Plans always have a way of changing. At the beginning senior year, I had a plan. A plan to win Craig Manning's heart, a plan to follow him to Vancouver...but none of that happened and I was in fact spending my summer alone. Craig was in Vancouver without me, Marco was in New York with Paige and Dylan, and Jimmy and Ashley were leaving on a cruise of the Caribbean at the end of the week. I, Ellie Nash, wasn't going anywhere. I was spending my last summer of childhood right here in Toronto and it sucked.

I rolled over and looked at the glowing numbers on my alarm clock. Noon. I tried to remember the last time I'd slept in until noon. It had to have been right after I moved in with Sean. Something about not needing to get up and check to make sure your mother was still breathing in her drunken state had put me at ease and I'd slept until noon.

I thought back to my late night conversation with Craig. He'd called to tell me about the gig he'd played in some exclusive Vancouver night club. He'd been excited and I'd been excited for him. He'd begged me to come see him in Vancouver and I was beyond ecstatic. Until he had mentioned that Manny and Emma would be there too, that is. Did he honestly think that I'd want to spend my summer watching him and the wannabe actress play tonsil hockey? Did he really think that Manny wouldn't have a problem with me busting up her alone time with Craig?

I shook all thoughts of Craig form my mind as I tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed. One look in the mirror and I groaned. There were large black circles under my eyes and my hair looked like something from a horror movie. I padded my way across the hall to the bathroom. There was still an underlying smell of vomit from the years my mom had spent throwing up cheap liquor and not always hitting the toilet. It seemed like a lifetime ago and like yesterday all at the same time. I turned on the shower and let the water heat up as I peeled off my old gray pajama pants and the little tank top I'd worn to bed. The scars were faded now, but still visible. They were a reminder of the girl I use to be but never wanted to be again. After Sean left I'd wanted more than anything to go back to my old way of comfort, but I hadn't. It had been a turning point in my life, a moment of growth. I was a lot stronger then I'd ever thought I was.

When the water was steaming I climbed in, letting it rain down on me. There was nothing better than a nice hot shower to make a person feel rejuvenated. It washed away the weariness, the pain, the depression, the anger, the fear, and all other emotions that could bring you down. You could almost get lost in the fog that the shower doors held in. It was like getting lost in a dream.

After about thirty minutes the water began to get cold, so I shut it off and climbed out. I wrapped a towel around my hair and another one around my body before heading back to my room. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since eight o'clock last night. I quickly threw on some clean clothes, pulled my hair up in a messy ponytail and headed out of the house.

The Dot was only a few blocks away. The closer I got, the hungrier I got. I could smell The Dot before I could see it and it was a good smell. It brought back a million memories of Marco, of Sean, of Craig, of the life I'd be leaving come September. I quickened my pace, the smell driving my every move. The bell above the door jingled, giving away my presence. The place was packed with teenagers. The first week of summer vacation had left them all with a sense of freedom. I spotted one familiar face, Alex Nunez, and made my way towards her table.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked, not waiting for an answer before pulling out the chair and sitting down.

"I guess not." She replied sarcastically. It was part of her charm sarcasm and brutal honesty. "What's up, Nash?"

"I'm bored out of my mind. What about you?" I replied, picking up the menu sitting between the napkin holder and the salt and pepper shakers. I scanned it quickly, already knowing what I wanted but doing it out of habit.

"Kicking myself for agreeing to go to the beach with Jay," Alex replied with a roll of her eyes.

I raised my eyebrows questioningly, "You're going to the beach with Jay? Are the two of you…?"

"No!" She replied cutting me off. "We're just friends or something like that."

"Everyone's got plans but me." I said, more to myself than to Alex.

"So make some plans, go with us." Alex offered. I wasn't a hundred percent sure if she was joking or not.

"Right," I replied sarcastically, not really sure how to respond.

"It's up to you. We're leaving Friday if you change your mind." Alex added, standing up and grabbing her bill. "See you around, Nash."

I couldn't believe she'd been serious. Since I'd found Craig and she'd found Paige we hadn't really spent a whole lot of friend time together and yet she'd given me a way out of the boring summer a head of me. But did I really want to spend my summer with Jason Hogart? I cringed, then shook the thought from my head just as Spinner stopped by to take my order.

"Hey El, what'll it be?" He asked.

"Dot burger platter," I replied. "No onions and a sweet tea."

"Great. It'll be out in a few." He replied, picking up Alex's empty plate before heading back to the kitchen.

I found myself thinking about Alex's invitation again. The last time I'd been to the beach hadn't been the best experience. I'd watched my boyfriend struggle with his demons, nearly drown, turn to his ex, and decided he was better off with his parents then with me. What would Craig think? He wouldn't be too happy that I'd declined his offer to spend some time in Vancouver, only to end up at the beach with Jason Hogart. I smiled, wondering if he'd be jealous or if he'd even care. Spinner pulled me out of my thought as he sat my drink down in front of me.

"Thanks Spin." I replied. "Are you working all summer?"

