Author's Note: Hey guys miss me? I promised I'd re-do this, I promised I'd be back! Sadly I ended up losing access to my old account but that doesn't mean I'd abandon a story! I've been steadily working on each of my stories as well as some new ones. I still have no access to my old account (sobs) however I did dig up the old drafts for the chapters (SCORE!). So here it is without further ado, One Hot Summer (Take Two)

~oOo~

I couldn't believe it! Bells were ringing and everyone around me was clapping! The old woman that owned the stall smiled up at me broad grin, digging in the desk beneath her stall. I can't believe this is actually happening! I only played as a joke! The old woman pulled out an envelope and passed it to me and I couldn't stop my hands from shaking as I received it. I thought at some point someone would jump out and reveal that this was just one of those prank television shows, but nobody came. I looked from the envelope to the old woman, still trying to wrap my head around this. I've never won anything before in my life! The storekeeper looked at me with the type of wise gaze I've come to expect from little old women, her smile growing even larger.

"Congratulations!"

~oOo~

Chapter 1:

Operation: Beach Day!

Finally! Three days until school officially closes for the summer! This will be my first summer since Shizuma and I became a couple! It's too bad she graduated though... Wait, not like 'too bad' as in 'I wish she didn't graduate' but like 'I wish she was still here'! I'm glad she's getting to move on with her life, going to college and everything, but I'm still going to miss her.

Anyway, before I get myself all depressed on thoughts like that, I have a mission to do: Operation Tamao! Ever since the Etoile elections, Tamao has been depressed and barely even speaking to me, even going out of her way to avoid me sometimes. I can't blame her though. I'm sure she really wanted to be the next Etoile, but I ended up abandoning her in the middle of the competition when Shizuma confessed to me. I must have really hurt her, she worked so hard to become the Etoile, and she deserved it too! And that's why I came up with this plan!

This morning I woke up totally confident and ready to put this plan into effect! When I ran over to her bed though, Tamao had already left for the morning. I asked around, but no one had seen her anywhere.

When breakfast time came, I knew I was bound to see Tamao. We're not allowed to skip out on breakfast. I found her sitting at a seat near the end of the table. Thankfully, the seat next to her was available so I invited myself to take it.

"Tamao, where have you been? I've been looking for you all morning." I pouted in hopes she'd grace me with a laugh. I expected too much though.

"I was just taking an early morning walk. There were some things I had to think about." she tried to add her usual energy to her voice, but I could tell it was forced. She's been taking these early morning walks a lot lately. I must have really hurt her.

"Listen to this Tamao!" I tried to have enough enthusiasm for the two of us. It wasn't all that hard though, I've been super-excited to tell her about this! I could tell she was shocked by my energy today, she even smiled a bit. "I've got something really good tha-" She cut me off when Amane and Hikari, the new Etoile, came to bless us with the morning prayer.

Tamao didn't allow me to talk while we were eating and then left me at the table when she was done and my plate was still half-full because she said I shouldn't waste any of my food and that I was not to leave until I finished every last bite. I ended up scarfing down the food so quickly, I gave myself a massive stomach ache! Still, I had to catch up with Tamao before I lost track of her again!

I caught her in the hallway not too far from the dining area and I ran right up to her.

"Christ Nagisa, you scared me!" I didn't mean to surprise her.

"Sorry, but I absolutely have to tell you this!"

She sighed. "What is it that has you so giddy today Nagisa?"

I smiled the biggest I could manage as I pulled the two pieces of paper from my pocket and presented them to her. I couldn't contain myself as I watched her scan over them and the smile on her face grew.

She was stunned. "Two plane tickets... to Okinawa? Does this mean what I think it means?"

I nodded so hard it felt like my head would fall off of my neck. "Yup! I won an entire month stay in Okinawa from a small shop neaby!"

I could see the excitement bubbling up inside her! Suddenly she deflated and she didn't seem so happy anymore. "Why don't you ask Shizuma to go with you?"

"You're my best friend and you've been totally under the weather lately. I can't let you stay like that, I want you to come with me! We can go as soon as school closes for the summer!"

I saw her face light up just before she caught me in her famous bear hug. "Nagisa-chan! Thank you, I can't wait!"

Success!

We spent the rest of the day giggling like the little school girls we were, chatting and making a list of the things we wanted to do once we got to Okinawa. Even though school wasn't officially closed yet, club activities had already ceased for the year and classes were done, leaving us the whole day to plan. Of course new bikinis to hit the beach was our top priority so the next day we spent the whole day looking for ones that were just perfect! In the end, neither of us could decide on just one, so we both ended up buying two!

Our last day at school, Tamao and I spent the whole day in our room aside from breakfast and supper. All we did was pack and goof around talking about the things we were going to do! We called a sleep over with Tsubomi, Yaya, Chiyo, Hikari, and even Amane decided to come. It was the last day and everyone was talking about their plans for the summer. Hikari and Yaya were going with Amane to visit her family in Honshu. Tsubomi was going home for the summer and so was Chiyo. Tamao and I were the only two not using our vacation to visit family and everyone was shocked to hear that we were going to Okinawa.

Today, Hikari's cookies were extra good and she made plenty! I had to savor them since they might be my last. Now that she was the Etoile, she was probably going to be too busy for these little sleep overs of ours. Then again, Shizuma never seemed all that busy.

