"Can I tell you something?" Conrad asked.
I only nodded.
"You're the strongest person I know."
To this day, I still think he lied to me. I should be the least strongest person he knows. How did he consider me strong when I could list dozens of peop...
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THERE WAS NEVER a time at the beach house where I was unhappy, or at least a time that stuck with me because every time someone or anyone mentioned beach houses, I immediately thought about the Conklin's and the Fishers. Everyone praised Alva's amazing cooking. The pranks. The games. Early mornings to see the sunrise while surfing, late nights to capture the mysterious moon.
It never crossed my mind that after last summer, everything could change because once you grow up, experience the universe spiraling around you, that's when you realize that not everything is sunshine and rainbows. As it seems, it's much deeper than you thought, and you might just drown if you're not careful enough.
I was walking down the steps when I heard Alva tell Kenny, "when I asked you to come in, I meant that I'd want you sitting down!"
Kenny was always awkward when it was just Alva and him. He told me that she's very intimidating and scary. And that's when I told him, "Hispanic moms are always scary." He laughed right in my face.
"But you are Hispanic." He had told me.
"That's how I know." My face had come so close to his that I couldn't hold my laugh for too long.
Kenny and I met when we were seven years old. I was building a sand castle and the next thing I knew, it was gone. He had run straight into it. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when suddenly, he apologized four thousand times, before I even got the chance to blink once. He then crossed his heart and promised he would help me rebuild it.
He did. We spent most of our afternoon at the beach rebuilding the sandcastle that day. Then our mothers exchanged numbers after they saw how much we got along. His mom said he didn't have many friends in Cousins, since it was their first time spending their summer here.
The following day, Kenny's mom called and asked if I could go get ice cream and then ride the ferris wheel with them. Alva refused to let me go off with complete strangers, which she later compromised with Conrad tagging along. I hated Alva for that. Hated Conrad even more for proposing the idea to her.
I later learned that Conrad being there didn't affect me or Kenny at all. He just followed both of us around like a lost little puppy with an annoyed look on his face. He also ended up riding the Ferris wheel alone. I bet he regretted doing me the "favor" after that.
"He's allowed to stand, Ma." I said, just standing there, resisting the urge to run up to Kenny and wrap my arms around his neck, so hard that he can hardly breathe.
As soon as Kenny heard my voice, he quickly turned his whole body around, his back no later facing me no more. This time, I could see his beautiful smile that covered up most, if not all, his face. "I was waiting for you to come down here."
