Tuesday, 12:00 – Holiday Villa
The fan buzzed, gushing out a cool comfortable breeze, which Sora tried to capture by pushing his face up against the metal white cage, which surrounded a plastic propeller. Sora was hunched over a table, clutching said fan, and moaning about the scorching heat. The gust whizzed as it passed through the metal cage and Sora's hair flailed with the force from the twirling propellers. He felt like giving up. He felt as if his hope and dreams had left him, leaving him no reason to live. He wanted to pry open the metal cage and use its plastic rotating blade as a means to decapitate himself.
His dreams of the perfect summer began to shatter and slowly crash into the ground, like an expensive vase in a Looney Tones cartoon. Sora thought about what his friends were doing at this very moment without him. He then remembered the look of shock and utter disappointment on their faces, when he announced that his mother was taking him to some backwards island for the summer. Sora sighed and lifted his head from the fan to stare out the window at the baking sun. He squinted then replanted his head on the fan again.
"I have to go now. I'll be back later tonight", his mother announced as she packed a bag with various archeological instruments. She pulled out a letter and skimmed through it. She gazed over at Sora with a concerned look. "I'm sorry we haven't spent much time together. I promised you a fun holiday and I've just been working the entire time". Sora lifted his head up from the fan.
"It's fine", he said in a very low tone. He wasn't looking at his mother. Instead he glared at a fly buzzing nearby.
"Why don't you go look around?" she suggested cheerfully.
"It's too hot", he murmured. Sora's mother zipped up the bag and wrapped her arms around her son. His spiky hair pressed against her stomach.
"See you later", she chirped as she reached down to collect her bag. Sora sighed in response, but by this time his mother was already out the door. Once the door shut, Sora lay back down with his best friend, the fan, and continued to complain about the scorching heat.
Tuesday 14:00 – Holiday Villa
After two hours with his new friend, the fan, Sora decided to take his mother's advice and leave their small villa in search for something to do. He thought that if he looked hard enough he'd find a shop that sold ice-cream, because his small villa didn't even have a freezer. He searched his room for any trace of his wallet. That thing had a desire to play hide and seek whenever Sora required it. He found it lodged down the side of his bed, along with a crumpled up magazine and a battery belonging to his Gameboy which was left carefully on his bedside table. Sora was only organized with things he genuinely cared about. His homework was always rushed and most times incomplete, while he would spend hours organizing his games into genres. Action. Adventure. Mystery. Sports. Sports? Sora liked to exercise. Hell his wardrobe at home was full of skateboards, rollerblades anything to keep the teen busy on days off. But sports. Sora hated the idea of running around on a field, with a million others, trying to get a round object and hit it somewhere it was meant to go. He hated being competitive and taking orders from someone with hair running out of every crevice in his body. Sora shuddered and opened his wallet to investigate it's interior. Ok. Sora wasn't the richest kid in the world and his wallet may have contained a few coins and a bus pass, but he had enough to buy himself some ice-cream , if only he could find his flip-flops. After Sora had gathered everything he'd need for his trip, he locked the front door and glared up at the baking sunshine.
"Maybe I should wear sunscreen in case I burn?" Sora pondered. But the door was already locked and he was too lazy to rummage through his pocket for the key. So he continued on his way, stopping at the front gate to remember which way led to the town. He began walking down the dirt road into the jungle of palm trees and exotic plants. Sora sighed in relief as the trees protected him from the sun's deadly ray and allowed him to cool off. The wind whistled through the tops of the palm trees and plants shook with the breeze. Sora's flip-flops crunched on the rough terrain of the dirt road and he praised himself for deciding not to go barefoot.
He arrived into the town which was located on one of the largest beaches on the island. Sora began wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead as he exited the cool shaded jungle. The air was humid and Sora found it hard to breath at times. Sora looked around. The island seemed to mostly consist of elderly people. One of the only things he looked forward to about going to this island was the possibility of meeting someone. Not just anyone. Someone who would stay in his memory forever. Someone who would make this trip one to look back on with fondness and –
"Ouch!" Sora was knocked to the ground. Confused and a little dizzy, he began rubbing the back of his head. He quickly checked his hand. "No blood" Sora sighed in relief. He hated blood.
"Ugh watch out?" A voice echoed from a far.
"What do you mean watch out? Go apologize!" Another voice yelled. Sora's face went red with embarrassment when he sat up. He hated being the centre of attention and well everyone on the entire island was glaring at him. Ok not everyone but A LOT of people.
"Hey! Man I'm sorry about that," the voice echoed again. Only this time coming closer to Sora. In situations like this Sora doesn't think and so he blurted out.
