You, Me, and the Aussies

Chapter 8 - Zane

Chapter 8

Zane

            Why did my stupid brother even invite me? I thought. The waves crashed so rhythmically that I wanted to fall asleep. Cole hardly ever invited me to anything, so I was kind of caught off guard when he asked. I hadn’t been to a party with him since before our life started falling apart.

            After one look at my brother’s friends- the party goers- I left the crowd for some peace. I hated Cole’s friends. They were all so superficial. All they cared about was drinking, partying, and finding their next hook-up. It was all so ridiculous and purposeless that it drove me crazy.

            I looked down at my skateboard, thinking leaving might be the best option when something intriguing caught my eye. Cole was introducing two girls to the other people. I didn’t think I had seen them before; even though I didn’t like Cole’s friends, I still usually recognized them.

            Before I realized it, Cole was heading over with the two girls. Normally I would have ignored this altogether, but something about these two seemed interesting. I climbed down from the rock I had been sitting on and plopped down into the sand.

            “Hey, Zane,” Cole said, “I wanted to introduce you to some new friends of mine. They live just over on the Terrace. This is Piper,” he said pointing to a pretty girl with blonde hair. She looked like a typical popular girl, but I could tell she wasn’t a snob like most. “And this is Riley.” Cole pointed to the brunette standing next to Piper. I watched for a moment, amused at her drawing a circle in the sand with her right foot.

            The girl had dark brown hair that fell over her shoulder in waves. She had bright, inquisitive green eyes, and somewhat tan skin (still a bit lighter that Piper’s). She had long legs and a lean, but muscular body. I had to admit, she was kind of cute.

            “It’s nice to meet you,” I said to them.

            “Same,” Piper said with a smile.

            “Yeah,” Riley said.

            I watched her draw another circle in the sand and realized she must be kind of nervous. I guess I would have been to if I had just moved somewhere new. I had an urge to talk to her; it was unexplainable.

            “So, Piper, Riley… what do you like to do for fun?” I asked, hoping to start up a conversation.

            “We like to surf,” Piper answered for both of them. I instantly realized that if I was ever going to have a good conversation with Riley, it wouldn’t be around Piper.

            “Well, we’re heading back over to the fire,” Cole said, “but if you want to talk, you should come over Zane.” Cole, Piper, and Riley started walking away. I hesitated. I really didn’t like the other people, but I kind of wanted to talk to these two. They seemed different than Cole’s usual crowd. I followed after a few seconds.

            “Hey, mate,” Brice said when he saw me approach.

            “Hi Brice,” I said. Some of the girls eyed me with disgust but I disregarded their vain ignorance. I sat on the sand next to Brice, while Riley and Piper were sitting to my left.

            I rolled my eyes when ‘Teresa’ instantly went over to talk to Cole. She was pretty, I’d admit that, but she was one of the most scheming, petty girls I had ever seen. I was most surprised by Cole’s reaction. Most times he was interested in any girl’s attention, but I caught him looking over at Brice and Piper constantly.

            I watched Riley sit silently. Her nervousness seemed to disappear somewhat. She sat with her eyes closed, obviously enjoying the warmth from the fire. Apparently, she could feel my eyes watching her. She turned to face me and when she realized I was looking, she smiled. But not in a flirty way, just a friendly smile. It was so infectious that I smiled back.