by C. Fennessy
Kacey & Friends on
Spring Break
written and illustrated by
C. Fennessy
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter One
“I can hardly wait for winter to be over this year,” Ava commented as she looked outside of her friend Kacey’s bedroom window. Kacey joined her, viewing the dark grey afternoon skies and drizzling rain. The late February snow piled along the curbs had turned to dirty slush, and the bare trees surrounding the house swayed in the sharp wind, scratching against the windows.
“I know what you mean. This winter has been awful. First, we had a ton of snow at Christmas, and since then it’s been either raining or snowing. We didn’t get to ski much this winter, either. The weather’s been crazy.”
Ava’s face brightened as she said, “But spring is coming, and you know what that means!”
Kacey thought a moment, and then grinned, “Spring Break!”
“Right! And this year we're college freshmen, so let’s plan our Spring Break vacation!”
Kacey’s mood changed instantly from glum to happy.
“Great idea! Where should we go?”
“Well, lots of people go to Daytona or Miami Beach. That might be fun,” said Ava.
“Yeah, it probably would be fun. I’ve always wanted to try surfing.”
“We should text Emma to see what she thinks.”
“Yeah,” Kacey agreed, “Want to stay for dinner? I’m making spaghetti and meatballs with salad. You can help me cook.”
Ava nodded as she began to text Emma. “Sure. I’ll make the salad. I’ll let my mom know I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”
The two girls began cooking in the kitchen where Kacey lived. Her house was on a nicely landscaped lot across the street from a golf course. She lived with her father, who was a church pastor, and she attended Westfield University, where Ava also went to college. Sometimes they drove to classes together. Kacey’s older brother, Brian, lived in Boston and was engaged to be married. Because Kacey's mom died of cancer when she was in high school, Kacey and her father were very close. She chose to live at home while going to college so she could have her own room, and to help pay for her education by saving the cost of going away to school. She also liked living close to her two best friends, Ava and Emma, and her boyfriend, Joshua. Emma decided not to go to college after high school; she went to a cooking school instead where she became a certified chef. Now she was working in a local restaurant as an assistant chef.
The two girls talked about where to go during Spring Break. They both decided that a beach in Florida would be perfect, but couldn’t decide on which one.
Kacey made meatballs and put them into the red sauce to cook while Ava used a yellow cake mix and a can of pineapple to make one of her own favorite cakes. By the time the meatballs were almost done, Kacey started boiling water for the spaghetti, and Ava made a tossed green salad. Everything was ready when Mr. Carlson, Kacey’s father, came in the door.
Kacey greeted her dad with a smile, and he grinned back and said hello to them.
“Ava’s staying for dinner, Dad,” Kacey told him.
“Oh, great! We always love to have your company, Ava.”
He excused himself to wash up for dinner, and the girls put everything on the dining room table.
They all sat down to eat, and bowed their heads for prayer along with Mr. Carlson. Afterward, as Kacey passed the bread, she told her father,
“Dad, Ava and I were just discussing what to do on Spring Break, and we came up with a great idea!”
”Oh, what’s that?” her father asked as he helped himself to spaghetti.
“We’re going to Daytona Beach!”
Mr. Carlson’s fork of spaghetti froze in mid-air. His smile dissolved into a frown.
“Daytona?” he asked incredulously.
“Yeah, Dad,” Kacey replied, “That’s where all the college kids go.”
Mr. Carlson set his fork down quietly and appeared thoughtful. Kacey knew her father well enough to know that he was not happy with this news.
“What’s wrong, Dad?”
He cleared his throat and took a sip of water, deciding how he should phrase his answer.
“Well, Daytona's a very nice place, but won’t it be rather crowded at Spring Break?”
Kacey and Ava looked at each other and shrugged, “Maybe, but so what?” Kacey asked.
“Well,” he began, “I guess I’d rather see you go somewhere else. Florida has many beautiful places.”
Ava said, “Yeah, we thought about Miami Beach as another place, but that might be too expensive. We don’t have a lot of money.”
Mr. Carlson didn’t reply, but began eating his salad. Kacey knew he was pondering this information and wasn’t thrilled with the idea.
“What’s wrong with going to Daytona, Dad?” Kacey asked.
“Well, it’s not Daytona that I’m worried about. It’s a very nice place. I’ve been there several times, in fact. But it does get very crowded with college students at Spring Break, and a lot of drinking and drugs go on. That’s the part that concerns me.”
