Olga Calleron: Madness in Mahabalipuram

Mr. Freckle-Face

I groaned. Not HIM again. The boy slid down the hill and ran up to me. I got a closer look at him. He had frustratingly good looks and fiery red hair. Bright blue eyes shined from a mountain of freckles, and he grinned in a way that made me feel like he wasn't SO bad. "My name's Dexter. Came here from England." he said, getting his surfboard out. It was green, and faded unicorns were on it. I stifled a giggle. "Ay, what's wrong with you? I like unicorns, what's your problem quite pretty girl?" he said, making me blush furiously. "My name's Olga, American. Came-came here from California. Sort of a beach girl. Hehe..." I squeaked, realising I sounded completely stupid. Mr. Freckle-face here didn't seem to mind, and we just stood looking at each other for a few minutes. Finally Dexter broke the silence by heading out into the waves. He was good, perfect posture, and chill. Typical surfer attitude. I decided to sneak away while he was at it.  But suddenly my hand reached into the air and waved. Dexter noticed and waved back. I went pink, and hurried back inside. I pulled on a long-sleeve white crop top, jean shorts and lilac sandals. Soon I heard a ping from my phone. A text from Davey. "Olga, meet at Bayviw Aunt Wnna wants u 2 com fr lunch." Smiley face emoji. A kind of awkward smiley face emoji. I sighed. A weird lunch with my great-aunt and cousin while facing complete jet-lag? Oho, I am SO in. A few minutes later I found myself standing in front of an open-air restaurant with palm trees all around. I sighed, and walked in. Davey and Winna were seated at a table, with FOOD. I love food. Once me and Kirsten ate up all the sugar cookies at Eva's fourteenth birthday. She had lost Sugarplum last year, so this cheered her up. I avoided eye contact and listened to Undying Love on my headphones. I still can't believe this became a hit. Eva wrote this song years ago, and finally, after many video calls and begging, she published it. And now it's officially my new favorite song. "Olga! Ahem!" Great Aunt Winna cleared her throat. I looked up. She was looking expectantly at me. Davey was looking as bored as I was. "SO! How is your school Olga sweetheart?" she said, trying to start a conversation. "It's-it's cool. Cool." I said, trying to keep it cool. Davey nodded grudgingly. "TALK to your cousin, darling. Aha! I know how you can win her over...tiger prawns." She whispered to Davey, hardly knowing I was listening. "Tiger..prawns? What are those? Prawns coated with tiger fur or something?" I asked questioningly, forgetting that I wasn't supposed to be listening. "No! No! (She giggled, is it possible for grandmas to GIGGLE?) Tiger prawns are a DELICIOUS dish popular in India, and it's Bayview's speciality. It was the first dish that your Uncle Dave cooked for me when we were high school sweethearts in the 60's!" she said, blushing at the thought. "Ew! Grandmaaa.." Davey and I said, not wanting her to go off in a lecture about her and Uncle Dave. While Winna was jabbering about her 'college days' and whatnot, me and Davey actually started talking. Guess the best conversations start from chaos.