Chapter 22: Chapter 22

"Julianna!" When I open one eye to see who's at my door, I see that the sun is shining through my window. It's not too early because my clock says it's almost ten.

"What?" I call back and sigh as I get back into bed. I was up late last night doing homework. I was ready for the next week of school on Saturday morning.

"Can I come in?" Mark calls out to me, and I sigh and pull the covers up to my neck.

"Fine." I mumble something and fall back asleep. I sigh and look at him with half-closed eyes when my door opens. "What?" He laughs when I moan.

"So you don't like getting up early?" I shake my head when he says something because I'm still trying to sleep. "Get up and get dressed." He is standing over my bed and pushing me in the shoulder as he says this.

"Why?" He laughs when I mumble and roll over.

"Now get up and get ready to go, because today we're all going to the lake." He chuckles. "We do it every year on a nice weekend to celebrate the start of school, come on." He says this as he shakes me around quickly, and I roll my eyes.

"Mark, I'm tired. I don't need to go with you." He laughs when I sigh.

"No way, Julianna! Even though you were up all night, you won't miss it." I groan because he won't give up. "It will be fun, and you can go to sleep early tonight."

When I turn over and look up, he's standing next to my bed. "Fine." When I sigh, he smiles. "When would you like to leave?"

"Ready in half an hour?" When he tells me, I wince.

"That's not long enough." He laughs when I mumble.

"We aren't going to the Met Gala; we're going to the lake. Now get up." He keeps talking, so I sigh and get up slowly. "Do you own a bathing suit?" As he walks back down the hall, waving, he calls out.

I remember I need to get ready as soon as I wake up. I grunt, get out of bed, and walk to the bathroom. I get ready for the day by taking care of my teeth, skin, and hair. It's so tangled and curly that all that's left to do is put a little product in it and twist it into a bun.

As I walk back down the hall and open my drawers, I sigh. I'm trying to remember if I brought my swimsuits from home, which I don't wear to work. Even though most of my work clothes were longer, the backs were all wide open. But they were nice, and I need to bring something normal for the pool.

I found two pieces at the bottom of the pile. Both the top and the bottom were a light purple color, and the waist of the bottoms was high. I didn't have a perfectly flat stomach; it was a little soft in the middle, but I loved pizza too much to care. I liked how these pants looked on my hips.

I make sure my door is closed and put both pieces on. Sometimes I'm glad I already work at a pool and have to shave my legs. I quickly put a towel, sunscreen, and a few other essentials in a backpack and put on a long t-shirt and comfortable shorts. I don't know which lake we're going to, and I want to be as comfortable as possible.

I put on my sandals, got my keys, phone, sunglasses, and baseball cap, and walked out to the main room.

"Hey Julianna!" Kyle says in a happy tone, which makes me smile. "Can you help us get this cooler to the car?"

"Sure." I'm finally glad I was woken up and made to smile. I help Kyle carry the beer cooler up the stairs. Once it's in Kent's open trunk, he pushes it inside.

He sighs and says, "There, I think we're good to go." I smile.

"Can someone explain this "tradition" to me? I've never heard of it." I make a joke as I walk back to my apartment, and Kyle laughs.

"Only our group of friends does it, and we've been doing it since the first grade. A nice little private beach is about fifteen minutes away. When we did it for the first time, we were looking for a place to drink away from campus:

"What brought you to that lake?" He laughs when I ask him.

"We all got on the bus with our bags full of alcohol and rode for a while until we reached this park. We went into the woods, found the beach, and have been doing this every year since. He tells me with a smile, and I just nod.

"We're happy to have you with us:" As Mark walks out of his room, he says. Shirtless and wearing a bucket hat, he was ready to bake in the sun. "Welcome to the ship!" What he says next makes me roll my eyes. "Has waking you up finally made you stop hating me?"

"Maybe:' I shrug. "

I haven't decided yet:'

"Cheer up, we're going to eat before we go to the beach. "Your getting up was my reward." I close my mouth when he smiles.

"Okay, I'll let it go. I sigh and lean against the kitchen peninsula.

"Would you also like to eat what I'm making?" Kyle asks. Mark laughs and shakes his head.

"Not likely."

"Why are you so tired? What did you do?" Kyle raises his eyebrows and asks, and I sigh.

"I worked late on a reading for Monday because it was a big assignment and I just wanted to get it done." He laughs when I say yes.

"Only you could work so hard that you're tired. I roll my eyes when he makes fun of me.

"Are we waiting on Kent?" I ask this because I don't understand why Mark seemed so ready to go but we were still here.

