True Blue

Chapter 1

Shailey

I sit on the front steps of my new house watching the sun set in the west. The sky was illuminated with the soft colours of orange, pink and blue. I sigh as I remember a saying my papi used to say to me when I was younger. 'A pink sky at night is a sailors' delight. A pink sky in the morning is a sailors' warning.' My mind drifts back to those times; everyone was alive and vibrant. Then my mami passed away from cancer, leaving papi devastated and missing her so. Finally, a year later, he decided that it was time for him to leave this world and join mami in paradise. He left, giving each of us one last gift; a farewell present. He gave me a necklace in the shape of a ship with the words remember who you are engraved on the back of it. My parents were left with his and mami's old summer house in Hawaii. We were all so grateful, but very sad when he passed away.

Coming out of my daze, I notice someone running along the shore. A husky ran along side its' owner, leaving behind paw prints in the sand. It reminded me of a painting I once saw at a museum back home; two figures against a coloured sky.

No more sitting outside late, watching the waves crash on the sand and the sky illuminate with the colours of the sunset. Well at least until next summer. I am to start high school tomorrow. For the first time I will be the new kid everybody apparently dreaded being. I just moved here from British-Colombia, brought to Hawaii by my parent's job. Both of them are brain surgeons and they found the job in Hilo, where the summer house is. My parents have taught me many things when I was home schooled back in Canada, but now they are a little overwhelmed with moving and the new job that they don't have any time for home schooling. Though it does not matter, I am ready to go to a public school and finally make friends. It suddenly struck me that I have never actually had a real friend. I have never had somebody my age to talk about random things with, tell crazy jokes to or share all my secrets with. Never hung out at the mall doing whatever we wanted whether it had a purpose or not. It has always been my mom, my dad and I spending quality time together. Everything we did had a purpose to it; either for learning or working. I never really thought anything of it because that's just how things had always been. Finally, because of that, they say that attending a public school will be easy because I get such good grades at home. What they don't know is I have no worries about my academics; it's the making friends part that will be the hurdle...

"Shailey, it's time to come in." My mom pokes her head around the corner and says to me.

"Okay." I reply getting up. I take one last look at the sunset, and then head up the stairs to my house. As I enter the house, the sweet aroma of lemon meringue pie washes over me. I inhale deeply. The scent reminds me of our house back in BC. It had been a large house, yet it seemed like nothing compared to mami and papi's summer house. I would think it has the right to be called a mansion. It has four main flours, of which all consist of French doors and windows. There is also a porch that goes all the way around the house and one tower that is attached to the southern side of the house. My favorite part is probably my room though. Since I am an only child I had the chance to choose whichever room I wished, other than the master bedroom of course, because that was already claimed by my parents. I had decided on the tower room because it has a phenomenal view of the beach, sunsets as well as the sunrises and they are what I want to see first when I wake or go to sleep. And, it's in a tower, so it doesn't get better than that.

I wash my hands and enter the dining area to set the table for supper. Light floods the open concept room which is mostly windows with the most beautiful view of the ocean. Once again I notice the same figure with the dog running back along the beach towards the bottom of the cliffs, where the trail head is located. 

"Don't set anything yet Shai..." my mom says from the other room, breaking my train of thought.

"Why not? Is that not why you called me in?" I ask, pausing and frowning slightly.

My mom walks in smiling and says "No. Your father and decided to take you out for supper tonight."

"Really?" I ask, putting down the cutlery I was holding, and walk over to her. "Where are we dining tonight?"

"You will just have to wait and see," she says with a wink as she walks away.

Putting the cutlery away quickly, I follow her into the kitchen.

"I just have one question though..." I say to her as she starts putting the dishes away.

"Ask away"

"Is this restaurant we are going to on the fancier side, or the casual side?" I ask her. "Just so I have an idea of what to wear?"

"It is more on the casual side," she says with a small twinkle in her eyes.

I grin. I have the perfect outfit in mind...