the return

Chapter 7

As I run into the ocean, I make a huge splash. Kai is already swimming around and laughing. He has such a comforting laugh. Kai and I start swimming towards each other, laughing as if we just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Guess I'm finally the loser," I say, even though he technically cheated. "And I finally won today," he smirks. I shrug and start floating on my back. The sun feels really nice today, I think to myself. "Y'know, I was always afraid of getting skin cancer growing up," I randomly start rambling to Kai. "I was a super pale, ghostly-looking kid. I never really felt confident about my skin, which is weird considering some people love pale skin. I wanted a healthy tan. I think that was the beauty standard my friends liked, so I naturally followed what the crowd liked." Kai stares at me with a frown. I start to feel red from embarrassment; it could be the heat making me feel warm. "I get what you mean with feeling insecure because of beauty standards. Growing up in Hawaii, you'd hear a million different things about how your body should be. One auntie would shame me for being pudgy—I was three," he laughs and then continues his story, "One auntie said I wasn't eating enough. And then when I came to California in middle school, the boys would talk about getting toned beach bodies. Of course, I wanted a toned beach body, to fit in and get ladies," he smiles, "but as I've gotten older and more mature, I've realized that only you should make a standard for yourself." I start laughing at his cheesy cliché. "You're not that much older than me. I'm just as mature as you," I flaunt at him, "but I appreciate what you're saying."

Kai and I continue swimming, floating, and just messing around for the next hour. We eventually decide that it is time to get ice cream. As we come onto the shore, the group of girls is still talking about random topics such as hooking up, getting drunk, and texts from their exes. I awkwardly say bye to them, hoping not to get sucked into the conversation. Even if I say their conversation is really bad, I can't help but love it. I pick up my bag that I left by them, and Kai just stands uncomfortably. I can't help but laugh to myself about how awkward he is by their conversations.

As Kai drives me to the ice cream shop, the car starts to make strange noises. "Uh.. I've never heard this before," Kai mentions. "Kai! I think your car is breaking down!" I start to panic, looking up auto repair shops. "Aww, don't worry, Aurea. We'll totally make it to Beach Side Scoops without running into any problems." I make an exasperated look at him. The look is perfect because the car breaks down not even five seconds after his sentence. "Kai, what the hell. What are we supposed to do!?" I ask worriedly. He seems unbothered by my alarm. "Not sure, man. We can just call a tow truck." I try to stifle my sigh. "Hey, Aurea, we'll be okay. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Nothing worse can happen." I look at him, irritated. I rarely get agitated, but right now I let it all out. "Kai. Stop. What makes you think something bad won't happen? It's universal logic to not say anything stupid like 'nothing worse can happen.'" I say, thinking I just said the most logical sentence ever. Kai looks sternly at me, "Okay, I'm sorry for trying to be calm about this, but you need to realize I have no control over what happens to the car. You need to calm down and take a moment to breathe. We can step out of the car, and I'll call a tow truck." I look at him shyly and embarrassed, recognizing my mistake. "Sorry," I mutter as I get out of the car. I look at my flip-flops shamefully. I shouldn't have been such an asshole to Kai; I like him, so why should I act this way?

"Aurea, please know I'm not mad at you. And I'm sorry for ignoring the warning from the car. I honestly didn't know that the blinking lights on the dashboard meant something."

I look Kai dead in the eyes, absolutely dumbfounded at his comment.