Elle sits in the back seat of her Daddy's Cadillac. She watches with disdain as the scenery out her window slowly turns from urban sprawl to backwoods. They weren't saying much on the long drive, Elle and her Daddy. He'd only told her "You wanted a vacation, now we're taking one."
The last place she'd expected was a place out in the middle of the sticks. Probably didn't even have electricity. She dreams of Hawaii. The rolling waves, the clear water. Maybe she'd even meet a guy there. Dreams come true in Blue Hawaii. She'll never meet her Elvis out here in the boonies.
"Daddy, remind me again why we're going here and not, say, Hawaii?" Elle asks.
"Because, Elle-Belle," Daddy says. "We've been to Hawaii twice in the last year. It's time for something different."
Elle pouts as the car pulls on to a dirt road. A sign out the window reads: "Welcome to Killermann's: A Family Resort!" Great. She can see it all now: family dinners, cheesy activities, and lots of boring interaction with people she'll be forced to pretend to like.
"I wish I stayed home." Elle says, bumping her knees against the back of Daddy's seat.
"I'd be crazy to leave you home alone." Daddy says, looking at her in the rear view mirror. "Especially with that serial killer on the loose! You know you fit the description of the last few victims he's killed."
Elle rolls her eyes. "I'm not scared of some dumb old pervert. I can totally handle myself." She counts off her reasons on her fingers. "I know how to shoot a gun, I took that ladies' self defense class, I keep mace in my purse-"
"We're here!" Daddy interrupts. He pulls their car up to a large, antiquated building that looks like it used to be a plantation. Elle instantly feels unimpressed. Daddy exits the car and then opens her door for her, all but forcing her from the car. "Let the help get your bags, sweetheart."
Elle steps out of the car and watches as some random guys come out and fetch their bags. Okay, so the service is all right. Still, not Hawaii.
Elle pulls the map of the grounds out of her back pocket. The building she and Daddy are currently in front of looks like the welcome center/main building/dining hall. Straight to the back looks like a lake and boating area. Guest cabins are off to the right rear of the main building, while staff cabins are to the left rear. The property seems secluded, surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods on all sides.
Definitely not Hawaii, Elle later decides. She sits at a circular dining table with Daddy, two of Daddy's colleagues, and Daddy's colleagues' sons.
"Do you two still keep in touch with Charles?" Daddy asks. His words aren't exactly slurred, but he's getting there.
Daddy's female colleague looks uncomfortable, but smiles anyway. Elle thinks this lady is used to keeping things to herself. "Not lately, Bob." She answers.
The lady's husband notices. Everyone at the table does. "Bob, did we tell you Peter just finished med school?"
Elle is intrigued. Med school, eh?
"Great job, Peter" Daddy says to the younger of the brothers across the table.
Peter looks mildly upset with his father. "Thanks, but it's not med school." He's talking to everyone, but he's looking at his father. "It's nursing school. I'm a nurse. Not a doctor."
"Not a doctor yet." Peter's father adds.
Elle watches as Peter stands up from the table. He looks apologetically at his mother before going outside. "Sorry Ma. I need to be excused." Was he crying?
"Arthur, that was unfair." Peter's mother admonishes her husband.
"He'll get over it, Angela." Arthur promises.
"You know how sensitive he is." She says, but leaves it at that. She then looks to her other son. "Nathan, tell Mr. Bishop how law school is going."
"Going great, actually." The older son begins, but Elle tunes him right out.
"I think I'm gonna go get some air, too. Excuse me." Elle says, standing up to follow Peter's trail to the dining room's back balcony. When she finally catches up with him, she notices that he is indeed crying. "I didn't think boys could cry."
Embarrassed, Peter wipes at his eyes with his hands and attempts to look less obvious. "It's allergies."
Elle folds her arms. "Uh-huh. And you're a doctor."
"Look, just because our parents are friends, it doesn't mean we have to be." Peter says, disguising a sniffle.
Elle changes the subject. "Do you wanna get outta here? All this faux formality is really stifling me."
"Where can we even go? We're, like, trapped." Peter complains.
"I dunno. We can go exploring or something." Elle shrugs.
"Too many bugs." Peter says, waving at an imaginary mosquito.
Elle blows her bangs out of her face. "Well, what if-"
"You attention, ladies and gentlemen!" The activities director shouts suddenly through the PA system. "While you finish your dessert, please enjoy some music and dancing by our own Killermann's Night Watchmen!" He hops off the stage when the band begins to play a slow, lazy surf guitar song Elle remembers her parents dancing to when her mother was still alive.
"Ohh, I love this song!" Elle coos. She grabs Peter's hand. "Come dance with me."
Peter's protests go unheard as Elle drags him onto the dance floor. "I'm not much of a dancer. Can't we just hang out on the balcony?"
"You'll be fine." Elle convinces him. "Here, I'll even lead."
Peter sighs. "This is awkward."
"Shut up and do it, nurse-boy." Elle commands, leading Peter in the stiffest dancing she'd ever done in her life.
When the song is over, the band plays another instrumental surf piece. Elle recognizes it from a movie she'd seen a few years before. "So have you heard these guys before?"
Peter nods. "They play here every summer, almost. In addition to music lessons, they play a lot of dated music like this for dances and dinners here. They're pretty nice guys... although the lead guitarist is a little weird."
"Weird?" Elle looks up at the stage, but notices nothing strange about the musician in question. "Seems fine to me. Tall, dark, kinda cute. Although the eyebrows-" She stops when he stares at her. Elle doesn't know quite what to do, so she smiles her fake smile at him- a nervous habit she can't seem to shake. The guitar player stares at her for a small eternity before smirking. "Wow." Elle whispers. No boy has ever looked at her like that, she thinks. It's too intense to ignore.
Peter is dumbfounded. "Wow?"
"I'm sorry Peter, but I gotta go." Elle pushes Peter to the side to run back to Daddy's table.
"What is it, Elle-Belle?" Daddy asks. His face is red. Great. Another night with her drunk Daddy.
"Daddy, I want music lessons."