Chapter 20: Not Meant to Be

On a warm Sunday Morning, Rick sits at the Kitchen table, slowly eating his cereal in his bright orange tiger pajamas. He looks at the food with a careless look, zoning out in his usual form. His body is pure fatigue. His motions almost robotic. It was another night of little sleep and thoughts galore. Everything should be great. He won the skating tournament. He has his girlfriend. Completely the opposite of what he left behind at home. However, it all feels mute to him. Everything. The reason why phases him day after day. Even though he feels like he knows why, it fails to register into his mind. As he continues to take slow bites, he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. Otto, in his yellow shirt and black shorts, holds his skateboard. His helmet already firmly on his head. He walks into the Kitchen, surprised at what he sees. He voice echos his surprise.

"Dude, you're still eating?"

Rick looks up slowly at him. His answer is quiet.

"Yep."

Otto pauses for a few seconds, then responds.

"Well hurry up. We have to get more practice in before your trip."

As he heads for the couch, he stops and speaks up.

"By the way, Reg wants to talk to you."

Rick sighs, then chugs his milk from the bowl. As he tosses his dishes in the sink, he answers, quieter than before.

"Iight."

Without even glancing at Otto, he walks upstairs. He wonders what Reggie wants to discuss. Their relationship was certainly odd, to say the least. Rick never really had experience in keeping track of other people. He would check up on her at home and at school. Occasionally doing something sweet, hoping it would make her happy. Yet, he never has the time to hang out. Nor the energy. It was tough. He walks up the stairs and into the girls room. Reggie is sitting on her bed, still in her pajamas. She speaks firmly.

"We need to talk..."

Rick gives a confused look towards his girlfriend. His answer still low in volume.

"O...kay? Is everything okay, Reg?"

Reggie stands up abruptly.

"No. It's not Rick."

She begins to tear up as she begins to speak.

"I...I'm breaking up with you."

Rick's face goes blank. His voice almost silent in shock.

"Oh."

He puts his hand to his face. After a few seconds, he looks back at her.

"I guess I screwed up bad, huh?"

She takes a good long look at him. Both are silent. Her face tough. Rick sighs a few times and fidgets his fingers. His nerves and discomfort written on him plain as day. Reggie stern as a statue. A minute goes by before she speaks.

"Yeah. I want to be with someone who wants to hang out and do things with me. You never seem to want to. You're either too tired or too busy. I want to have you around. But you're too busy for me. To be honest, that's not fair, Rick. A boyfriend does not ignore his girlfriend. Right?"

Rick's face aims towards the ground for a long time. Reggie continues to stare him down, as her frustration gleams from her eyes at him. She waits to see how he'll try to explain himself. Each passing second growing in her frustration. Just as she thinks of walking away, he finally speaks up.

"You're right, Reg."

Reggie's face snaps to a look of stun as he continues.

"It's not fair. Look, you're one of my best friends. I care for you and always will. I just...I'm not ready for this. I came to this town to try and figure myself out and find a new life. I thought being with someone would make it easier on me. I thought I could do everything and ignore my own problems. Yet, I forgot about your feelings or what you wanted out of this. How can I give someone else the things they need, when I can't even do that for myself?"

Rick's face becomes beat red. His frustration at himself boiling. Reggie's face turns at him with concern. He continues.

"I treat you like crap. Never gave you the attention you deserve. Only worried about myself. What kind of person am I? You deserve better than that."

Reggie tries to reassure him, noticing his inner dilemma.

"It was not that you treated me like crap, Rick. You're a great guy. You're still one of my best friends."

Rick looks up at her and shakes his head.

"And you'll always be one of mine. But that's not the point. You are right. I'm not ready for this. I'm sorry I did this to you."

Reggie walks up to him and hugs him. After 30 seconds, she speaks again.

"It was nice of you to leave me flowers."

Rick sighs.

"Reg, that wasn't me."

Reggie looks at him quizzically.