"Yes, he ran to the corner store to pick up a bag of ice." Mark tells me, and I can't be wrong when I hear the sound of ice falling on a plastic surface. Kyle walks up to the door and looks out.

"He's putting ice in the beer right now." I agree with what he says.

Kent was often not at home, so I didn't see him very often. After he told me about his dad, he started acting strange. The whole day left me with more questions than answers, but I wasn't going to ask him about it. Putting a grenade in a corner would be like doing that. It would work for about three seconds before deciding to blow up.

"Are we ready to go?" We all nod when Kent comes into the apartment and calls. He looked so good today, damn him. Someone with such a bad personality always looking so hot was so annoying. The tank top he's wearing has low-cut sides that show off his big arms and torso.

Kent had never been shirtless in front of me before. To do that, I'd have to see him in person.

"Let's go so everyone can meet us there." Mark just tells me what to do, and I do it. I thought it was so strange that this was something they did all the time. I was just along for the ride the whole time.

Mark locks the door, and I go back up to Kent's car with him. "Are you sure you still want to drive?" Kent laughs when Kyle asks.

"After what happened last time, none of you are going to drive my car." He warns me, and I try not to be interested, but I can't help myself.

"What took place before?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't think for a second about telling her." Kyle keeps talking, and Kent tries not to laugh. I don't see Kent smiling all that often.

"Julianna, Kent's car hit a pole because of him!" As Mark comes up the stairs, he joins in, and I quietly laugh. "The worst part was that we were in a parking lot, and when he put it in drive instead of reverse, he hit a sign that said "Wheels Only." Me and Mark laugh out loud at that, and even Kent smiles.

"He messed up my bumper badly in a place he wasn't even supposed to be." Kent echos.

"Okay fine!" Kyle says, holding up his hands and pleading with us to stop making fun of him. "You drive, I just suggested it."

"Cool, everyone just get in:' Kent says as he spins his keys around his finger and presses the button to shut the trunk. This is a nice, fancy car for jerks. Everyone starts to walk over when I hear a high-pitched voice.

"Kent!" We hear that Piper and all of her clones are on the front porch of their apartment. I hate how much they live above us. They've all curled their hair and put on skimpy dresses and beach cover-ups, and I realize the terrible truth that they're all coming today.

"What?" He grumbles, walking to his door.

"Are you going to leave and leave me behind?" She bounces down the stairs and asks as she bats her eyelashes. She said, "I thought you'd drive us." She won't give up, and she moves closer. But as she gets closer, he moves farther away, until she gets the message and they're just facing each other.

"Why would I go anywhere with you? You've got a car. He tells her, and I laugh and say, "Yeah, I had looked at that white Audi and muttered something under my breath."

"Because I want to make friends with you." We all roll our eyes at her when she complains.

"Piper, I'll be there with the guys. Just go to the beach with yourself and your aliens." My eyes get big when he says it.

Was that meaner than calling them "clones"? Probably, if the guy you were sleeping with told you in person.

"But I want to drink." She complains. "I'll give Chloe the keys to my car, and she'll drive it. Your car has enough room for five people, so please let me ride with you."

"No:' He shrugs when I blink.

Even though it was fun, I'd probably cry if someone I liked did this to me. It would hurt, but I wouldn't be as spoiled as Piper or ask him to do something so stupid.

"I'm not going to cram my friends into the car so you can get in when there's plenty of room in another car." He tells me what happened, and I nod because it makes sense. Also, I don't think I could be in a small space with her for 15 minutes without wanting to open her car door and push her out.

Too violent, Julianna.

"Juliana is one of the guys, right?" She sounds surprised when she asks, and I roll my eyes. "Let me go with you, she can ride with the girls."

"Oh my god, Piper!" When he yells, I try not to laugh. That was a lot of fun. "I'm not taking you! Come, don't come. Take an Uber, Drive, don't drive. In the end, you won't get in my car, and we'll see you there." He tells us and gives us all a look that says, "Get in there and spread out as much as you can so I can make my point."

Mark and I get into the back seat and put our bags in the middle. Kyle hops up into the driver's seat.

Kent quickly comes over to us and gets in his car.

“Dude.” As Kyle plugs in his phone, he laughs. He tells him, "It was a big mistake to hook up with that chick." I roll my eyes and look out the window, and he agrees. I don't want to hear this at all.

Kent doesn't say anything, he just rubs his face with his hand. I keep waiting for him to talk, but he doesn't. Instead, he just looks tired and upset.