Today is Saturday, March 9th. Spring break has officially begun. All of my exams are out of the way and I've managed to finish all of my homework. I want to only focus on all the fun Quilene and I will have, and it's gonna start in Beach City with our friends and loved ones. Quilene and I start talking while we pack up our essential things.

"Man, I can't believe spring break is already here, can you?" I ask her.

Quilene shakes her head. "Not really. I can't wait to visit my family and tell them how things have been going this semester."

"Uh, did you tell them about...?"

"Yeah, I told them as much as I could muster about this whole Aerolynn situation. I'm just glad Aerolynn didn't do much damage. Things could've been much worse."

"Yeah." I scratch the back of my head with my hand. "I'm sure April and Jonah really miss us."

"I'm sure they do, too. We really ought to spend more time with them while we can."

"What do you think we can do, though?"

"Uh, maybe we can surf for a little bit. My siblings and I do that a lot when we visit Hawaii, especially when Aunt Sam and Aunt Dinah are around."

"Surf? You mean for fun or something?"

"Yeah. Though maybe you might be down to do something else instead, like..." Quilene thinks hard about what else we could do for double dates. "Oh! I guess we could visit the Funland Arcade. That would be neat."

I just beam up. "Ooh, that sounds good! I can't wait to go home now. This is gonna be so much fun."

It takes us almost two hours to get from Rutgers to Beach City. It's so good to be home right now. We manage to pass by all the familiar spots: Fish Stew Pizza, The Big Donut, Beach Citywalk Fries, The Crab Shack, and even the Funland Arcade. All those thoughts about what we might do for our double dates run through our heads, giving us hope beyond hope that maybe our love stories will get a happily ever after. I'm especially eager to see if spring break will help heighten that sense of romance for us. Eventually, we make it to our destination at the beach house. I park my car alongside Jonah's in the driveway. I guess Jonah had the same idea about coming here for spring break. I bet he really missed home, especially where family's concerned. Can't say I really blame him, though. The first thing I do once Quilene and I make it to the front door is knock. Quilene and I wait for about thirty seconds before someone opens up. It's Jonah.

My face lights up upon seeing him. "Jonah! It's so glad to see you again!"

His face does the same. "You too, Hope. I see you've brought Quilene here with you again."

"Yep. She's missed you so much this semester."

"I can definitely vouch for that," Quilene adds. "Thanks again for the Valentine's Day package."

Jonah gives a hearty laugh. "It was my pleasure, Quilene. I've actually missed you, too. I gotta say, it hasn't been easy for me being in a long-distance relationship."

All Quilene can do is chuckle. "Same here. It's always nice to send a package, though."

"Yeah." Jonah looks back towards the interior of the beach house. "Hey, you wanna come in? I haven't had a chance to physically interact with you since Thanksgiving."

"Sure. By the way, do you feel like getting… intimate later?"

"Yeah, I'm willing to get intimate if you also want to do that."

Quilene beams up. "Okay!"

And so Quilene and I follow Jonah into the house. Once inside, we see Mom trying to clean out the fridge to the best of her ability. It's pretty obvious now that she's pregnant. She's about seven months along, in fact. Just two more months, and Jonah and I will be getting a younger sister. Oh yeah, our birthday is also coming up, isn't it? I can't believe Jonah and I will be turning nineteen this month. It still doesn't seem like we've been alive for nineteen years. I mean, not too long ago, Jonah and I were still in junior high and taking Home Economics. Then, of course, there's Aunt Pearl and Aunt Belinda watching something on the LG 4K Ultra HD TV. They cuddle up to one another, seemingly fully invested in whatever it is they're watching. Also, Aunt Amy is sitting at the kitchen table and reading a manga while Aunt Peri and Aunt Nyoko gush over "Camp Pining Hearts." It's good to hear that even after all these years, they still love to watch that show. I don't really see Hermione around, but I guess she's got a thing going on at the library. Uncle Greg and Aunt Margie are being lovey-dovey like usual and going over their spring break plans. There also happen to be Patricia and Flora playing "Super Smash Bros." on an old Nintendo 64 upstairs.

