Chapter 12
Percy POV
"They tested you for drugs!" Thalia shrieks with laughter. "Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson: Olympus Resort's notorious druggies." She shakes her head. "As if."
"Hey, I could be a druggie!" I protest, though I don't know exactly why I feel so adamant about arguing this point. Thalia chuckles in dismissal.
Right now, she and I are sitting together in the (almost scarily clean) back seat of Jason's Lexus while Piper and Jason hog the front, the only upside of this being that Thalia is out of reach of the radio.
We are currently on our way to pick up Annabeth from her room before we head out for the day, and though we haven't even been in the car for a whole three minutes, I feel like I already know that today is going to be all kinds of crazy.
Thalia suddenly erupts into a whole new fit of laughter beside me.
"And I just cannot get over the fact that Annabeth thought you were 'the ex' I was telling her about. Priceless!"
To this, Jason lets out an involuntary chuckle, despite his efforts to hold in his laughter.
"As if Percy could compare to Luke," Jason jokes, and I lean forward to punch his shoulder.
It's almost ten o'clock and the sun is shining brightly over the resort, bringing up everyone's moods. I've got to say, I feel great right now. I mean, despite the fact that I had to get my urine tested yesterday, everything's going awesome.
"Wait, so tell me again how it happened," Piper starts from the front seat with a laugh. She has her feet up on the dashboard and leans her head back over the armrest to look at me, her choppy hair falling into her face.
I groan. "We didn't do anything wrong! We were literally just laughing at something in the lobby and the fucking concierge called security on us!"
"Oh yes, I'm sure the concierge called security on you guys simply because you were laughing," Jason sarcastically remarks with a chuckle.
"Okay maybe it was a little loud," I admit, "But pulling us into the management offices and having us tested for drugs! That's ridiculous," I say, seriously, but apparently to everyone else, I've said something hilarious. Thalia braces her hands on her knees as she laughs.
"I bet Annabeth's mom was pissed," she chuckles.
"Oh you have no idea," I say. "Annabeth literally wouldn't tell them her name for half an hour because she knew that if she told them, word would get back to her mom." I begin to roll down my window. "When Athena finally did find out, though, she was livid. But for whatever reason, I get the strangest suspicion that Annabeth actually enjoyed making her mom mad."
"That's my girl," Thalia says, leaning back. "There's nothing more satisfying than earning the wrath of a neglectful parent."
"Amen!" Piper and Jason respond in unison, and I laugh.
We begin to pull up to the outside of Annabeth's room, and the car comes to a stop. We're only waiting for a couple seconds before I see Annabeth step outside, shutting the door to her room behind her.
I feel a slight tug in my stomach at the sight of her, and quickly suppress it.
Shit, is it always going to be like this?
Beside me, Thalia scoots into the middle seat, making room for Annabeth, who gets into the car with poise, dropping her bag at her feet.
"Hey guys!" Annabeth says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hey girlie." Thalia gives her a tiny hug as Jason and Piper shoot her slight waves from the front seat.
"Heard you had quite a day yesterday," Piper remarks with a teasing tone, and Annabeth goes beet red, breaking into a smile.
"Oh shut up."
I let out a laugh, despite myself, and Annabeth's head snaps in my direction, as if she has only just noticed me. Her hair is pulled back in a low ponytail, and she's dressed casually, in shorts and a baggy t-shirt that has the sleeves cut off. I blush when I notice that the shirt shows off a little bit of her sports bra.
"Hey," Annabeth says to me with a slight smile.
"Hey yourself," I respond, catching Thalia and Jason exchange knowing glances through the rear-view mirror.
Gotta love cousins.
Annabeth leans back to put her seatbelt on as Jason starts the car. Piper looks over her shoulder from the front seat.
"So," she says. "Where to?"
Jason smirks. "It's a surprise."
Thalia groans beside me. "Jason I swear to gods if you bring us to some nerdy ass museum or something, we'll impale you with a fucking dinosaur bone." I laugh before Thalia continues. "Actually scratch that, Percy, Piper, and I will impale you with a dinosaur bone. Annabeth will be too busy geeking out over the fucking evoulution exhibit or some shit."
"Yeah, I actually really wouldn't mind going to a-" Annabeth starts, but Thalia cuts her off.
"No museums!"
Jason chuckles as he drives through the last of the arches and makes a wide right out of the resort.
