To debut, the five members of Apple Hair join AWE Entertainment, the first company of its kind in Oahu, Hawaii. Inspired by K-pop companies, the rigid training system is too much for most trainees to bear. But Van, Corrin, Kaden, Seiya, and David ar...
I waste about five hundred of them, trying to tell Seiya that Corrin needs to take a week or two off. His uncaring boyishness really shines through when he assures me that things are fine, even though Corrin hasn't slept a wink in three days.
On Sunday, our only off day, I abandon Seiya as he shops for a new basketball online. I head to the doctor, one bus stop away.
"Are you still considering surgery?" The doctor hits me in the face—candor probably his best medicine.
"No, I can't," I say.
"Your scoliosis is pretty severe," he says. "If you don't get surgery, it could affect your lungs. Long term."
The doctor's little stubble on his chin annoys me. I end up leaving the office feeling worse than when I came in. I don't know anything about the guy except for the fact that he's been trying to convince me of this surgery for a year now. It's annoying. My little sister agrees with him, but they both aren't set on debuting—there's no such thing as recovering while my other four members chase their dreams full force.
When I return home, Seiya has finished shopping and he wants to drive down to the beach. My back aches, either from the scoliosis or the thought of the scoliosis—I don't know. The brain is surely powerful. I snuff out the thought before it can catch onto me any further.
While Corrin tries to take a nap, Van is spending time with family and David's with a few friends. I know maybe I should talk to my sister—who lives with my grandparents. But Seiya seems insistent. He drives us down to Lanikai Beach, one of his favorites.
He brings his old basketball, and after walking on the sand for about an hour, he challenges me to a game at the nearest basketball court. "I need your advice on something," he says, stopping in the middle of dribbling.
"What is it?" I say, already knowing what he's going to say.
"David," he says. "I don't know... what to feel about him. It's like, my brain always fires off when I'm near him. I can't focus or think shit."
"Just talk to him instead of me," I say. I stride forward, stealing his basketball. As I go to shoot, my back tenses up. I stumble. My shoulder hits the pavement, and I think it'll bleed.
"Dude!" Seiya leans down beside me, trying to help me up. Maybe it's the first time he's admitting liking David. Maybe it's time for me to let out a secret too.
"I have scoliosis," I say, sitting on a nearby bench. Seiya has his arm out, supporting me in case I magically fall to the floor like a spinning top.
"Isn't that for like, old people?" Seiya says, squinting against the sun.
I'd scoff if the cut didn't hurt so bad. "No. It could be for anyone. I just have a pretty severe case, and if I did the calculations correctly—"
"Don't do the calculations, dude," Seiya sighs, hitting our shoulders together—my good one, thankfully. "It's best not to think too hard. But hey... thanks for telling me. I really feel like I can trust you."
Seiya reaches into his backpack and magically produces a first aid kit. He takes out some antiseptic and bandages, torturing me like he's using everything for the first time. "Does it really sting that bad?" he says, cringing as I tense my jaw so tightly that it might strain.
"Of course," I say. "You should know, being so sporty and all."
"Dude," he says after he finishes in silence. "I brought the book with me. Wanna write something in it?"
"You just left our most prized possession in your backpack while we played basketball?" I say.
"Yeah! Why not?" He holds the book and runs his hand over the suede cover.
"Why don't we draw a picture?" I say. "Something that will represent us. We might as well try something different."
He opens the cover, clicking his gel pen until the sound annoys me. "Yeah. Let's draw an apple with some planets around it. It can become our logo later. Sick."
"Sick is right," I say, trying not to infuse too much sarcasm into it.
Seiya opens the notebook and begins to draw. As I look up, the air shimmers around the basketball hoop. I shake my head and ascribe it to imagination. There has to be an explanation on why Apple Hair is experiencing so many anomalies.
"I'll draw the planets," I say, taking the notebook from Seiya when he freezes.
I draw quickly, not caring that my artisticness only adds up to stick figures, one-lined birds and in this case, loops that can only dream of being symmetrical. I look at the drawing when it's done—Seiya salvaged the piece, I must say.
"Okay," I say. "Let's head to Longs and pick up something for Corrin."
"Yeah, like melatonin or some shit," Seiya says.
I think about my and Seiya's first meeting. We didn't mix at first—he thought I was too serious. I didn't blame him. But now... he's starting to trust me. I don't know how to process that like I would counting the seconds of the day.
As we walk back to the car, my focus lies on the pavement in front of us. I look up after hearing a gasp.
"Boys!" Armani Bera stands with a surfboard in hand. She's dressed in a sky blue two piece bikini with a dab of sunscreen not yet rubbed into her nose.
"Armani!" Seiya does a double take. "I didn't know you were the... er, surfer type."
"I love to dance, swim, play tennis—and of course surf." She gives us a little wink and turns her board.
On the white surface, something flashes and catches my eye. It's my turn to do a double take. A medium sized sticker, a large apple with planets around it, joins a bunch of other equally random stickers.
I turn toward Seiya. His eyes widen—I know he saw it too.
Armani seems blissfully unaware as she waves at us with her left hand. She skips down toward the beach, her bare feet not caring about the pebbles and twigs.
"You saw that too?" Seiya says, huffing a bit.
Breath escapes me too, and not because of the basketball session. "Um. Yeah."
"We're talking about this at dinner, man," Seiya says, heading off toward the car.
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Things are getting a little spooky in this spooky season!
Going by your first impression, which member would you like to hang out with? I think hanging out with Kaden would lead to a pretty interesting conversation!
