Summer Flashback

***I sat at my desk staring out into space thinking about my summer vacation. It was the summer between middle school and high school. I started to plan what I wanted to do this summer.

As a chubby girl in middle school, I was picked on a lot. I had been chubby since elementary. The young boys used to call me names like "Shamu" or "The Jolly Green Giant". Boys can be so mean!

Sometimes it would make me sad, but they kept doing it. Eventually, I was fed up! I would get mad and chase them. They ran away laughing. It was fun for them.

They were faster than me since they were lighter. I made a vow that if I caught up to them I would beat them up so they wouldn't ever dare to call me names again! Girls are sensitive to their appearance, especially in middle school.

My body has been through some changes in the last few years. I grew taller and started to develop into a young lady. Hormones also make girls go a little crazy!

I decided to lose weight over the summer. I would ask my mom to help me with a diet and exercise program. She was always thin, so she didn't understand my struggle. Unfortunately, I took after my dad's side of the family with body type.

My grandma would laugh when I was a little girl and say, "You must be kin to the big belly family!" I love my grandma, but I don't want to turn into her if I can avoid it. She did give the best hugs though! She was so warm and squishy! You could feel the love!

My summer goals were to lose weight and to make all those boys regret making fun of me! I will not give them the chance to date me afterward! They can dream! As the oldest of 3 kids, I have a strong independent personality and once I put my mind to something I will do it!

We live in a city by the beach, so there are lots of ways to get exercise. I began to plan out some trips to the beach with my family. The rest of the time I can exercise by riding my bike in the neighborhood.

I also love to dance and sing. I can dance inside if the weather is too hot. My fair skin burns easily, so I spend most of my time inside. My mother tans beautifully, but I got my dad's freckled Irish skin. I have to be careful to apply sunscreen and wear a hat when I go to the beach.

My family usually takes a summer vacation to go to a water park in the hill country. My mom will go floating in the river on a tube while I will be in charge of my sister and brother at the water park. It's fun!

My sister and I get along well even though she is 2 years younger than me. My brother is 4 years younger, so he doesn't listen well. He usually runs off to the kid's play area. It's right next to the lazy river, so my sister and I will just float in the river and let him play until he gets hungry.***

End Flashback

Jasmine was thinking about her summer vacations as a child. She is looking forward to this summer. Now that she is a little older, she can drive and has money to go places on her own.

Jasmine planned to ask Thomas if he wanted to join them for a summer vacation. In her previous life, their first out-of-town trip together was a church youth group concert. It was one of the most memorable vacations they had together.

The youth pastor was worried about the teenagers doing things that adults do, so they asked a church in the city if they could stay the night. The church agreed. Boys and girls were in separate rooms. The only problem was the lack of beds or showers.

One of the girls brought a blow-up mattress. Jasmine and Amber were able to share the mattress with her. Thomas was not so lucky. He had to make a pallet on the floor.

He tried to use his parent's credit card to get a hotel room, but the pastor didn't let him go off on his own. The youth pastor took his role as a guardian very seriously.

Jasmine was worried that Thomas would see her without makeup and messy hair. No one wants their loved ones to see them in their worst state. She didn't have to worry.

Thomas told her that she looked better without makeup and he thought her messy hair was cute. That was the first day. By the third day without a shower, her hair became so greasy she could slick it back without any product.

She had fine oily hair and usually washed it every day or every other day. Thomas ended up buying a beanie for her to cover up her oily hair. It was the middle of the winter, so the beanie was appropriate.

The concert was a lot of fun and they were able to develop their relationship. This time she hoped to invite Thomas somewhere with a hotel or at least a shower. Last time she had to take bird baths in the sink.

The hill country water park and the resort were only two and a half hours away from their seaside city, so her mom usually drove there and back on the same day. They only stayed in a hotel if they were too tired.

Jasmine was thinking about summer and winter vacation trips the entire way to school. When she saw Thomas, she went up to him and hugged him. "Good Morning!" Thomas asked, "Good morning, why are you in such a good mood?"

"I was thinking about summer vacation. Do you have any plans yet?" He responded, "I'm supposed to go with my family to Arizona to see my aunt and uncle."

Jasmine remembered his aunt and uncle. They liked to play golf and drink. His aunt was a really good cook and his uncle was funny. She liked them a lot.

She asked him, "We should plan something together. My family usually goes to a water park in the hill country. Do you think your parents would let you go with us?"

Thomas got excited! He would love to go out of town with Jasmine and her family. He also thought about her in a bathing suit. He would convince his parents. Maybe she could go with him to his aunt's house. "I'm sure they will let me go. Maybe you can come with us on our trip also?"

Jasmine responded, "That sounds like fun. I've never been to Arizona before." She asked him, "Did you apply for university yet?" It was still early since they were not in the last year of High School, but it was not too early to start thinking about it.

Thomas replied, "I haven't applied yet, but I got an offer for Duke if I want to keep playing football." Jasmine remembered he ended up getting hurt playing football. She tried to steer him away from that path without hurting his feelings.

"That's awesome, is that what you want to do after you graduate?" Thomas replied, "I haven't thought about it. I want to do something with computers." Jasmine asked, "Have you considered MIT? I'm thinking about applying to Berklee. They are close to each other."

Thomas was convinced when he heard that he could live out of state close to his girlfriend. It would almost be like living together. He had always secretly wanted to go to MIT, but he didn't think he would get in. He was smart but didn't know if he was smart enough.

Jasmine knew what he was thinking and encouraged him. "You should apply. The worst thing is they say no and then you can go to your backup school. If you want to study music, you can apply to Berklee as a backup."

Thomas was convinced! He would apply to both MIT and Berklee. He always wanted to live on the East Coast. Boston has so much culture. There would be lots of places to explore together. Lots of date ideas came to his mind.

"You convinced me. I'll apply to both MIT and Berklee." Duke would be a last choice only because it was in North Carolina. It would be a 12-hour drive to see his girlfriend! Also, it didn't have any specialties he was interested in.

He was only offered a partial scholarship and he knew he couldn't go professional in football. He was good, but he wasn't the best on the team. He knew how competitive it was in professional sports.

He would rather be with his girlfriend. He could see himself spending their entire lives together. He planned to propose with his class ring when they graduate.