The sun blazed its color on the early winter morning. Students were talking as they carelessly walked to their classes. Rosewood High School was a very interesting and diverse place. Casey Cameron was one of the most well-known people. She was very smart and kind to everyone she met, including the most popular girl, Hazel Robins.

“Good morning Hazel, how is your day going,” Casey politely asked.

“Why are you talking to me? I never said you could,” Hazel angrily answered.

Everyone kept their distance from Hazel except her oblivious sidekicks. Hazel was as annoying as younger siblings. She treated everyone terribly and the teachers never seemed to notice. Casey had known Hazel since they were in kindergarten, and they used to be best friends until Hazel became popular, rude, and snotty. Casey and Sarah, her sister, tried to ignore Hazel and all the trouble she caused. Casey and Sarah got on the bus to go to their house from Rosewood High, the day was still frosty and everyone was bundled up. As Casey and Sarah walked out of the school, they felt the warmth of the school drift away from their bodies. The buses left earlier than normal due to slippery roads, and the bus drivers didn’t want to be stuck in after school traffic.

Since Casey and Sarah were twins they enjoyed most of the same things except when it came to sports. Casey liked swimming and Sarah liked soccer. Both of them played for the school sports teams and they couldn’t wait for the summer to have a break from school, homework, and boring classes. Even though both of them knew summer was still a few months away. Sarah went straight to her room when she got home to change for soccer practice, and Casey went to the kitchen and found her dog named Max waiting patiently for her to pet him.

“Hi, Max! I missed you,” Casey gently uttered under her breath.
Max playfully licked and slobbered all over Casey’s cold and red face. She felt like she was going to fall over because of how frostbitten she felt. Her toes felt like icicles, but suddenly the thought of going to swim practice warmed Casey’s body and heart. She loved the way the water swiftly ran across her back as she gracefully glided through the water. The water was also very warm during the winter and the swimmers really appreciated the warmth after being outside in the below zero degrees weather.

“Sarah, when does your soccer practice start?’ Casey yelled.

“It starts at six thirty. . . I think,” Sarah loudly answered.

Casey went to her room that was filled with swimming trophies and posters of famous swimmers like Michael Phelps. The turquoise walls of her room were very vibrant and her trophies stood out on the plain white shelves. The one thing she didn’t like about her room was the dark green carpet. She had all of her shelves covered in beautiful, silky ribbons and she kept her precious trophies on the highest shelf so no one could touch them and accidentally break them. Casey hated how she could see the dust on her shelves but she didn’t want to accidentally drop the trophies while attempting to clean the surrounding area. Every day was the same for Casey, she would wake up and go to school and then come home and go swim practice. She wasn’t the best swimmer on her team and most people thought Hazel was the top swimmer. Swimming was Casey’s escape from the real world, and she loved being under the water because her mind would be free and the only thing she would think about while swimming was the noise of the crowd cheering when Casey would finally win. She knew that someday she would show everyone what she could truly accomplish.

At every competition, Hazel was always one of the top three finalists. Casey always wanted to give up because she was always one of the last swimmers to finish the races. Hazel, her sidekicks, and most of the swim team bullied her for being last. Casey had her whole family and all her friends by her side, but she always cared about what Hazel thought. Sarah always cheered for her sister even when she lost. Casey never gave up even though she thought about it. She continued to prepare herself and train at every practice. The hard work and sore muscles were all that Casey lived for. She knew she had to work harder and become the best she could be.

“Casey, you should just give up, you are always in the last place anyways!” Hazel yelled across the hallway.

“You should leave my sister alone Hazel! She is trying her best and even if she doesn’t win a first place medal, at least she knows that she’s working hard. Casey doesn’t need your opinion about her swimming, she is doing just fine on her own and everyone believes in her except you. Hazel, if you think you are the best, why don’t you help Casey become a better swimmer,” Sarah exclaimed.