His face lit up with that goofy grin that despite your best efforts makes you smile too, "No, actually today's my last day until the end of August. I'm leaving tomorrow to go spend a couple of weeks with Terri."

"Terri?" I asked a little shocked. It was a name I hadn't heard in a little over a year.

"Yeah, she called like out of the blue and invited me to spend the summer with her. I figured what the heck, Darcy's gone and Jimmy's getting ready to leave. It beats spending the summer alone. We talked for like hours on the phone the other day. It was nice, you know, not having her judge me." Spinner explained. He was bubbling with excitement. Pure happiness written all over his face, it was something I hadn't seen in a long time.

"That's great Spin. Tell her I said hello." I offered with a smile.

"I will. You're food will be right out, El." He added before heading back to his other tables.

I was almost finished eating when my cell phone rang. I quickly picked it up, hoping to hear Craig's voice on the other end of the line but it was Ashley instead. Ashley rambled something about a bathing suite crisis and needing my help. I couldn't help but wonder when we became the kind of friends that worried about clothes and went shopping together. Ashley had changed a lot in England which I figured had been the whole point in the first place. Ashley had found herself and I was immensely jealous.

I met Ashley downtown, thankful she hadn't changed enough to have wanted to spend the day in the mall. With school out, the mall would have been a mad house.

"I can't believe you want to spend the day shopping." I whined as we headed into the first store.

"And I can't believe you turned down Craig's invitation." She replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Would you want to spend the summer with him and his groupies? Manny's annoying and Emma….lets just say the only thing we've ever had in common was Sean."

"Okay, okay, point taken...but are you really going to spend all summer hanging around here?" Ashley asked holding up two bikinis and asking, "Which one do you think?"

I shrugged, then looking them both over pointed to the white one, "Actually, I was thinking about going to the beach."

"Really?" she asked, putting the black on back on the rack. "With who?"

"With Alex..." I started then lowered my voice and added, "And Jay."

"Are you insane?" She shot back, looking at me like I had a second head growing from my shoulder. "Jay as in Jason Hogart? Ellie you can't. Those two are nothing but trouble."

"Ash, no offense, but you've been gone for a year. People change. Alex isn't nearly as bad as you think. She's actually pretty cool." I offered in explanation.

"Maybe Alex isn't as bad as I think but Jay is. El, he's a delinquent, a trouble maker. You can't seriously be planning on spending the summer with him." Ashley continued, making me wish I'd never mentioned it in the first place.

"I'm not planning on anything. I'm thinking about it." I said as I flipped through the rack of bathing suits in front of me.

"Well do yourself a favor and stop thinking about it." She replied. "I'm going to try this on."

I continued to flip through the rack as Ashley disappeared into the changing room. My eye caught a cute little black and red two piece that came with a mesh long sleeved top. There was only one and I didn't figure it would be my size. I lifted it up and had to force my jaw not to drop when it turned out to be. If I believed in signs that would have been it, my decision would have been made. I followed Ashley's footsteps towards the changing room figuring what the heck if she was forcing me to shop I might as try it on.

Ashley and I came out at the same time. She looked gorgeous with her hair pulled up. Jimmy was definitely going to be in awe of her all summer. I smiled, "Ash, you look hot!"

"So do you, El." She cooed.

I reluctantly turned towards the wall length mirror. The girl staring back at me was nothing like the girl that had been in my bedroom mirror this morning. I smiled before turning back to Ashley, "I guess this shopping trip turned out to be pretty short and painless."

"Oh, no, it's not over yet." Ashley snickered before returning to her dressing room.

I groaned but didn't put up much of a protest as I changed back into my regular clothes. By the end of the day I had a brand new summer wardrobe. I headed home alone trying to ignore the decision I had made somewhere between my new bathing suit and the two new pairs of flip flops.

"Mom," I called out as I entered the house and dropped my bags on the floor by the door.

"In here," She called back from the direction of the kitchen.

I took a deep breath figuring here goes nothing, "Mom, I've been thinking, what would you say if I told you I wanted to spend the summer at the beach with some friends?"

I watched as my mom sat down in one of the dining room chairs before replying, "Well, I think it sounds like a lot of fun. If you really want to go I don't see why you shouldn't."

"Really?" I asked a little shocked that she wasn't going to try and convince me to stay home with her.

"Ellie, you're eighteen. You're a good kid. If you want to spend the summer with your friends, I can't exactly stop you. Besides, I think you should have as much fun as possible before school starts." My mother explained.

"Wow! That was incredibly easy." I replied with a smile. "Thanks mom. I better go call Alex and start packing."

I headed upstairs, bags in hand. I picked up the phone beside my bed and dialed Alex's number. She answered on the third ring.

"I'm in," I offered.

"Took you long enough," She replied sarcastically on the other end of the line. "We'll pick you up Friday morning around noon."

"So, Friday afternoon," I teased.

"Yeah," She answered.

We hung up and I was actually feeling excited. I was no longer the only one stuck at home for the summer. My plans had changed. I was headed to the beach with the two most unlikely people ever and I was actually looking forward to it.