It all Comes in Waves: The Solitary Joy of the Ocean

Chapter 13

Ours was judged, and I thought by the judges faces, we got good feedback. This was the last one, so they walked away and talked some more. One of them pointed to a group on the end and shouted, "First!" He pointed to ours yelling, "Second!" Then the last one calling, "Third!"

"Alright, we got second!" Este nodded her head with her sparkly smile.

We all high fived each other, happy with the fun it was. The group that came in first got a pretty big prize, a bag of stuff or something, and one of the judges came to us, handing us each a bandanna.

"You guys win exclusive bandanna's!"

We each got a different color. I got yellow, Este with pink, Matt had blue, and Rowan got green. I held it in front of me and looked at it. It had a unique design across it, and in the middle a logo of the festivals name, Aroura, and the sun logo.

I won't lie, the bandanna's sort of reminded me of home. Something classic like this. Everyone around town typically used one or wore it. My dad always wore one around his head too. Some men kept them in their pockets. Sherry had them hanging around the diner. And I had some of my own around my bedroom.

I shook out of it, and returned to where I really was now. Some place way better. With the best group of friends and the beautiful sea.

* + ❀ + *

It was a while later now, and we were walking back from the beach after hanging there a while longer. Mine and Este's clothes were back on once we dried off, and now we're deciding what to do next.

"Let's get some lunch." Este finally suggested.

"Perfect time for the most random food truck food." Matt chuckled.

Rowan wanted to keep it low with something simple. I realized he had always been sort of stubborn about trying new food. I decided I didn't want anything crazy right now either, so I joined him. The four of us split up into two's again, and agreed to meet at the sit in area Rowan and I were at earlier this morning.

Rowan led me through the crowd again by my hand. He seemed to like making sure I was right there. After walking through the trucks a while, we both decided on simple hotdogs and to share a basket of fries. We ordered and got drinks, then went to get a spot to sit since Este and Matt hadn't ordered yet.

A couple minutes later, they found us and sat down with their food.

"What is that?" Rowan made a face.

Este rolled her eyes at him. "We got street tacos filled with cool stuff. And churros!"

We began to eat our food, another new band coming to the stage which we could see in the distance from here. I loved all the music I heard so far. Matt and Este occasionally reached over and stole some of Rowan and I's fries. After Este's third time, Rowan gave her a glare. But I knew he was kidding.

"What?" Este paused. Silence. "Want some churros?"

"Fine." Rowan sighed, and stole a couple of their churros.

"Want to try one, Eileen?"

"Sure." I agreed.

I took one from the plate, and took a bite. The cinnamon and sugary taste with its weird texture filled my mouth. It was something different.