Tsireya spent her weekends alone. She liked it this way - deep down, she was a deeply introverted person. She loved her friends, but she found that sometimes the only company she could stand was her own. She liked her routines. On Saturdays, she would start the day by accompanying Ao'nung on his morning surfs. She would then come home and make herself a smoothie. Tsireya put a lot of work into her smoothies. Right now, her obsession was papaya. After this, she would sit in silence with her mother while Ronal did her various tasks. This was her favorite thing. She would bring a coloring book and colored pencils and just sit in her mother's presence, letting her social battery recharge after a week of school. Iolana joined them now, tied to her mother's chest with a soft blanket wrap. Ronal and Iolana were folding laundry when Ao'nung entered his parent's room. It was clear he hadn't been expecting to see Tsireya. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a black t-shirt. His hair had been slicked back and tied into a bun at the base of his neck. His koru was tucked under his shirt and he had taken off his bracelets. Tsireya knew instantly he was going to see his "friends". Ao'nung always seemed to make an effort to disguise his culture as much as he could around them. He glanced over at Tsireya and his face flushed. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was. She rolled her eyes in disgust and went back to her coloring, turning her back to him. "Can I go to Jack's?" he asked. Tsireya scoffed quietly. "Typical," she whispered to herself. "Hmm?" he called, with an edge to his voice. "What did you say?" She turned her head and blinked at him, feigning innocence. "What? Me? I didn't-" "Who will be there?" Ronal asked, silencing her children. "Just, you know. Oliver. Jack, obviously. Probably Leo." Tsireya made a face. "It's been a while, Mama. And, swim starts Tuesday. I need to make sure they'll be at tryouts." Ronal clicked her tongue softly. "I know it's been a while. I was hoping you'd finally outgrown them." Ao'nung's silence said more than his words could have. Ronal sighed. "Fine, yes. But be home by noon tomorrow. And, so help me god, if you come home hungover, I will-" "I won't, I promise. I swear. Thank you." Tsireya heard him take a step towards the door. "Oh, son?" Ronal called. "Yeah?" he asked, pausing. "Wash your sister's hairspray out of your hair. You look foolish." Tsireya let out a shout of laughter, grinning up at her mother. "I didn't- it's Rotxo's hairgel," he mumbled. Tsireya turned to face him. "Oh, sure it is," she snapped. She watched him fumble with his hair, removing the hair tie and flicking it across the room at her. She ducked and picked it up. It was speckled with golden sparkles. She grinned widely, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh my god, Ao'nung, you used the hairspray I use for-" she groaned. "It has gold glitter in it. I used it for halloween." Ao'nung's face dropped. "Yeah, you might have to go shower," she teased, shooting the hair tie back at him. It hit him in the cheek. He left their parent's room in a huff, footsteps stomping down the hallway.
Several hours later, Tsireya was in her room watching tv and organizing her school bag. She arranged her pencils in a meticulously precise order from led thickness to how well she could hold the grip. She heard a knock at the door, meaning it was Rotxo. Ao'nung never bothered knocking. "Yeah?" she called, not getting up. Sure enough, Rotxo entered, with wet hair and pajamas on. "Have you seen Ao?" he asked, shutting the door behind him and perching on the corner of her bed. "He went to Jack's for the night," she muttered, unable to keep the disapproval from her voice. "Oh." "Yeah. Oh." Rotxo turned to look at her. "It makes me feel weird that he's friends with them, too," he said quietly. "They're just- they suck. Like, really bad, don't they?" She nodded. "And... I know it's selfish, like I know that, but I kinda wish he was okay with just having, like, one best friend." Tsireya glanced up at him. His lips were pursed nervously. "I mean, or at least some that aren't like... them." She sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, he said it was only to make sure they'd be at try-outs." Rotxo snorted. "Of course they'll be at tryouts. They've been dickriding both of you since, like, 6th grade. Of course they'll show up." Tsireya shrugged, knowing he was right. Rotxo fell quiet, picking at the corner of her blanket. She zipped her bag up and set it on the floor, turning to face him. "What do you wanna do?" she asked, pulling her knees comfortably to her chest. He blinked at her. "Well, unless you're going home tonight, it's just us. Do you wanna do something?" A slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah, I do." She nodded, getting to her feet. "Well, like what?" He thought for a second, tilting his head to the side. "I know," Reya exclaimed, making him flinch with her outburst. "We could gossip with Mama and-" Rotxo cut her off, pitching his voice higher to mimic hers. "And Papa and we could do those little hello kitty sheet masks and make popcorn and-" Tsireya threw a stuffed dolphin at him, smacking him in the nose. "Shut up," she protested. "We do that every weekend," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "Well, do you want to?" she asked, hands on her hips. He scoffed. "Of course I want to. What kind of question is that?" She grinned as he jumped up, tossing her dolphin back to her and heading to her parent's room.