The whole hallway got so quiet that everyone’s breathing could be heard. No one spoke or moved, the bell rang and slowly students poured into their classes but Hazel remained in the same position. She leaned against her locker and realized how mean and rude she had been towards Casey and many other people. Hazel knew she had to change but she didn’t know how, so she went straight to Casey right after school.“Look, Casey, I’m really sorry about the way I’ve been treating you the past few years. I shouldn’t take my anger out on you. I was just jealous of how pretty you are and how perfect your life is. You have beautiful dirty blonde hair and gorgeous, glittery blue eyes. Even the freckles that you have are pretty and you are nice to everyone you meet and everyone loves your personality,” Hazel apologized. Casey didn’t know what to say, she had been waiting for this day ever since middle school started. She was so thankful for Sarah sticking up for her and Casey was relieved that Hazel had given up on bullying her. Casey was shocked and utterly confused, the only noise that could be heard was the other kids that were getting onto their buses. Casey suddenly noticed that Hazel started to walk forward towards her with her arms out. Hazel hugged Casey with a tight grip and apologized many more times.

“Thanks, hazel. It really means a lot that you are apologizing. You are amazingly beautiful and I still see great potential in you, even though you have bullied me for many years, I still see the wonderful girl that used to be my best friend,” Casey sobbed.
The following day was the final competition of the school year. Casey was prepared and so was Hazel and the rest of the swim team. They all planned to work their hardest and place as high as they could. For the first time in years, Casey and Hazel were actually talking again and they weren’t fighting or being mean in any way. Everyone at the swim competition was amazed. The only thing the swimmers were worrying about was the race they were about to compete in. Hazel and Casey prepared for the first heat together. All of the swimmers looked anxious and the crowd could tell that they were nervous. Casey looked over into the stands to see her family sitting patiently for the first heat to start. She was told to go to the second lane, so she walked with fear of losing again. Casey watched as all the other swimmers got into their positions, she slowly got into position to dive into the water.

“C’mon Casey! You got this!” Hazel and Sarah yelled across the pool.

Splash! Casey quickly dove into the water and started swimming freely. All of her worries left her mind, and she focused on having her eyes on the prize. She knew exactly what she had to do and all of the other swimmers were way behind her. Casey was amazed that she was in first place, but she kept swimming until she got to the other side of the pool, and she knew that she had to quickly turn in order to stay ahead in the race. The swimmer in lane two was gaining on her and she started to panic. She swam as fast as she could and she knew she didn’t want to slow down or give up! Casey persevered through the first heat and all of the other heats she participated in. Casey’s muscles were tense and sore, her arms hurt the worst from moving them to great extent. Hazel and Sarah were cheering the loudest and everyone in the crowd was proud of Casey and the rest of the swim team. At the end of the competition, the awards were given out immediately and Rosewood High School placed first, and Casey placed first overall.

“Great job Casey!” Hazel and Sarah shouted as they hugged Casey.

After the competition was over everyone's voices were gone, they had been cheering so much. Casey’s whole swim team and her family were amazingly proud of her. Casey knew something was different about her parents attitudes. They were obviously anxious and excited about something. They were squirmish and suddenly Casey’s mom blurted out, “Your father got a new job in New York and we will be moving there very soon!” Casey looked confused and she didn’t know why her mom had just said that. Casey loved her life now and she absolutely adored her house and even her school. Sarah also looked dazzled and she turned to her sister to see Casey jumping with joy.

“But I don’t want to move away from my friends. Do we have to move? We grew up here, and we have made so many special memories,” Casey declared as she realized she would be leaving the only home she has ever known.

“Your father is overly excited about this new position, and we need to support him and his decision to move. Besides, who wouldn’t want to move to New York, there is so much to do and see. You will get to live in a dream!” Casey’s mom exclaimed with excitement.
Casey nodded in agreement and she reached over and hugged her parents and Sarah, Casey realized that she was ready to begin a new chapter in her life. She started to think of the view she would have in a place like New York.

A few weeks later Casey’s family was happily living in New York and they had started a new chapter. They loved their new lives and Sarah and Casey now understood why their parents were so happy about moving. The whole Cameron family loved the sounds of busy streets and they had an infatuation with the way the city glowed throughout the night, until the warm, sizzling sun rose above the world and warmed the bitterly cold days. Casey and Sarah loved their new high school, and they got the opportunity to meet so many new people. Casey knew she would remember Hazel forever, she started thinking about the competition where she had won for the first time, she started to slightly smile, but the warm grin on her face was interrupted by the sounds of honking cars, and the busy buzz of people chattering.