"I'm sorry for being here"
"What?" the voice asked now standing directly over Sora. "You don't have a concussion do you?"
"Ehh"
"Sorry about that," the young blonde apologized. "Seems I kick harder than I thought"
"Um.. It's ok" Sora squeaked. He was still red with embarrassment. The young blonde kicked the beach ball, lying next to Sora, into his hands. There was a long pause while Sora gazed at the young teen, bouncing the ball on the grass.
"Eh.. I'm Tidus," the teen said awkwardly to break the silence. "Sorry again"
"Oh! I-I'm Sora,"
"Hey man! Um do you wanna play volley ball with us?" Tidus asked politely pointing towards a net and a girl sitting down on the sand, observing every move they made.
"Uh.. um" Sora couldn't think of an excuse. He hated sports and he was already dying in the heat, the last thing he needed was to exercise "Sure!" Sora responded. He never was a good liar.
"Awesome!" the young blonde hopped with glee. Like a seven year old kid going to Disneyland. He smiled and grabbed Sora's hand. Sora's heart jumped out of his body went the whole way around the world and landed back in place. He let out a sound which sounded like someone had just grabbed his crotch. Tidus pulled a flabbergasted Sora to his feet and grabbed his forearm and dragged him across the green to the volleyball net.
"Kairi this is So..fa?"
"Sora!" he yelled quite too loudly. Sora was still panting from the surprise heart attack earlier.
"Hello Sora. Nice to meet you" Kairi greeted. With a gorgeous smile on her face. She brushed some red hair from her eyes and turned to Tidus "Be careful next time ok?"
"He's fine! Now can we play! The score was five to one," Tidus announced enthusiastically.
"Wait! How do we play with three people?" Kairi enquired.
"Hmm you get So..f..? Spiky!" Tidus ordered. Twirling the volleyball on his finger and stopping it against his shoulder.
"Spiky?" Sora questioned
"Yeah your hair man! It's cool but damn you must run out of gel fast!" Tidus said chuckling.
"Let's just leave it for today" Kairi declared
"Yes! So I win!" Tidus cheered, throwing the ball in the air, in solute "So now that I'm the winner I deserve a prize"
"Like what?"
"Hmm… I get to touch one of your-"
Before Tidus could finish his sentence, Kairi had slammed him in the chest. Tidus fell to the ground gasping for air. Sora jumped back in horror. He glared at the girl who had just winded the teen. She turned and smiled at him. Her smile hinted something of sweet and innocence mixed with terror and wickedness.
"Sora was it?" she asked
"Yes mam!" he responded with the terrified expression still implanted on his face.
"Mam? My name is Kairi. Where were you going before pervert here almost knocked you out?"
"Um.. well I was going to go find a place that sells ice cream"
"Perfect! Let's go" she said linking her arm around his. Causing Sora to have another mini heart attack. They stepped over the blonde teen still hyperventilating on the sandy beach. Sora looked over his shoulder to see if the blonde was still alive. Well hoping. Tidus jumped to his feet when he realized the other two had already left.
"Hey! Wait for me!" he called as he retrieved the beach ball from where it landed after his victory dance.
Tuesday 15:00 – Café
"So you're not from here?" Kairi questioned as they sat around outdoor tables with umbrellas through them, to shade the teens from the sun.
"I'm here with my mom for the summer. She does research into rocks and plants and stuff" Sora replied. Kairi looked awkward before asking;
"And you're dad?"
"He left when I was a child" Sora murmured, half looking at his ice cream, half at Kairi.
"Oh I see. I'm sorry" she responded, with a look of apology in her eyes.
"It's ok! What about you? Do you live here?" Sora asked.
"Sure do! My dad owns an Inn here and my mom is a tour guide. It's fun here but to be honest, I'd love to live in the city"
"It's not all it seems," Sora chuckled, licking his melting ice cream before it dripped down onto his clothes "I've lived there my whole life and I can say it's just loud and busy all the time"
"That's what I love though. The idea of big buildings, loud traffic, and all the things to do and see. Here all we do is play volleyball. I'd love to just get on the boat and leave this place," Kairi announced, looking off into the distance. She was totally oblivious to her surrounding and suddenly snapped out of her wishful idea "Sorry about that! Sometimes I go off on a rant"
"Sometimes? You mean all the time!" Tidus teased, with the volleyball perched on his lap while he licked his strawberry flavored ice-cream.
"Do you want another punch?" Kairi threatened.
"I'll be good," Tidus smiled as he crunched into the cone of his snack.
Sora missed being in the company of his peer group. Since he'd arrived on the island he had mostly dealt with elderly people and his mother. It was nice being with people who joked, played and talked just like he did. Sora glanced into Kairi's eyes then back to his ice-cream and repeated this until their eyes met and she smiled at him. His heart began to race like earlier and he could feel himself blushing.
