Chapter 2: Let the Luau Begin
A huge bonfire threw light across the darkened beach. The sun had just set in a dazzling array of pinks, purples and blues that had stretched out across the horizon. The Welcome Luau was in full swing on the beachfront of the Grand Wailea Resort complete with hula dancers, drummers and perhaps what Sammy considered the most important part of any luau, roast pork. The Kona Kai competition was due to start tomorrow, but tonight all of the participants had been invited to a kick-off party. Reggie looked over at her friends and family seated around her, their plates heaped high with delicious food.
"See Reg, I told you we'd make it," Otto said.
"Barely," she muttered. "If the flight hadn't been delayed, we'd have missed it."
"Well, we're here now, Rocket Girl," Raymundo smiled at her. "Isn't this beautiful?"
Her dad had a point. The many guest tables were surrounded by glowing Tikki torches which produced their own soft light apart from the bonfire. The rush and swirl of the ocean provided a rhythmic undercurrent to their conversation as waves lapped the shore in the distance. A warm, gentle breeze fragrant with the scent of tropical flowers stirred the flames of the torches and the cloth napkins at each place setting. Reggie realized that the sweet scent in the air was partially due to the fresh leis that each of them wore around their necks. They had been given to them when they'd landed at the airport only a couple of hours ago.
"You're right, Raymundo. It's awesome."
"Ah, land of my birth," Tito sighed. "This is the very beach where Kamehameha the Great challenged Chief Kahekili's warriors for control of Maui in 1790."
"Really, Tito?" asked Sam through a mouthful of sweet plantains.
"Really, Sammy." Tito smiled contentedly and tossed another rib on to Sam's plate.
"So, Otto," Ray began, noting the intense look on his son's face. "Sizing up the competition?"
"It's nothing I can't handle," Otto answered, his indefatigable confidence brimming at the surface.
"Well, Otto-man, there is Chris Pennington to think about," Twister said softly. It was the first thing he'd said during the meal. He'd been remarkably quiet ever since the ride from Ocean Shores to the airport.
"Who's Chris Pennington?" Ray asked.
"He tried to take Otto on a year ago in the Ocean Shores Classic," said Twister.
"If I recall he gave you a run for your money," Sam added.
"And who won the Ocean Shores Classic, Squid?"
"You did."
"That's right. I've got nothing to worry about."
Reggie rolled her eyes. Usually Otto's bravado didn't bother her one bit. But tonight she just couldn't take it. She'd heard him shoot off his mouth all during the flight and the ride to the hotel. Enough already! Rocket Boy was good but he wasn't invincible.
"I think I'm going to turn in," she said suddenly.
"Are you okay, Reg?" asked Ray. "It's not even 8:30."
"I know, but I'm in the second heat tomorrow and I want to get a good night's rest."
"You sure, little cuz? They haven't even served dessert yet," said Tito.
"You can have my dessert, Tito," she smiled.
"If you insist." He winked at her.
"Well, alright, Reggie. You get some shut-eye. I'll check in on you before I go to bed."
"Don't worry about it, Raymundo." She stood and dropped her napkin on to her plate. Reggie waved a quick goodbye to the gang and began walking back toward the hotel.
"Hey, Reg, wait up!"
She turned around to see Twister running after her. Otto was calling him from the table but he didn't seem to hear him.
"Maybe I could walk you back to the hotel?"
"It's just over there." She pointed a short distance up the beach.
"I know," he said, not looking at her.
"Well, okay."
The whole point of leaving dinner early was that she would have some time to herself to think. With Twister tagging along that was going to be difficult, especially when she wanted to do some thinking about him.
"Reg, I um…," he began but stopped. He cleared his throat and started again. "I'm sorry about earlier… what happened in the car."
The path back to the hotel was lit with Tikki torches and even in their dim light she could see the blush that had settled in his cheeks.
"It's okay, Twist," she tried to keep her voice light. But the truth was that the whole incident had confused her. What did it mean? Did Twister like her? He seemed different to her now, more defined. Somehow, he was more than just the boy who'd spent the past four years attached to Otto at the hip.
