Seaglass Promises in the Midnight Sky

Worlds of Sand

Lorraine wasn't quite sure how she kept ending up in these types of situations, but she was begining to think it was her choice in best friend.

"Conrad has an unfair advantage! His hands are wet!" Taylor yelled, pointing at the older boy. Jeremiah didn't even look up from his castle, determind to win this contest with no prize. He had been the one to recuit Conrad to the event, catching him just as he finished riding a wave. Lorraine wasn't surprised that he knew how to surf, she was more shocked to find out that Jeremiah didn't know how. Apparently he had opted to learn how to scuba dive instead.

"You think the fact that the sand is sticking to me is an advantage?" Conrad looked at her like she was deranged, which wasn't exactly wrong but... not nice.

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Uh, yeah, duh."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Lorraine asked, begining to see the problems she will have to deal with as the official judge and referee.

"I don't know, dock him some points, destroy one of his towers."

"Okay, everyone's going to stop, Taylor and Jeremiah will go get their hands wet and then we'll start again and Conrad has to wait two etra minutes to make up for all the time he was building before." Lorraine decided, doing her best to sound like she had any real authority.

"Ha!" Taylor said, triumphent, before running toward the water. Jeremiah groaned, but followed the girl.

"She's going to be horrible when she doesn't win." Conrad remarked, looking from their retreating forms to his castle.

"How do you know she won't win?" Lorraine asked.

"Jeremiah's is way better."

"She's my best friend, who's to say I won't pick her regardless?" She argued, knowing already that he was right, and on both accounts no less. Taylor would be a pain in the ass when she didn't win, she always was at least until all the humor was sucked out of her relentless baggering. She was getting pretty good at telling when enough was enough.

"Nah, if you were going to play favorites I would win."

"You think you're my favorite?"

"You're not a subtle as you think, Lori." Conrad told her. She knew they were talking about more, and for once it felt like she was in the loop. She held his gaze but the sound of the others returning broke the tension.

"Okay, we're back. It is so on now, Connor." Taylor announced, resuming her efforts to build the best sandcastle. Lorraine focused on watching Jeremiah and her friend's attempts.

In the end, Jeremiah was the clear winner and Lorraine dubbed him as such, to the great outrage of one of the other contestents. Still, focusing on Taylor's ranting distracted Lorraine from Conrad's smug smirk.

Unfortunately, she was so busy trying to keep up with Taylor's angry spiel that she didn't even notice Conrad picking up and unlocking her phone.

"Wait, you know her password?" Jeremiah said, drawing the girls' attention.

Conrad looked up from Lorraine's phone, "Yeah?"

"Belly doesn't even know it!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Belly doesn't know your passcode?" He asked, suddently all eyes were on Lorraine. She decided then that she would be changing her passcode again and this time she wasn't going to let anyone know what it was.

"Last time she got into my phone she read me and Taylor's texts and got angry because we were hanging out without her." She explained.

"Oh yeah! I remember that." Taylor confirmed.

"Yeah, so... could I have my phone back?" Lorraine asked, holding out her hand expectantly. Conrad complied without complaint.

"Now, Ice cream?" She suggested, in part to boost the mood, but also because she really wanted ice cream after all the time spent in the sun. Everyone was up on their feet in seconds, grinning like madmen.

"Losers pay!" Taylor added cheerfully.

"That's you." Jeremiah pointed out.

"No, not the sandcastles Jeremy, the race." Lorraine looked at her friend and started running. She took off just a moment before Taylor, pushing against the sand to get back to the house before the boys.

"What race- Oh fuck you guys!" Jeremiah yelled a second later. Lorraine figured that they would at least beat Conrad, who was at a severe disadvantage because of his surf board, so the girls wouldn't be buying ice cream.

Taylor had passed her by the time they got onto the property, but Lorraine was still ahead of Jeremiah when Taylor jumped into the pool. She followed suit, making sure to hug her legs close to her chest in hopes of splashing Jeremiah with the impact.

She was laughing when she came up for air and found that she wasn't the only one.