"Oh shit," Sora groaned. As ice-cream dripped over his hand and onto his T-shirt. He wiped it against the table in the hope that the others would not notice.
"Sora? How would you like to go to a beach party tonight? It'll be a lot of fun and there's someone I want you to meet," Kairi proposed to the spiky haired teen.
"Um Ok! Where is it?" Sora answered cheerfully.
"He'll never find it!" Tidus advised the red haired girl sitting next to him.
"Ok well how about we meet at this café at nine thirty?" she suggested.
"Sounds good," Sora chirped.
Sora was ecstatic. Finally something he could look forward to. Of course there was one problem which arose in the form of a woman with a strong maternal instinct. His mother. Of course his mom would not let her 'innocent little boy' go out to a party with most likely alcohol, possibly drugs and even sex. So Sora had no choice but to do the responsible thing and tell his new friends that he would not be able to attend their gathering. YEAH RIGHT. Sora had already begun devising a plan about how he would sneak out that night.
"What do you think of silver hair?" Kairi suddenly queried Sora. Sora looked puzzled at first as to why he was just asked such a question. He thought that Kairi might be think of dying her hair that color in the future.
"Umm.. it's nice I guess but I like red hair better," Sora replied biting into the cone of his ice-cream. Tidus glared at Sora, while Kairi brushed some hair out of her eyes.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she chuckled and smiled again at Sora. Sora felt his heart race and his cheeks blush again. Tidus continued to gape at the spiky haired teen, until Kairi announced that she was leaving.
"I'll see you later tonight! So long!" Kairi stated as she grabbed her handbag from the back of the chair.
"Bye," Sora replied almost immediately. Kairi smiled and managed a simple gesture with her hand as she exited the café. She was closely followed by Tidus smiling bluntly at Sora and murmuring a dull 'later'. Sora sat in the shade of the umbrella and thought about his strange encounter with the two teens.
Tuesday 21:00 – Holiday Villa
"Sora?" his mom groaned as she dropped her bags at the front door. Her call was returned by a simple 'um' from somewhere down the hallway. "How was your day?" she pondered, as she skimmed through the messages on her phone.
"Fine," Sora replied dully. She flipped the phone closed and embedded it into her pocket again.
"Today was a disaster," she began as she crossed the hallway into the kitchen, her footsteps echoing on the tiled floor "that tour guide knows less about this island than I do"
Sora didn't respond as he was too distracted by the voices circling through his head. After Tidus and Kairi had left him in the shade of the umbrella, things began to hit him. Like the beach ball earlier today. It struck him when he least expected it. Kairi. Kairi. Kairi? It's all he could think about. Her smile gave him shivers down his spine. All he wanted was to run his hand through her hair and-
"Sora?" his mom interrupted his beautiful dream, and he could feel himself falling back into the sea of reality "Did you hear me?"
"Huh?" he replied bewilderedly.
"I asked if you were hungry?"
"Um.. not really"
"Alright! Well I'm going to cook something anyway"
"Mom?" Sora said nervously. He could even hear his voice crackling with the tension "I met some new friends today and they invited me out to a party or something" Well done Sora so much for sneaking out. You'll never get to go now.
"That's great!" she said gleefully. Sora gazed at the pleased expression that consumed her face "I'm glad that you made some friends!"
"So I can go?" he questioned. One eyebrow raised as he didn't exactly know if the question was required or not.
"Sora," his mother began "You're sixteen. Almost seventeen. It's your decision whether you want to go or not. I may not approve on what you decide but I can't stop you"
His mother was always very philosophical but at least she was a logical thinker. Sora always respected her for that. He was very close with his mother but kept a lot of personal things from her, which caused him to feel guilty at times as his mother opened up to him about everything. Sora had enough friends to talk to about his personal problems and they understood them more than any parent would. Telling his mother about puberty or mistakes under the influence of alcohol might have created an unwanted atmosphere between them. So he chose to keep many things about his life to himself, unless they were deemed vital.
"Enjoy yourself," she sing-songed as she pulled her son into another one of her embracing hugs. His spikes again digging her in the stomach and underneath her chin. But she didn't care. Once she had left Sora thanked himself for deciding to ask her, before rooting through his drawers for something acceptable to wear for the night. He guessed that most beach parties would require people to dress comfortably. So he hunted through his pile of Levi jeans and Anvil shirts. He dug out some red shorts and began hunting his room again for his crown necklace. Once he found his attire suitable for the event, he ensured that he had everything he would need for the night. Which included his cellphone and empty wallet.
