This has got to be the shortest chapter in awhile. But, I'm thinking we're going to have about 9 or 10 chapters taking place during the summer (all of which may get kinda long because of how much I do want to cover), so a small compensation perhaps?
Thank you for reading!
Similar to how November occasionally felt like an early time to play Christmas music, the first day of July felt like an early time to play summer music. Well, okay, it did make some sense. Maybe it just felt so early because Ephemer was still feeling bad? Either way, his heart just wasn't into it as Skuld had dragged him and Anora to the swimwear store. Summer had always been Skuld's favorite shopping season, and since Anora apparently didn't have any beach clothes, the oldest of the trio had found the perfect excuse for a shopping trip.
At this point, Skuld had already tried on three different bathing suits. Anora had only tried on one, looking at each one piece and separated bikini parts with an increasing sense of discomfort. Ephemer wasn't particularly interested in any new swimwear for that year. Regardless, he biding his time by looking through the racks anyway. According to Skuld, after she and Anora found new swim suits, they were going to get cover ups and jewelry too; because "A summer without well fitting swimwear, chunky bracelets, and wide rimmed sunglasses just wasn't a proper summer" Skuld insisted.
Ephemer gave a hardened sigh as he thumbed through a rack of discounted swim trunks. It was nice to know that Skuld was feeling better, but she still wasn't at 100 percent. There was a very definite delay on how long it took for her to respond to someone when they asked her a question. She had even started seeing a therapist to help her balance schoolwork, her duties as a Dandelion, and to make sure that her mental health didn't slip as they went into finals week.
Then there was Anora, who arguably was the reason why they were having this trip to begin with. After Ava had agreed for Anora to come to the summer place, the girl then sheepishly admitted that she didn't have a single thing to wear to the beach. Ephemer had been the one to question why, with Skuld soon butting in that they didn't need swimwear on a normal day while living on campus. Anora had shrunk slightly as she quietly admitted that she grew up in a place that was rather cold year round. With it being the most information he's actually heard about her life before Daybreak, of course Ephemer tried to push for more. But Skuld stopped him. It was rude to pry, she had said; he could still perfectly see her stern finger wagging.
Ephemer's train of thought was stopped for only a moment when his eyes fell on a certain pair of swim trunks. Colored dark red with black swirls, along with a black waistband and matching drawstrings, the swim trunks reminded him a bit of his scarf. Curious, he pulled them from the rack and started to head toward the changing booths. After making sure that the booth door was locked, his started to switch his pants for the swim trunks. He didn't pull his scarf, jacket, and shirt off until he was sure the rest of him was covered. Goosebumps were quick to ran up Ephemer's bare skin from the store's air conditioning. Out of reflex, he rubbed his arms to reduce some of the chill.
Ephemer walked out of the changing booth and made his way to the dressing room mirror. He admired himself in the mirror- turning his body this way and that to see how the bathing suit fit. It didn't look bad at all. He'd have to wear a t-shirt or something over it- the swim trunks rode a bit too low on his hips for his taste. He didn't notice Anora come back in to the dressing room, but for a moment, she didn't know he was there either.
Suffice to say, the girl let out a surprised squeak at seeing Ephemer standing there. Confused by the sound for a moment, the boy turned to face her. Anora had put on a light blue, one piece swimsuit with a small straight skirt attached. The suit made it abundantly clear that she had no clear figure to speak of, but it did not stop Ephemer from admiring her all the same.
"I'm sorry." he apologized, taking quite a few generous steps back. "Am I in your way?"
Anora quickly shook her head before moving a bit closer to the mirror. She tried to move close enough that she couldn't see him look at her- and if he had just left then she would have felt a bit better. But, from out of the corner of her eye, Anora could still see Ephemer curiously look at her. It made her feel incredibly self conscious, but there was something about the way he looked at her -a fondness, maybe- that didn't make it all that mortifying. On some subconscious level, Anora held herself a bit straighter as she turned to get a good look at herself in the mirror. At the same time it gave Ephemer a much better look at her as well.
"You should keep that one." Ephemer told Anora, a small grin appearing on his face. "It looks good on you."
"So does yours."
Ephemer could feel his heart skip a beat. Anora hadn't even hesitated. The boy glanced at the mirror and looked over himself again. "You think so?"
Anora looked Ephemer up and down before giving that grin he always enjoyed. "Definitely." she agreed.
"Make room!" Skuld announced as she came in, perfectly interrupting Anora and Ephemer's moment.
Skuld was wearing a black bikini top with dark pink straps, paired with matching boyshorts. Her chest was held high as she walked over to the mirror, fully making point of showing off her average bust and long legs. Both Anora and Ephemer paled at seeing Skuld's still visible ribcage. Skuld herself didn't seem to notice, feeling completely in her element as she admired herself in the mirror.
"I'm really liking this one." Skuld said out loud, not quite addressing them but not entirely talking to herself either. "Haven't had a good bikini top fit in years. What do you guys think?"
For the first time, Skuld actually turned to look at them. She almost snorted at their identical expressions, however fearful they looked.
"So I guess that's a 'no' on the bikini?" she bemused. She let out a joking scoff before pouting, "I really wanted to avoid a bathing suit this year. Maybe I'll go see if there's some cute tankini tops on sale."
And with that, the pageant kid went back into the changing booths so she could look at other swimsuits.
"Guess I should change back too." Ephemer decided. He looked back at Anora and smiled at her again. "You should definitely keep that one." he told her once more before leaving. Anora gave a light blush as she also left for the changing booths.
As she started to take off the swimsuit a small beep came from her street clothes. Anora jumped in surprise before going through her things to find a cell phone. After Skuld fainted, and in finding that Anora didn't have one of her own, Gula had given Anora a cell phone. She wasn't used to having it yet but liked to think she was taking it in stride. The girl looked over the notification screen and realized that she had gotten a new email. Noting who it came from, Anora didn't waste any time to read it over.
She read it once, then read it again with much blurrier eyes. She softly brushed away her tears as a smile crossed her lips. In a small whisper, she said to herself, "I miss you Kieran..."