We stayed up until a little past midnight before everyone left to get their rest for their upcoming flights, Tamao and I included. Even in my dreams I was imagining all the fun we were going to have! It would be better if I had another ticket. Then I could have invited Shizuma.

That's when it hit me. Shizuma was moving on in life and I was stuck at St. Miator for a few more years. Suppose while I'm here... she finds someone else? What if she forgets all about me?

I'm not even sure when I woke up but with the thoughts that were now swirling around in my head, I can't imagine that I'll be able to get back to sleep anymore.

When the sun rose I didn't want to open my eyes. I don't even know when I closed them in the first place! Today was the day, but I only got about four hours of sleep last night even though it was like eight in the morning. Tamao on the other hand, was well rested and revving to go. She was even more energetic than she used to be. Just the sight of her being so pumped up filled me with energy! With fists high in the air we yelled out in celebration as we made our way out the front gates of St. Miator. We caught a bus to the airport and the wait was about twenty minutes before we got on our flight! Today, everything just seemed to be going perfectly!

During the flight, Tamao and I just kept talking. It's been forever since I've seen her smile that big! It was great to see her finally being her old self again. Even though I was still a little sad about what crossed my mind last night, I didn't allow myself to damper her mood.

After about two and a half hours, we finally landed in Okinawa. The prize I won included a stay at a two star hotel that apparently sponsored the giveaway, but when we got there it wasn't nearly as good as we expected. The place was small and the staff was mean save for the young receptionist guy that greeted us as soon as we walked in. He had short silver hair and deep beautiful amber eyes. He reminded me of an even more cheerful, guy version of Shizuma. He greeted us again as we approached his desk.

"Good afternoon! My name is Shino and I'm the one to contact if anything goes wrong!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm actually just a summer student on the hotel's employment program, but I promise I'll help in any way I can to make your stay the best it could possibly be!"

I wasn't sure what to do at this point, so I just passed him the hotel information thing that came in the envelope with the tickets. He looked at it and smiled, flipping it over to reveal a bar code I never noticed and scanning it into the computer on his desk.

"Alright everything seems legit. So I'm guessing this is the Aoi, Nagisa party of two that won the promotional contest. Congratulations!" he gave us genuine smile. "Come on, let me show you to your room." Shino slid out from behind his desk and gestured for us to follow him, even grabbing our bags for us.

We walked down a long hallway until we reached room 30. He opened the door for us to demonstrate how to use the hotel key before handing both of us our own copies. There was a slot next to the door and all we had to do was slide our key through like swiping a credit card. He brought our bags into the room, gave us a nod and left. Tamao and I wasted no time in unpacking.

When we had everything out of our bags Tamao flipped through some of the pamphlets the hotel left on one of the drawers in the room. "Nagisa there's a beach nearby! See, there's a picture here in this pamphlet!" she squealed with her nose in the folds.

"Really!?"

"Yes! The pamphlet says it's a must-visit during your stay in Okinawa, plus it looks so beautiful in these pictures! We have to go there right now!"

"Eh, right now!?"

It was a little impulsive, I'll admit, but when I saw the pictures and how Tamao was so excited, we just had to go! So in less than twenty minutes, we found ourselves out on the beach, golden yellow sand between our toes and sun blazing over our heads. We put on our new bikinis under t-shirts and shorts before we head out of the hotel, Shino waving us goodbye as we left.

In less than a second after arriving, we ripped off our clothes as we ran towards the water, leaving our shirts, shoes, and sandals like a trail on the sand. We played in the ocean for a bit, splashing each other in the cool water and Tamao almost drowning me when she dragged me under the water! When we got tired of swimming, we came back to the shore and picked up our discarded clothes just before setting up and umbrella and some blankets. We didn't rest though, and somehow found ourselves running across the sand in a very fearsome game of tag!

When we finally blew out all our energy, too tired to walk back to where we set up our things right away, we collapsed onto the sand and erupted in a fit of giggles. As we laid there, a ball came rolling up right next to me and I could hear someone in the distance calling out to us. "Sorry about our ball, it got away from us while we were playing!"

I picked up the ball and rose to my feet, Tamao following suit. It wasn't long before I identified the figure running towards us and I'm pretty sure my jaw fell to the sand. I turned around to look at Tamao to make sure I wasn't seeing things but it seems that she had the same look on her face that I'm sure was on mine. This was actually real!

"Rokujou-senpai!" I yelled out in complete shock.

"Oh! Tamao, Nagisa, what are you two doing here? I never would have expected to see you two in Okinawa!" Rokujou seemed just as shocked as we were.

"Nagisa won two tickets at a small shop near St. Miator. We're here for a month." Tamao pointed out. "Not that I want to pry or anything but what brings you to Okinawa, senpai?"

"Actually I'm spending the summer with-" As if on cue, she was cut off by another voice as someone else came running towards us.

"Miyuki, did you get in trouble!? Where's the ball!?" the beautifully familiar voice rang as the girl approached us.

I could feel my eyes widening as they took in the sight of long flows of silver coming towards us. I ended up swallowing something, but I'm not sure what. I was overcome with joy when the girl stopped and she seemed to finally notice me!

"Shizuma!"