It Was Not Only A Weekend by Camila Rodrigues, aa aa, aa aa, aa aa (chrysanthemum read aloud txt) 📕

It was a sunny morning in Los Angeles when I was getting ready for school. I just brushed my long blonde hair and applied mascara,  then I pick up my boring and monochromatic uniform very quickly so that I could arrive earlier at my school. Today I have a surprise for some friends.

" Hey, Serena! ", I said while running into her direction," I have something very exciting to show to you!"

" Hold on Angel! ", she laughed, " What is it? ". I was so desperate to show it to her that I could even talk, so I had to put the tickets for the Coachella festival in her hands.

" Oh my! I can't believe it! How did you buy these tickets?" said Serena almost screaming in the middle of the hallway. Well, I had to laugh at her reaction, " I know some people, but I can't tell you who they are, it's confidential. Also, don't show this to anyone, alright? You know how quickly gossips are spread in Beverly Hills' High School." She moved her head as saying yes, agreeing of keeping our festival weekend in secret. Not even our parents can discover that we are going to Coachella.

Later in that day, during the Chemistry class, Serena whispered to me " Man, this will be my first big festival! I don't know if I am excited or afraid...". I knew exactly how she was feeling, I also have never been to such a huge festival as Coachella. Can you imagine three days of great music, parties and good vibes? Oh my gosh… I have to start getting my looks together and they must be somehow modern, chic and crazy! The rest of this week will be tough. " Yeah, I know girl.  We have to find a way to hide it from our parents...", I said also whispering even though the teacher called out our attention. When Mrs. Rose turned around, now facing the board, Serena quickly threw a paper at me saying:  Don't worry, I solve this issue later. Well, I just hope she could.

During my last class of this incredible and atypical Monday, Serena texted me : "Hey Angel! I have an older cousin, Andrew, that is also going! I think we can go together with them since he and his friends are going to drive a minivan. Coachella is about 130 miles from here." I got so enthusiastic with her message that I was dancing and screaming " Yes " through the High School hallway. People looked at me as if I was completely insane, but they were right, though. Who else has ever gone to Coachella as being an underage girl? I could not wait more 4 years to turn 21.

As I said it before, the rest of this week was very busy. I didn't have time to get any homework done or read my favorite book, but it was completely worth it. Serena and I have come up with the best looks for those magical 3 days of our lives. Since I have long and light hair, I radically decided to dye my hair in bright pastel colors, beginning from pastel pink and finishing it with pastel baby blue. It really accentuated my light brown eyes and my dark eyebrows. My looks consisted more of denim jackets with funny patches on top, black jumpsuit, short white and transparent lace dress, crop top and shorts, and of course, my camel boots with fringe details. Serena style is more edgy and dark, which perfectly combines with her red hair, green eyes and very light skin. Therefore, she would use t-shirts with the logo of several bands, destroyed high waisted denim shorts, and her amazing knee boots. Bracelets, bandanas, and black hats were some of the accessories we would also use. Fashion is a real deal at Coachella, and we don't play!

Finally, Friday has come! Serena slept at my house after hours and hours of fashion decisions and makeup tutorials on YouTube, yet we haven't found a way to hide this weekend from our parents. " Serena wake up! We have to come up with a scheme that our parents will believe in it!"  Serena woke up so rapidly that she even came up with the solution in the same moment, " I was thinking that we can convince your mom that we are going to my cousin's party this night and that you are going to spend this weekend with my family in Palm Springs. This way we could miss school and go directly to Andrew's house and drive to Coachella. This is the perfect excuse, what do you think Angel?". I had to agree with it, Serena is brilliant when developing this kind of plans. " Yes, that's perfect! And what about your parents and your "supposed" family in Palm Springs? They know that we are going?", I desperately said while she was laughing at my reaction, " Girl it's totally ok! My cousin owns this house in Palm Springs! Also, my family doesn't care too much about the places I go as long I am with him. Nothing will ruin our festival now!"

