Grown Up (On HOLD)

Chapter Four

The girls walked down the boardwalk, sandals in hand. The crashing of the waves was barely heard over the continuous laughter emitting from their mouths. After being in Australia for three days, they had yet to see beach. So there they’d been since ten in the morning. Continuing onto the beach and away from the food booths tempting beachgoers with ice cream, soda, and candy, the sand filled its way around their feet. A beach ball sailed over their heads straight into a five-year-old girl’s just finished sand castle. Daisy drifted off to help her make more castles after a quick goodbye. The rest of them drifted off once Daisy was gone. Lauren and Rebecca walked over to the volleyball game going insulting each other the whole time. Hannah sat down on a small hill and started sketching people making out as always. The only thing that kept it from crossing the pervy line was the fact that the people were never real just dreams and figments of the imagination.

            Cara and Mackenzie spotted a girl with a camera and made their way over when Hope said she wanted to keep walking. The girl looked about their age with orange hair that was somehow still perfect despite the ocean wind. She kept snapping pictures of seagulls and the nearby pier when the two girls stopped in front of her. She paused mid-snap and moved her camera out of her face.

            “Hi! Can I help you?”

 Mackenzie answered in a shocked voice, “You look very familiar… but anyway, we were coming to ask if you would mind getting a few pictures of us. We have a camera you can use? And did you happen to go to Bullert High School in America by any chance?”

            “No, I went to Pollyvince High. It’s close though! I’m Emily Emdo. And no, I wouldn’t mind taking pictures of you guys.”

            “OHMYGOD! Emily Emdo! I’m Mackenzie Jonson! And this is Cara B! We went to middle school together!”

            “I remember you! You all kept calling me perfect! Hey Cara!”

            “Hi Emily! What’s happened to you since middle school? Why’d you come to Australia, anyway?”

            “How about we just go grab some fries and pop and we can talk?” Emily asked

            “Pop? Do you mean soda? This is Australia, not Idaho honey. But yeah, sure.” Cara agreed.

            They left the beach and headed to the pier, texting Hannah where they were going so as to avoid worry. They found a small restaurant overlooking the waves and sandy beaches. They sat down and Emily started her life story. “After middle school, I went to Pollyvince High where I took all kinds of classes. I joined Yearbook Club, Photography Club, and I helped with the school newspapers. I somehow managed to get out of there with perfect grades and perfect hair everyday. I went straight to college from there in Idaho- I missed the potatoes too much. After college, with an award-winning thesis by the way- I got job offers as a photographer from the New York Times, Vogue, and National Geographic. I chose Geographic and they’ve been sending me places ever since. I’ve seen the Northern Lights, Cape Perpetua in Oregon, Emerald Lake in New Zealand, Phacelia flowers in the middle of a desert, the BurjKhalifa and surrounding skyscrapers reaching beyond the clouds, the Haus Rizzi in Germany, the Lena Pillars in Russia, the Danxia in Zhangye, the Banpo Bridge in Seoul, and Skagen, Denmark where the Baltic and North Seas join. I was sent to Australia to do a piece on the Great Barrier Reef and Morning Glory clouds in the Gulf of Carpentaria but I decided to take a vacation in Cairns. (A/N- look up pictures of those places! They all exist and are very cool!)

            While the three exchanged stories, Daisy was looking for a large square of shell or sea glass for the castle door. She had roamed off to a nearly empty area of the beach and was shocked to find a small turtle instead. She brought it back to her friends and pleaded with them to keep it. They finally agreed after suffering through a good five minutes of shout of desperation mixed with excitement.