"You shouldn't have texted in the first place," I say and exit the lounge with Lacey behind, saying something about what outfit she'll rock to tonight's club party but I block her out when the evening wind hits my face. I take a few steps into the parking lot and look down at the water, which looks almost orange in the glow of the sun. I spot a few surfers out in the waves who looked like they weren't about leaving anytime soon.
It's going to be Friday night within a couple of hours, which means everyone is ditching their works already to get ready for clubbing tonight.
I'm not going.
As much as I love just the sound of the word 'party' itself, I'm going to have to bunk in on this one. Mom and Mabel have already scheduled out tonight to Skype with me. I didn't talk to them yet since I arrived in Hawaii, only random texts from Mabel telling me about Mom's attempt at a dating site and her stupid Kermit the Frog memes.
The sun disappears behind t
Silence to me, is torture.It seems like an ordinary Friday night, so to speak, except from the fact that I'm boxed up in a truck with a boy who doesn't look too thrilled to be breathing in the same air with me.The silence stretches between us like a long, fat rope, tightening me around the neck as if to suffocate the living daylights out of me. I shift uncomfortably in my seat before outstretching my arms to turn on the radio. The sound of music might keep me alive for awhile.Marvin Gaye's Sexual healing blasts loudly through the speakers and I realize I shouldn't have turned on the radio.Baby, I'm hot just like an ovenI need some lovin'And baby, I can't hold it much longerIt's getting stronger and strongerMy hand goes up to awkwardly scratch the back of my neck, my eyes darting in all corners of the truck to find something that'll catch my attention and keep me away from staring at him.A
My cellphone blares at some ungodly hour of the morning, waking me out of my blissful slumber. I roll over and slap a hand on my nightstand till it finds my phone. It takes me some seconds to figure out how to answer the stupid call, then I bring it to my ears and grunt out an hello."I can't sleep.""Excuse me?" I take a peek at the caller ID and see Mabel's name boldly written there. "Have you tried closing your eyes?""Sometimes I wonder how we're related. Anyway, I've got big news.""Can't it wait till when every normal human being is awake?""Zach asked me out."I sit upright on my bed, suddenly very awake now. "ZACH DID WHAT?!"There's going to be a funeral when I get back home to Florida."Calm your tits, I didn't give him an answer yet. What do you think?"A sharp pain jabs at the walls of my stomach and I wince, scurrying out of bed into the bathroom as I flicker on the lights. I groan when I see my pajama
When I'm done in the bathroom, I step back into the room and set our alarm clock to go off in five minutes, then lock it up in a box and shove it under Simone's bed.She'd be so thrilled.I step into the hallway next and head for Cory's room. I can't be the only one having a bad morning. A few girls are already up and loitering in the hallway and lobby, taking orders from Renee before scattering out to get to work.I burst open the door to Cory's room without knocking even after reading the sign Do not disturb. I'm know I'm acting like an annoying little sister right now.The boys room is decent and well kept unlike what I originally had in mind. I wasn't exactly expecting a dumpster of a room and I also wasn't expecting it to be so well organized. All three of their beds are neatly made and the soft music playing at the background makes the serenity feel more warm.Noah is already awake but still on his bed, holding a book
Today is the day I die. Either from Noah's long and hard stare, or mob beaten by hungry guests.Despite my job now hanging on the line between me getting fired, which I don't really care about because I'm not getting a dime out of this, I'm more concerned on the monstrous assumptions Noah already has in his head.Did he really hear everything? I can't tell. His bushy eyebrows are slightly furrowed, and his mouth is set into a line as thin as paper. A well known scowl.He should know very well by now that my mouth works without a zipper and everything that comes out of it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Mom had always told me my mouth diarrhea would get me into trouble one day, and today is definitely looking like that day.Sharp heels click themselves to our direction as I see Miss Renee stomping towards us, looking like she's about to shove a stick up someone's ass.Point of correction, that ass would be mine.Woe
I keep my feet planted on the surfboard, knees bent, arms loose, and my eyes looking in the direction I'm going. My dampened hair sticks to the side of my face as the rush of the wind kicks the sea into into a huge wave. I almost lose my balance from the force of the wave but Cory's grip on my arms has me pull myself back to my perfect position.It's a perfect Tuesday afternoon for a surf date with Cory— that's what I call it, sue me— and we both sneaked out of kitchen duties to hang out with dolphins instead. They seem friendlier than actual humans these days.I opted for a wetsuit, and I'm glad I did because it's keeping my body warm in the cold water, preventing chills. Cory's figure becomes distorted as the water separates and comes between us. We connect our hands through the water as he unexpectedly drags me away from my surfboard and lands me on his hands, carrying me bridal style."I didn't plan for this!" I yell over the lo
"Butter or Mayonnaise?" He asks. I'm confused for a moment before my head tells me he's talking about making me a sandwich."Mayonnaise."Noah spreads Mayonnaise on bread. "So what's it?""What?""Your tattoo."I lower my eyelashes and fiddle with the pendant on my neck, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "It's a unicorn."He makes a sound at the back of his throat and shifts the sandwich towards me. I take a greedy bite out of it as I hear loud voices approaching our table from behind me."Get ready to meet the lousiest group of people ever.""GALLAGHER!" A voice booms. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." The four lousy shenanigans appear on our table and noisily drags out seats.Seeing more of the Kingston boys up close now makes my previous impression of them dissipate. True, they might look like they just came out from a teen model magazine, but I feel less bothered now at
Simone and I are currently laid out on the beach chairs, having a beautiful view of the crystal clear ocean.We're both laying out in the sun, my eyes closed and headphones tucked in, working on my tan, and Simone's beside me solving a crossword puzzle— something Mabel's very fond of doing too. We don't talk anymore after our mini argument which is weird. She's not the type to go on a no talking spree for this long. I don't even get daily memes from her anymore, and that means one thing; either she's still mad at me, or got hit by a bus.Simone went ahead to give me this pep talk about how I should've handled the situation differently, and I've searched high, I've searched low, but no matter how hard I look, I can't find where I asked for her opinion.Someone's presence blocks my view from the sun as I tear my eyes open to see who had the nerve to obstruct my tan process.Lacey stands there, looking displeased as ever."What do yo
There's so many kind of buildings, I notice, as I stare out of the Jeep Wrangler that has no doors. The seatbelt I'm wearing is the only thing preventing me from flying out the vehicle. Noah's one heck of a driver.Old buildings, new ones, crumbling row houses and refurbished homes. Tall office buildings and squat store fronts all fills the scenery.The trees takes over this time, tall and stately, lining both sides of the road, so that it seems we are driving through a park, rather than the middle of a crowded city."It's so beautiful," I murmur. "So ethereal, so magnificent, so...""It's just trees, Allie. Get over it."Kill joy.We pass gracious old homes, brick and granite, then another strips of shops, smart and trendy. Noah circles around, then pulls into a narrow lot that fronts several upscale shops.He climbs out of the Jeep on his own and begins to walk into one of the shops. Noah stops on his t