"Sometimes… it just sort of happens," he said quietly.
"Oh."
"Reg, I hope you're not…"
"Twister, it's no big deal. Let's just forget about it."
"All right… but Reggie, I do… I mean, I"
"Really, it's cool." They walked into the lobby of the hotel. "Thanks for the walk, okay? You should get back to dinner. I know Otto probably wants to talk strategy with you."
"Uh, okay."
He looked like he would've said something more, but Reggie didn't give him a chance. "Good night," she said and dashed off into the waiting elevator that would take her to her room.
* * *
Having her own hotel room was exciting, though at the same time it was also a little lonely. Raymundo and Tito were sharing a room and so were Otto, Twister and Sam, but as the only girl Reggie had gotten a room all to herself. It was only proper; she needed her privacy and after all she was about to be 16 in a couple of weeks. But it was weird not having anyone around to talk to. Sure, there was Otto when she wanted to discuss sports and her Dad was always willing to listen, but there were some things she couldn't really talk to them about and as a result there was this space growing between them. Lately she'd felt more and more isolated from the rest of the gang, too.
Was it because she was the only girl? Her friends had never treated her any differently because of that. When it came to sports she was faster, sharper and better than most boys in Ocean Shores anyhow. No, Sammy and Otto and Twister always treated her equally. They didn't seem to notice that she wasn't just one of the guys. Or at least they hadn't. But Twister had noticed.
He'd been looking at her funny for the past few weeks, like he'd been trying to figure her out. And what was there to figure out? She was the same Reggie Rocket she'd always been. Maybe a little taller but that was it.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the light so that she could look in the mirror. No surprises. There was the hair, the eyes, the same lips. She pursed them into a pout just for the hell of it, but there was no radical transformation caused by the gesture. Reggie pulled the shades from the top of her head and her hair fell forward, the same hair, slightly curly and thick.
She took a step back from the mirror to look at the rest of her body. So maybe she was a little rounder in spots, definitely hippier. That was the end of borrowing Otto's shorts. So there were little differences maybe, but nothing to make Twister get all bent out of shape, right?
What was she thinking? This was Twister, the kid who dug up his parents' backyard trying to find pirate's treasure that his older brother Lars had convinced him was buried there. He didn't need an excuse to start acting weird. She'd once seen him snort an entire French fry up his nose just because Otto had dared him. Granted, that had been a couple of summers ago. He was different now. A little more steady and thoughtful. He even looked different. Taller of course, stronger, too. Last week she'd caught up with him at the half pipe in Madtown and as he'd tucked himself in the air to execute a front-side flip she couldn't help but notice his forearms, large, tan and corded with muscle.
Reggie felt her face grow warm as she thought about it. Did she like him, her baby brother's best bro?
* * *
The first day of competition dawned bright and clear. The qualifying heats were held first and the top 16 scores would advance. Reggie was in heat 2, going head to head with Krista Kelly, an Australian she'd met once before in the Ocean Shores Classic. The ladies junior competition marked the official start of the Kona Kai. The ladies senior competition held it's qualifying rounds this afternoon and the men's competition wasn't slated to begin until tomorrow. Otto, Sammy, Twister, Tito and Ray had all gathered to see Reggie qualify.
Reggie toted her board and gear to the competitor's stand and her friends watched from a distance as she began to suit up. Ray and Tito had gone in search of hotdogs but had promised to return before the start of her match.
"I thought Reggie was going to be in the senior competition this year," Sam said.
"Her birthday didn't fall before the deadline. She won't be 16 for another two weeks," Otto explained.
"That's cool," Twister said. "She'll sweep up the junior competition no sweat." He held his hand out to Otto for a rallying woogie, but Otto wasn't paying attention. His eyes were trained on a group of local guys who were lounging over by a copse of trees at the edge of the beach.
"Those guys are staring at Reggie," Otto said with quiet menace.
"Well, objectively speaking," Sam began, "Reggie is what you'd call a babe."
"Twister, did you hear what Sammy just said?"
Twister looked at his feet.
"No."
"What do you mean no? You were standing right there."
