" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 26

The bright summer sun shined down on the vacation area below, making the boardwalk hot to walk on barefoot, making the sand scorching, yet somehow, the ocean water wasn't that warm, if anything, it was cold! But, that didn't stop the local vacationers from swimming in it or walking on the scalding sand. This weather was absolutely perfect for summer activities and fun!

Edgar and his friends were all up for the morning, they had all just got done eating breakfast and were all getting dressed in their swimsuits for their day at the beach. Although, Edgar himself was worried about going to the beach. He hasn't been to one before, compared to Gary and Habiba, who have both been to beaches numerous times in their lives, Fatima and Umaiza has been to beaches a couple of times, and Natsuo has been to beaches in Japan ever since he was little due to regular trips.

" W-Will there be a r-r-ramp for me to get down to t-the beach? " Edgar asked " C-cause wh-what if i can't get down t-t-to the beach? " He fidgeted with his thumbs as he looked up at Aisha and Adeem.

" Either one of us will carry you down, along with your wheelchair, or one of your friends can carry you down " Aisha said as she tied her niqab around her face, securing it with magnets and pins. " and sweetheart, don't worry about how heavy your wheelchair is, 'kay? " She turned to face Edgar " Auntie Aisha is strong, didn't i ever tell you about me throwing rocks and bricks at the local police back in Saudi? " She laughed as she helped Edgar tie his hair back with his hair scarf.

Habiba grabbed a can of pepsi from the fridge and squealed with joy, snapping her fingers in joy ' We're going to the beach! ' She signed happily ' You think we're gonna see sharks? Or dolphins? Maybe jellyfish! ' She cracked open her drink and took a sip.

" Habiba, Gummy bear, " Umaiza spoke, giving her an affectionate nickname due to her love of gummy candies " Hold still- or.. as still as you can for just a minute, i'm gonna fix up your hair for you " She grabbed a couple scrunchies and put Habiba's hair up into Afro puffs. " The only thing we have to worry about is getting sand in our clothes, or for my case, if i have enough salty snacks and drinks so i don't faint from my P.O.T.S " She grabbed her bag and packed a couple chips and sodas " I need my salty snacks, i sadly don't have anymore Kachumbari, i ate it all... " She laughed shyly. She finished up Habiba's hair and smiled underneath her niqab. " Gummy bear, turn around and smile for me "

Habiba did a little twirl and turned around to face Umaiza, she smiled happily, clearly pleased with her hairstyle.

Gary smiled with glee " I call dibs on digging the deepest hole ever! I'm gonna dig a hole to China! " He exclaimed as he grabbed a pail and shovel, tossing it over his shoulder " Plus, maybe we can find some crabs and cook them up! My Má can make us some Cua Rang Muối Tiêu! "

" I-I can't e-eat crab " Edgar said softly said " Cr-Crabs aren't k-kosher " He raised his arms up as he took his shirt off and opened the door, looking back at his friends " W-What foods can i-i eat th-that are kosher? "

Gary hummed softly " Maybe some beef pho! its noodles! Oh, or Chè ba màu! Its a three colored pudding! oh wait.. that has jelly in it, and you can't have jelly, can you? " he asked, Edgar responding by shaking his head " Man! hmm... " Gary tapped his chin with his thumb as he tried to think of a food he could get Edgar to try one day " Oh! you can try Bến Tre coconut candy! It's delicious! My Má usually buys it for me and my siblings whenever she visits her family back in Vietnam! "

" Alright Everyone! " Aisha announced " Now, once we get down to the beach, You're all, keyword, ALL of you are putting on sunscreen, Especially you, Natsuo, why, you're so pale, if we lost you in the snow, we wouldn't be able to find you, Ya Allah! " She jokingly remarked, Natsuo tried to hide a giggle but couldn't " Now, everyone have everything? Snacks, drinks, mobility aides? " The group nodded " Good, let's go! Yallah! "

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Once on the beach, Aisha applied sunscreen to everyone, didn't matter how covered or not they were, she was NOT gonna let them get sunburn. She also made sure everyone had either hats or sunglasses to keep the sun out of their faces. Especially Natsuo, she had picked up on how much he hated bright lights in his face, so she made sure to give him sunglasses the minute he stepped outside and into the hot sun.

