The Lake House
Finally, school was over. Ninth grade has been completed and I was now officially a sophomore! All I could think about was getting home putting on my swim suit and relaxing. I was bouncing in my seat the entire car ride home.
Walking through the front door I rushed to my room only to be stopped short by my mom bombarding me with questions about how my last day was. My answers were short and to the point hoping that she would leave me alone long enough for me to change and escape outside.
Running to my room I changed in a hurry and raced out making my way to the back of the house. My hand was inches from the door. This is it, I thought, I’ve made it! But like always I spoke too soon. Mom was calling me from the kitchen telling me she needed to talk to me real fast.
I groaned internally thinking that maybe I would be able to maneuver my way out of whatever conversation she wanted to have. My sisters were sitting at the bar as I walked into the kitchen, standing in door way hesitating to venture too far in. “I just got off the phone with Aunt Johanna,” she told me bouncing on her toes. Okay… nothing out of the norm except the large amount of excitement my mom was giving off. “She wants us to come spend some time with them this week, so go pack your bag we’re leaving as soon as your dad comes home.”
My sisters erupted with cheers; they loved everything about my Aunts house specifically because they were best friends with my cousin and always had someone to play with. For me her house didn’t hold such promise. I was the oldest cousin by three years, so I floated on a weird line between sitting with the adults during dinner and having to go to bed the same time as the little kids.
Begrudgingly I trudged back to my room, angrily stripping off my swim suit and throwing it into my overnight bag. Now wearing a pair of workout shorts and a light cotton t-shirt I flitted around my room huffily tossing clothing items into my bag. Walking into my bathroom to pack up my toothbrush and grab some extra hair ties my mom walked into my room.
“Han did you pack a swim suit?”
“Of course I did mom,” I said heaving a huge sigh in the process.
“And you grabbed a tooth brush and plenty of clean underwear?”
“MOM! I’m 15 I know what I need to pack. Seriously I don’t need your help.”
“Ok, well hurry up and finish packing, your dad just got home, and we’re leaving in ten!” My mom yelled back at me as she walked away.
“Can I drive?” I added as an afterthought.
“Hannah it’s a really long drive out to Aunt Johanna’s and I just don’t think you’re ready for something like that yet.” Of course none of this was to my surprise. I went back to angrily flinging things in my bag. Finishing, I ripped the zipper closed, grabbed my sunglasses, and all of my books and climbed into the back of my mom’s Escalade.
Soon after I had gotten in the rest of my family filled up the car, and we were on our way. My sisters squealed the entire way to my aunts talking about how fun it was to spend the first day of summer with the cousins. Driving down 380, I was trying to distract myself from the constant clamor coming from the back of the car by counting all the telephone poles we passed, so far I was up to 103. We passed the timber lake trails sign that marks the turn in for my aunt’s house.
“Uh dad… you just missed the turn.” I called to the front of the car. My parents sat in the front of the car, big goofy smiles plastered onto their faces.
“Did I now?” My dad answered trying to be cryptic, but of course I could see right through it, he had never been a good liar plus.
“Well where are we going then, because obviously we aren’t going to the cousins.” Again my parents only smiled and muttered inaudible responses at me. Clearly this was just another time when they thought I wasn’t old enough to know the truth and couldn’t be trusted with any information.
30 minutes later we were hurtling down some tiny little side road when the radio started to cut out from all the big hills we were driving over.
“How much longer ‘till were there?” my little sister Paige called.
“When we get over this last hill we’ll be there,” my mom responded.
Coming over the top of the hill my breath was completely taken away. The most picturesque lake sat in front of us. The water sparkled from the afternoon sunlight glancing off the surface. A thick bramble of trees lined the rocky shore, and nestled in between the huge row of trees was the cutest little house I had ever seen. But I kept my scowl firmly on the my face no letting my excitement show through.
My dad put the car in park as we all jumped out and raced to the dock to look over the edge. From our vantage point we could see tiny fish lazily swimming back and forth underneath the surface of the water, completely unaware of our presence. My parents called us back to the car to help unload and get the bags into the house.
“So what do you think of your aunts new lake house?” my mom asked me.
“It’s nice, I guess, there doesn’t seem like there is a lot to do though.” I responded.
“Your sisters seem to be having a blast.”
“Yes but they are also a lot younger than I am, and they’re closer in age so it’s not like they have no one to hang out with here in the middle of nowhere.” After this I quickly grabbed my bag and stormed inside searching for a room as far away from the one I knew my parents were staying in as possible.
Throwing my bags on the bed, I marched over to the window and jerked open the blinds to look out onto the lake. It really was a beautiful sight with the water glistening under the sun and kids splashing around, their parents laughing and talking to each other.
Suddenly my door slammed open and my mom was blocking the only exit to the room.
“Honey,” she said in a sickly sweet voice, “were all headed down to the water. Would you like to join us?”
I gave her a flat look. Was she serious right now did she not understand that I really did not want to be bothered.
She just stood there waiting for a verbal answer. I guess my look of distain went right over her head.
“No,” that was all I was going to give her. I mean it answered the question, but knowing my mom it just wasn’t going to be good enough.
“No what Hannah?” look at that I was right.
“No ma’am. I am really tired I think I’m just going to take a nap really fast.” I began to make my way over to my bed signaling my mom to leave, but of course she didn’t get the message.
“Hannah, I can’t help but feel that something’s wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong, I’m just really tired and I want to take a nap is all.” I began to move all of my things off the bead and fold the covers back so I could get in easier.
“Ok well I’m driving to the store in a couple, hours so if you are up by then you can drive us out there.” She said
“I don’t know if I will be but that sounds ok.”
“Also your cousins are coming out tomorrow. Don’t well Paige and Erin I really want it to be a surprise for them.”
“Ok I won’t. Please shut the door on your way out,” I added. After she left I set the alarm on my phone so that I would be able to get up in time to drive into town with my mom. I flipped over in bed and drifted off to sleep watching the waves hit against the rocky shore.