Determination

Chase was not happy.

When she had awakened that morning, she had literally fallen out of bed. On her way to the bathroom, she stubbed her toe and she had tripped going down the steps. She had spilt both her orange juice and oatmeal on her lap while she was eating, and on top of all that she could not find her homework.

It was not a good morning for the normally upbeat fifteen year old. Already, she had tried to shake the feeling that everything going wrong that could that morning was giving her, but it was of little use. She took a deep breath to try clear her head, hating the fact her mood wasn’t her usual one. The one thing Chase truly hated was being in a bad mood; it simply didn’t suit her.

The morning dragged on slowly, and Chase didn’t event try to talk to Hailey. She knew that her bad mood wouldn’t help in her attempt to befriend the shy girl. Lunch came and went, and so did the afternoon.

So it was understandable that as soon as Chase was outside of her school, she was blasting Less Than Jake and walking slowly through the streets to get home. The slightly chilled air was refreshing after being trapped in the school all day, and it the almost twenty minute walk did raise the girl’s spirits a small amount. This itself wasn’t uncommon, because fall was her favorite season. The weather was cool, crisp, and refreshing. Leaves changing colors always painted a gorgeous backdrop of the woods behind Chase’s home.

By the time she reached her home, though, her mood was slightly better. Thought still not her bubbly self, she was better than she had been when she left the house this morning.

Walking into the kitchen, Chase saw a note from her cousin, saying that she was grocery shopping and would be back soon. Deciding against staying indoors, the girl found a pen and added below her cousin’s handwriting that she was going to the lake.

The lake was about a quarter mile from Chase’s house, and it was surrounded by trees. People rarely came to the lake, even this time of year when it possessed such a breathtaking beauty, because it was in the woods a little bit. But the young girl fell in love with this place many years ago and came here to relax fairly often.

Chase was a happy person. Some people in the past had thought it was just an act, because unless it was a day like today where everything seemed to go wrong, she was almost constantly smiling. It wasn’t an act, though. Years before she had given up dwelling on the negatives of life, and embracing the positives with her whole heart. She was able to look past anything bad normally, to see the good. It was her optimistic outlook that made her who she was.

It was without a doubt a wonderful day, weather wise. The weather had yet to take on that frigid, winter wind but had long given away the summer heat. It was the perfect balance, which only made the scene at the lake more enjoyable for Chase. Sitting on an old log that had fallen years ago, she let her eyes scan the trees, taking in their vibrant shades of gold and scarlet. They reflected off the water, doubling the view and Chase couldn’t help but smile as a V-formation of geese flew overhead, heading south for the approaching winter.

A small rustling noise came behind her and to the left slightly, and she assumed it was an animal of some sort, scurrying around the heavily wooded area. She was proven wrong when a moment later she saw a familiar blonde step out of the trees.

Hailey didn’t notice her, instead going straight towards a group of rocks right along the edge of the water. She sat on one, removing her shoes and letting her toes dangle into the chilled water. Lifting a metal water bottle to her lips shortly after she got situated, Hailey took a large gulp and screwed the lid back on. Chase decided that she wanted to talk to the girl who obviously shared her love of this spot here, because she was hoping a different environment would help the blonde to open up slightly.