EX-istential Crisis

Chapter 19: The White Reveal

Nelly groaned as his alarm went off, signaling the start of what he hoped would be a relaxing trip with his friends. He dragged himself out of bed, only to be greeted by an unusual sight—his twin sisters, Aiko and Arisu, already fully dressed and bouncing around with excitement.

Nelly raised an eyebrow. "Uh, why are you two already dressed up this early?"

The twins looked at him with wide, eager eyes. "For White Island, of course!" they chimed in unison.

Nelly blinked, confused. "Ehh? It's only for the homies."

At that, Aiko and Arisu's faces fell, their eyes growing weary and sad as if he had just ruined their entire day. Nelly felt an immediate pang of guilt, an imaginary echo in his mind shouting, UGHHH! It hit him right in the heart. He slowly rose up, sighing in defeat.

"Fine, fine... just wait for your big bro to get ready," Nelly muttered.

As he shuffled toward the bathroom, his mind raced. But how am I supposed to watch over them if I'm trying to hang out with the guys? Just as he reached for the door handle, it flew open with a bang.

Aiko and Arisu stood there, grinning mischievously with their phones raised. "Don't worry, big bro! Aunt Gina's already on White Island! She's on a three-day vacation there. She can take care of us!"

Nelly blinked, still processing. "What the—don't scare me like that, geez..." he muttered, shaking his head as they ran off giggling.

A short while later, Nelly pulled his car out of the driveway, the twins bouncing in the backseat as they made their way to the white shore, where a yacht waited to transport them to the island. As they arrived, the group of friends was already gathering near the dock.

Shin waved at them. "Heyyy! We're here, dawg!"

"Sorry it took me so long," Nelly said, scratching his head. "My twin sisters wanted to come with us. Is that cool?"

Ryan grinned. "Oh sure, looks like the twin angels wanna come along!"

"YEAHH!" Aiko and Arisu shouted, raising their hands in excitement.

Nelly smiled but then glanced around, noticing something. "Uh, wait... is everyone here?"

Dan tapped his shoulder, smirking. "Not quite, man."

"Huh? What do you mean—"

Ein pointed behind him. "Oh, they're already here."

Nelly turned to see Ainslein, Sylvie, Mash, Ran, Annika, and... Mira. His eyes widened as time seemed to slow. There she was, smiling brightly, her presence lighting up the entire dock. Nelly froze, his mouth hanging open, completely entranced. His heart pounded, and before he knew it, a trail of drool started to form at the corner of his mouth.

Arisu, unimpressed, kicked his shin. But that didn't work.

So Ran took matters into her own hands and delivered a flying kick to Nelly's side. "Stop staring at her like a fool!"

Nelly stumbled, snapping back to reality as Mira walked up to him with a playful grin. "Hi Nelly! Didn't expect me to be here, huh? Surprise!"

Nelly rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. "A-Ah, yeah... surprise," he stammered, quickly looking away toward the yacht. "W-We should head out. Someone's waiting for us on the yacht."

Once everyone was aboard, they set sail toward White Island, the sun shining brightly over the calm sea. The wind blew gently through their hair, and soon, something caught the twins' attention.

"Look! Dolphins!" Aiko shouted, pointing at a pod swimming alongside the yacht. Arisu joined in, eagerly pointing at the playful creatures leaping through the water.