Chapter 12: In Which Crona Comes Out of Their Shell and Begins to Make Friends of Their Own
The second week in July was unusually hot. Record-breaking temperatures were being reported all over the country. Despite being near the ocean Dödenstad was no exception.
Miss Marie, Dr. Stein, Maka, and Blair were all slumped in the living room before the café would open, sitting in front of a single fan. The news was on, only reporting temperatures to continue rising. Stein groaned before going to turn on the AC.
"I'm going to make a medicine to help with heat stroke," he said. "I'm sure it'll sell out soon. Might as well harvest all that mint before it withers."
"I'll call to get more ice for the iced drinks," Marie added. She fanned herself with the magazine she was reading. "Goodness, it's hot. I'm going to get some lemonade from the fridge. Would you like any?"
"Yes, please," Stein and Maka said in unison.
Yes, that summer would be something to remember.
The heat was unbearable, but there were two people who were very excited about it: Black*Star and Patty. Despite it being so hot they were full of energy. It was on Maka's off day (Stein also cancelling their lesson because of the number of orders for heat-related illnesses that had come in) that Black*Star proposed they all go out.
Needless to say no one wanted to leave the air conditioned café.
"Summer only lasts so long! Let's make the most of it and go to the beach!" he shouted.
"Yay!" Patty cheered, throwing her hands above her head. "Beach! Beach!"
"Don't say it so loud," groaned Liz. "The thought of going outside is making me sweat."
The bell tinkled and Crona came in. Maka stood up.
"Crona!"
The child flinched at the sudden call, but relaxed as they saw the witch. "Hi Maka."
The group looked over Maka's shoulder.
"Maka, who's this?" Tsubaki asked.
"This is Crona. They're one of Dr. Stein's regular customers."
"H-how do y-y-you do?" Crona stammered. They looked sheepishly at everyone in the café.
The group was, as Maka knew they would be, very welcoming. Crona seemed very nervous, especially around the high energy duo, but they relaxed after a few minutes crammed between Maka and Soul. After introductions were made the group went back to talking about their potential beach trip. It was decided that yes, they would all go to the beach, and yes, they were all going to swim.
"I've never been to a beach," Maka admitted.
"Me neither," Crona said.
Black*Star patted them both 'lightly' on the back. "All the more reason to go then! Gwahahaha!"
"Black*Star, you're being loud again," Tsubaki warned.
He clapped his hands over his mouth comically. "Sorry."
"When are we going?" Tsubaki asked.
Soul shrugged. "Why not tomorrow? It'll probably be packed, but that'll give us time to bring everything we need."
"And then we can have a picnic!" said Patty.
"That does sound like fun," Kid admitted. "What does everyone else think?"
Despite everything there was an agreement.
Maka smiled as they all finished up their iced drinks. She noticed Crona was staring at the table.
"Crona, would you like to come too?"
"Huh?"
"Tomorrow, to the beach." Maka was smiling. "I'm sure no one would mind. Right guys?"
"Not at all," said Black*Star.
"The more the merrier," agreed Soul.
"See? Why don't you come along?"
Crona played with their hands for a bit. "I don't know. It's not like I have a swimsuit."
"I don't have one either. We can just sit and make sandcastles or drink sodas. That doesn't sound too bad, does it?"
By the way Crona was considering the idea it didn't seem too bad at all. They finally agreed. The group finalized the plans of where to meet up and who would bring what before their late meal was called to an end.
マカの宅急便
The next day brought more heat. Which didn't surprise anyone but was nonetheless still irritating. Maka scratched at the borrowed swimsuit underneath her dress. It was one of Tsubaki's very old ones. Almost all the clothing Liz, Patty, or Tsubaki tried to lend her didn't quite fit the chest area.
Maka blushed at the thought. She wasn't jealous! It was rude to sexualize women by their breasts anyway. But still.
The drive to the beach was a short, packed one. Liz left the top down so Black*Star and Soul could sit on the edge of the doors. Kid was in the passenger seat while Tsubaki, Maka, Crona, and Patty were all wedged into the back. The trunk was filled with coolers, towels, and a huge umbrella that stuck out of it.
The moment they hit the sand everyone but Maka and Crona stripped down to their bathing suits. Liz and Patty were wearing red and green bikinis respectively. Tsubaki chose a more conservative navy one piece. The three boys were wearing trunks. Soul's were blue, Black*Star's orange (which clashed horribly with his hair), and Kid's solid black. Maka felt a bit out of place wearing her black dress, but she saw that Crona didn't have a swimsuit and decided to leave it.