"Don't worry, I swear I'm not taking you to a museum," he says, and Piper visibly sags with relief in the seat in front of me.
"Oh thank gods."
We're on the main road now, and as much as I love the resort, I do have to say, it feels good to be free, and based on the way she smiles, holding her hand out the window, I would have to guess that Annabeth feels the same way.
The road trails along the California coast, and we have a great view of the ocean, which stretches out for miles and miles, seeming to go on for infinity. In New York, the beaches are smaller and all seem to be scrunched between jagged rocks and cutting waves. Here in LA, though, I am surprised by the mere expanse of the ocean. How the beach and the horizon appear to go on forever under the open, clear sky.
"Jason, can you please put on some better music?" Thalia groans from beside me, and Annabeth snorts.
"No way, Thals," Piper says, shaking her head. "No. Fucking. Way."
"But you don't even know what I'd put on!" Thalia protests. "For all you know I could be putting on Ed Sheeran or something." Her voice cracks as she says it though, betraying her.
"Thalia the day you voluntarily play Ed Sheeran is the day I'll win the nobel prize," I say, shaking my head.
"Don't sell yourself short Percy," Piper says. "I think the chances of you winning the nobel prize are significantly higher than Thalia developing good taste in music."
Annabeth laughs, shaking her head in disbelief. "There's no way her music taste is really that bad-"
"It is," Jason cuts her off. "Thalia name your top three bands."
Thals doesn't miss a beat. "Rust in Peace, Crimson Thunder, and Metallica."
Annabeth leans over laughing. "Okay, I stand corrected."
"And the infamous wise girl actually admits to being wrong for once!" I say jokingly.
This only makes Annabeth laugh harder.
"Oh I'll admit when I'm wrong," she says, and then after a moment adds, "It just rarely happens."
Jason, Piper, and Thalia crack up, and shaking my head, I smile in spite of myself. You'd never know that we only met Annabeth a couple weeks ago from the way that she fits in with our group. Her presence feels so familiar, it's as if she's another one of our friends back at Goode in New York.
The next forty five minutes go by somewhat similarly, the four of us making jabs at Thalia the whole way. We skirt the coast the whole ride, and as we get further and further from the resort, I can't help but wonder what Jason has in mind for the day. This summer is my first time in LA, and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited to see what it has to offer. As much as I love New York, LA feels like a breath of fresh air. Kind of a weird analogy on my part though, considering it's actually like a million times more polluted here.
I look up suddenly, as Jason veers off of the main road and makes his way into a crowded line of cars, all eagerly waiting to enter somewhere.
"Jason what are we-?" Piper starts to say, but then, as Jason scoots the car up a little further, something comes into view that totally gives it away.
"No way!" Thalia says excitedly from beside me. "The Santa Monica Pier!" And then quickly whispers to Annabeth, "It's such an iconic place in movies, I low-key thought it was made up."
Annabeth laughs.
From where our car sits in line, we can see the iconic Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel towering over the boardwalk, along with the top of the roller coaster and a couple of other rides.
"Nice choice Jason," Piper says happily, and leans over to casually kiss his cheek.
"Excuse me," Thalia says, "PDA will not be permitted here unless you want me to throw both of you off the side of the ferris wheel."
I laugh. "Thalia you're afraid of heights."
"And I find their PDA so repulsive that I would be willing to subject myself to the torment of getting on that death trap just to make it stop."
Piper and Jason pull apart.
The line has finally snaked its way into the parking lot, and after a couple more minutes, we've found a spot, gotten out of the car, and made our way up to the entrance of the pier.
"This is so great," Annabeth says from beside me. "I feel like I've walked on set of a movie."
I shoot her a smile. I'm glad to see Annabeth happy like this.
All around us, tons of people all walk around, holding ice cream cones and cameras, taking pictures in front of the expansive coastline. We weave our way in and out of the game booths and through the families and tourists in line for rides. The whole place reminds me of a much tinier, sunnier version of Coney Island back in New York.
Cleaner too.
When we reach the ticket booth, we all purchase full day wristbands, already knowing that we're gonna be here for a while.
"Okay, what to first?" Piper says, and Jason and I immediately look at each other.
"Bumper cars," we say in unison, and Annabeth laughs.
"Aren't you guys a little old for bumper cars," she begins to say, but I cut her off.
