Chapter Two
"Oh, Amber; look!" Jessie roused her sleeping friend, who was snoring, with her head on Jessie's shoulder. The plane they had been flying in had just flown down low enough to see between the clouds and catch a glance of the Caribbean Sea, hundreds of feet below. "It's prettier than it looked in the movie!"
Amber opened her eye sleepily, "What is?"
"The ocean!" Jessie said; impatient her friend wasn't getting excited.
"What?" Amber exclaimed, suddenly wide-awake. "We're there? Already?"
"You mean finally. Finally, we're there." Jessie mumbled, turning to look out the small plane window at the sea below. What she saw took her breath away. A sparkling blue diamond, the sea called to her. In some spots, Jessie noted, the Caribbean was the deepest blue she'd ever seen. In others, it was a turquoise color; the perfect color for the Caribbean. A different color still, was the color of the sea near the shore. Almost green, it was the prettiest color Jessie had ever seen.
Jessie's fingers itched for a camera, so she could capture the sea in its finest moment forever.
'Passengers, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing.' A voice came on over the speakers in the plane. 'Oh, and welcome to the Caribbean.'
"Welcome to the Caribbean…" Jessie said, smiling to herself. Her fingers toyed with the replica medallion around her neck. Not even on the island where they'd be staying, and she was already in love with the place.
"Jessie!" Amber yelled in her ear, making her jump. "Are you coming or do you want to stay on the plane all day?"
Jessie glanced around her. People were taking down their bags and filing out off the plane exits. Deep in thought, Jessie had missed the fact that they had landed.
"I'm coming; I'm coming." Jessie said, jumping up from her seat and following Amber out of the plane where their parents were waiting.
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"Look at the view from our window!" Amber said clutching Jessie's arm and pulling her over to the large window in their hotel room. They were staying in it alone, Amber's parents in the room to the left and Jessie's parents in the room to the right. "Look out there, past the pool, past the street, past the shops, you can see it…The Caribbean."
Jessie followed Amber's pointing finger. From this point of view, the sea was only one color; the green Jessie had thought to be the prettiest color in the world.
"We gotta get out there!" Jessie said, dragging Amber away from the window and into her parents' room. She drew a breath to begin her begging. She planned to beg until her parents' agreed to let them get outside and into a boat on the Caribbean now.
Turns out it was easier than that.
Before she could utter one word, Amber's mom, Beth, turned and smiled at her. A tall, slim, dirty blonde, it was easy for Jessie to see where Amber got her beauty. Amber was tan and skinny. Her hair was so blond it was almost white. Jess was also a blond, but didn't consider herself nearly as pretty as Amber. As pretty as Amber was though; Jess believed that Beth was one of the prettiest people in the world. What she loved most about the woman though, were her eyes. Many times they spoke for her, highlighting how she felt at the moment. At Amber's grandmother's funeral, her eyes were a shade of blue Jess had never seen before. The shined with unshed tears, and made Jess want to run to her room with a box of tissues for a week. And it wasn't even her grandma's funeral.
When Beth laughed, her eyes lit up like New York City at night. It was a beautiful sight to see, her eyes a green color, lighting up the room in their silent laughter.
Now though, those eyes focused on Jessie's brown ones with what Jess could only describe as a "crystal" twinkle.
"Don't say a word, Jess." Beth said, corners of her mouth lifting up slightly. "We're going down to the beach as soon as your father gives the go ahead."
Lightning fast, Jess turned to her father, Peter. "Daddy?" She begged.
Ignoring Jess for the moment, Peter turned to Beth. "Drop the bomb on me, will ya? Make me make the decisions?"
Jessie couldn't keep the ear-to-ear grin from spreading across her face. Just like her and Amber, Peter, Beth, Carly, and David –Amber's dad- had all been best friends their entire lives. Some people may say that Peter was flirting with Beth; but Jessie knew that her dad loved her mother with all his heart. What she saw her was a friend teasing a friend.
Peter turned to Jess, "Honey, we can go check out the Caribbean as soon as you're ready to…."
"Ready!" Jess shouted as she headed towards the door.
"Yep!" Amber agreed; walking out the door past Jessie. "We are ready to sail like Pirates of the Caribbean!"
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"Don't go to far now." Carly cautioned the teenagers as they prepared to jump of the deck of the boat that they were all on. The official name, The Wave-Runner, had been changed to the honorary name of, The Black Pearl, given to the ship by Amber and Jess.
"If you're going to swim, stay near the boat." David added.
"Ok, dad, we get it." Amber said impatiently. "Can we please just get in now?"
Beth laughed "Go on, honey."
"Finally!" Jess exclaimed, stripping down to her two piece bathing suit. "Come on, Amber."
"Right behind you, Jessie." Amber said, already in her bathing suit.
Amber walked to the edge of the ship and pushed off. Years of swimming lessons made Amber's dive a perfect dive. The medallion around her neck caught the sun's glare and shined a brilliant gold. Just before she hit the water Amber called out, "Yo ho; Yo ho!"
Jess positioned herself to dive in after Amber. She fiddled with her medallion a moment before she dove in; in a spectacular display of everything a dive should be. Her own medallion reflected the sun's light as she plunged into the watery blue depths of the Caribbean. "A pirate's life for me!"
The adults were deep in conversation and both girls were underwater and neither party noticed the silent sonic boom that shook the crystal depths of the Caribbean.