The teens laid out the towels, set up the umbrella, inflated the beach ball, and stashed the cooler full of cold drinks and chilled sandwiches under shade and away from the hot sand. Maka took a seat under the umbrella as Kid pulled out sunscreen.
"Everyone in the sun should put some on," he said. "Especially you, Patty. You got so badly burned last time."
"Wheeeee, the sea~"
"Ack!" Liz choked out. "Patty, wait. You need to put on sunscreen! Patty!"
She chased after her sister, who made a beeline to the water. Black*Star whooped before running after her. Tsubaki sighed as she put some sunscreen on and sat down beside Maka.
"I'll wait until they burn out a bit," she announced.
Maka giggled. Then she noticed Crona standing a bit away, shoes scuffing at the sand.
"Crona! Come sit by us."
The child nodded and settled between the two girls. They relaxed as they were in the shade. It was probably for the best that they weren't in the sun. Their pale skin would probably burn very easily.
As Crona settled down Soul came over.
"Are you not going to swim?" he asked.
"I don't really like my swimsuit," Maka admitted. "Besides, I'm not very good at swimming. I'd rather sit in the shade and watch."
Soul shrugged. "Suit yourself. But if you ever want to swim, just let me know. I'm not too bad myself, so I could definitely help if you need it."
Maka smiled. "Thanks Soul."
The boy nodded before chasing Black*Star into the water.
The day was filled with fun. They swam, built sandcastles, buried Black*Star when he fell asleep, ate the food they'd packed, laughed at Black*Star when he woke up, and played a round of beach volleyball.
The heat ended up getting unbearable for Maka, who finally pulled off her dress and lounged in the orange-and-pink two piece she'd gotten for the day. Swimming would be a nice way to cool down.
"Crona, would you like to come swim with me?"
"No thank you," they said.
Maka ended up splashing around with everyone for quite some time. Afterwards she flopped down on the hot sand. It wasn't so unbearable after cooling off in the water.
"Maka?"
"Hm?" The witch looked up from her sandwich. "Is something wrong, Crona?"
Crona flinched at the question. "N-no, nothing's wrong!"
Maka frowned a bit. "Crona, you know I'm not accusing you of anything, right? I'm just asking you a question. And you can answer honestly. We're all friends here."
"Okay then. Um, Maka?"
"Yes, Crona?"
"I'm really glad you are my friend."
Maka turned over to look at the skinny child. They were sitting with their knees tucked up to their chin, arms wrapped around them protectively. It was a position Crona took often when nervous. But Maka noticed how they relaxed a bit and there was a small smile on their pale lips.
"I've never had a friend before. And it feels…warm."
"And I'm glad you're my friend too, Crona!"
"Hey!" Liz called. "It's almost three! I think it's time we get a snack. How's ice cream sound?"
Everyone was in agreement that ice cream sounded marvelous. Everyone except Crona. The skinny kid stood up and dusted the sand off of their clothes.
"I should probably go home soon," they said.
Maka stood up too. "I'll walk you home! I'd like to meet your parents."
Crona shook their head. "No, you shouldn't. Besides…I don't have parents."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Maka stared down at her feet awkwardly. She had completely forgotten Crona mentioned they were an orphan. How very insensitive of her!
Crona just shook their head. "Don't be! And the beach is much closer to where I live than the café, so it's okay. I'll be back next week to get my medicine." Crona picked up their bag. "Bye Maka."
"Bye Crona."
Crona gave one final wave before walking up the stairs and off into the streets.
"Everything alright?" Soul asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Maka smiled. "I'm sorry. I was really worried for Crona for a second, but I guess I'm just being paranoid. Let's go."
The party ended up eating ice cream on the pier, swimming some more, finishing off their picnics, and staying up to burn a fire. They sat around roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories until a particular recounting of Patty's made her older sister scream and burst into tears. It ended up Liz was very weak against horror.
The walk back to the parked car was a quiet, sleepy one. Everyone was content. They ended up falling asleep on top of one another until Liz dropped them off. She woke Maka first.
"Your place."
"Thank you Liz. I had a great time."
Liz laughed. "Yeah, I think we all did. This was good. Hopefully we can do it again. Though maybe not until next year. I don't want any more hot days!"
"I hear you! Bye!"
Maka went inside. She took a quick shower before towel-drying her hair and falling asleep.
It had been a good day.
This was just a short and sweet chapter I wanted to insert. Crona becoming friends with everyone is very important to me, and the rest of the plot.
Next chapter: Meet the Evans.