"Um, excuse me. We're not talking some kiddie 'sit in a circle of cars and bump each other around' kind of thing. We're talking about an intense, refined, skill-required sport. No scratch that… Art."
Thalia just rolls her eyes. "Annabeth, don't try to reason with them about this, it's not worth it. They've been obsessed with bumper cars since the time they could walk, and it's totally become the bane of my existence."
Piper chimes in. "Thalia only hates it cause she sucks at bumper cars. Always ends up getting totalled."
"It's true," I pipe up, shrugging my arms. "Jason and I are the unbeatable masters, and unfortunately, little Thalia over here has simply not been blessed with the same godly powers as us."
"Godly powers..." Annabeth says, shaking her head with a smirk. "Bold statement."
"It's a bold statement for a reason," Jason says with joking cockiness.
Annabeth just continues to smirk. "Well bumper cars it is then."
We make our way over to the bumper cars, and I can't stop looking around as we walk. The iconic Santa Monica Pier roller coaster basically runs over the whole pier, and every once in a while, I nearly jump out of my skin at the noise the car makes when it zooms over the track above us.
We only have to wait in line for a little bit before the man working the bumbercars calls for a "13 and up" round, and the five of us flock in, each choosing a car and strapping up.
I look out at the circular track and smile to myself. Jason and I really are unbeatable.
The man in the booth turns on the switch to the cars and shouts, "Go!" through the speaker.
We're off.
I immediately ride up next to Jason, and we begin picking off the randos-cornering them and blocking them in so they can't get past us.
We make our way around the track, and Jason and I start laughing hysterically when we loop Thalia, who has somehow backed herself into the side of the track and is stuck, facing the entirely wrong way.
"Oh fuck off!" She shouts, flipping us off as we leave her behind, which only makes Jason and I laugh even harder.
A man in his late forties who is taking this way too seriously starts to try to get by us, but Jason and I quickly put him back in his place with a couple of well-aimed bumps to the side of his car.
As if someone could beat the masters.
When we get to the final lap, Jason and I are smiling, already knowing how this will end. However, we have just begun to make the last turn, when out of nowhere, I catch glimpse of a familiar blond ponytail as it wizzes by my left, completely cutting ahead of Jason and me at the turn. My jaw drops in shock, and two seconds later, we have passed the finish line.
Behind Annabeth.
"No way!" Jason shouts with a laugh as we all bump to a stop in the corral.
I feel the car begin to wind down underneath me.
"Annabeth what?" I say, still shocked. "You literally came out of nowhere!"
Annabeth just smirks and begins to unbuckle her belt. "Bumper cars is all strategy."
Piper runs over from the other side of the corral. "Annabeth that was amazing!" She laughs. "I can't believe someone finally put these too cocky assholes back in their place."
Annabeth smiles and chuckles, then stops. "Hey, where's Thalia?" She says, looking around.
I glimpse back down the track and see that Thalia still hasn't moved from where her bumper car stalled out and that two workers are now running down there to push her car back into the corral. I shake my head.
"Come on," Jason says. "We can wait for her by the exit."
When Thalia finally joins up with us, vowing that the whole thing was rigged to make her lose, we all decide to go play some games and check out some other rides. We spend the rest of the morning trying everything out. We go on the dropping ride, the scrambler, the giant swinging ride, and even one where you get strapped into a seat and flipped around like one of the little men on a foosball stick.
Jason almost pukes after that one, but other than that though (and the fact that Annabeth basically pulverizes me in every carnival game), we're all having a really good time when we finally go get lunch.
We all decide to split a giant cheese pizza and end up sitting at a picnic table by the end of the pier. Our table is right up against the railing, and we have a great view of the water. There is music playing, and a ton of people are watching some street dancers perform in a huddle over to our left.
"This must be the best pizza I've ever had," Annabeth says after taking a giant bite from one of her slices.
The rest of us burst out laughing.
Annabeth looks up in confusion. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Thalia says, patting her arm. "It's just really obvious you're from San Francisco sometimes."
"Yeah, hate to break it to you sweetie," Piper says, "But if you lived in New York, those words would never have left your mouth."
Jason grins, holding up his slice to take another bite. "It's true."