"I mean, I didn't hear the squid call Reggie a hottie."
"Actually, the term I used was babe."
"That's my sister you're talking about!"
"Objectively speaking, Otto." Sam tried to calm his friend. "I'm just saying that if you weren't related to her, you might think that she was"
"That's gross, Sam." Otto put his hands over his ears.
"Well, you mentioned that those guys were staring at her so I thought you'd want to know why."
"I can't hear you!" Otto yelled.
Twister grabbed one of his friend's hands and pried it loose from his ear.
"It's okay, bro," he tried to ignore the guilt swelling in the pit of his stomach. "Squid's done."
Otto stared hard at Sam to confirm that indeed his lips weren't moving. He couldn't possibly be saying anything about his sister. Slowly he uncovered his other ear.
"Promise me that the two of you will never look at my sister like that."
There was a pause while Sam and Twister exchanged a worried glance.
"Promise!"
"Dude," Twister tried to smooth things over. "You're wiggin' out."
"And you're not promising," Otto narrowed his eyes and glared at his friend. Twister caved under the pressure.
"All right, all right, we promise," he said. "Right Sam?"
"We promise," Sam echoed. "But Reggie is"
"Shut it, Squid."
"It's not what you think. What I'm trying to say, Otto, is that Reggie is a girl. We always treat her like she's one of us"
"She is one of us."
"Well, she is, but she isn't. Maybe we need to start treating her differently."
"How else are we supposed to treat her?" Otto asked exasperated. "This is Rocket Girl we're talking about here. She's not some girly girl who needs to be babied. Look at her." He pointed over to his sister who had easily hefted her longboard into the air and was carrying it over her head.
"We're not allowed," Sam answered smoothly reminding Otto of the promise he'd just exacted.
"You know what I'm talking about!"
They all watched Reggie as she made her way to the shoreline. The previous heat had just concluded and her match would be starting in a few minutes.
"We could just try being a little more… chivalrous," Sam said finally. When he was met with blank stares he added, "You know, more gentlemanly."
"What are you going to do, Sam? Ask to carry her board?"
"It's a start." Sam shrugged.
* * *
Ray and Tito came running up to join the gang just as Reggie and her opponent set out into the ocean.
"Come on, Reg," Ray called encouragement even though there was no way Reggie could hear him.
Sam squinted out into the distance shielding his eyes from the sun. "It's choppy out there and according to the forecast there's a north-northwest swell."
Otto leveled his eyes on the huge turquoise waves. "They're coming in sets of four and the third wave looks best. I hope she knows."
"She knows," Ray said. "She's not my daughter for nothing."
Krista paddled into position for the first wave and Reggie hung back relaxed straddling her board.
"Good girl," Ray murmured. "Let her have that one."
Krista caught a decent wave but Ray wasn't even remotely concerned. There was no question that Reggie could take this.
The gang fell silent, anticipating Reggie's next move. Otto tucked his shades up on top of his head and Sam danced nervously from foot to foot waiting. She let the second wave pass still sitting on her board. Both girls were floating pretty far out and their figures looked tiny from the beach, but Otto was watching his sister closely and he caught the shift in her posture. He'd seen it before up close and knew what it meant; she was going to take the third wave.
In the next moment she was belly down on her board arms slicing through water, paddling furiously.
"Come on… come on," Ray muttered. Tito peered through his binoculars and watched Reggie spring to her feet in a low crouch as she dropped in. Clear, blue water arced up over her and she was lost from view for a moment, but there she was again racing along the face of the curl, one arm out in front of her, the other behind dragging along the surface of the wave.
"Steady," Ray was saying. "Easy now."
"Relax, Raymundo, she's got this," Otto said. He watched Reggie cut through the surf as the wave began to froth and dissolve in her wake. It was a near perfect run. There was only one person who could have done it better and that was him.
Fifteen minutes later Reggie had officially won her heat, adding two more scoring waves to that first run. Ray pumped his fist in the air and commenced a victory dance the likes of which hadn't been seen since Otto and Reggie had been crowned Prince and Princess Waikikamukau in New Zealand three years ago.