" Remember, don't swim out too far! " Adeem called out as he attached water wings to Nooria and Mustafa " Fatima, that includes you too, Habibi! " He looked up at the group of young preteens playing in the sand.

" Baba! " Fatima called out " Help us find a horseshoe crab! We wanna find one! " She dug around in the sand, using her hands and not the shovel Gary had provided " Where's the horseshoe crabs at? " She nearly pressed her entire face down into the sand before being stopped by Habiba.

' Don't do that! ' Habiba signed quickly ' You'll get sand in your eyes and it'll burn like hell! Horseshoe crabs are found in the ocean, not the sand! ' She gestured to the ocean, squeaking as she did so. She walked to the ocean and made sure she was in shallow waters, she then buried her hands in the soft sand below, digging around for a couple moments before pulling them back up, revealing she hadn't found a horseshoe crab, but a sand flea instead!

" Way to go, Habiba! " Adeem cheered from his chair " Remember to release it, okay? A-And make sure it doesn't bite you or anyone else! "

Habiba dug around in the sand some more, picking up a couple more sand fleas in her hands. She held a total of 5 in her hands. She noticed Edgar sitting up in the sand, fidgeting with their thumbs and building sandcastle's. She walked over to him and placed the sand flea's down on top his castle ' There! ' She signed happily ' Now they can all live happily in a castle! Like royalty! Remember to give them their afternoon tea ' She squealed with laughter.

Edgar sighed softly. He looked up at the shoreline and frowned a little " Habiba? " He asked, getting the attention of his friend " C-Can you go get G-G-Gary for me? " He continued to make small sandcastles, trying to hide the sand fleas so Adeem didn't scream bloody murder.

Gary came over with Habiba " Hey Wheely! " He exclaimed with a smile " What do ya need? More sand? More sand fleas? hmm.. more seashells? " He asked, receiving a shake from Edgar with each question he asked. " Hmm, Okay.. well, what do ya want? " He noticed Edgar looking towards the shoreline and smiled " You wanna go in the ocean? "

Edgar nodded excitedly " Y-Yeah! I w-wanna go in the o-ocean! " He smiled happily " B-but.. i can't really walk, a-and.. i-i.. " He fell silent, looking down at the sand. Edgar glanced back up at Gary and raised his arms up " C-C-Carry me? " He asked sheepishly.

Gary smiled happily " I got ya! Don't worry wheely! " He stretched real quick before kneeling down and carefully grabbing Edgar, one arm wrapping around his back and the other underneath his legs. " Hold onto me, got it? " He spoke, allowing Edgar to wrap his arms around his neck " Ready? " Edgar responded to his friend's question with a nod. And off Gary went, running as swiftly as he could to the shoreline.

" I-I-Is the water cold? " Edgar asked as he looked down at the water coming up to Gary's feet. Gary carefully lowered Edgar down, allowing him to feel the water with his hands. It wasn't cold, rather, it was somewhat warm due to the hot summer sun! " C-Can we go further? " Gary nodded and smiled, he made sure to not go out too far as to not get swept away by a sudden current or wave He walked into the water and went abdomen high in it, still holding Edgar in his arms.

Edgar smiled with joy and excitement as he waved his arms around in the water. Despite the water itself being at most lukewarm, it felt good against Edgar's skin, especially from being in the hot sun all day. He splashed around in the water for a second before an idea came to his mind " L-Let me go, l-let me swim b-by myself! "

Gary was a bit hesitant at first " Y-you sure? " He asked curiously " Do you want me to hold onto your hands just in case or no? " Edgar shook his head in response, signifying he wanted to try this by himself. Gary sighed and smiled " okay, ready? " Edgar nodded in excitement. Carefully, Gary slowly let go and allowed Edgar to freely swim in the water.