I chuckle as Annabeth rolls her eyes and continues to eat her pizza. I have just begun to wonder just how it is that she makes eating pizza one of the most entertaining things to watch, when Thalia stands up abruptly, looking at her phone.
"Luke's here," she says. "I'm gonna go meet him and bring him back here."
"I didn't know Luke was coming," Jason says, taking a swing from his soda.
"Yeah, he was busy this morning, but I invited him last minute," Thalia remarks, getting up from her spot on the bench. "I'll be back in five."
With a wave, Thalia walks off, leaving the rest of us at the picnic table to attempt finishing off the pizza. Piper leans in to grab another slice.
"So, you finally get to meet the infamous Luke," she says to Annabeth with a grin.
Annabeth chuckles. "Gotta make sure I don't get Thalia's love life mixed up again somehow, right?"
We all laugh.
A couple minutes later, Thalia waltzes up with Luke at her heels.
He wears a light blue shirt and the thin, white scar that runs down the side of his face stands out in the bright sunlight. They come to a stop, and Thalia smiles.
"Annabeth," she says, "This is Luke. Luke-Annabeth."
"It's nice to meet you," Luke says, reaching out his hand to her.
I look over at Annabeth to see that she has a slight look of deep pensiveness on her face, almost like she recognizes Luke from somewhere. The expression only lasts for a second though, before she quickly shakes herself out of it and takes Luke's outstretched hand.
"You too," Annabeth says with a smile, before retreating back into herself.
I look at her for a moment. She appears to be deep in thought over the encounter. There's no way that she could recognize Luke though, right? I mean, they don't even live in the same state. And he certainly doesn't seem to have any recollection of her.
"What do you think, Percy?" Thalia asks me, snapping me back to the conversation.
"Wha- What?" I ask, dumbly.
Thalia chuckles. "I said, what do you want to do next?"
I shake my head, casually. "Whatever you guys want. I'm good with anything."
Luke steals a piece of pizza from the table. "Have you guys gone on the ferris wheel yet? I've been dying to try it out," he says before taking a bite.
Jason pipes up. "Actually, we've been avoiding it because Thals has-"
"Been waiting for you!" Thalia jumps in, cutting him off. "Yep. Can't wait to see the view. From all the way up there…"
Jason and I exchange glances, and I shake my head.
Thalia would never admit to weakness in front of Luke. Even if it means forcing herself to do stuff she really doesn't want to.
Piper tries to hide her smirk behind her hand.
"Thals are you sure you-" Annabeth starts, but Thalia cuts her off.
"Yes Annabeth," she says, curtly. "I am sure that I've had enough pizza."
Piper tries, and fails, to stifle her laugh.
"Alright…" Jason says, teasingly. "The ferris wheel it is!"
After we've thrown away our trash and leftovers, our group makes it's way over to the ferris wheel. The line is much longer than the other ones have been, but when it's finally our turn, we step onto the platform, all loading into the pod before the worker shuts the door behind us.
Thalia looks like she wants to puke.
Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and I are trying to hold back our laughter, and Luke is just confused.
"What's so funny?" He begins to say, and Thalia quickly responds.
"Nothingahhhhh-" Thalia shouts, hastily grabbing onto Luke's arm as the ferris wheel quickly jolts to a start.
"Thalia, I'm telling him," Jason says through his laughter. "There's no way you're gonna be able to hide it."
Thalia shoots daggers at him. "Jase, I swear-" She starts, but the ferris wheel jolts again. "Gahhhh-"
"Thalia might have a slight fear of heights," I interject with a chuckle.
Luke snaps his head in her direction. "Thalia, what? Why would you get on then?"
"They're totally overreacting," she protests. "It's not that badahhhhhhh-"
We all double over with laughter.
"Thalia, you should've told me!" Luke says.
"There's nothing to tell!" Thalia protests, but her face is as white as the clouds behind her.
We're halfway to the top now, the ferris wheel jolting as it stops to let people on down below.
"Thals is too proud to admit weakness," Piper laughs.
Thalia glares at her. "Oh shut up."
Luke chuckles. "Man, I never would've guessed that you were afraid of heights," he says, shrugging. "If anything, I would've guessed that of Percy."
"Ha, me?" I say. "No way. I'm too busy having to deal with my fear of drowning."
"Drowning?" Annabeth asks me, confused. "But you literally live in the water."
I throw my hands up. "Hey, don't ask me. I know it doesn't make sense."