"Dad, it's just the qualifying round," Otto said.
"I know, Rocket Boy, but a win is a win!" He gave Tito a double high-five and continued to celebrate.
"You never told me your Dad could do the funky chicken," Twister stifled a laugh.
Otto rolled his eyes. This was embarrassing. It got even more embarrassing when Ray danced his way into an unsuspecting bystander.
"Aiâ!"
"Whoa," Ray turned around to get a look at whoever it was he'd just elbowed. He stopped short. "I… uh…" His jaw dropped.
"Now that's a babe," Otto said low to Sam.
Ray could only stare at the woman in front of him. Her long, dark hair and slender frame were what first caught his attention, but it was the dancing light in her deep brown eyes and the bemused smile on her lips that rendered him speechless.
Tito nudged his friend politely.
"I think what you want to say is, minamina."
"Minamina?" Ray repeated still staring at her.
"Yes," the woman answered him. "It means that you are sorry for bumping into me. Unless, you aren't sorry for bumping into me."
"No… I mean, yes, of course I'm sorry for bumping into you! I'm really minamina. I can't tell you how minamina I am, really- "
"- This is Ray," Tito interrupted in order to keep him from blathering on.
"Aloha, Ray. I'm Lola."
"Lola," he repeated.
"So, Ray, is that your daughter over there? The one with the killer cutback?" She motioned to Reggie who was coming in from the water.
"Yeah, that's Reggie and this is my boy, Otto."
Lola smiled over at Otto who, though he tried to play it cool, was dangerously close to blushing himself.
"I really am sorry for bumping into you like that. I just got a little excited."
"No worries. Now I know to give you room during the next match." She smiled. "Aloha, Ray." She waved and turned to walk back down the beach.
"Aloha, Lola." Ray was grinning from ear to ear. "Wait, Lola!"
She stopped.
"How can I… I mean, when do you think we might…uh…?"
"You want to know when we will meet again? Maui may be one of the larger islands, but it's a small place. We'll see each other soon."
Tito whistled softly as she walked off.
"Hubba, hubba, brudda."
"I know," Ray mused. " I know."
* * *
It was sunset and Twister sat on the beach stretched out on a towel. The sun was just peeking over the horizon now, taking one last lingering look at the island of Maui before it sank behind the ocean in a vibrant display of oranges, pinks and purples that suffused the clouds.
It was so peaceful here. Twister closed his eyes a moment, only to snap them open a second later once it registered that he'd been slapped in the back of the head. He jerked around to see his brother Lars standing behind him.
"You're all alone out here, baby bro," Lars pointed out. "Where's Rocket Dork?" Twister wasn't in the mood to hear Lars rag on him and his friends.
"I don't know who you're talking about," he said annoyed.
"You know Otto."
"Probably in the hotel weight room."
"And you're not with him? I thought you two were glued together."
"I'm tired, all right?"
"Sure. Still pining after Rocket Dork's sister?"
"Shut up, Lars. Why do you have to be such a dick sometimes?"
"Now Maurice, is that any way to talk to your older brother?"
Twister opened his mouth to reply when she came into sight running along the edge of the water. His hesitation was enough to cause Lars to follow his gaze.
"Now I get it. You just happen to be out here at sunset keeping and eye on- "
"- Lars- "
"- Wait a minute…is that…?" He squinted at the jogging figure.
"It's nobody," Twister said. He got to his feet and picked up his towel hoping that the action would distract his older brother.
"That's Reggie Rocket?" Lars asked, a hint of surprise mingled with something else in his voice.
Twister had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The "something else" in Lars' tone was admiration.
Lars couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her. It couldn't have been that long ago. She was always at the Shore Shack, Madtown or the beach. Their paths had to have crossed this summer, but he obviously hadn't been paying attention.
"Your taste in women ain't half bad, baby bro."
"Lars, where are you going?"
"To say hello to your girlfriend."
"She's not my…" Twister began but his voice trailed off. "Lars!"
It was too late to stop him. Lars was headed toward the ocean on a collision course with Reggie Rocket.
