically looking around, adrenaline coursing through his veins, when he spotted something pink in the distance, along the side of a house. He instantly remembered that Reagan has a pink raincoat. When he got close enough to make out a figure, he knew that it was her. She was unconscious, lying along the side of house, face down. Liam carefully grabbed her, swung her over his shoulder, and headed back to the center. When Vanessa saw Reagan being carried, she broke down into tears, thinking the worst possible things.

“It’s okay Vanessa relax! I think she just hit her head, but we need to take her to the police station!”
“O...ok” muttered Vanesa though tears.

Reagan woke up the next morning in the hospital; it was the most beautiful late summer day; a clear blue sky, warm sun, and the smell of rain still floating in the air. She was gazing out of the window until a nurse walked in.
“Oh, good, you’re up!” she smiled.

“What happened to me?” questioned Reagan, looking down at her arm wrapped in a cast. The nurse explained very kindly what had happened and told her how Liam and Vanessa had saved her life. As if they were cued, at the entrance of the door stood her life-savers with huge smiles on their faces.