As he gazed at his reflection in the mirror, he began to think about her again. She was all that filled his mind. He didn't understand why he felt this way, and he hardly even knew the girl. But something felt right. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it. He decided that after tonight he might have more of an idea what that thing was but for now he realized that he was running late and so, with a cheerful 'goodbye' to his mother, Sora found himself heading out the front door and down the dirt road to meet his new friends in town.
Tuesday 19:25 – Café
The air was humid and filled with heat from the long summer day. The moon was out and stars congregated in the sky, filling the black with creamy dots which formed different shapes depending on how the observer viewed them. The café was closed so Sora waited on a stone wall opposite the building. He could feel butterflies in his stomach and couldn't stop fidgeting with his metal necklace which bounced against his chest, as he walked.
"Sorry I'm late," someone called from behind the stone wall, which made Sora almost jump out of his skin. He was easily startled when out in public.
"It's ok," he replied once he caught his breath. He gazed up at Kairi. She looked even more ravishing than before. She reached up to brush a strand of hair from her eyes. The sound of her pink beaded bracelets sliding down her arm could be heard over the sound of the waves crashing against the beach a few meters away.
"Well let's go then," she announced as she leaped over the wall, opened her handbag and presented Sora with a mobile phone "In case we get separated?" she gestured towards the phone. He smiled, took the phone from her and began adding in his number. When it came to the name part he thought it would be funny to put in a semicolon and a closing bracket. He then looked it over and blushed, thinking it was too childish. So he erased it and handed the phone back to its owner.
"Alright then! It's just down here," Kairi directed as they began walking down towards the beach, where they had met earlier that day. It was silent at first but Kairi began making small-talk to break the tension between the two.
"What are you hoping to do after you graduate?" she pondered. Giving him a sweet little smile as they trudged through the sand.
"I'm not sure. Probably go to college and get some boring job," he retorted, staring directly at the sand in front of him. A very serious tone in his voice and a stern expression on his face.
"Wow! Slow down!" Kairi teased "How can you think so bleakly about something like your future? I'm hoping to become a musician"
"You can sing?" Sora squeaked, with the look of utter surprise painted across his face.
"I'm not very good though. I've tried writing songs but I find it so hard to get inspiration. I'm working on one at the moment, but it's nowhere near finished"
"Let me know when it's finished. I'd love to hear it!" Sora replied with a goofy smile on his face.
Tuesday 21:45 – West beach
"I can see the smoke from behind those rocks. We're almost there," Kairi proclaimed as they climbed over a rotting wooden fence.
"That's good," Sora retorted, trying not to fall head first into a patch of tall grass. They climbed down the dunes onto the beach and could hear the sound of laughter and music mixed with the waves gushing onto the shore.
"I'm glad you decided to come Sora," Kairi blurted out as they were almost at the rocks. Sora's heart began to race worse than ever. He decided that if he was going to do anything it should be now. He felt the time was right he just had to lean over a kiss her. That's right it was easy, and they both wanted it to happen. Come on Sora do it! When he snapped out of his train of thought Kairi was already on the other side of the rocks and wondering where the spiky haired teen had disappeared to. He jumped over the rocks and landed next to her in a very non-shallot pose. He smiled at her in a way which could be read as I didn't just get hard thinking about sticking my tongue down your throat.
He felt his heart race again as she smiled and pinned him with those crystal blue eyes of hers. He couldn't control any of the urges that he was feeling. Before he knew it he was about to raise his hand up to brush the one strand of hair from her eyes.
"Kairi!" Tidus yelled, as a blonde teen trudged through the sand to launch on the red haired girl. She opened her arms and planted a kiss on his lips. Wait. A kiss? Kairi turned to Sora still in the arms of this thing and said;
"Come on Sora I want you to meet the rest of our friends"
Sora suddenly felt ill, like he was going to vomit right there and then. His heart was broken into a million pieces and what was worst of all is that he couldn't show it.
"Great!" he responded cheerfully and he was guided to a campfire by the couple holding hands and whispering to each other. Sora wanted to run away and forget this ever happened. He felt stupid and vulnerable. He didn't hate Tidus nor did he envy him but he just wished he was somebody else at this point in time.
Kairi began greeting friends of hers and cuddling up to her boyfriend until she forgot about her new friends presence. She grabbed Sora by the wrist, which caused his heart to squeeze and tighten in his chest. Kairi flung the heartbroken into the back of a tall, muscular teen. At first he was confused, then he apologized until the older teen turned around and met Sora's gaze.
"Sora this is Riku," she stated patting the spiky haired brunette on the back. Sora couldn't speak after what had escalated in the few minutes prior to being thrown into the back of a stranger.
"Hi," the silver haired teen smiled "nice to meet you Sora"