Emma wasn't used to being away from Jules. The Institute wasn't as lively as it was when Jules was there.
Mark was playing with Tavvy. Diana was in the study, doing some work. Ty was watching Dru.
Emma sat in the library reading, when Christina came in. " Hey Em, you wanna go to the beach?" Tina asked. Emma was relieved to find something to distract her from Julian," yeah, want me to get the rest of the girls?"
" Of course. It's going to be a girls day at the beach," said Tina.
10 minutes later, all of the girls were getting into Christina's car. They all wore shorts, tank-tops, and flip-flops. They had their bathing suits on underneath. They stowed their surf boards in the back of the car.
The sun was shining, so the beach was very crowded. The girls found a place to drop their stuff and lay out towels. They stripped down to their bathing suits.
Emma noticed half of the teenage guys on the beach were staring at them. When you train nearly everyday, you are very fit.
Emma took her surf board and paddled into the waves. The water splashed every time she put her hand in the water. Her hair was in a braid. It flopped from to side to side on her back.
She saw a wave coming. She stood up on her board and surfed the wave. The feeling was breath-taking. When the wave ended, she jumped into the water.
The other girls swam up to her. Tina laughed," you could've waited for us."
" It takes up precious time from my life," argued Emma.
Livvy started surfing on the next wave. The girls spent the next hour, surfing huge waves. They decided to rest for a little before going back in. They laid down on their towels and talked.
Christina started off," so, Tay how's it going with you and Ty?" She wiggled her eyebrows expertly, making Emma laugh. Taylor's face turned beet-red,"we're good. He's taking me out on a date tomorrow night."
Livvy, Emma, and Tina said," Oooooo." That made Taylor blush even more.
Livvy said," Girls, that guy over there is staring at us." Emma said," most of the guys here are watching us. Even the ones with girlfriends." Tina laughed.
Livvy said out of the corner of her mouth," the guy is walking towards us. Act like we weren't talking about him." Emma said," We weren't, but you were."
Emma turned and saw a guy nearing them. He had tanned skin and black hair. He walked straight up to Livvy and said," hey, I'm Adam. Call me sometime." He handed her a piece of paper, containing his number. After one look at the rest of the girls, he winked at Livvy and walked away.
When he was far enough away, the girls started squealing. " Livvy! " Tina went and sat on the same towel as her. Tina started rambling," are you gonna call him? Do you think he's cute? What kind of guy do you think he is? Do you think he's a gentleman? I wonder where he would take you."
Livvy put her hand on Tina's mouth," shush child. I don't think I'll call him. Yes, he was fairly cute. I think he is a player though. He probably dates another girl every week." She took her hand off Tina's mouth and said," no more questions." Christina huffed like a little kid when they didn't get what they wanted.
The girls went out for more surfing and then dried off and headed back to the Institute for dinner.
They walked into the dining room and the boys looked up from their dinner.
Ty looked at their wet hair and said," you all went to the beach without me? I am offended." He dramatically puts a hand to his chest.
Taylor laughed," it was girls day at the beach. No boys allowed." The girls sat down at the table and started eating.
Emma gazed at Julian's empty seat. Knowing he was so far away made Emma have a hollow feeling.
Tina said," today a guy at the beach gave Livvy his phone number."
Ty and Mark dropped their forks with a loud clang on their plates.
Mark said," Livvy. You are too young to date." Ty said," I know for a fact that he is not good enough for you, Livvy."
" Goodness! I wasn't going to call him." She turned to Mark," I'm 16 years-old. I am not to young to date. If it helps you sleep at night, you must know that I've never had a boyfriend."
She turned to Ty," you never even saw the guy. You wouldn't know what he's like." The boys dipped their heads down to their plates.
Tina said," hey girls. Why don't we all have a sleepover in my room?" They all agreed. The girls went to their rooms to get into their PJ's and then headed to Tina's room.
They watched movies on Tina's laptop and ate popcorn. They fell asleep after hours of gossiping.
Emma slept next to Christina's bed. She heard everyone breathing slowly, indicating that they were asleep.
Her eyes grew heavy, but she tried to resist going to sleep. What if she got a nightmare? Jules wouldn't be there to chase the bad dreams away. Emma finally got too tired and fell asleep.
The answer to her question awaited her.