Chapter One: Let's Give It A Try

You stare at the clock, not listening to a single word the teacher was saying, and you weren't the only one. Many students are just not giving a shit right now since literally in one more minute the school bell will ring and that's when summer vacation starts.

Teacher: I'd say we did a pretty good job throughout the school year. I hope to see all of you next school year. I know you all won't be in my class anymore, but I know I'll see you walking down the halls and one more thing before you leave. I can't wait to see you all here as sophomores next-

The bell rings right at the end of her sentence and almost every student quickly gets up before rushing through the door. While you stay behind so you don't get crushed by the number of students going through the door. After most of them leave is when you get up and walk out.

Almost everyone's running down the hallways to get out. You stay behind the fast crowd and when you do get outside; you see some students dumping their papers in the metal garbage bins. Some students hang out and chat, while others head straight for the school buses.

Jesse: Y/n! (You feel her arm around your shoulder)

Y/n: Hey Jess. (You smile and she moves her arm off you)

You two walked across the street and onto the sidewalk with a few students in front of you. The sun's out, no clouds, no wind, kind of hot, the perfect weather for you.

Jesse: You know what I was thinking? Maybe I could convince my mom to let us have the house for the entire week while she and my dad go on their couple's trip.

Y/n: They're going to be gone for a week, sweet. You already know what we're going to be doing.

Jesse: Yea but not really if she's going to hire a babysitter. I'm 16, that's almost an adult by two years. I can be home alone for a week.

Y/n: Yea that's true.

Jesse: Well, I'm going to try to convince her. That way one of my friends could bring some edible brownies and we can all watch the Bachelorette's Final Rose.

Y/n: It's going to be this month, right? I still got that summer camp job starting in July.

Jesse: Why did you want to be a camp counselor again?

Y/n: It'll look better on my resume plus dealing with little kids sounds better than dealing with rude grown adults. I think I'll be fine.

Jesse: Well I'm just saying, you might also get sick more when you're hanging around those kids. God knows they nearly wash their hands even after they use the bathroom.

Y/n: That's why they're going to use a germ gun to highlight their hands to see if they actually did or not, and thank God too.

Jesse: Oh, well that's good. But you're not allergic to anything in the woods?

Y/n: No, I don't think so.

Jesse: Have you been tested?

Y/n: No and I don't want to either. I don't want to get pricked several times in one sitting.

Jesse: Well you got to get tested so you don't end up in the hospital on the first day. And you don't got to get tested like that, there's another way. You could order a DNA test. It usually comes with an allergy test depending on which website you order it from.

Y/n: I didn't know that.

Jesse: Yea, go to one of the websites and order one before you leave so you can find out. I think I still got the coupon for one DNA kit including the allergy test for twenty-five percent off, I'm sending you it as soon as I find it.

Y/n: thanks.

Jesse: And... this also gives you a chance to know more about your parents.

Y/n: Hmm, from what my grandma told me, they were both... white?... I don't know; she doesn't really like to talk about them even to this day.

Jesse: Yea, you don't think that's weird? Your parents passed away a long time ago, and it's understandable if she didn't want to talk about it back then but... now... you know what I'm saying?

Y/n: I do, but I just don't say anything else so my grandma doesn't get pissed and I end up with more chores to do.

She's right. It's weird how she never mentions your parents unless you ask about them, and even then she doesn't give direct answers. You finally reach the front of your house and your friend turns to you.

Jesse: Well if your grandma's not going to tell you more about your own parents, then the DNA test is the best thing you got right now. If not then she might not even tell until you're in your twenties.

Y/n: Alright, alright I'll get the test. Just send me the coupon today if you can alright?

Jesse: Yea, I got you. (She gives you a hug) I'll see you later okay?

Y/n: (You hug her back) Alright, I'll see you.

You go inside and see you're home alone, which is nothing new since your grandma works during the afternoon and won't be back until sometime at night. You head into the kitchen to get something to eat and you swear you smell meatballs. That's when you see a large pot with a sticky note on the cover. It reads...

"I made meatballs! I'll be back later tonight, enjoy! P.S I love you!"

You smile as you hear your stomach growl just by the smell of it. With your backpack still on your back, you grab a large bowl and fill it with a bunch of meatballs before you go to your room. You remove your shirt to take off your bra before putting on your pajamas as you start to unwind. You plan on staying up probably till three in the morning, and why not? It's summer vacation and you're going to need all the fun you can get before you go to summer camp.

You then hear your phone ding and see that Jesse sent you a message. Looking at it, you see she sent you a picture of the coupon she was talking about for the DNA test. Letting your mind wander for a few seconds, you thought of the possible results you could get back from it. This is not just to find out what you're allergic to, but to learn more about your parents as well. You could know way more about them than your grandma will ever tell you.

You grab your laptop from the nightstand and sit with your legs crossed on the bed as you open your laptop. It takes a minute, but when you get to the website you also see there are three different DNA kits you can purchase. The first kit is just an allergy test kit, the second is for both allergy and DNA results, and the third kits include allergy, DNA, and family history with reports. Does this mean you finally get to see what your parents look like? As well as what they did when they were alive? The original price for it is two hundred dollars, but because there's already a sale going on so the price is down to a hundred and fifty dollars. But you got that coupon your friend just sent you.

You add the third kit into your cart and when you checkout you type in the code before pressing enter. You see the price went down again by twenty dollars, meaning the total is now a hundred and thirty dollars. This includes free 4-6 week shipping via email. You don't have 4-6 weeks. By that time you'll be in summer camp and there's barely a good signal over there since it's going to be in the middle of the woods. But you then see there are some shipping options to choose from for the kit to come to your home.

4-6 weeks free shipping, 1-3 week shipping that costs fifteen dollars, and 3-5 business days shipping that costs thirty dollars. The last one sounds more promising than the first two, and you saved a lot of money this year from selling old things to doing other people's chores. You click on the third shipping method and see the price went back up to a hundred and fifty dollars, but hey this shipping is going to be worth it, you can feel it.

This includes 3-5 business days of when you'll get the results via email.

You place the order and subscribe to their newsletter and updates to ensure you receive an email from them. Next week or the following week, you should get the results. You just hope you get more detailed information about your parents. You hope it comes with their pictures since you don't have any.

What's most concerning is that your grandma claims she doesn't have pictures of them either. But now that you're really thinking about it, your mom is her daughter. She should have some pictures of her. But for some reason, she's been hiding that. For whatever reason, she doesn't want you to know more about your parents than from what she's told you, which is barely anything. You don't even know their names either. You hope the results will bring you some closure.