Tsireya joined him in a few minutes, arms full of sheet masks and a large bowl of popcorn. Rotxo was sitting cross legged, holding Iolana and talking softly with Tonowari. Ronal was in the bathroom, tying her hair back in a single braid. "Hi guys," she breathed, settling down beside her father. He reached for the popcorn, smiling excitedly. "Okay," Ronal murmured, sitting down beside them. "What's new?" she asked, grabbing one of the masks from Tsireya's outstretched hand. Rotxo shot her a glance. She grinned. "Well, Rotxo and K-" "Reya," he hissed, eyes darting to their parents. "What?" she asked in disbelief. "They don't care." Tonowari nodded in agreement. "Mm. We don't, this is true." "Yes you do," Rotxo mumbled. "Son," Ronal whispered, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "You are almost 18. It's not my place to get upset." Tsireya laughed at the flush that was creeping up his neck. "I mean, it's not even bad, I don't know why you're-" He silenced her with a glare. "Because I wanted to say it myself," he whispered. "Okay. Guys, I..." he rubbed his face with his free hand. Tonowari gently took his daughter out of Rotxo's arms. "Okay. Kiri was really anxious. She picks her cuticles when she's nervous, I guess, and her fingertips were all bloody. So, I put bandaids on them." "Aw, I didn't know that," Tsireya breathed, glancing at her mother briefly. "Yeah you did, I told you." "You did not." "Yes, I did. Anyways, then she kissed me." Tonowari grinned. "She kissed you?" he asked, leaning towards Rotxo. "Mhm, yeah." "Good stuff, son," he said in approval. Tsireya scoffed. "I'm happy for you, Rotxo," Ronal murmured, squeezing his shoulder gently. "However, I was on the phone with Neytiri earlier today. She told me that Kiri wouldn't stop gushing about it on the car ride home." Rotxo's jaw dropped. "Wha- really?" "Yes. And, she made her mother sit with her in her room for several hours discussing you." Rotxo looked like he was about to faint. Tsireya leaned over their circle and slicked his curls away from his forehead, laying the sheet mask on his face and flattening it down with her fingers. He didn't even react. "Mama, I think you broke him," she teased, giggling softly.
"I wonder why Ao'nung has never had this conversation with us," Tonowari said suddenly. This seemed to bring Rotxo back down to earth in an instant. He blinked and shot Tonowari a sideways glance. "What do you mean?" Ronal asked, tilting her head to the side. "He told us about that one girl last summer - what was her name?" "Ninat," Rotxo answered quickly. Ronal nodded. "Ah. Ninat. Sweet girl. Wasn't she your friend, Reya?" Tsireya blinked. "Yeah." Tonowari shook his head. "Yes, he told us about her, but he was all, 'Papa, chill, it's not even like that,' or 'No, you can't meet her, that would be weird,'." Tsireya felt her jaw clench in worry. She locked eyes with her mother for a moment, before looking down at the ground. "I guess he just didn't like her that much," Tsireya mumbled. "Ah. I figured," Tonowari nodded. "When the Sully kids first got here, I figured he would like that Kiri girl." Rotxo whipped his head around to look at him. "Why?" he asked, eyes narrowing. Ronal exhaled sharply through her nose. "Well, I thought... didn't you like that Serena girl?" Rotxo blinked. "What? God, no. I can't stand her." Tonowari chuckled softly. "I only hung around her because one, she was Reya's friend, and two, Ao'nung always had us third wheel for him and Ninat." He looked over at Tsireya. "Would that still be third-wheeling? Fourth-wheeling?" She shrugged. "I think it's just called double dating at that point," she guessed. Rotxo nodded, shrugging. "I don't think Kiri is our son's type," Ronal commented. Tsireya's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Mama?" she asked, laughing nervously. "Well, I mean, Ninat is the only person he's sort of come close to being with, right? She and Kiri are very, very opposite. At least visually." Rotxo snorted. "You're saying he doesn't like white girls," he suggested, a wide grin on his face. "Rotxo!" Tsireya hissed. Tonowari let out a shout of laughter, startling Iolana awake. "Goodness gracious," he muttered, getting to his feet to quiet her. After he left the room, Tsireya turned on her mother. "Why would you say that? About his type? That's too-" "Oh, quiet, child," she hushed. "He won't put two and two together that easily. Plus, I mean, look at Neteyam. I'm not wrong, and you know it." Rotxo's jaw dropped in a smile of disbelief. "Damn," he breathed, shaking his head slowly.
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