Piper looks at me, pensively. "Maybe it does," she says. "It might make sense if your fear of drowning is actually because you spend so much time in the water. Maybe in your head, an increased amount of time in the water means an increased chance of drowning?"
"Huh," I say thoughtfully, cocking my head to the side. "That's a really interesting theory."
"Yeah, I've never thought about it that way," pipes up Thalia, who is seeming to relax slightly from the distraction of our conversation. "But speaking of fears, don't think you can get away that easily Pipes. I'm dying to know what you're afraid of."
Piper shrugs. "That's easy. As cheesy as it sounds, I fear neglect. I can thank my dear old parents for that one..."
"Yeah, me too," Luke says, thoughtfully. "Nothing like neglectful parents to make you fear being alone and helpless in life."
"Jason?" I ask curious.
"Yeah definitely something along the lines of abandonment for me too," he says with a shrug, and then smirks. "Either that or making Piper's mom angry."
We all laugh.
Then, Thalia's attention turns to Annabeth and she gets a speculative look on her face. "Someone's been quiet as a mouse," Thalia says skeptically. "Spill blondie."
Annabeth blushes, covering her face with her hands.
"Ugh," she moans. "Do I have to? It's kind of really embarrassing."
"Um, excuse me?" Thalia says. The rest of us are out here spilling our souls, and you're not sharing because you're worried your fear is embarrassing?"
I mockingly shake my head. "That's just despicable Annabeth."
She giggles. "Alright, alright. But you have to promise not to laugh."
"Cross my heart," Jason pipes up with a smile.
"Yep," we all agree.
"Okay…" Annabeth starts hesitantly. "I'm afraid of spiders."
Thalia bursts out laughing.
Man, that is not what I was expecting.
"Thalia, you promised! Annabeth whines, covering her face with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Thalia wheezes. "But it's just… Spiders!"
I just can't hold my laughter back anymore, and join Thals in her amusement.
"Definitely wasn't expecting that from you," I say.
Piper snorts. "Spiders."
Annabeth shakes her head. "I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe you guys when you said you wouldn't laugh."
This just makes everyone laugh even more.
We've finally reached the top of the ferris wheel, and I've got to say, the view is spectacular.
And then I look away from Annabeth and notice that the view of the horizon is pretty great too.
The sea seems to go on for miles, an endless expanse of blue. I notice just how much smaller the waves and the pier look from up here; the people below us turning to ants before my very eyes. I feel like I'm on top of the world.
Unfortunately, apparently so does Thalia, who, like me, seems to notice just how much higher we are now that our previous conversation is no longer distracting her.
"Gahhh," she groans and quickly hops into the center of the pod, sitting on the floor by our feet and hugging the center pole.
"Thals, I don't think you're aloud to-" Jason starts to say.
"I swear to gods Jason I will act on my earlier promise to pitch you off the side," Thalia threatens him from her place on the floor.
Jason shuts up.
We go around the ferris wheel about two more times before we finally have to get off. It takes a while for the ride to unload everyone, but when it finally does, we begin making our way from the ferris wheel and back over to the food area to get dippin' dots. Thalia and Luke lead the way, chatting closely together with Piper and Jason close behind, which leaves me and Annabeth to bring up the rear.
"That was fun," Annabeth says to me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I honestly can't remember the last time I was on a ferris wheel. Or on any ride for that matter."
I shoot her a sad glance, but she doesn't even notice. Annabeth just keeps walking along with that energetic spring to her step I've grown so used to over the past couple weeks.
"What, no good rides in San Fran?" I joke.
"No…" Annabeth starts pensively. "Just no good incentive I guess."
Suddenly, I wonder again about what Annabeth's home life is like. She told me that she lives with her dad and her step-family throughout the year, and usually stays with her mom in the summers, but aside from that, I really don't know much.
"Are you and you're dad close?" I ask, hesitantly.
Annabeth doesn't miss a beat. "No. He's barely ever home. Collectively, I probably see him even less than my mom. He's always away on some business trip or another, teaching at this or that prestigious University. And my stepmom and I can't stand each other. She's basically satan incarnate, so I keep my distance as much as I can. I have a scholarship to this all girls private school on the outskirts of the city though, which helps a lot."
The way Annabeth says it isn't like she feels bad for herself or anything though. She simply says it like she's stating a fact.