I don't know how, but my mom gave me permission  to "go to Andrew's party this weekend". We took the bus, but not the school's, yet the one traveling to Palm Springs. When we arrived at Andrew's house, he opened the door with so much fervor that I could even stare at anything else but his eyes. The mash-up of a dark blue and green captivated me. As I was trying to look away, I could only observe his filled eyebrows, sweet lips, and dense beard, which only emphasized his sculpted jawline. His hair was the color of  chocolate and styled into a messy man bun. I could not deny that I was absolutely seduced by his beauty and charm. While I was looking down his neck and large shoulders, he started to introduce himself and the house, " Welcome girls, this is my house and also yours for the weekend. I hope both don't mind the presence of my messy friends, they are in the backyard. Please come in!". How come he is also super polite? Oh gosh, he must be a prince of somewhere.

Serena and I joined the group of Andrew's friends and we started to talk and laugh at different matters. One of them offered me a beer, which I've never seen, so I had to deny it. As the morning passed by, everyone started to get ready for the festival. It was the first time in my life that I had a complete look already combined for an event, and also my first time in such a crazy trip! Once the afternoon began, we all headed to the city of Coachella, which is coincidently the same name as the festival. While it was Andrew's turn to drive the minivan, he kept on looking in the rearview mirror, which I quickly noticed that he was not looking to the other cars on the road, but yet to me. I could only stare him back, observing his facial expressions and behavior.

The entrance of the festival was astonishing. Several tall palm trees stand in two vertical lines, one in each side, leading to an ample tent, which was the main entry.

"This is time girl! We are finally going to pass the entrance of the festival, so act cool as if you were 21 years old!" I said to Serena.

I have never been so anxious for one moment since my first kiss. What if the staff of the festival identifies our fake IDs? What if they notice that we look younger? Oh my gosh! I'm so nervous!  

We were the next ones in the line. The guy who was checking the entrance had a machine that would valid your ticket and ID. Now we could not go back, or else they would notice that we were doing something wrong. The boys passed through the gate first, and then Serena and I. Unlucky, our IDs were denied. The guy looked at our face almost laughing and said " This the tenth fake ID that I seize in 5 minutes… Go in girls, I did the same when I was your age. Enjoy Coachella!". Wait, what? Even though he caught our fake IDs, he let us get in? Oh my gosh! I have to say to him that he saved my weekend, my life and that I love him!

This place is enormous! Huge flashy stages, unimaginative pieces of art, soaring colorful palm trees and food trucks combined together to form this extraordinary festival. However, the most remarkable part is the people in Coachella, who could choose to wear whatever they wanted, risking themselves in the world of fashion, and also by their vibe, which was always positive.

As we didn't want to waste our time, we entered in one of the stages, in which only played EDM songs. There were flashing and intense lights everywhere, moving with the different beats of the music. It was crazy!

"Angel! I am very thirsty right now! Let's buy some bottles of water and come back." Serena had to yell in my ear since the music was extremely loud.

"Hey boys! Serena and I are going to buy water bottles, who else wants it?", I shouted in the middle of the crowd. Andrew immediately looked worried at me, saying "Angel, please be careful! There are several crazy people out there!". Seriously? He is worried that both of us are only going to buy water? What could happen in 10 minutes?

While we were waiting in the line , a group of guys approached us. One of them was certainly the most brawny guy I have ever met in my life so far, yet he began to talk with me.

"What's up girls? Are you guys really going to wait in this immense line for some bottles of water?"  Well, what could we do if this was the nearest place selling water? I had to answer "Yes!"

"We are selling beverages and food through the festival so that girls like you can buy it, consume it and come back to the desired attraction faster! Also, you can purchase it at the same price! Isn't this a good idea?"

I looked at Serena, who did not agree in buying his water, "Come on Serena, he looks legit! Even both bottles, his and from the festival, are the same." I tried to persuade her, but she said that doesn't trust those guys. I looked back to him and bought one of his water bottles  for three dollars. I quickly drank half of it in front of him, who took my hand and said: "Have fun and deeply enjoy Coachella!". He soon left, and Serena and I decided t come back to the show.

Twenty minutes after I drank the water, I began to feel different. My body was lighter, the flashing lights looked stronger and so much more vivid than before. As I concentrated