Crossroads of Two Worlds

49-The Old Home Place

Above is Kai at 17, he is currently 14

The Gryffindor team walloped Ravenclaw's during the Quidditch cup, winning by over two hundred points. They had built their entire strategy around plays our team had used in the past and it had really bit them in the ass. Our exams came and went and before I knew it we were on the train to London.

My mum had taken a week off and we fully intended to spend that week investing in some much needed mother-daughter time. To my surprise, she's actually scheduled some plans for us, but I didn't know this until we drove home from the train station.

"You didn't cause too much trouble, did you?"

I rolled my eyes, "No, of course not. Well, how much is too much?"

She glared at me but I laughed at the half-assed scolding.

"I called Stephanie."

That caught my attention. Stephanie was my mom's best friend who still lived in Hawaii with her husband and their two sons. She had been a nurse in the hospital my mom used to work at and they'd bonded on the first day they met.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

It was sad, I supposed, that the first thing that came to mind was Stephanie being in some sort of danger. But I was hardwired that way.

Mom shook her head, "No! She just wondered what we were doing over the holidays. Her husband and the boys are on a trip to San Francisco, she's got an empty house and invited us to stay."

My eyes widened and I turned in my seat, "Did you say yes? Tell me you said yes."

She laughed, "I was hoping you'd want to go. I did say yes."

I squealed in delight, a far girlier sound than I'd made for a while, "We're going back to Hawaii?"

A bright smile accompanied her nod, "Yes, we are. Just for a week, but I figured that was better than sitting at home to watch movies."

I was thirteen years old, but that didn't stop me from bouncing up and down in my seat like a child.

.............

When the plane touched down I let out the breath that I had been holding. It felt like I'd held my breath for the entire flight, because as much as I loved flying, I didn't love being contained in a metal box while flying.

Mom and I were both light packers, and neither of us had checked a bag. I hauled my duffle bag over a shoulder and followed mom off the plane and into the airport. When I saw Stephanie waiting for us, a smile splitting her face in half, my own face mirrored hers. She wasn't from Hawaii, nor were any of her ancestors, but she had always loved the Hawaiian culture. Her blonde hair and blue eyes made her stand out amongst the native Polynesians but there were enough immigrants that she fit in most of the time.

My mom gripped her best friend in a tight hug and held on for a minute before Stephanie pulled away to embrace me as well.

"Look at you! You've grown a good few feet I think!"

I rolled my eyes at her remark, "Practically a giant, aren't I?"

Stephanie laughed and popped her arm through my mom's, placing her other arm around my shoulder and guiding us toward the exit. After tossing our duffles into the back of her truck, mom and I squeezed into the cab and buckled up.

"I'm so glad you agreed to come. The boys have been on this trip and I'm on leave for the moment so I've had nothing to do."

Mum elbowed her lightly, "Well you know us, were never a dull crowd. We'll keep you busy. Although I think Alana is going to spend the majority of the week on the waves."