Edgar moved his leg as best as he could, his right leg not moving at all. He was anxious, he wasn't going to lie to himself. But, to his, and his friend's amazement, he was swimming! He smiled with joy as he swam over to Gary, embracing him in a tight hug. " L-Look! I'm swimming! I-I'm swimming! " He laughed happily. He peered over and saw Fatima swimming with her siblings, her father watching them just from the shoreline. He happily swam over to her, the water swaying and splashing with his movements.

Fatima looked up at Edgar, smiling and laughing with excitement " Ya Allah! " She exclaimed through her laughter " Way to go, wheely! " She playfully splashed him with water, resulting in a laugh from Edgar " Um! Come look! Yallah! Edgar's swimming! "

Aisha looked up from playing with Nooria and smiled under her niqab. " Well, well! I'll be damned, way to go! " She cheered from the sand. " Nooria, Habibti? " Her daughter looked up at her with excited eyes " sibāqu al-sibāḥah? " She asked, earning a nod from her daughter. Aisha stood up and allowed Nooria to get a head start and run to the shoreline, where the water was coming up to her ankles. " Oh Nooria, you and your head starts " Aisha said with a laugh. She then ran off to the shoreline, laughing happily as she scooped up her youngest daughter, kissing her cheek softly.

" Mrs. Aisha? " Natsuo called out " C-can you swim? " He picked up a plastic bucket and filled it with water, before running over to Gary and tossing the water onto him, making Gary shake like a wet animal, trying to get the water off, despite the fact he was torso deep in water.

Aisha laughed " Can i swim? " She asked " Watch me, Habibi " She stretched for a good second before running into the water, getting torso deep and swimming happily. Her Abaya swayed in the water and became heavy with water. The water splashed against her niqab, nearly getting into her eyes. She swam over to Natsuo and playfully whacked her wet abaya at him " Told you i could swim! Plus, there was a beach near where i lived in Saudi. "

Natsuo laughed and splashed Aisha back " You lived in Saudi? " he asked, Aisha responding with a nod " My Chichi said women couldn't drive there, like, not to the store, not to the doctors.. " He paused, looking up at the grown woman " Why Not? What if you got sick? Would someone have to take you? Like your dad? " A worried expression appeared on his face, a bit worried on how she would respond to such a question.

" Religious Laws " Aisha answered simply " Saudi follows a strict Islamic Law, trust me, we don't like it " She ruffled Natsuo's hair softly " But don't worry your little head about that, I'm sure someday, Women will drive in Saudi, who knows, maybe it could happen tomorrow, in a few months, or maybe even in a couple years, you never know " She smiled.

" Our teacher said that women are forced to wear burkas and never talk to men, not even their own family members and all that, is that true? " Gary asked curiously.

Aisha tried to stifle back a laugh at this question " No, No. Well, both women and men are required to dress modestly, its not forced or anything " She replied " My mom doesn't wear a niqab, neither does my sister, just me and my sister-in-law wear the niqab " She explained sweetly " And don't worry, i'm not gonna force Fatima or Nooria to wear the niqab. If they wanna wear it, they can wear it, but if that ever happens, i hope they come to me and ask if they can wear it, not because some man says so. "

" Stop asking questions and play! " Natsuo said, filling the plastic bucket up with water and splashing Gary " We came here to play and eat junk food! Not so you can pretend we're back at school! " He laughed, running over to Edgar and trying to splash him with the water.

The kids played, and played, and played all day. The summer sun beating down on their heads, slightly burning their ears and faces, making them either flush red or get slightly darker with a tan. They ate all sorts of snacks and foods in the hot sun, trying their best to ignore the stares, whether from people or the seagulls that flew around in the sky. That night, for sure, was gonna be another night on the boardwalk, maybe to go get some Ice Cream or Boardwalk Fries? Or maybe go to the arcade to play all the games they had.

They ate all sorts of meats, cheeses, chips, and drank all sorts of sodas and juices.

To them, this was heaven. A memory they would never want to forget.