Her father put down his fork and looked at her with unease.
“I don’t mind you going to Florida on Spring Break, Kacey, but the crowds at some of the places where college kids get together have gotten out of hand in recent years. People have gotten hurt or worse in some cases. I think it’s too dangerous for your girls to be there on your own.”
“But Rick and Joshua are coming, too,” Ava said, adding quickly, “But they’ll have their own place to stay, of course.”
“Even so, I still don't think you should go anywhere where there will be large crowds of college kids congregating for Spring Break.”
The mood at the table quickly changed to a somber one. Kacey looked down at her plate in silence, and Ava felt uncomfortable. Mr. Carlson thought a moment, and then said,
“Wait, I have an idea! My brother owns a resort hotel in Lake Buena Vista, near Disney World. It’s a five-star resort, with a golf course, tennis courts, several swimming pools, and it’s located on a lake with a sandy beach. And it’s close to the theme parks.”
The girls looked at him with interest.
“But we wanted to go surfing,” Kacey said.
“Fine. You can rent a car and drive to Cocoa Beach, which is only about an hour away on the expressway. Plus, you can go to all of the theme parks in the area. But I'd prefer that you stay at a hotel where I know you’ll be safe. They have excellent security at this resort.”
The two girls looked at each other.
Ava shrugged, saying, “Well, that sounds like fun.”
“If you want to get a suite at the resort, I’ll have to call for a reservation as soon as possible,” Mr. Carlson said, “They get very busy durin
g Spring Break, but you won’t have unruly crowds there. I’ll sleep a lot better knowing that you girls are staying somewhere where I know you’ll be safe.”
Seeing their hesitation, Mr. Carlson put down his fork and stood up.
“Excuse me, please. I need to make a quick phone call. I’ll be back soon.”
Kacey smiled, guessing that her father was making an excuse so the girls could talk privately.
“Thanks, Dad.”
After he left the room, Kacey turned to Ava, asking, “What do you think?”
Ava shrugged, “Well, I think staying at the resort might be fun. We can swim, play tennis, go to the theme parks, and still go to the beach to go surfing.”
“You don’t mind staying at one of our family’s hotels? I know you wanted to go to Daytona.”
“I know what your father means about Spring Break crowds. My cousin went to Miami on one of her Spring Breaks and got into big trouble. She was just hanging out with her friends and they met up with some guys. Well, to make a long story short, things got pretty ugly, and she ended up getting arrested. If that ever happened to me, my parents would kill me. But also, it would put an end to my career plans.”
Kacey knew that Ava was studying criminal justice and hoped to be a detective or and F.B.I. agent someday. An arrest record would ruin her chances.
Kacey thought it over and said, “Well, if you and Emma and the guys are okay with it, I guess we can go to the resort in Lake Buena Vista.”
“Great! I’ll text them and let them know. I hope Emma can get off work for the week to join us.”
“Yeah, me too,” Kacey agreed. Spring Break wouldn’t be the same without Emma.
The thought of going to a warm, sunny, beachside resort sounded like the perfect escape from the cold, dreary winter weather. The girls weren't so much interested in hanging out with big crowds of kids as they were in having fun together.
Mr. Carlson soon returned to the table and sat down to finish his dinner.
“Well, have you two made up your minds about your plans for Spring Break?” he asked casually.
Kacey nodded, “We decided to go to the resort in Lake Buena Vista. It sounds like fun, Dad.”
He smiled broadly. “I’m glad to hear that. In fact, I just called Uncle Bill to see if you could get a reservation on such a short notice. He got in touch with the hotel, and they had just received a cancellation for one of their suites. He says you girls can have it if you call him back before nine o’clock this evening. He can’t hold it open after that, and I’m sure it will be taken by tomorrow. He says if you decide to come, you will be his guests at no charge, including meals and any hotel activities.”
“Great! Let’s call him back to reserve it,” Kacey said, “But first we have to see if Emma can come.”
Ava checked her messages to see if Emma had replied, and shook her head, “Not yet.”
Ava served the dessert after the table had been cleared. As she was finishing the last bite of pineapple cake, her phone buzzed.
“Hey, it’s Emma. She says her boss said she could take off a week. She can come!”
“Great! Spring Break in Florida! I can’t wait!” Kacey exclaimed.
“Neither can I!” Ava smiled.