"You didn't? Then who was it?"

Rick looks at the window as he speaks.

"Look under the vase. There should be an address there."

Reggie looks blankly at Rick. She was not sure who else could do something like that. As she thinks, Rick starts to head for the door. Before he opens it, he looks back at her.

"You know, he really cares for you. He's a great guy. Better than me. He deserves you more than I ever did. Think about giving him a chance, okay?"

Reggie looks at him and nods with a smile. Rick speaks one more time as he walks out the door.

"See ya around, Reg."

Rick heads towards his room and grabs a blue shirt and silver swim trunks, along with a towel. He grabs his phone, puts on some headphones and walks downstairs. His face now locked onto his phone. Otto, who is near asleep on the couch, rises from his seat swiftly.

"FINALLY, dude. What took you so long? And where's your gear?"

Rick barely glances at Otto, as he walks past him.

"Day off. Clearing my head."

Otto stares at him speechless as Rick abruptly leaves without a hesitation. He looks around, until he sees Reggie atop the stairs.

"What the hell? Is he okay, Reg? What is going on?"

Reggie looks down at him with a blank look on her face.

"Well, I just broke up with him. He's upset. We should probably let the others know."

Otto turns mute. They both look at each other for a while, as Reggie walks down the stairs. Before she can get down, Otto heads over to her and hugs his sister. Reggie's face full of tears. Afterwards, they slowly grab their stuff and begin the ride to town...

It's just past two in the afternoon. The lunch rush has finally come to a conclusion. Raymundo and Tito wipe the sweat off their worn-down faces and begin to relax. Raymundo grabs his drink, while Tito cleans off the grill. It's near the end of Spring Break. The crowds are finally starting to fade. While the money is good for both, the work is killer. Tito looks over to Raymundo exhausted.

"What is with the crowd, Raymundo? It's like Honalulu sent everyone here for the grub. What gives?"

Raymundo answers with agreeing disbelief.

"I'm not sure, Tito. It's been wild this year. Their money's good. And the work keeps us busy. Wonder if I could get the kids to help out sometime."

Tito laughs as he holds his stomach.

"Ray, they are still just kids. The last thing they want to do is spend their young lives doing the dishes."

Raymundo looks at Tito with a smile.

"We still could use the break. Heck they could, with how they've been acting."

Tito's tone swiftly turns to a serious one.

"What do you mean, good friend?"

Raymundo takes one big swig of his drink and looks to make sure no one is waiting on food. Then turns to Tito in a serious tone.

"Well, none of the kids at home talk to me about anything anymore. I mean Harm seems okay. She's as nice a kid I've ever met. Otto and Reggie are always moodly of late. Otto shutting everyone out. Reggie is so fixated on that new boy. He's nice as can be, but he's as quiet as a bug. Though the damn kid wakes me up every night. Kid doesn't sleep. I worry about them, Tito. All of them."

Tito looks outside at the sea as he responds.

"Oh, brudda. The waters are still shaky for the little cuzs..."

Raymundo turns quickly towards his friend.

"What do you mean?"

Tito sits down to give himself a break.

"Well, lil Twist was telling me Otto was ignoring him before. I thought things would get better after their little skating battle. I haven't seen the other cuzs in a long time. They don't seem to hang out together as much. Chaos makes the seagulls fly offshore. When they need to all come together, they drift away..."

Raymundo quickly goes to help a customer, as Tito goes deep into thought. After quickly delivering a drink, he starts a burger on the grill. While starting the oven, he looks at Tito.

"So what can we do for them?"

Tito laughs heavily again and points towards the ocean.

"My friend, we can do no thing for them. They have to find that out for themselves. As the ancient Hawaiians say, " Every wave has to come to the shore at some point." The young ones may be off the path now, but they will come to shore in time, my friend. Trying to move the wave yourself won't do a thing, brudda."

Raymundo looks over to Tito with a smile.

