Chapter 82. New Day, New Me

2024

Amelia’s POV

New day. New dawn. New me.

At least, that was the plan; if I had actually woken up at a reasonable hour, say, 8 am. Maybe even 9, because let’s be honest, I wasn’t exactly a morning person. But life had other plans. Namely, a mandatory 6 a.m. hike that I had completely forgotten about until Sarah, the human alarm clock, decided it was her personal mission to drag me out of bed, and shook me awake like we were in a life-or-death situation.

“Amelia! Get up! We have fifteen minutes before they leave us behind!” she shrieked, yanking my blanket off.

I groaned, groaned, curling into myself. “Sarah, I will actually die if I move right now.”

“No, but you will probably die from loneliness if you don’t get up. I am not letting you be that person who ditches the first company event of the day. Come on!”

I cracked an eye open to see her already dressed in full hiking gear, looking bright-eyed and ready to conquer the wor