A.N.: So seeing as it's our lovely JAS's birthday, here's a little something for her to celebrate. Actually, this isn't the one I was planning on posting, but I couldn't come up with a good enough ending and this was much cuter so…. enjoy!
"Man, I'm so glad you guys came," Marcus said as they walked down to the beach, "Now we can do all sorts of beach activities like kayaking and surfing and crabbing and-"
"Slow down, Marcus," Keith said, "We just got here." Keith glanced down at the bag he was carrying, which had the book he needed to read before school started. He needed to at least start reading today or he would never finish in time.
"Are your parents sure they don't want to come down yet? It's such a nice day," Lisa remarked.
"They'll be down soon enough," Marcus assured them, "This looks like a nice spot."
They set out their towels, blankets, and bags before Lisa pulled out a bottle of sunscreen.
"I don't want anyone to get burnt today," she said as she divvied out lotion.
"Thanks, Mom," Hector teased, "Can you get my back?" Blushing, Lisa stood on her tiptoes to apply his sunscreen.
The moment his sunscreen was on, Marcus ran out to the ocean wildly as if his life depended on it. Jessica laughed and pulled off her oversized (likely Hector's) shirt to reveal a dark purple bikini that probably did not get approved by her big brother, who looked furious.
"Calm down, Hector, it's just a bathing suit," she said with a laugh as she laid down on her towel.
"It's not very practical," Hector mumbled.
"Hector, there's no such thing as a practical girl's swimsuit," Lisa said, "Personally, I think it looks great, Jess." Jessica grinned as her brother fumed, turning to Keith.
"What do you think, Keith?" Keith, who had completely spaced out staring at Jessica's pale pink lips, looked between the three of them.
"Her body, her choice," he said with a shrug as he pulled out A Tale of Two Cities.
"Oh, I forgot we had to read that!" Jessica shouted.
"Well, I can read out loud," Keith offered, sitting down next to her, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times-"
"Let's take a walk," Lisa suggested to Hector, grabbing him by the hand and leading him to the edge of the water.
For a long time they walked in amicable silence at the edge of the sea, the waves tickling their feet as the cold water went in and out, in and out. Lisa stared down at herself in her green one-piece bathing suit, wishing she had the same confidence as Jessica. If she was alone on the beach with a guy she liked, she'd…. read Charles Dickens with him apparently. When Lisa had asked her how she had such high self-esteem, she said that she didn't and was just pretending.
"Fake it til you make it," she'd said with a laugh.
"Penny for your thoughts," Hector said, ironically pulling her out of her thoughts.
"I was just thinking about Jess' confidence," Lisa admitted.
"She's gonna get herself in trouble when she's in college, thinking she can do anything," he grumbled.
"Keith'll rein her in if she gets out of control," Lisa assured him, "They'll be fine."
"I hope so." A pause. "Why were you thinking about her confidence?"
"Oh, I just sometimes wish I could be more like her. You know, upfront, certain, unafraid," she said, "Like with the bathing suits; I'd never show my stomach because I'd be too nervous. Jess just does it."
"I guess that can come in handy." Just then, a wave came crashing down on them much harder than the rest, sending Lisa into the sand.
"Oh my god, Lisa! Are you okay?" Hector cried as he helped her out of the wed sand.
"I'm fine, Hector," she said with a little cough, "Just wet."
"And sandy," he added, "Let's head back and clean you off," he said, putting an arm around her.
"So Darnay is the nephew of the Monsieur de Marquis and is in love with Lucie who is the daughter of Manettte, the former employer of Defarge. Defarge and Madame Defarge are married," Keith said as he drew up a diagram in the air.
"And how is Carton related to Darnay?" Jessica asked.
"He isn't. Carton just looks like Darnay. He works with Stryver, Darnay's attorney in England. Both of them are in love with Lucie, but Lucie rejected Stryver." Exhausted by the amount of information, Jessica laid her head down on Keith.
"Jess, I believe you have mistaken my leg for a pillow," he teased unnecessarily as Jessica shot up the moment after.
"Is that Hector and Lisa?" she asked, pointing down the coast. Keith squinted at the figures in question.
"It is. Grab a towel." He ran to meet them, Jessica and a few towels not far behind.
"What the hell happened to you two?" Keith asked as he reached them.
"I fell," Lisa said.
"Then I stepped on a crab," Hector added.
"He got stung by a jellyfish trying to get it off."
"And she got stuck in seaweed trying to get to me."
"Then he made me kiss it so it would feel better." Keith rolled his eyes at the pair of them as Jessica caught up and threw towels at everyone.
"Are you guys hungry? I'm starving," Keith asked, looking around. Hector shrugged.
"I could eat."
"You're human garbage disposals, the both of you," Jessica cried as she rolled her eyes.
"Jess, be nice!" Lisa reminded.
"It's true!" Jessica shouted as they all walked back to their things, calling Marcus back to dry land.
As they all sat down, Hector felt something land in his hair.
"Is that- is that bird poop?" he asked warily.
"Looks like it, bro," Jessica said, trying not to laugh.
"That's good luck, a seagull pooping on you," Marcus chimed in.
"Good job contributing something relevant to the conversation, Marcus!" Keith congratulated with a high-five as Hector proceeded to freak out.
"Good luck? Good luck? There is bird poop in my hair! How is there anything good here? What if it stains? It'll look like I'm graying! I'm too young to go gray!" At this, the pretense of trying not to laugh was abandoned as everyone completely lost it.
"I'm sorry, but that's the funniest thing I've ever heard," Jessica managed to say before laughing even harder.
"Maybe not funnier than when the Skeleckians didn't tell you about black screen," Keith added, "You look weird without eyebrows."
"What's so funny, guys?" Mrs. Barnes asked. She was a short, curvy woman who dressed in an extremely boho style and was carrying a picnic basket.
"Hi, Mom!" Marcus said excitedly.
"Wait up!" called the distant voice of Mrs. Finelli-Barnes, who was carrying a large cooler and wore a bikini top and high-waisted shorts.
"Do you need a hand, Mama?" Marcus called, running to help her.
"So," Mrs. Barnes said as she put down the picnic basket, "There'll be fireworks tonight at the baseball field, so we should be able to see them from here."
"I love fireworks," Lisa said, "They're just so magical." Marcus, having heard the word firework, began to sing.
"Baby, you're a firework! Come on, let your colors burst!"
"Why don't I turn on some actual music?" Keith suggested, "I brought a speaker."
As Keith set up his speaker, Marcus' moms passed out sandwiches and drinks, which everyone took with much gratitude.
"The sky look so pretty," Jessica remarked as the sun began to set, "The whole world is just a huge kaleidoscope of color."
"I love when you talk like a poet," Keith said, wrapping his arm around her.
"Will you two either stop acting like a couple or get together already?" Marcus shouted at them in frustration, causing Jessica and Keith to break apart awkwardly. But soon night had fallen and, in the chill, Jessica huddled in Keith's arms for warmth. Hector and Lisa, following in suit, were holding hands and Lisa's head was on Hector's shoulder. Marcus sat squished between his moms as they all watched the fireworks. The bright colors reflected over the water so that every spark was twice as strong. Yellows, reds, blues, all sorts of colors lit up the sky as the seven sat watching at the sea.