Summer of Firsts (?)

Chapter 1

The drive to the beach house was always one of my favorite times of each year as I grew up. Of course, when I was little, I'd always fall asleep on the way there. But, as I grew up, my siblings and I spent more and more time awake - playing games, talking, listening to music, looking at the houses and cars we passed.

This year, I got to enjoy the ride in peace most of the way. My brother Angelo was in the seat next to me, snoring away with his slides tossed on the floor, drool on his shirt. He'd undoubtedly spent the night before playing Call of Duty or Fortnite on his Play Station instead of getting some good rest. My dad was behind me, hammering away at his keyboard on his laptop while he muttered to himself as he had on and off the majority of the trip. My sister Krystal was staring out her window with her long black hair done up in the tightest Dutch braids you'd ever see, edges gelled into perfect little waves and curlycues. She had her airpods on so I didn't bother her.

I smiled to myself as I took in the beauty of the beach town around me. The changes around here are so minute, but most of the shops and restaurants always manage to stay. I can tell somehow...in my gut...it's different this year. Maybe it feels different because I'm a college kid now and adulthood always changes how you see things. You see how there's so many places you could spend money like crazy in comparison to the number of places you can get a lot for your dollar. You think of what needs to be done to make a place better instead of how you could just enjoy the place as is. Maybe I'm just thinking of the town differently because I want so badly to relax after six months of gruelling school work and exams but I know how time here can go from slow and relaxed to Speedy Gonzalez in the snap of a finger.

Coming back here after so much time in school where I was stressed and tired almost every day, makes me feel like I should never leave and we hadn't even pulled up to the beach house yet. We were a mere few minutes away.

When we pulled up to the beach house, Kyra was already out front with her daughter Myka.  Myka was just a few months younger than me, turning nineteen in mid-July, but she definitely was the smarter one of us older kids. I'd never admit it, of course, she didn't need anyone to. Her head was too big for the little mouse ears her dad gave her. If her head wasn't so big, I might admit that she was beautiful at least, but I could only manage to call her cute.

I waved at Kyra and Myka as I got out of the car. Myka was the first one off the steps, her light brown cinnamon roll curls bouncing like springs around her face. She'd added a silver nose hoop since Christmas. It actually suited her, gleaming like ice against the warmth of her tan skin and sprinkling of freckles that spread across her nose bone and halfway across her cheeks. She was wearing a blue tie-dye crop top with white cut-off shorts and bare feet.

"Hey, Shane." she grumbled playfully when she was within earshot.
We both half-smiled at each other. "Hey, Mickey." I teased. Mickey had been Myka's nickname since we were little because she had once been in love with Disney movies.

Any time we had a family movie night and Myka was given the chance to pick the movie, it was always something Disney-related like The Aristocats, Fantasia, Cinderella, or The Beauty and the Beast.  Mickey was close to her name and she didn't seem to mind when Angelo or I called her that so, it stuck. Krystal was the only one who didn't often call Myka Mickey. She mainly stuck with My.

Myka gave me a half-hug before moving on to hug Krystal. I reached into the car and nudged Angelo awake. He waved me off until I grabbed a fistful of his red-brown curls and shook his head around some. I gave him some playful slaps to the face when he opened his eyes and leaned away. "We're here. Come say hi." I told him.

Kyra went around and gave everyone hugs, saving Krystal for last so she could get into all the girl talk while Angelo, my dad and I worked on unpacking the car. We each had a suitcase and a duffel since we kept some warm-weather clothes at the summer house.
By the time we had unpacked the car, Aria and Dom had come out of the house in shorts and tanks. Aria's blue and green hair was up in a sloppy bun and Dom's was a spiky mess.