Fondest Memory

Day 2

"Up! Up! Git!" Rayne shouts as he pummels my stomach. I grasp for air and let out a weak "Going, just get off me." Animal.

As always, I'm the last to wake up, Yoel informs me (distractedly practicing his stroke), as Juliet woke up seconds before me and they were forced to wake me up.

"Ueeeeeeaaaaahhh" I yawn and chap my lips a few times. I hear Mom downstairs cooking breakfast and the weak smell of eggs and cheese can be sniffed by everyone. Yui breathes in the breakfast-scented air, licking her lips.

I see Ariela opening the terrace window/door (it's a door but made out of glass and slides instead of pushes) and I follow her. The wind brushes my face and pushes my hair as I open the identity crisis-stricken glass door.

"Man, Nathan, the sun is redeeming."

"I think the wind is more inspirational."

"I swear to god, if I find Diego waking up at 6 to flirt with Yuno, I'll kick him out of the guest room."

"Not inspirational. He is getting annoying, though. Who was the first to wake up? Not counting Yuno."

"Yuno actually slept a couple hours, but she was still the first one to wake up. Diego woke up literally seconds later, according to Yuno, although I'm assuming that Diego was spying on her for her to wake up."

I blow out into the trees, letting fresh air come back at me. An eternity passes, until I ask Ariela if she wants to stay outside or if she prefers to step inside with everyone, as I see that they're all watching the heated pool match between Yoel and Rocky, shouting and cheering. Yoel looks back at me and sighs, smiling, but shaking his head.

"I think you noticed the game. It's been ongoing since 7. I think they have like one or two balls left to put in each."

"Seriously?!? Yoel normally wins much faster than that? Now what did Rocky do? He has to have rigged something."

"I think he's going easy on him."

This is probably true. Yoel is known for letting people win by perfectly calculating his shots to be as bad as can be.

"Then how badly is Rocky playing?"

"That, my dear Sir Askenazi, is the missing link to this game. The question is, who is the one playing badly at his intention? Rocky, trying to win but just can't, or Yoel, trying to lose but just can't time the shots."

"Oh, the things you can miss while you're asleep."

Silence. Man, I wish this moment would last forever. A thousand eternities in a second.

"Well, I'm getting cold. You come in too."

And so I do.