Chapter 2 – Hanging Out
"Whoa! Whoa! Ahh!" Fourteen year old Cody Martin yelled. A second later, he lost his balance, and his body fell and hit the cool ocean water below him. Kicking his feet, Cody quickly propelled himself back to the water's surface, after which he grabbed his red and yellow surfboard as he flung his hair out of his face. He smiled as he sheepishly looked at the face of his friend, Rikku Hiroshima.
"Almost," She said giggling, as she sat on her surfboard. "Try to keep your center lower though, it'll make it easier to keep your balance."
"Ok," Cody said. He sighed, "I don't know why this is so hard, water IS my element."
"You'll get it," Rikku said assuringly. "Just takes some time."
A scream similar to Cody's, suddenly diverted their attention. A few waves over, Rikku's younger brother, Patrick was attempting to teach Cody's twin, Zack how to surf. Like Cody, Zack also quickly lost his balanced and plunged into the ocean. Both Cody and Rikku laughed.
"Come on Zack," Patrick said grinning. "Not even Noah's that bad."
"Yea, yea," Zack replied darkly. "Why don't you go teach Cody so your sister can instruct me in the finer arts of surfing?"
"Because you suck too bad," Patrick replied. "And we all know you wouldn't learn anything."
"What's wrong with that?" Zack asked, looking over at Rikku.
"I wonder," Patrick said rolling his eyes. "Now get back on your board so I can teach you how to actually get standing."
"Ok, fine," Zack replied. He climbed onto the board and tried to stand up again. He swayed back and forth before falling back into the ocean.
Patrick put his arm behind his head and nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe we should go back to practicing on the beach."
On the beach, Rumiku and Noah Hiroshima stood and watched the scene, laughing each time Zack or Cody fell off their board. Rikku and Rumiku were twins, as were Patrick and Noah. Patrick and Noah were also Rikku and Rumiku's younger brothers.
Rumiku and Noah each clutched a wake board, as they turned to evaluate the oncoming waves. "Come on, this looks like a good one," Rumiku said, throwing her board down into the water. Noah soon followed and they tore through the breaking waves.
"That was awesome!" Noah said, as he picked his board up and prepared for the next wave. Soon the he and Rumiku were joined by their cousin, Crystal Miroshi. They took a brief look at Rikku and Patrick before preparing for the next wave. "I wonder why Ruki isn't showing Zack how?" Noah said, shaking his head.
"Probably because he'd be more interested in her than learning how to surf," Crystal said with a smile.
"Yea," Rumiku replied. "He's been all over her ever since she let him know she liked him." She shook her head and grinned. "So that probably wouldn't be a good idea."
"Ha, yea," Crystal replied. She turned and watched Cody fall again. She laughed softly to herself. "I'm gonna see how they're coming along."
"Can't you tell from here?" Rumiku asked.
"Eh yea, but I want the exclusive," She said with another smile. She swam out to join Rikku and Cody.
"So how's he coming Rik?" Crystal asked as she arrived. Rikku pulled her up on to her board.
"Not too bad I guess," Rikku replied.
"Hey Crys, what's up?" Cody said as he tried to climb up onto his board so he could sit and talk to her. The board however didn't agree, and kept going, dumping him back into the ocean on its other side.
Crystal laughed softly as she slid off Rikku's board and held Cody's still so he could climb on. "Apparently, not you," she said laughing.
"Thanks," Cody said looking up at her as he climbed onto his board.
"No problem."
Meanwhile, the Hiroshima's youngest sibling, Sydney, sat on a boardwalk overlooking the beach. His blue eyes were filled with concentration as he typed furiously on his lab top, muttering softly to himself.
"So Syd, figure it out yet?" A boy with short brown hair and brown eyes asked him. He also wore a black T-shirt, and dark baggy jeans. A longer pocket on his left side bulged out a little in the shape of a flashlight.
"Not yet," Sydney replied with a sigh. "Sorry Mike, I'll get it soon."
