Sydnie wanted to have an amazing 16th birthday. But instead of a big, expensive party, she decided to spend her birthday with her family. They were going to stay at a hotel near the beach for a week. As she packed she daydreamed about her first trip to the beach just as she used to when she was a little girl. Though now she dreamed of long walks on the beach and learning to surf instead of building sand castles with her plastic shovel. Suddenly her little brother burst into her room, bringing her back to reality. "Sydnie!" He exclaimed "You have to come see!" He ran out of her room. She followed him out to the front yard where he had tied a small, fluffy dog to a tree. "Isn't that the coolest squirrel you've ever seen?" He asked her. Sydnie started laughing which offended him. "Whats so funny?" He demanded. "Chris, that's a dog" Sydnie told him. "Oh" Chris replied. He untied the rope and the dog ran into the house across the street. Chris frowned. "I wanted to keep it" He complained. "I'm sorry" Sydnie said heading back inside to finish packing.
A half an hour later they were all in the car and pulling out of the driveway. Sydnie pulled out her ipod and began listening to music as she watched their house disappear out the back window. They pulled onto the freeway and Sydnie decided to read. there was nothing interesting to look at other than the cars driving near them. Chris started pointing out all the trucks that they passed. Trucks were his favorite things to talk about.
About an hour later they pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. They checked in and headed up to the 5th floor where their rooms were located. As a birthday present, Sydnie's parents had decided to let her have her own hotel room across the hall from theirs. Chris would be sharing a room with her parents. Sydnie unpacked and then walked across the hall to her parent's room. She let herself in and found her mom sitting on the bed flipping through the TV channels. Sydnie sat beside her "Mom, I'm done unpacking so I'm gonna go for a walk ok?" Her mom smiled "Ok, be back before 9:30 and take your cell phone" Sydnie got up and walked to the door. "Ok, see you later mom" She took the elevator downstairs to the lobby.
She walked across the sand for about fifteen minutes. There was hardly anyone there. After a while she decided to sit down in the sand to watch the sun set. She sat just far enough back that she wouldn't get wet. She set her bag down beside her and pulled her knees up to her chest. She sat silently, lost in her thoughts.
