Fairy Eyes

Chapter 12: Aqua and Ember

Over time, Aqua and Ember created a group that was uniquely their own to make themselves feel better within their college experience. Their friendship proved to them that it doesn't matter where you are, it's what you make of it.

They slowly but surely began to open up about their life experiences, finding out that there was more they had in common than they had not. They both shared the frustration of growing up without a father, of being ethnically diverse, and of being on a college campus for the first time.

In fact, you can say they were both a bit obsessed with each other, that there was nothing that they could learn from others in their minds as much as they could learn from each otherS The amount of time they spent together caught the attention of and repelled the people around them. The more that they talked and hung out with people, the more thar church groups avoided them, teachers began to know them as a studying pair for better or for worst, and boys began to doubt that they were straight and instead lesbians. They were known as "Aqua and Ember" - the irony of their names becoming a joke among their peers.

No boy could get between them. No girl could tear them down.

Ember began to teach Aqua Spanish and Aqua taught Ember Mandarin - both choosing to minor in the other's language. They began to join cultural groups with one another, and take activities together like Flamenco, Yoga and Pilates.

Aqua decided that she would take a major in Public Relations. She really wanted to take the personal understanding of the dynamics of her family outward in making a more harmonious relation between different groups and individuals after talking out about her familial issues with Ember. Ember took a major in Psychology. She found through talking about Olivia, her mother, and talking through Aqua on familial issues that had a knack for understanding herself, others, and in paying attention, Both were so drastically affected by the meeting of the other that they decided to major in something they never before had an interest in and had successful academic trajectories that are based off things they were interested in and had an aptitude for.

They were both so annoying too. Texting each other constantly about the people they found funny, not realizing that other people knew they were talking about and making jokes about them. Making up new UGA chants that NOBODY wanted. They eventually began to be ignored by the girls around them that would dress up in the traditional red and black to the football games, and were losing touch with the university community - eventually coming out of interaction with their classmates, learning about other people, and avoiding possible intimate relationships. They came across as proud, rude, and were generally a discussion that people would ignore.

It was spring semester when Aqua was on her way to her Spanish class when she saw the sign for Busabout Tours. She saw one to the Greek Islands, and her mind became excited at the thought. Ember had started to read Percy Jackson due to her recommendation, so why wouldn't she want to go? After all, they were both Greek! The idea floated to her with the simple exoticness that strikes anyone working too hard for their own good. Partying on the beach with exotic, olive-skinned boys with brown curly hair. Scuba diving in the crystal blue waters exploring ancient ruins, and dancing to electronic music up til the break of dawn. Flying to the universe... touching the mysterious nature of the history and legends that exist hidden by the vast blackness of space...

Ember thought it was an excellent idea, and so did their moms at thinking how much more academic and independent their daughters would become after the trip. The date was set and booked. The trip was all they could think about.

"I've always felt connected to that area."

"Me too. Like if we could pull the veil of the stars of Santorini, a new world would give way."

"Exactly."

It didn't make sense to Aqua and Ember, but they had repeated dreams ever since they agreed in the trip. Neither told the other about them, but the secrecy of these dreams made them feel as if they could be torn apart from one another.

...
They went to the bar one day after the game with two of the girls that they met at the football game. They were meeting with some guys, and the implied purpose of the meeting was in holding one or another of the girls up with some of the fraternity guys.

They sat down and began talking to the girls. They ordered a round of drinks and when they were near done with the guys nowhere in sight, they decided to play jenga. They had so much fun, they hardly noticed the two guys watching them. They had come with the other guys, but when they found their dates the rest set to watch Aqua and Ember. One had brown hair? The other had blonde. They set to talking.

"So, you are both going to Athens?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah. We are really excited. Just booked a student tour of Greece."

"That's really cool. You're both half-Greek right? You look Greek."

"Yeah. We even had an absent Greek father."

"That's weird. That you would both look similar and have an absent father, like you both could be related."

...
It was a weird statement, and not one they had heard before. When they figured they were not interested in either one of them, the girls took a break to look at each other's faces in the mirror. For the most sort, they hardly looked alike, but they started noticing features they shared such as noses and forehead size.

"You know, maybe she's right. Maybe it's time we ask them. It couldn't hurt, and at least we would be able to move past it if we were sisters" said Aqua.