the kisses of the sun

chapter one: solange

WHEN I FOUND OUT I was moving into my grandparents' beach house, I definitely knew it was a change. I had lived in Ada my whole life and I have never been to a beach before. On the last day of school, I was kinda relieved I was moving over the summer because no one seemed like they would miss me. My best friend, Cami, didn't even bother to give a proper goodbye.

We were on our way to the beach house and I was staring out the window of the car. I was impatient. The plane ride here seemed like the longest one of my life even though it was only three hours.

"Are we almost there?" I said.

"Someone's excited," my dad said.

"I'm not excited, I'm just tired of being cooped up," I retorted.

"We'll be there soon enough," said my mom.

"I'm excited," my little sister, Alice said.

"That's great, Alice," my dad said.

"Isabel said she was so jealous of me because I get to live by a beach. Now I get to take photos and brag about it," Alice says.

Alice was 13 and acted like the most stuck up teenager ever. All she talked about was "her reputation", Isabel, her popularity, and boys.

"Give me a break," I rolled my eyes.

"You're just mad because you're lonely and jealous of my popularity,"

"Please, going through all the guys in your grade in the span of year is nothing to be jealous of. That's not even something to be proud about,"

"Let's end the conversation there," my mom said.

Alice scoffs. I look back out the window. There were palm trees everywhere. It looks much happier than Oklahoma. It was just so much calmer here. Florida made even a gas station look beachy, it's crazy. I'm starting to think I'm excited to live here.

We went over a bridge and then I saw the beach. It was absolutely beautiful. I could get used to living here.

We pulled into the driveway of a beautiful beach house. The kind with stilts and a balcony. It was teal and it was huge. I could see a bit of the beach in the background.

"Isabel is gonna be so jealous," Alice said in awe. I rolled my eyes.

We got out of the car and got our stuff from the trunk. We walked up the stairs and opened the door. It was a very spacious house. It was pretty empty since my grandparents gotten all their stuff beforehand. We walked inside and looked around.

"You two wanna go upstairs and pick your rooms?" My dad said.

Alice and I nodded and walked upstairs.

"I want this one!" Alice said and ran to the first room.

"Ok then," I said to myself. "I get this one."

It wasn't a bad room at all. I looked out the window. It had a decent view of the beach. It was a little bigger than my old room, so I had nothing to complain about.

I put my backpack and duffel bag on the floor and took my phone out of my pocket. No texts. No missed calls. No "I miss you". No "how was the flight?" No "what's it like in Florida". It was like I was forgotten. "Friends" that I've had since elementary school don't even care about me. I sighed and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Girls! Come get some boxes!" My mom shouts.

Alice and I walk downstairs and out the front door. I see my mom and dad getting boxes from the U-Haul trailer that's connected to our car. We walk over and grab some to put inside. After a while we eat dinner.

"Where are the air mattresses?" I ask, throwing away my trash.

"Over in a box by the front door," my dad says.

"ok," I say.

I walk over to the front door and grab one of the air mattresses from a box. I go up to my room and plug it in and turn it on so it can blow up. Once it blows up, I brush my teeth, change, and grab a blanket and pillow. I lay down and I guess I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice I fell asleep.

The next morning, I open my eyes to see the sun shining through the window. I sit up and check my phone. The time is 10: 23 am and I still have no messages. I sit up and go change into jeans shorts, a t shirt, and my black converse. I walk down the stairs to see Alice bringing a box inside.

"Well looks like you slept in. Moving truck's here and mom and dad are talking to our neighbors. There's two boys. Both very cute," Alice says the last part dreamily.

I scoff and roll my eyes. I walk outside and see my mom and dad talking to a man and woman who are probably the neighbors Alice was talking about. Then I see two boys. One who looks my age, and one who looks a lot older than me. Alice was right, they were very cute. When I get over to my parents, my mom grabs my arm.

"This is my daughter that I was talking about who's the same age as your son," she says.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca Laurence, but you can just call me Becca. And this is my husband Ben," she holds her hand out.

"Nice to meet you," I smile and shake Becca's hand and then Ben's.

"well, Solange has trouble making friends so maybe she could get to know your son," my mom says.

"mom," I say embarrassed.

"Im sure he would love another friend," Becca says.

"go," my mom says.

I walk over to where the two boys are. They look at me as I walk over.

"You must be our new neighbor, I'm Elijah and this is my brother," the older one says.

"Hi I'm Ruben," the one my age says.

"I'm Solange," I say.

*
authors note:
I feel like this chapter was so rushed. hope you liked it tho!!
-paige