Unexpected Love

Chapter 12: Day Two

PLEASE READ:
I am still alive! I haven't been updating because I've been super busy, you can't even imagine. Sorry bout that. And also, I know, soooooo much has happened. Hayes turned fifteen a few months ago, all the boys are getting older, and magcon is broken up. But in this story, magcon is still together and the boys remain the age I want them to be. If it bothers you, sorry. I'm a little behind time, but I'm trying to catch up. Expect more updates soon! :-)

Lauren

"Get out of the water," he yells.

"Shark!"

I stand still for a second, not daring to move. The man's pointing to a spot not fifty yards away. As if sensing danger, the dolphin quickly swims away, deeper into the ocean.
Emma starts swimming as fast as she can. We all follow, but I don't know whether it would be better to stay still or draw attention to ourselves.
Although I don't see the shark or even it's fin, I can tell Nash does. His face is completely white, drained of all blood. He turns around, points, and says, "I swear, I just saw it go underwater." I've never seen a boy so scared.
We reach the shore in minutes. Everyone's staring but we just pay attention to the water.
I bend over panting. My arms and legs hurt like crap.
Hayes falls over onto the sand. Never in my life have I thought I might be in a situation like that. I remember watching Soul Surfer when I was younger and being terrified to swim in the ocean. Now, I think half of that nightmare has come true.
We eventually dry off and go to eat lunch at the beach's restaurant.
When we sit down, Hayes sets something on the table. I lean forward and see it's the turtle.
"How'd you even find this, it's the size of a raspberry," I say. He just shrugs. Turtles are awesome.
I just order a cheeseburger and my favorite pop in the world: Squirt. Emma buys an order of fries for the table.
The restaurant in general is really cool. It's doesn't have any windows, only railings. Some might call it unsanitary, but I like that the pigeons walk around the tables. Many signs say, "DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS!" But that doesn't stop Hayes. He throws a few french fries on the floor, making a huge mistake. Dozens of pigeons swarm down. We all start screaming and people around us start laughing. Feathers are everywhere and the birds finally walk off and leave us alone. "What a great day we're having," I hear Nash say under his breath.

We leave the beach after eating. We might go to a different one tomorrow or something.
We stop by the store to get a tank for Hayes's turtle (which he named Donatello). The whole time I have one thought on my mind. When have I ever had this much fun before? I know it's only been a couple days, but I can't believe it's like this for them probably every day of their lives.
When we get back to the hotel, I go out on the balcony and look down at the pool, deep in thought. Not just about the trip, but also about my mom, the boys, and most of all, Paige. I feel really bad that I couldn't bring her. She has worshipped these kids for as long as I can remember and I can see why it would be upsetting to her to see me leave on a vacation with them without her. But no matter how hard I try, I don't have the stomach to call and talk to her. It pains me to have problems with friendships, especially when they've been going on for what seems like millions of years.
I try to take my mind off Paige by looking through my camera roll, something I always do when I'm upset or bored. But then, I see the pictures of my mom and I get a knot in the pit of my stomach. I've never been good at being away from home for even a little bit. Sure I can go on family vacations or visits to my grandma's house, but my mom has always been there with me. Now, I'm alone with two boys I barely know. Now I don't just feel bad about Paige, but I also feel guilty about leaving my mom home by herself.
It's probably partly because I stayed up so late last night, but after thinking everything over, I close my eyes and start to cry. With that, I fall asleep with my head on my hand, sitting in an uncomfortable, plastic chair.

I feel the hands on my shoulders, shaking me, and I try to turn my head away in irritation. But then I hear a voice say, "Is she drooling?" Right after that I hear the snap of a camera.
I open my eyes, highly alerted, and see Emma standing over me. When I look behind her, I see Nash holding out his phone and snickering, Hayes is right beside him, bending over the phone and laughing. I stand up, knocking the chair over in the process, and quickly grab the phone from Nash. I dangle it over then railing, threatening to drop it. "Okay! I'll delete it, I swear!" He cries. After I make sure that no pictures remain, Hayes makes a little announcement. "So Ms. Sleeping Beauty, we've come to tell you that we let you sleep through dinner cuz you didn't seem hungry, and there's extra sandwich meet and stuff in the mini fridge. And now we're going over there," he points at a small building in the distance, "to get ice cream. And if we're going to get fat, you have to get fat with us," he finishes proudly.
The next thing I know, I'm walking on the side of the road with my friends surrounding me. We reach the ice cream place, Krafty Kones, and go inside. I hear a bell ding and an old lady appears behind the counter. I look at all the ice cream flavors and go with moose tracks and cookie dough, which is actually a pretty good combination.
We all walk outside into the warm sunlight and talk while eating our ice cream.

It's already getting dark, so we finish up quickly and walk home. Looking out over the water, we see the sun setting which casts a beautiful reflection over the shimmering water.

When we get back around 8:30, I climb into bed. After the late bedtime last night, I fall asleep quickly. But this time, with good thoughts on my mind.