Patricia is a woman with Down's syndrome who's about the same height as Grandma Sapphire. She also bears a striking resemblance to her as well. She has an orangish tan complexion, brown eyes, plump lips, and shoulder-length reddish blonde hair. Her bangs seem to cover one of her eyes, and there's a cowlick on top of her head. She wears a white T-shirt with Hello Kitty characters on it, black skinny jeans, and pink stilettos. I can distinctly remember when Rhonda had first introduced me to Patricia and the rest of the Off-Colors. Just like she does now, she had delayed reactions to things that were happening around her. This made her rather stupid in most people's eyes, but not Rhonda. Rhonda knew better than to judge her based solely on her disability.

As for Flora, she was born with both a fetal alcohol syndrome disorder and osteogenesis imperfecta (specifically Type III). This meant a double whammy of growing up having to deal with lots of bone fractures and an intellectual disability that undoubtedly made it difficult for her to get through school. Not to mention, due to having osteogenesis imperfecta, she has to get around in a wheelchair. I think what she might specifically have is Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (or ARND for short), but that's neither here nor there. She's got bluish-gray eyes just like mine, a large bulbous nose (which tapers softly up near her eyes), and wavy fluffy hair that's been dyed pale turquoise and almost reaches her shoulders. She's wearing a pinkish-violet, bluish-purple, and dark blue wide-striped puffy vest that drapes loosely over her long-sleeve white blouse that was designed with a grade-schooler in mind. She's also wearing a rainbow maxi skirt and flip-flops on her feet.

"Hey, Patricia!" I call out to the two Off-Colors. "Hey, Flora!"

It doesn't take long for Flora to notice me, but Patricia goes on playing "Super Smash Bros."

"Oh..." Flora starts to speak, albeit slowly. "Hello... Hope."

Patricia greets me just five seconds later.

"I'm home for spring break!" I loudly announce.

"That's... really... cool, Hope," Flora says. "I... hope you've been... having fun... so far."

"I can't believe you got into Rutgers, Hope!" Patricia chimes in. "That's not an easy school to get into."

I just chuckle at her delayed reaction. Just being around Patricia certainly makes life more interesting than it has any right to be, that's for sure.

"Thanks, Patricia," I reply. "I appreciate it."

"Who's... your friend, Hope?" Flora asks me while pointing to Quilene.

My face lights up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, the lady next to me is my roommate Quilene. She's dating Jonah."

It isn't long before Flora's face also lights up like a Christmas tree. "That's... right. Rhonda... told me how... you and Quilene... took her to... that Birth by Sleep... concert a few... weeks ago."

I nod. "Yeah. Birth by Sleep was pretty awesome. They were playing all those songs that Uncle Steven and Uncle Greg were playing all those years ago like Lapis Lazuli, I Need A Little Change, Tower Of Mistakes, Don't Cost Nothing, and Be Wherever You Are."

"How exactly... does Tower Of Mistakes... go again?"

"Probably something like..." I clear my throat and start singing.

Maybe you're better off with her.
I think she's better for you.
I forgot how great it felt to be us.
Guess I got carried away.

I had to use you to make me feel strong,
But I don't care about that now.
I see a tower built out of my mistakes,
And it all comes crashing down.

Flora starts clapping after I've finished my singing.

"Pretty cool, right?" Quilene interjects. "While I think Birth by Sleep is an alright rock band, boy can their music slap sometimes."

"You guys went to a concert?" Patricia asks, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, pretty cool, right?" Quilene replies with another question. "Do you happen to know where Jonah wandered off to? I'm hoping to get a little more... romantic with him, if you know what I mean."

Flora nods. "Sure... he's just... hanging out... in his room... right now."

Quilene and I head off to Jonah's room.