Love at the Sea

Seven: Leilani

Kalei moves over to where I am and then says while looking for the wave, "Are you gonna pack tonight?" She looks at me and says, "Yeah, you better bring swimsuits and sunblock."

Then I turn to catch a wave. I dive under the water and turn around. I lift myself up but when I got up....

*cough* *cough* I open my eyes to see Aunty Kanani. I closed my eyes again and when I open them again I see Kalei facing the horizon with Makana and Kai next to him.

I hear talking but they all sound like mumbling.

I cough again and water comes out of my mouth, my mother helps my up. "She's coming to." I look around to see everyone staring at me.

I try to get up but I feel weak.

Kanoe comes up to me and picks me up.

I see my mother hug Aunty Kanani and say, "See everyone tomorrow at the airport."

I wrap my arms around Kanoe's head and say in my soft voice so only he can hear me, "What happened?"

He looks at me and says, "You fell from your board and almost drowned. Kalei brought you to shore and coach Dave did CPR then Kalei called Aunty Kanani and she call mom and mom called everyone else," he paused then continued, "Mom was so worried.

She even yelled at Kalei, she asked him why you didn't go directly home and why you were on a surf board. She was so pissed."

Kanoe opened the truck and put me in the passenger seat then walked to Kalei's truck, opened the toolbox, took out my stuff and put my stuff in the back of his truck.

Then he got inside the drivers seat and turned on the ignition.

"Lei!" I turn to the window and Kanoe rolled it down for me.

"This is not how I wanted our last day together to be," Chelsea says, "I wanted us to all have fun but I guess we'll just have to do that next weekend with ice cream and Netflix. My house okay and tell me all about your new school. I already asked your mom and she said it was okay."

A tear rolled down her cheek, we hugged and said our goodbyes. She whispered, "Kalei is going to miss you the most, you know." I looked at her and said, "Do you know something I don't know?"

She looked at me and her eyes said yes-but-he'll-kill-me-if-I-told-you. "Bye." I waved goodbye and behind her I see Makana scolding Kalei, I only seen her do that once..

Our entire families were getting together for a reunion. Because Kalei and I were too small to help we were just told to stay in my room and watch TV while our older siblings and the adults set things up.

While we were watching TV my cousin Kiki came in my room to play whilst her parents help my parents. "Kiki, what do you want to do?" I ask. "Can we eat something?"

Kalei gets up, Kiki and I look at each other and shrug then Kalei comes back with three coco puffs. He hands one to me and one to Kiki and the last one he pops in his mouth like nothing.

While he was chewing his food we hear a scream, then a crash.

Kiki and I immediately eat our coco puffs and go to wash our hands when we come out Kanoe soon after enters to get the first aid kit, "Did one of you too go down stairs to get food?"

He asks in a serious voice we both just shake our heads "Did Kalei go down stairs by any chance?"

He asks in a worried voice, Kiki and I look at each other then back to my older brother and nod slowly. He shook his head and asked, "Coco Puffs?"

We both nodded slowly then Kanoe said, "Go to my room and stay in there, mom will go talk to Kalei."

Kiki and I looked at each other then to Kalei who was still standing there looking at us with a worried look on. Before Kalei could walk over to us we all hear Makana. "Kaleikoa Keanu Kalealoha!" she says.

When she gets up the stairs Kanoe shove Kiki and I to his room, before he could closed the door all the way Makana gets up the stairs.

We see her glaring at Kalei then she walks up to him and says in a strict daring tone we have never heard her use, "Did you go down stairs?"

I try to go out to tell her it's not his fault but my brother holds me still. We sit in the darkness of his room peeking out, looking at kaikua'ana yell at Kalei.

We waited there for almost two hours and when she was done she went down stairs.

Kanoe turned to us and said, "I'll bring up food for him, but you two need to go down stairs people will start to come and Makana probably doesn't want you to come up here until everyone leaves, understand?"

We both nod and I say, "Why can't we come up here?" Kanoe looks at me and say, "Makana wants to punish Kalei. It'll only be for the rest of today."

We, three walk out of Kanoe's room and past my room, I stop because I hear Kalei crying but Kanoe doesn't let me go in my room.

We all walk down stairs and see my dad wrapping Kai with gauze and wrapping it up with bandages. "Kai, what happened?"

Kai looks up and says, "The plate of coco puffs fell and when I was cleaning it up one of the larger pieces of the plate sliced my hand."

Makana continued to scold him and then looked over to me and waved. I waved back then Kalei turned around and mouthed I'm so sorry. His eyes were rimmed red.

See you tomorrow I mouthed to him, he smiled then turned around and walked away. "See you at the airport," Kanoe calls out but all Kalei does is wave.

After hours and hours of figuring out what to wear tomorrow for our flight I finally picked my white-ish little blue-ish jean shorts with my black high top sneakers and my black tank top shirt with white calligraphy print that read: C'est la Vie. Which means 'That's Life.' in french.

At that moment my mom came in and said, "Kalei called, he isn't coming." I looked up at my mom and she nodded and said, "He's at home if you want to talk to him." Then she walked out of my room.

I picked up my phone; placed it in my black shoulder purse Kalei gave to my on my sixteenth birthday, then I put my beanie on and walked out of my room.

I went past the kitchen door: my dad was watching a football game Roosevelt vs. McKinley, my brothers came in with chips and pizza then sat with my dad as they all cheered when Roosevelt got flagged for a penalty.

"I'm going over to Aunty Kanani, need anything from there?" I called out as I got to the door, "Are you okay to be walking around?" Kainoa asked. "Yes she is," my mother says, "Also tell Kanani Roosevelt's going down!"

She said laughing and my brothers plus my dad all cheered. I walked out the door. It was dark, while I was walking I noticed a guy walking on the other side of my street from me.

Every time I looked up from my phone he would look at me and wave. I would smile even though it was too dark to see.

"Lei! Is that you?" "Aunty Kanani, I came to see Kalei is he here?" She nodded, "In his room, did Pua tell you he doesn't want to come?"

I nodded then followed her into the house. "Good Evening!" I said, sort of loud then I heard cheering of both Makana and Uncle Antonio.

I walk into the living room and say, "My mom wants me to tell you Roosevelt's in going down."

Then I walk out and up stairs. Aunty Kanani is waiting for me up there because she knows if he hears that I'm here he'll probably just tell me to go home.

"Kalei, food's ready!" "I'm not hungry," Kalei mumbles and then Aunty Kanani just walks in, "I didn't ask you if you are hungry or not!"

I walk in and Kalei looks up.