Dark Night

An end

Over the two week Christmas break, I did something with one or more of my friends almost every day; they meant so much to me and I was still grateful for their support with the mess over John. I thought it was going a bit far that they wouldn't necessarily speak to him when they bumped into him, but they had their minds made up and they were loyal. We had our New Years Eve party at Zayna's this year and somehow she had procured two bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate. Having learned from the past, we did not throw confetti, but we did have noisemakers and hats.

I also spent significant chunks of time with my brother and Grandpa. Stan had reached the point where he was looking forward to the end of his skating career. He was still winning easily, but he had a nagging hamstring injury that would need rest to cure and various aches and pains. It was getting harder to throw the quads although they still looked easy. I told him that I was proud of his accomplishments and that I was really looking forward to seeing him in the Olympics again. "That means a lot, Delia," he said. "I know it wasn't easy for you, and I certainly didn't do anything to help out."

I shrugged. "That's in the past. You're really tried to make amends, and I appreciate it."

"Well, I'm proud of both of you," Grandpa said. "Stan, you've owned up to your mistakes and tried to make up for them. Punkin, you gave him a second chance when you didn't have to. It shows maturity on both your parts." He beamed at us and we beamed back. "Delia, honey, I want to run this by you so you have time to think about it. I'd like to take you to the Olympics again." I lit up. The next Olympics were being held in Sapporo, Japan.

"That would be so much fun, Grandpa," I said enthusiastically, and he smiled.

"It would be great to have you both there again," Stan said, tugging my hair. "You're my good luck charm."

"I saved a couple of general studies classes, I was going to take them my last semester to make it easier, but I can take them winter quarter," I said, planning. "This will be so fun, Grandpa. Thank you!"

"Let me know if there's anywhere in particular you're interested in seeing," he said. "We can start planning our trip."

"I'm jealous," Stan said. Aw, poor little medal winner.

I told Paul before going back to school, and he was jealous too. "I had fun in China, but not as much as you. I guess I'll have to follow you on Instagram too." He smiled. "But we're doing a family trip this summer, and we're going to get to go to the panda preserve and the Great Wall."

"I'd like to go back," I said. "That trip was so much fun, but at the same time I'm looking forward to seeing some place new."

"I've never been to Japan," he said. "We've spent vacations in China and Hong Kong."

"Your grandparents were really nice, and so informative when we ran into you in the Forbidden City."

"They thought you were charming," Paul said. "If you ever go to Hong Kong, let me know. They'd be pleased to see you again."

I went back to college feeling really reinvigorated. Will thought that it sounded really fun and said that he'd be following my Instagram too. 

I was glad to be back, though, in my familiar routine, with new and exciting classes. My faculty advisor knew of a four-week summer internship at the Southern California Marine Institute studying algael blooms and told me where to submit my application. She also suggested taking their two week scientific diving program, in which divers learn about diving theory, physics, physiology, dive planning and emergency accident management. In-water training would include numerous dives to practice essential data-gathering methodologies, and develop general diving skills such as beach, navigation, deep, night, and rescue. It would be partly on the mainland and partly on Catalina Island.