ENC 1101-B3 & B4: Writing for Discovery

Going home. Cara began her journey by filling up the tank of the red convertible she had gotten as a graduation present. She wore her most comfortable jeans, a white tank top, a white button down shirt – with the top down it get a little chilly – a Florida State baseball hat and her favorite pair of Channel shades, and obviously her favorite pair of Rainbows.

Only one thing was on her mind: home. She had been away at school since August, ever since then she had been looking forward to Thanksgiving break and now it was finally here. Some of her friends from high school that also attended Florida State decided to fly home therefore she had to drive home by herself.

The display on the pump read 30 dollars. She removed the nozzle from the tank and got in the car. The interstate was just ahead of her and she couldn’t wait to get on it! It was a gorgeous day, blue sky with a temperature of about 70 degrees. The bright sun seemed bigger than ever. The red convertible was going 90. Nobody else was on the road. It was the perfect afternoon to just drive by herself and think of the things she was coming back to at home, the things she had left behind, and what to expect of these things once she returned.

First of all it would be the first time she would see her ex-boyfriend, her high school sweetheart. Cara and Anthony began dating their sophomore year in high school. They won homecoming queen and king every year and their senior year they were crowned prom queen and king. They were looked upon as the perfect couple: she was the senior class president and he was the student government president. They were both in the top 10 of their class and were both active in sports, she played soccer player while he played basketball. Cara thought of Anthony frequently. Whenever she met a guy who reminded of her of her high school sweetheart she called Anthony. They talked three times after graduation, all three when Cara called him. She arrived at the conclusion that he was over her but she was not over him yet. She was anxious to meet up with him again. But what if he didn’t want to meet her? What if he had met somebody else?

Cara got Anthony off her mind by wondering what it would be like to be home again. Cara is only 18 and her parents were very protective of her. Would they enforce a curfew or would she be able to come and go as she pleases? Either way it would be tough to become accustomed to being under close watch again. Living in a dorm had definitely taught her a lot about herself. She learned she was more independent than she thought. Back in September her roommate told her she wanted to experiment with marijuana for the first time. Cara thought it would be cool to try it too. When the time finally came that her roommate had bought the drug and was ready to smoke it Cara looked at her and said: “I’m better than that, I don’t need pot to have a good time. I’m sorry Anna.” Later that month, Cara learned how responsible she had become. Back in high school even though she was an exemplarily student oftentimes she turned in assignments late because she went out and partied. She used the excuse that she had to do something with the senior class and that had taken up all of her time so she was unable to finish. In college Cara was involved with a sorority and tons of parties took place every week. One night the sorority had a social with the hottest fraternity on campus, but she had a massive test on the next day. Cara really wanted to attend the party because this boy she had been crushing on would be there. Cara didn’t go and the next morning took her test. She received an A so she didn’t feel so bad about missing the social.

All of this was going through her mind as she approached her home. She had called her parents from her cell phone to let them know she would be pulling up soon. They were awaiting for her on the porch…