"I'm sorry," I say.
Annabeth shoots me a slight grin. "Everyone has their demons, right?"
I laugh, thinking of Gabe, my last step father before Paul. My life was pretty much a living hell before he dropped out of it.
"You can say that again."
Annabeth and I walk in a comfortable silence, trailing behind the others for a couple of minutes, before I see something that catches my eye.
"Hey guys!" I yell to the others. "We'll catch up with you in a second. I just wanna check something out."
Thalia shrugs and keeps walking.
"Don't be gone too long," Jason says with a smirk, before turning to follow Thalia. "I couldn't really care less about you, but I know we'll all be missing Annabeth."
Annabeth laughs out loud and elbows me teasingly.
"Ha-ha, Jason" I sarcastically shout back, but smile nonetheless.
I put my hand on the small of Annabeth's back and guide her towards where I spotted it.
"Percy, where are we going?" She starts to say, but then stops suddenly, and I can tell she sees it now too.
"Oh my gosh," Annabeth remarks. "I haven't seen one of those in forever."
Just ahead of us is a full-scale photo booth with a curtain and photo strips like the ones you come across at carnivals. We make our way towards it, and I hold the curtain open for Annabeth as she climbs in. I hop in right behind her.
As soon as I release the curtain, the entire booth goes pitch black, save for the screen in front of us, and I feel as though we're no longer at the pier at all, but rather in some secluded world, all to ourselves.
"This is great," Annabeth laughs, and begins flipping through the different picture options on the screen, selecting photo sizes and background colors. I watch her as she does, completely infatuated with how she is able to get so invested in such a simple task. Little things bring Annabeth so much joy, and I think that that's one of the things I like most about her.
"Do you have a five?" Annabeth asks, looking back at me over with a grin.
I pass her the five I had ready in my hand, and she proceeds to insert the bill into the slot, having to turn it over twice before it finally takes, and I laugh at her frustration.
When Annabeth finally leans back into the seat, I become suddenly very aware of just how close we are. I'm hypersensitive of her touch in a way that I'm not with other people. It's like I can feel every individual particle of her skin electrically connecting to every one of mine.
The timer begins to count down on the screen, and I stick out my tongue grotesquely as Annabeth crosses her eyes.
3. 2. 1.
The flash goes off, and when the picture flashes across the screen, we both burst out laughing.
"You look ridiculous," Annabeth says to me.
"Me? You look downright frightening."
The screen begins to count down again.
3. 2. 1.
This time, Annabeth opens her mouth wide, pretending to attack me shark-style, and I pretend-squint my eyes in fear. The picture flashes across the screen, and our laughter only intensifies.
3. 2. 1.
We're too busy laughing our asses off to make a face for this one, and the camera catches mid-laugh.
The words "Last One!" flash across the screen, and I'm grinning like crazy as the camera counts down one last time.
3. 2. 1.
And just as the camera flashes, I feel Annabeth grip my left shoulder between her hands as she leans over and kisses my cheek.
Holy shit.
People classify happiness as a mental emotion, but in that moment, I swear that happiness is something physical. I feel it rise up in me from my gut and project itself in every inch of my face.
I wouldn't be able to control that smile, even if I wanted to, because when that kind of physical happiness takes over your body, there's nothing you can do about it. You're simply no longer in control.
Annabeth pulls back, beaming with laughter. She looks beautiful.
The words "Have a Nice Day!" Flash across the screen, and in that moment, I can't even imagine what a not-nice day would look like. Being unhappy doesn't seem comprehensible right now.
Annabeth and I sit there in the dark for a moment, the light from the screen illuminating our faces like the screens of times square lighting up a New York night.
Only Annabeth is so much more than New York.
"Let's check out the pictures," I say, turning to pull back the curtain.
Light floods into the photobooth, and Annabeth and I step out, re-entering the outside world.
We reach down to pick up our photostrips from the slot and break out into another fit of laughter when we see how great they turned out. It's my new favorite photo.
Even as we head back to the group, and spend the remaining hour playing more games and going on rides, I don't stop grinning at the photo. I continually pull it out, and a surge of happiness runs through me every time I look at it.
And when it's finally dark outside, as we sit in the car riding back to the resort, I tuck that photostrip into the ID slot in my wallet. Because I know that now, I will never want to go another day without looking at it.