"Well I just hope they come to shore soon..."

Before Raymundo can realize it, the oven flame gets too high and catches on the towel next to it. Raymundo looks over to it and jumps in shock.

"GOOD LORD! GET THIS FIRE OUT, TITO!"

Tito grabs the fire extinguisher and quickly deposes of the danger. The both take a few deep breathes and laugh together again. Tito speaks up first.

"Brudda..."

Raymundo interrupts him.

"I know. I know. Gotta watch what I'm doing. Let me go apologize to the lady waiting. You give a shot at this stupid grill."

Tito chuckles and cleans off the mess. He hums to himself an old Hawaiian beat as he prepares another burger. He speaks quietly to himself in his own zen.

"The kids get it from their own flesh and blood. They'll find a way, just like he did."

He continues to hum to himself as the sun shines bright on the shores...

The waves are crashing smoothly onto the beach. The crowd fills around the sand, looking for just a few more hours of sunlight, before the inevitable end of Spring Break hits. Harmony and Jorge lie under the shade, enjoying the view of the sea. Each look on, as the tourists come and create more sand castles, trip and fall trying to get into the ocean and complain to each other about the lack of waves. Harmony looks at the water as she speaks up.

"Man. That used to be us. What they call "Shoobies". It feels weird. We've been here for months now."

Jorge brings in a deep breathe as he responds in a relaxing state.

"Yeah. I love it. It feels like home. I'm finally happy again."

Harmony looks over at him.

"You are?"

Jorge nods, as his eyes stay on the ocean. Harmony smiles at him. Then her faces changes to concern as she eyes the water again.

"I wish all of us were happy."

Jorge gives a look of concern to his friend.

"You're not happy?"

Harmony giggles a bit before answering.

"No silly. I'm happy here. Happier than I've been in a long time. It's everyone else. I mean, we're living in one of the most beautiful places ever and they're all worried about the little things. Reggie and Anna with their boyfriends and Otto with...well who the hell knows what. No one seems just happy to be here. It saddens me a bit."

Jorge looks at the ocean again before speaking to her with purpose.

"It is tough. Sam seems a bit frustrated at home too. You know, all of us haven't hung out in so long together. The last time we were all a group was...well...my incident. We have to get that back, girl. We all need it."

Harmony takes a few seconds to herself. Her face focused on her thoughts. Not long after, she looks over to him and speaks.

"You really think we can?"

Jorge nods confidently.

"Yes. We have to. If that means we have to help every single one of them figure it out, then we will do it. Now that I'm better, I want to help 'em all out, like they helped me. I can't sit back anymore. And it starts with Sam. I'm going to talk to him tonight."

Harmony stands up suddnely in excitement. The worry that filled her mind before suddenly shifts into purpose and motivation. She speaks with a full voice.

"I love it, Jorge! We can do it! If you're gonna talk to Sam, I can talk to Reggie and Anna. From there, we'll get the others on board too! We'll get back what we had the first day we got here! It will work!"

Jorge turns his head to the Skate Park.

"You think they're all skating again?"

Harmony nods at him.

"Probably. We can meet them there. Let's go!"

Harmony puts out her hand and helps Jorge up off the beach. They begin to walk confidently towards the park. Harmony almost skipping. As they get towards the entrance, Harmony points towards the skating bowl.

"There's Otto. Twister's taping him again and Sam's watching them. I think Reggie's there too. I told you they were here!"

Jorge's face turns the other way, however. Harmony taps his shoulder.

"Hey, uhh Jorge?"

Jorge whispers to Harmony quietly.

"Is that Anna on the bench?"

Harmony squints and blocks out the sun from her eyes. She sees Anna sitting on the bench alone, hunched over. Her posture one of defeat. It was clear. Something did not seem right with her. She speaks up.

"Is she crying? Shit. I'm gonna make sure she's okay. Be right back. Go get the others."

