The Bikini Syndrome | WATTYS2019

» eleven: the boy & girl from planet earth

"I am not taking it off," Holly stated, simply and clearly. Her heels dug into the sand as she tried to gain traction on the fine grains and resist Zara's order.

"Yes, you are," her friend said firmly.

"Please?" Kaya begged, pouting. She had proudly stripped out of her sundress right there on the beach, and though her bikini definitely wasn't revealing, it wasn't quite modest either, especially since she had a particularly curvy figure.

"Don't bend over, K," Zara said snappily, though it was clear she said out of affection. "I see guys at six o' clock checking you out, and you do not want them checking you out."

"When did you become my mother?" Kaya said with another pout, but she graciously unbent, and started expertly pulling her hair into a side French braid.

Zara rolled her eyes and looked toward Holly with an exasperated expression. "Can you believe this girl? I have to like, be her clothes for her, because everywhere she goes, she bounces."

"Bounces?" Kaya looked up.

Zara cupped her hands under her chest and made a small up and down motion. "Bouncing."

Kaya huffed, and flipped her now finished braid over her shoulder. "I can't help what my body does, Z."

"Well, ditch those tight tops, and buy shorts that are actually your size?"

"Okay, first of all, I do buy shorts that are my size. They fit me perfectly." She traced the outline of her thigh to make her point. "And second of all, all the shirts I like are a little tight - I'm not into that whole flawy, hippy, flower-child thing. And third of all," Kaya said, glaring pointedly at Zara, "don't pretend you don't dress like that either. It's a fashion trend. You don't just not wear it."

"Well, Holly doesn't wear it."

"Well, Holly looks absolutely fine no matter what she wears. She can make sweats look like something off the runaway."

Holly blinked. "What?"

Kaya turned to Holly with one hand on her very slim, probably size-2 hip. "Look, Hol, Zara has been telling me about these self-esteem issues that you have, and as your friend, I have to tell you to stop having those degrading thoughts."

"So...you're just saying this because you're my friend and not because you mean it?"

"No, I'm saying this because as your friend, I have to tell you the absolute truth, because, duh, that's what best friends do. When you buy phones, who do you go to?"

"Well, you, but-"

"And, when you buy clothes, and you're indecisive, who do you ask?"

"Well, you and Zara, but-"

"And when you are having inconvenient, feminine crises, who do you text in caps lock at 2 in the morning?"

"That's not-"

"The point? Yes, it is." Kaya led Holly back to their little spot on the beach, fully equipped with a table and umbrella (courtesy of the fact that Holly could claim she was working at the Cafe that day and needed that table). She sat her down, and from her semi-imposing 5'6" stature, she said, very seriously, "Okay, Holly, let's just get a few things straight."

Zara appeared next to her, and being slightly taller and therefore being capable of casting a longer shadow, looked more ominous. "We're going to have a very serious talk, then we're going to enjoy ourselves."

"Repeat after me," Kaya said, nodding her head.

"Um, okay."

"I am beautiful."