Midnight Mayhem

2

Julian carried his stereo with him as he got off his speed boat. He started singing alongside the music, goosepimples danced along his arms even though the sun had beamed down all day. He had disputed with his farther earlier that day, once again having refused to take on the family business. Everyone presumed that when you have wealth you are happy. Having received all the wealth and items you want. For Julian anyway, that was not the case.

'I don't want those things farther! I don't want to run businesses and be at home all day counting my paycheques.' He refused, every time.

'It's not about money, son. It's family tradition, how could you refuse the family heritage?' His farther asked, time and time again.

'I—it's not my home. The sea is...'

'I don't want to hear about the sea. This is about being on land, safe and grounded. With a steady future for you.' Julian mimed along with his dad's speech.

'I have to go—' he tried, but his farther knew him too well.

'Stop. If you walk out of this business, who knows what you will be doing with your future?'

Julian sighed, 'you've got to be squidding me.'

'Don't pull those fishy puns on me.' His farther said, and he handed Julian his hand towel. 'The dough needs to be proved, before you go.'

He was the son of the best baker in Italy, yet his true life was by the sea. Studying marine animals, knowing their actions how they communicated. It was the one thing that made him feel alive. Nothing made him happier than staying inside, baking some fresh cookies, and watching finding Dory. If he wasn't, then he would be out on his speedboat, breathing in that fresh salty air. If Diego, one of his closest friends, was at work at the marina; he would come with him to look for the dolphins that came near.

Julian crunched the sand softly, and this was heard by his friends, and he approached them turning down the music.

'When do the fireworks start?' Alfonzo asked. He swept his long hair out from his face and leaned back on his surfboard.

Diego slapped Alfonzo's belly, 'give the board a rest tonight.'

'I wasn't going to go out there—' Alfonzo stopped as he saw Julian walking towards them. 'Oh, here comes the old man.'

'He's only 22...' Diego said, as sand was kicked over his tanned legs by Julian.

'It's nearly time guys,' Julian scraped the sand up against his legs, and patted it in. He had been jogging from the dock and his legs needed to be cooled down. 'I'll be a girl soon.'

'Not for long.' Alfonzo smirked. 'You'll have fun finding her.

Diego looked between them, 'you're not changing genders are yo—'

Both the boys became fits of laughter, 'me—a girl? I bet I'd look cute. Blonde hair, tall...' Julian laughed harder, cupping his younger mate in a hug. 'This is a year; I meet my soulmate, Diego.'

'I'm glad I won't have to start calling you Jewel or Jess... But does that mean you're leaving the country to find her?'

'Not exactly...' Alfonzo stared at the distance of the ocean in front of them. 'You become your soulmate after your 22nd birthday... only on new year's. But sometimes you can't find them again.'

'But I—' interrupted Julian, 'will be the one to find her.' He hummed the song he heard earlier.

Alfonzo, knowing a few different languages from touring the seas with his board, recognised the English song. 'Where did you hear that song?' he asked.

Julian cleared his throat, but Diego butted in first— 'it's all the rage, Coldplay is coming to Roma on their world tour, I'm saving up for tickets.'

Alfonzo was confused why Diego knew so much. 'When did you turn from gutting fish into an English band professional?'

'I hear them on the radio... who knows what they're saying but maybe I'll learn English?' Diego began to throw rocks down to the shoreline.

'English is a confusing language, you have seven ways of pronouncing one word, take 'bush' it could be a hedge, a tree, a hedgerow, you can describe something round and dense to be bushy. It's all kind of strange.' Alfonzo answered.

Diego rolled his eyes, 'no need to rub it in.'

The moon started to create a line of glitter on the sea, as the waves whispered over the sand. 'Will you be able to tell me what she looks like?' Julian asked, 'I want to know who my lobster is...'

Alfonzo pointed to the first firework, as it shot into the sky and exploded a beautiful purple.

'I still don't believe it's going to happen. What does it even mean to become your soul—' Diego stopped as he saw Julian, morphing... he couldn't blink. Julian's body began to dissolve, as if he were disappearing into pixie dust. He then became quite dark, his outfit being jeans with black pumps, short black hair. Not his usual blonde brightness. After Julian had stopped changing, he said.

'Well?' he said, and his voice was a girl's voice. Nothing could have stopped the reaction of Alfonzo and Diego. They laughed so hard, that tears came from the corners of their eyes.

'His little' voice is just like he has gelato in his throat.'

'Mmemeememe.' Diego mimicked.

Julian rolled his eyes and felt the black mascara that his soulmate had put on his lashes. Her lashes. Their lashes? The stereo was still playing in the background, and Julian reached for Diego's backpack on the floor.

'What are you looking for?' He asked.

'A mirror—something to see what she looks like!' Yet, that only made the boys laugh harder.

'You want to check your makeup, Juliette?' Alfonzo laughed.