A Tale of Two Summers

Chapter 3

"Christopher," Grace said as she took a picture of the boy, "Smile."

So that's the Chris she always talks about, Sabrina thought.

Sabrina took her camera out again and began taking a video, the footage picking up Jacob play punching Chris' arm, Grace talking to one of the girls and Lisa smiling and saying hi to the camera. As soon as Lisa waved to the camera, Grace took it from Sabrina's hand.

"Hey-just don't break it please..." Sabrina tried not to make it obvious she didn't like Grace. The Dominicans seemed to love her, and the last thing Sabrina wanted was them to dislike her just because she didn't like Grace.

"I'm not gonna break it," Grace retorted as she filmed Lisa.

Sabrina sighed and sank into her seat.

"Don't be depresso," Emma said.

"She took my camera," Sabrina said.

"You don't need to act like a five year old about it. Be the mature one."

Sabrina sighed and nodded slowly, "Fine," she turned back around in her seat to face Grace, only to find one of the three year old twins playing with her camera.

Sabrina laughed as the girl put her hand on the lens, "What's her name?" she asked.

"Leah," Lisa said.

Wow these Dominicans have a thing for L names.

"And what's her sister's name?"

"Lisa," Lisa laughed, "She and I have the same name."

Well that's confusing.

So we rode in the bus for about two hours, and eventually we arrived at the center, where we checked in. We were about to go on a hike up a mountain through the jungle and then jump off 27 waterfalls on the way back down. Yeah, I know it was pretty awesome.

Everyone crowded into the center, and as Jaime checked the group in, Sabrina and Emma wandered around the gift shop, inspecting the little souvenirs and trinkets. So entranced with the beautiful craftsmanship, Sabrina bumped into someone behind her.

"Oh, sorry-" she froze. It was Christopher.

He laughed and patted her shoulder, "It's okay, it's okay," he said in his Spanish accent. Sabrina smiled and nodded as Chris turned to join Jacob again.

Dang, that was awkward.

Yeah, being the graceful person I was, I bumped into the hot guy I hadn't said a word to.... *slowly nods* let's just get on with it. We started to hike the mountain for about 30 minutes, and most of the time I was hiking with Emma and my friend Matt, but they eventually got ahead of me cuz I'm short and I have little legs.

Sabrina breathed in the warm air, the chirping of strange insects surrounding her. Everywhere she looked there was some kind of plant, tree, or creature she had never seen before. One of the tour guides even climbed a tree to get them some fresh fruit. As the group continued to make their way up the mountain, Sabrina heard footsteps behind her.

"Hi," Chris said as he walked to her side.

"Oh hey," Sabrina replied.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sabrina," she smiled.

"Sabrina..." he repeated quietly to himself, rolling the 'r'. "That is a cool name," he smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

"How old are you?"

"I'll be fifteen in a few weeks."

"Ohhh okay when is your birthday?"

"July 31," Sabrina replied, "What's yours?"

"March 24, I turned 15 a few months ago."

"Wh-" Sabrina was cut off by Grace's voice.

"Christopher come here!" she called from the front of the crowd.

Chris smiled and waved, "Okay! I'll talk to you later," he said to Sabrina. As he jogged ahead to join Grace, Sabrina shook her head and smirked.

"Well that conversation lasted long..." she murmured.

Christopher walked up to Grace, who pulled him closer to her and whispered in his ear, "Don't talk to Sabrina."

Chris frowned, "Why?"

"She's bad, you don't want to talk to her."

"She's nice Grace, I like her."

Grace pursed her lips and breathed in, "Just don't talk to her okay? Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course I do but-"

"Just don't hang out with her, hang out with me," she smiled as she slipped her arm around his.

Christopher frowned but didn't say anything else. He looked behind him to see Sabrina a few yards behind, looking at the plants and trees around her, her eyes full of fascination.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.