Chapter 10
Beach festival (Part One)
I climbed out of bed, and stretched. Cooper was rolling on the floor. "Cooper what are you doing, silly puppy?" I questioned, and laughed. He barked and jumped on me. "Aww poor little guy, are you hungry?" I asked, and rummaged through my fridge. I found some Rainbow Trout Sashimi, and gave it to the little guy. He'd been eating mushrooms every day for the last two weeks! It was time for a diet change. He stared at the raw fish and looked up at me like I was crazy. "Ugh, fine, mushrooms it is. I don't know what it is with you dogs and mushrooms." He barked angrily, commanding real food. I rolled my eyes, and gave him the mushroom I'd been saving for Terry, the outdoorsman that was clearly obsessed with mushrooms for some weird reason. Then I heard a knock on my door, "Jasmine?" called a familiar voice, "Are you there?" I tiptoed to the door, wondering why anyone would want to talk to me today.
--Invitation—
I opened the door and doctor Alex was clearly waiting for me. He smiled a huge grin, and scratched the back of his head, blushing. "Hello, Jasmine! As you may know, today is the beach festival!" I put on a small smile, I had completely forgotten! He continued, "I know we aren't supposed to bring dates or anything, but, you've been collapsing a lot lately, and I would feel a lot better if I escorted you to Moonlight Beach." He flashed a dazzling smile at me, which stunned me for a second. Then I shook it off, and answered, "Yeah, sure Alex! So… should I meet you somewhere or…?" He nodded, "The town square would be perfect. I'll meet you there, okay?" I nodded, and smiled. "I'll see you there, then," he said, and started walking away. "Remember, staying up late is bad for your body!" he shouted over his shoulder while he headed to his clinic. What was with him and that?! But, hmm, maybe Alex wasn't so bad after all.
--Town Square—
I did my daily chores, put on a swimsuit and a huge t-shirt over, and skipped to the square. Alex wasn't there yet, so I waited for a few minutes. I started to get anxious. I paced back and forth a few times, and thought about going home. But, I shook the thought out of my head, and paced with my pink flip flops again. Soon enough, I started thinking that I had imagined Alex asking me, but, just in time, Alex came walking in. "Hay, Alex!" I shouted, while he walked towards me waving. "Hey, Jasmine, the beach is right over here," he said, smiling, and took my hand. I could feel myself getting nervous as we approached the beach. It was beautiful, with little banners and villagers everywhere. I waved at Joe and Katie, who were holding hands. I was glad Joe had a girlfriend now; I didn't really like him as more than a friend. Gwen came up to me, and Alex, smiling. In spring, she and her uncle Doug had opened an Inn. Her grandpa was Woody, the carpenter, and she had visited this village during Summer as a little girl. She came from the city, like me, so we had a lot in common. We had become fast friends. She put her hands on her hips, and leaned in, "Lookie what we have here!" she said, giggling. She put her arm around me, "Way to go, you guys! I'll start preparing the blue feather!" she said. Alex blushed. "Blue feather?" I asked. She grinned at me, her ruby eyes twinkling, "A blue feather is used to propose in our little town… Oh joy..." she said, frowning past me. "What?" I said, and turned around to see Jamie walking into the festival.
--(Jamie's Thoughts)—
Once I had changed into my swimming trunks and a shirt, I went to the beach festival only to get the power berry that the mayor gave to the winner, or so I thought. I was walking through the small forest towards moonlight beach, and I realized I was thinking about Jasmine more than was normal. I tried to keep the subject out of my head, but it just kept coming back. "No!" I said out loud. I couldn't possibly like that stupid, idiotic girl as a friend. I shook my head, giving me a headache. 'Stop this, Jamie!' said a voice in my head, 'If you're going to win that power berry, you have to be focused!' I nodded to myself, and finally got to the beach. "Jamie!!" I heard Jasmine's voice shout. I felt my stomach flip, and I turned around with a smile on my face, until I actually saw her. She was holding hands with that idiotic moron, Alex. The gut was a workaholic! Jasmine couldn't possibly like him… I struggled to keep my eyes off of their hands, which were holding one another.