Sorry I haven't updated in like, forever... I've just been getting over school, it's finally over! Time to go sailing! Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent...
We go to sleep around 12:00 and when I wake up in the morning, the house is silent. I guess everyone really did leave this morning. I get dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, athletic shorts that come down halfway to my knee and an oversized t-shirt. I look outside and realize that it rained last night, the paddleboat is filled with water, and it looks like it was super windy.
I grab a granola bar and walk outside onto the deck, enjoying the warm sun on my back. I decide to clean up the waterfront before everyone gets home. I pull my hair into my classic ponytail and grab a bucket to bail the boat. I turn on the radio to the only station I know which plays the top 40 all the time and head down to the beach.
I start bailing out the boat, singing along to the music. I finish up with the boat and go to raise all of the umbrellas up by the house, little do I know that this is going to turn into a morning routine. I finish wiping everything down and I feel successful for opening up the house. I run inside to grab my book to sit in the hammock, when I return outside, I see a guy, about my age swim up to our house with our paddleboard. I realize it must have blown away in the storm, I walk out to meet him on the dock.
"Hey, there, I think this must be yours!" He partly yells since he's still a ways off.
"I guess so, thank you so much! Do you want me to come get it?"
"Oh no it's fine, I'm already wet. You guys are new here, right?"
"Yep, our first full day out here!"
"Really? I've been seeing people come and go for a while now."
"Our parents bought the house for us as a surprise over Christmas, we have this tradition that they give us something about our summer then." I say this, not really sure why I'm opening up to this stranger, I don't usually talk much to people I don't know, that's more Christina's department.
"That's super cool, you must have amazing parents, I'm Four by the way."
I must look a little puzzled by this so he says, "I know, weird name, it's what all my friends call me, I was born April 4th, I also play football in high school and my first game I scored 4 touchdowns…"
"Wow, that's impressive, my name is Bea-" I stop myself, "My name is Tris," new place, new me.
Four has gotten to the dock by now and I feel a connection to him, he's super nice and friendly. I decide I should get to know him better if he's going to be our neighbor.
"Do you want to have a drink or something, a towel?"
"I guess if you're offering." He gives me a lopsided smile and I return one of my own.
"Come on up, I'll grab you a towel." Four puts the paddleboard down on the beach and follows me up to the house.
I grab Four a towel, "Do you want something to drink? We have water, Diet Coke, Coke, Sprite..." I list off some more drinks and wait for his response.
"I'll just have a water, thanks." He says this with a gracious smile. I grab two bottles of water and when I hand one to him, I look up for the first time, and I really do have to look up because he's so tall compared to my 5' 2" stature, and notice his eyes. They're a deep, deep blue that I could stare into the whole day… I shake the thought from my head and sit down in one of the chairs around the table.
I gesture for Four to sit down as well. I decide to start the conversation back up again, "Do you live here full time, or just for the summer?"
"My dad, my sister Marlene and I come up each summer, we've had the house since before I was born."
"That's cool." I say, secretly wondering what happened to his mom. Though he seems friendly, he doesn't seem super open.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes, I have an older brother named Caleb, a twin named Christina and a much younger sister whose name is Lilac. They all decided to go into town today with my mom and my dad headed back to Chicago this morning."
"Do you live in Chicago?"
"Yep!"
"No way, so do I. We live in Lincoln Park. What about you?"
"So do I! I don't know how we haven't seen each other somewhere before, at a school thing or something!"
"That is weird, at least we're meeting each other now."
I smile in return, he seems really nice, I think that our family should have his over sometime. I think of what Christina would say, she would probably say that he's cute. She wouldn't be lying either… I shake the thought away.
We continue to talk about mindless things about our life, just getting to know each other. I learn that he's 18 to my 16, but hey, age in friends doesn't matter out here, I wasn't even expecting anyone to live here!
Four looks at his watch, "I should get going, I'm supposed to meet up with my dad for lunch, he hates it when I'm late." He gives a little grimace with this, which puzzles me a little, but I shake it off as I realize I should offer him a way home.
"I feel bad that I can't take you home, I don't know how to drive the boat or the Jet Ski and my mom took the car. I could sail you home if you wanted." I say this last part jokingly.
"You sail?"
"Yep, I learned at camp, I only went for a year, but I loved it."
"What kind of boats?"
"Sunfish are my favorite, but we also sailed an MC a few times, not many people know about that type though…"
"You aren't going to believe this."
"What?"
"I teach sailing here at the lake, in those exact boats. This year one of our old instructors left and I've been looking for a new one. With all this technology though, not many people know how. Would you be willing to help out a little? We don't get paid much, but it's super fun. I would understand if you don't want to though."
"Are you kidding? That sounds amazing! I would love to, if I'm good enough. What age do you teach?"
"I'm sure you're amazing, we teach anywhere from 7 to whenever really, our oldest is 14 I think."
"That sounds amazing, do you need to- like- see if I can actually sail?"
He laughs, "How about you sail me home?"
"Sure."
So I sail Four home, granted it's super short, but I think I did all right.
"I'll take you. This week the instructors are getting together to prep the boats. The week after, the classes start."
I smile at my impromptu job offer. "That sounds great."
"I'll see you tomorrow then."
