North Star

01 | two currents

2019

I liked to think I was an adventurous person, but that was probably wishful thinking.

Case in point: having to get pep talked into going to this house party from my sister who's seven years my junior.

When my older sister Kanani called during my lunch break to invite me, I had immediately declined the offer. Even though I preferred house parties over going to the club or anything similar, it was more of a lesser-of-two-evils sort of deal. I didn't particularly enjoy it. My feelings were likely more akin to I endured them. And when she'd relayed that it was happening at a house in Kailua, I was even less inclined to attend. Parties in Kailua nowadays were mostly for rich people or haoles and I was neither.

It was my worst nightmare rolled into one proposition.

The only reason I'd said yes, in the end, was because she told me Anthony Rivera was going.

It had been longer than any of us would have liked to admit since we hung out with Anthony, Kanani's best friend from childhood. Moving to another part of the island was an obstacle itself, but the biggest was taking care of his father and sister, a self-imposed responsibility he took seriously. Last I'd heard, they were all doing a lot better for the most part, which was probably why we were going to see him tonight. Whatever it was, I was going to take advantage of it. Anthony Rivera was someone worth keeping around.

"Can we please leave by eleven tonight, Nani?" I asked my sister as we trekked across the front yard of a stranger's house. Kanani had opted for supplying poke while I'd picked up a case of beer. We were walking into this party with a handful of gold. "I have a headache and I don't want to be stuck around these people all night."

It was a bit more wishful thinking on my part to ask my sister to leave a party at a reasonable hour. While she played the part of responsible sister well at home, she threw caution to the wind once she let herself out for the night. Admittedly, she took on a similar role to Anthony, albeit with debatably less baggage.

Or maybe the Kahananui women were just better at hiding their feelings than the Rivera family was.

"Kanani." I snapped my fingers in front of her face when she didn't answer me. "I'm being serious."

"And I think you need to be a little less serious," she retorted, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

Every once in a while, I was struck by my sister's beauty. The only person from whom she believed compliments about it was her boyfriend, but I couldn't tell if it was simply because they were in love or because Keali'i had that air about him that made it impossible to believe he was telling anything but the truth. Either way, it made it easy to get along with him. Unlike me, forgetful about making my feelings known to those around me, he never failed to remind Kanani of how much he loved her, and how beautiful he thought she was.

"You can enjoy yourself tonight, you know," Kanani continued. The light afternoon drizzle made the grass squeak beneath our slippers. "That's what parties are for. That, and making good first impressions."

"And who am I supposed to be making a good impression on?" I looked up precariously at the house as we drew closer. Buildings of any size were inanimate objects most capable of looking intimidating. I might as well be an ant staring up at a mountain.

"I don't know." Kanani shrugged. "Maybe a cute guy. Who knows."

I recoiled at the thought. "No sensible person goes after a guy they meet at a party, let alone a party in Kailua."

"Alex met her boyfriend at a party." Anthony's sister.

"That's because Alex is a pessimist when it comes to her love life. She was bound to meet him at as hopeless of a place as a party." We were steps away from the house now and it looked even more daunting this close. "And it was a little more complicated than just meeting a guy at a party. You know that."