"Is everyone ready?!" My dad yelled. "Yes dad" answered my siblings and I in unison. Astrid just nodded her head firmly as if she were about to head off to war or something. "Thank you Astrid" I said as she tossed my bag right on top of the rest of the bags that were bursting at the seams.

"You know girl, we're only going camping for like, a week right?" Asked Astrid while she gave me a puzzled look. "I know I know" I said "but I need all my journals,essential oils, pencils and paper. Recording device for any ideas, music or sounds..."

"Ok stop right there" said Astrid interrupting my sentence. "You're going camping, not art class, not music class and not therapy. Learn to just listen and pay attention to your surroundings. You'll learn a lot."

Astrid usually gave me insightful tips like that. I'd start disconnecting myself from the world and she'd snap me back to reality. She honestly was like the older sister I never had.

We had met during my first year of high school. I was eating lunch by myself and watching everyone talking and laughing together.

I wanted that so badly, but I was just so shy and socially awkward I wouldn't have been able to get even a word out, and if I did I'd stumble over my words and leave an embarrassed mess.

So I'd just sit in silence eating my sandwich each day, wanting a friend so badly. Then the day came when a trio of "popular girls" who thought I looked so lonely came over, thinking I needed some "company".

"Awwwe look at the sad little girl" One of the girls pouted at me. Then it turned into a sly smile. "You know," She said rather slyly "you've got a stain on your dress there" She looked down at me with disapproval.

I looked down not seeing anything, and before I knew it she had pulled some lipstick from thin air and started poking me with it, making marks all over my lavender dress.

"S...stop it!" I yelled, which attracted unwanted attention to myself.

I had always disliked crowds and large attention on myself. Even when I played guitar at home my mom's attention unnerved me to the point where, I just couldn't play.

This time, it was like my whole world stopped when all those eyes came staring in my direction.

My heart stopped, I felt I needed to remind myself to breathe and it felt like the world was dimming around me.

Then a voice woke me from my daze

"Hey Mary Anne!" Everyone turned there gaze to the girl who had just yelled.

She had her golden hair in a bun and she was sporting a light pink, off the shoulder top, with the words "your highlight of the day" then finished the outfit off with light blue denim shorts.

The girl also had piercing sky blue eyes with a massive amount of determination in them, and to top it all off, an energy that came off her that made everyone around her back off.

I groaned a little inside. "Another bully" I thought. This school shouldn't exist with this many bullies.

But this girl didn't have her eyes on me, her eyes were pinned on the girls in front of me.

The girl holding the lipstick, in her red high heels and short white dress, looked almost panicked. Her green eyes that had once been trained on me with such venom, now seemed alarmed at the sight of this girl.

"Who is this girl" I wondered

Then she came straight up towards the trio of girls in a few strides, looked straight at the the one I think called Mary Anne, and said something that seemed to scare her immensely.

"You've got a lot of nerve picking on the new girl" She said almost smirking "I don't think you remember the last time someone tried to bully someone here"

Mary Anne went wide eyed, then pulled herself together and regained her composure.

She smirked, then laughed a little "I wasn't picking on this poor girl here Astrid" gesturing to me "I was merely trying to fix her gastly dress she's wearing"

I frowned, this was a dress my grandma had made specially for me, I wore it often. It was knee length and was fairly flowy, it had short cut sleeves and had pearl white buttons up along the front.

It always made me feel like a princess. Now, it just made me want to cry seeing the dark red marks all across the once beautiful dress.

Astrid looked at me with what looked like sadness. It almost surprised me to see someone look at me like that besides my parents.

Then the sadness was quickly replaced by a slight fury "Back off or you're going to deal with me Mary Anne" She almost growled, it startled me, and it made Mary Anne look uneasy.

"Fine Astrid," grumbled Mary Anne "You win" She then turned around and stomped away.

Astrid watched her walk away looking mildly pleased. She then turned to me and started walking over. All eyes were on her.

I just sat there scared and unable to do anything for fear I'd be turned into shreds.

She stopped just in front of me. My head was down, only able to see her pink and white converse shoes. She then spoke surprisingly gently. "What's your name?"

I looked up a little shocked. I did not expect to have someone wanting to know my name. I smiled a little, and responded saying "Iris. My name is Iris"

Astrid smiled widely "Well then Iris, my name is Astrid. Welcome to highschool"

Honk! Honk! My dad leaned on the horn snapping me out of the memory "Get moving or we'll get there by next year" yelled my dad.

I smiled thinking back on that memory, I had grown so much since then. I was also able to get past my fear of people so much more.

"We better get in" I said. Both Astrid and I hopped in the middle two seats while my brothers were in the two back seats.

Jason was on his phone, texting his friends no doubt. While Benjamin was writing stuff in his brown leatherbound journal our dad had given him.

Benjamin took it with him everywhere, he'd always be writing in it constantly no matter what we were doing. No one knows what he writes in there. Music, stories, poems, no one knows.

One time Jason and I put together a plan to get Benjamin out of his room, while one of us would try and sneak in so we could take a look at what was inside, but no matter what we tried he would always carry it with him.

Benjamin found out one time what we are up to, he blew up at us, yelling and threatening to smash something if they didn't leave his sight.

We had NEVER seen Benjamin so angry before. It scared us both to the point that we never bothered him again. Which, Benjamin was grateful for.

Then Jason and I got journals from our dad. He probably saw us bugging Benjamin about his. So I guess he decided to give us our own.

Mine was an ocean blue leatherbound with black floral patterns all across the front, while Jason's was silver with a few flames flickering along the bottom.

We both treasured the journals and quickly learned why Benjamin loved them as well. I'd write things in there to vent my feelings and definitely wouldn't want people reading my private thoughts in there.

I was bringing it with me on this trip. I also had snuck a peek in Jason's room earlier and saw his journal settled within the folds of his clothes.

"This is definitely going to be a great trip" I thought while smiling.