"Ok, no problem," Mike said, also sighing. "It's just really weird, am I an elemental or not?"
"We'll figure it out," Sydney replied with a smile. "But hey, look on the bright side, I think I also might have found a lead on who put Ruki, Rumi, and Crysti-chan's curses on them."
"Cool!" Mike replied with a smile.
"I think I also might have found a lead on who put Ruki, Rumi, and Crysti-Chan's curses on them." Sydney's voice repeated on a monitor.
"So you think," A dark voice said softly to itself. "You think you will cure them, when in fact it will be their very undoing."
"Who's that sitting by the youngest one?" A second voice asked. "I've never seen that one before."
"The one that killed Core." The first voice said.
"What?" The second voice replied.
"It doesn't matter, he will meet the same fate as the rest of them." The first one said. "We're better off without that blundering idiot telling us what to do."
"Hey Syd, come on, time to go," Rikku said, approaching her youngest brother. Her other siblings also followed, along with Crystal, Zack, and Cody.
"What's up guys?" Zack said. "You guys didn't even go in the water."
"Still trying to figure out what my powers are," Mike replied. "If they're elemental or not."
"Yea, and I think I'm really close." Sydney said, smiling, causing dimples to form in his cheeks.
"Haven't you been doing experiments for like a couple of weeks now?" Zack asked.
"Eh, stuff like this takes some time." Sydney replied.
"The big mystery is though," Rikku said with a smile. "Is if Zack ever finished that assignment we got."
"You mean the one that Mr. Forges gave us on the last day of school?" Rumiku said.
"Yea," Rikku replied. "That notebook we were supposed to do, wasn't it like three pages a chapter or something?"
"Yep," Cody said. "I finished mine a long time ago."
"You sicken me!" Zack snapped. "It's just three pages," He continued nervously. "How bad could it be?"
"What chapter you on?" Rumiku asked.
"Um…chapter 2," Zack said quietly. "But worst comes to worst, I'll have Cody do it."
"No you won't." Cody replied. "Not my fault you waited till the night before."
"Yea, but THIS is my fault," Zack said, grabbing his brother and giving him a noogie.
"Ahh! Zack stop it!" Cody pleaded.
The others sighed as they watched the twins go at it. "Think we should step in?" Crystal asked them.
"Nah," Mike replied. "This is too entertaining."
"Yea it's better than wrestling!" Patrick and Noah chorused.
"OK THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rikku said after a few mintues. Zack stopped, and Cody painfully rubbed his head. "Anyway time to get back, I'll bet dinner's probably cold by now."
"For your sake, I hope Christian cooks better than our mom," Zack said, smiling.
"Not something you gotta worry about," Crystal responded. "And he does a good job…most of the time."
"Yea like that BBQ chicken," Patrick said.
"That was awesome!" Noah finished. "But that "turkey surprise…"
"I can still feel it," Patrick said, holding his stomach.
"Hey, Mike," Sydney said, turning to him, "How about you come back with us? We can run some more tests."
"Ok," Mike replied, he looked over at Crystal.
She nodded, "Should be fine." With that, Crystal, Mike, and the Hiroshimas waved to Zack and Cody. Each said, "See ya," or "Bye," before heading to their respective destinations.
As the kids walked, they were unaware they were being watched by a couple in a dark blue, rusty car that was parked nearby on the road.
"He's grown," The man in the driver's seat said with a smile.
"Are you sure that's him?" The woman next to him said. The man nodded. "Talk about ungrateful, we take him in, and what does he do? Runs away! I can still taste that prison food…rotten little brat!" She made a lunging motion, but the man put his hand on her shoulder and tapped it softly.
"Wait," he said. "Just wait a little longer."
"What if he refuses?" She said, still growling slightly.
The man twirled an envelope in his fingers, "well according to these, he has to come back with us. And he will learn the lessons due."
(A/N) The assignment they were given by Mr. Forges was from the beginning of the first story. Please Read and Review.