Jade Mountain High School

First Day of School-Tsunami

Tsunami was up at sunrise. Optionally. Very unusual for a teenager, she knew, but she had to wake up early for her morning run. As soon as she bounded out of bed, she threw on a green tank top and denim shorts and ran downstairs and out the door. She stopped on the porch, put her AirPods in, and started her playlist.

She ran for at least an hour, loving the feeling of the morning wind in her long blue hair. The sun was completely up when she returned to her house, and Coral was busy making shrimp scrambled eggs. "Morning, Mom," she said. Anemone was picking her way through the mess on the stairs, trying not to trip.

She was wearing her usual too-formal clothes. Her blue, pink, and blonde hair was topped with a silver headband-like tiara decorated with pink pearls, accompanied by pink pearls around her neck, a pale pink tank top, and a blue denim pleated skirt.

"You do realize you're going to be a seventh grader and there's already a Kim Kardashian in the world, right?" Tsunami quipped. "At least I know how to look good," her little sister shot back. "Oh, really? Because last I checked, I have a boyfriend and he looks like Justin Bieber." Tsunami brushed off each shoulder.

"Must you start every day like this?" Coral asked. "It's fun," Anemone shrugged. Turtle came downstairs with five year old Auklet on his shoulders. "Good morning!" he said, setting her down. "Morning, Turtle. Good morning, Auklet, my precious," Tsunami said, lifting Auklet to the sky like she was Simba from the Lion King. Tsunami was almost like a second mother to Auklet.

"Tsunami," Auklet said. "Why do you do this every morning?" "Because," her older sister pointed out, "you are my pride and joy." "Okay, time for breakfast, everyone," Coral said, bringing the pan of shrimp and eggs to the table as Gill came down the stairs.

"Daddy!" Auklet cried, reaching up for him. He picked her up and held her on his hip, kissing her cheek. "Good morning, everyone." He set his briefcase down by the door and turned to Coral, kissing her cheek as well. "Morning, Dad," Tsunami, Anemone, and Turtle said in unison.

When they were all seated for breakfast, Coral said to Tsunami, "Tsunami, dear, why aren't you wearing the dress I laid out for you?" "Oh, that was for me? I thought maybe you got me mixed up with your grandma," she said sarcastically.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Coral asked, glaring daggers at Gill as he tried to hide his laugh behind a green woven napkin that reminded Tsunami suspiciously of seaweed.

"It means you have terrible fashion sense. At least for a teen," Anemone said, choosing to side with her big sister for once. "Did you actually look at the dress before you picked it?" Turtle asked.

"I thought it was a very nice dress in a very nice shade of yellow," Coral said defensively. "First of all, Mom, it would have been a pretty dress if we lived in the sixteenth century. And second, it was the same color as that thing I coughed up when I had the flu." "Tsunami," Anemone groaned. "Yuck."

"It's not my fault I'm honest!" she protested, holding up her hands. Breakfast continued that way, Coral defensive, Gill laughing at his kids' antics, Tsunami causing trouble, Anemone being salty, Turtle trying to keep everyone from descending into violence, and Auklet happily chewing on a piece of shrimp.

"Come on, guys," Tsunami said. She leaned back against her cobalt blue Porsche, tapping her nails against the roof. The pearl and silver rings on her fingers clinked together. Anemone and Turtle ran out of the house, trying to get to the front seat first.

But, as Tsunami had expected, Anemone beat him to it and Turtle slid unhappily into the backseat. "Can we listen to Olivia Rodrigo?" Anemone asked, unfolding the mirror flap and taking out some pink lip gloss. "If Olivia Rodrigo means Ariana Grande in seventh grader, then yes!" Tsunami grinned. Anemone rolled her eyes and proceeded to primp and preen.

Tsunami rolled all the windows down and turned the volume all the way up. She could tell Turtle was suffering, wind blown and deaf from the music, but she didn't actually care that much. She pulled into the parking lot and switched off the engine, pulling her green leather backpack onto her shoulder.

She spotted her friends at a picnic table and ran to them. Riptide was there also. "Hey guys," she said when she was close enough for them to hear her. Riptide turned around and the smile that lit his face when he saw her nearly made her heart burst.

But of course, she couldn't show it. She had to have the power in the relationship, always keeping him guessing, just like Glory and Deathbringer. "Hey, Riptide," she said confidently, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"You guys ready for this year?" she asked. She couldn't say senior year because Deathbringer was starting his junior year of college and Riptide was starting his sophomore year. Sunny nodded enthusiastically. "As long as I'm with Glory," Deathbringer said, grinning and snaking one arm around his girlfriend's waist. She rolled her eyes affectionately and pushed his hands off her.

He grinned and crossed his arms across his chest. "If Deathbringer insists on stalking me again this year, I might not be," she said. "I wouldn't call it stalking," he shrugged. "No one asked, Deathbringer," Tsunami pointed out cheerfully.

"Be nice," Sunny reprimanded. Starflight and Fatespeaker had been silent the whole time, reading a book on chemistry together. "Deathbringer, Fatespeaker, where's your little sister? Moon, isn't it?" Glory asked, turning around to look at Deathbringer. "She's with her friends over there," Fatespeaker told her, waving vaguely at a willow tree where six kids were clustered.

Tsunami turned to look and then saw Clay approaching with his siblings. Sunny did too, and she launched herself off the table to hug him. Tsunami spend the time until the bell talking to Riptide, and, very conveniently, they had first period together.