[A/N] I just want to thank you guys for reading this book! I love writing so much, and this book is helping me to discover what and how I would like to write an actual book :)

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Cecelia Patterson slouches against the comfortable leather seat and stares out the small, rectangular window. The American Airlines airplane cruises high in the sky as the sun peacefully balances above the impenetrable sheet of fluffy clouds. To a common person, the sight can easily be described as breathtaking, but to Cece, the landscape is bland and boring. She has taken trips on hundreds of planes before, and this particular flight is exactly like the rest.

"Honey, please sit up," her mother scolds, tapping her arm with a manicured finger. "Act like a young lady for once in your life."

"Fine," she mumbles, rising from her seat. "I have use the bathroom anyway."

Cecelia literally cannot stand being around her mother anymore. She never stops nagging her and babying her, which is annoying considering she just finished her sophomore year at Yale University and is legally an adult. All she simply wants is to have a bit of fun, but her mother's presence continues to remind her that, one day, she will be heading her father's giant-ass technology company when he decides to retire.

It takes every ounce of effort in her body not to slam the door of the bathroom shut. Sure, she is grateful to live a financially secure life, but sometimes, she wishes she could just blend in with the general public and wear ratty jeans and dirty Converse sneakers. Cece is sick of showing off her family's wealth and wants to live a simpler life, a life that does not include snobby rich kids bragging about their new purchases.

Cece stares at herself in the mirror. Her fake blonde hair glistens in the light, and her clothes reek of money and influence. Rolling her eyes, she tells herself to suck it up for a few more hours; once her family reaches the sunny beaches of California, she'll be free to let loose and life a little. Marci and Niko, her closest friends from college, are already there, waiting for her arrival so they can ride waves all day and party all night.

A knock sounds on the door. Cecelia quickly flushes the toilet and washes her hands, glancing at herself once more in the mirror before opening the door. A flight attendant smiles at her when she opens the door. "We are landing in a few minutes, dear, please take your seat and buckle up," she says.

"Okay," she responds flatly, heading back to her seat with a heart filled with disdain and a sprinkle of hope.

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Cece sets her Louis Vuitton luggage on the carpeted floor of her makeshift bedroom and places her sunglasses on the end table. Walking towards the windows, she flings the sheer curtains open and studies the sandy beach with an unreadable look on her face.

Nothing is stopping me from running into that ocean right now, this very second, she thinks as she suddenly turns her back on the view and digs her bathing suit out from her bag. She tears off her clothes and throws them in a haphazard pile on the bed before slipping into a simple, black one-piece. Putting her sunglasses in her messy hair, she walks out of her bedroom and past her parents, who are sipping wine on one of the sofas.

"Where are you going, darling?" her mother asks, glancing at her in confusion. "And where in the world are your clothes?"

"I'm going swimming, I'll be back," she merely replies, exiting the penthouse without even glancing in their direction.

Jealous people call Cece an ungrateful bitch, but her closest friends know better than anyone else that she's simply searching for a bit of adventure and happiness to spice up her affluent lifestyle.

Without sandals on her feet or even a cellphone in her hand, Cece walks into the empty elevator at the end of the hall and heads to the ground floor, marching right down to the beach. As soon as her bare feet touch the sand, she feels completely relaxed. The sound of the seagulls screeching and children crying almost bring tears to her eyes; finally, she can walk among the normal and just act human.

Cece literally run to the ocean, hopping over someone's radio and skipping around a sandcastle. Almost tripping on a skateboard, she reaches the wet sand and suddenly stops, admiring the ocean. White, foamy waves crash on the shore and submerge her feet. A man rides a wave in the distance, and kids play in the sea while hysterically laughing.

Cece has been to many banquets, flown on thousands of flights, and met the richest people in world, but never in her life has she seen a scene so raw and beautiful. God, life can catch you of guard in the oddest moments and remind you that you are alive.

A click of a camera sounds behind her followed by a few more shutter sounds. Cece whips her whole body around, glaring at the person taking hiding behind a Cannon camera. "Who the fuck are you?" she yells, grabbing the camera from his hands and waving it in front of his face. "Did I give you person permission to photograph me?"

The boy, who couldn't be older than 20, shrugs his tanned shoulders. "You've got to capture beauty when you see it, you know?"

"You know what would be beautiful to me? Throwing this god-damn piece of junk in the ocean."

"Hey!" he replies, glaring, "if you're really that offended by a complement, I'll delete the picture. Just, please, don't break my camera. It took me a whole month to save up for that thing, okay?"

She tosses the camera aside, and the boy dives to catch it before the ocean can reach it. "Way to give a man a heart attack, geez." 

"Sorry," she says, realizing that she may have overreacted a bit, "you just caught me off guard."

The man runs his hand through his short, brown hair and squints in the sun. "Dang, lady, I can only imagine what you're like when you're actually on guard."

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