Harmony quickly runs over to her friend and puts her hand on her shoulder. All of a sudden, Anna's arm aggressively pushes her away. Her voice sounds sharp and angry.

"Please go away, H. I want to be alone."

Harmony quickly shakes off her shock and sits on the bench next to her, ignoring her request. She stays quiet. Examining her friend to assure herself things are okay. She gives a long look at her friend. She looked as if she lost a fight. But why? After a minute, she speaks quietly.

"Girl, you know I'm here for anything. Let me help you, please. Did something happen?"

All Harmony can see is tears falling from Anna's eyes as she continues to cover her face. Her words are barely recognizable. Harmony struggles to hear Anna's voice.

"It's all my fault."

Harmony crouches towards her. She looks directly at her face when she speaks.

"What is your fa..."

Just as she's about to ask, she notices it. Her voice halts immediately as she examines again. Her mind reacts almost as if a switch had flipped. Her tone goes from soft to strong and tough.

"If your face red? A, listen to me. You're face is as red as a strawberry. What the hell happened?"

Anna continues to sob through everything. Harmony starts to look more intently at it. The red is strong and in some form of shape. It's tough to tell, with Anna's hands covering it. She starts to think to herself and put the puzzle pieces together. As the pieces fill in, her face shifts. While the excitement was full just a few seconds ago, her look suddenly became one of warrior. Anna continues to try and speak in broken words.

"I...He...I just wa...n...ted it to..."

Harmony wraps her arm around her, this time to Anna's acceptance. She holds her for a few seconds before getting up and walking with a pace like a lion, heading out to hunt. She finds Jorge, Reggie and the rest of the boys inside the skate park. Jorge waves. Harmony continues to walk over with a face he never saw before. His smile quickly fades. Harmony continues her military-like march to the boys. The look could only be described as lethal. Jorge questions her in a tone of fear.

"H, is everything okay? Why do you look..."

Before he can finish, Harmony's sharp tone pierces the air.

"We need to find Lars. Come on. All of you."

She turns around and begins to walk. After a few steps, she looks back to see Jorge, Sam, Twister, Reggie and Otto all staring at her in pure confusion. They all look like they just saw a ghost. She wastes no time with her words. Her tone like a drill sergent.

"Let's go. NOW!"

As the crew tries to question Harmony, she continues to walk with a pace the others could barely keep up with, aside from running. She walks them over to Anna. Without a second to spare, she questions Anna.

"Where is he, Anna?"

Anna, slowly and a look of defeat covering her, picks up her hands off her face. Jorge and Reggie gasp. A clear, red hand print marks her left cheek. The print so strong, fingers line up like they were made in the sand. Otto and Twister are left speechless. Anna without words, weakly picks up her hand and motions near the Movie Theater. Harmony, without missing a beat, starts her brisk walk towards that direction. Anna gets up and calls out to her.

"Harm, wait! Don't!"

As Harmony drives her walk into a near sprint, the crew rushes behind her to keep up, Anna's run isn't even enough to keep up. Harmony does not care. This was who she was. She could hear her own thoughts loud and clear. She is done letting her friends let their lives consume them. She might not have been the one to stand up and act before, but she is now. They let themselves suffer, to avoid the fear of facing their problems. If Anna was not going to stand up for herself against a boy who was willing to hurt her, then Harmony would fight back for her. As the group tried to keep up with Harmony, they look at each other. Otto expresses concern first.

"Oh man, this is bad."

Reggie continues in agreement, with a look of pure fear.

"Yeah. Not cool, bro. Let's just make sure she doesn't kill him."

The group begin a jog to keep up with her. Everything today could have been peaceful, but it fell to chaos once again. While it was the norm for most of them at this point, it was draining every single one of them. With new life comes new problems. They knew that. However, none of them actually wanted to fight their battles. Fear of what could happen can delay solving problems. But people can only go too far, before they break. That breaking point for the gang, even if they did not realize it, was that very moment...