Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 1

Isla

The ocean on the other side of the country is breathtaking. I place my hand underneath my chin as I sigh at even having the opportunity to be here. This is my first time out of the state, and to go somewhere as far away as Hawaii is still incomprehensible to me.

The cold of a finger tracing something on my shoulder blade knocks me out of my trance. I shriek as I turn my head away from the water and to my friend's rich brown curls. Her green eyes sparkle as she finishes off the drawing on my shoulder blade while I squint at her, trying to figure out what she is doing. She laughs out loud as she wipes away the remnants and holds up her finger. "This is sunscreen. I thought you would like a sick tattoo to remember this trip."

I look down at my shoulder blade, and, true enough, I find the outline of the sun in the white of the sunscreen. I had gotten significantly tanner this vacation, but I knew the tan line from this drawing would show up with how high the UV is around here nevertheless.

I groan as I flatten myself back onto the towel and say, "We are leaving soon, yeah?"

"Yes," my friend, Jasmine, answers, and I don't have to look at her to notice the frown in her voice that would surely be on her face. She sighs softly as well and says, "I know that I'm extremely grateful to be on this trip—what's more fun than being on a trip without your parents and only with friends anyway?"

"Nothing," I answer.

She gives me a swat on my other shoulder, and I glimpse at the smile she has on her face. Her frown comes back as she says, "Yeah, exactly. But I just wish that we had more days and more time to explore this part of the world."

"I'm definitely coming back on my own as soon as I get the chance," I add to the conversation as soon as the thought appears in my mind.

"Yes," Jasmine agrees with a nod of her head. "I wish that I could spend more time with you and the girls. But I need to go see my dad, and you know how long I stay away because suddenly, over the summer, my dad decides he wants to see me. I mean, you know our relationship is okay, but you also know that like summer is the only season that he has time for me."

"I'm sorry," I tell her, but she waves me off. "But it happens every year, and I'm thankful that he didn't cut off contact with me at least. I'm just sad that this is the last time I've seen you and the girls for a long time."

"I heard the girls are taking a trip for something regarding cheer," I let her know in on the new-found information. It wasn't fun to learn that all my friends had the same plan: leaving the state and not coming back until early August. It wasn't even July yet, so the thought of spending over a month alone is very saddening.

"It's a camp," Jasmine supplies. "Something that will help them get ready for scouts and coaches ready to commit to them next year. I applaud them for thinking ahead."

"Me too," I say to her with a smile. I was happy that my friends had found a passion and that they were going out and trying to make something of it for the long run. I was just a little bummed that they were all leaving me though.

Jasmine moves her hair out of her face and looks out at the water as well. "I'll miss this view, but we have a party planned for tonight."

"Really," I say to her, not being able to believe that we were able to plan an event on our own. The organization that we came with had planned every little excursion and event, so it was suspicious how we were able to manage this. My friend nods though and says, "Yeah, because we don't have anything else planned for tonight. We are throwing a party here at the house."