Becoming the Luna

Dale is driving us all in his Escalade and I'm at the backseat trying my hardest not to stare at the rearview mirror because each time I end up locking gazes with either Dale or Virgil and someone was bound to ask me soon why I'm so red but it's not as easy as it sounds, my eyes keep getting dragged back to that blasted mirror.

"Now that we are all together in a confined space," Shana starts to say, a blissful light coming into her eyes. "We might as well make plans for our summer vacation."

"You guys are traveling?" Mae asks in pleasant surprise, Shana had nearly died when she thought that Mae would be sitting beside her but she had instead opted to sit beside my mom.

"Yeah." I reply when it doesn't seem like Shana is going to provide an answer. "Just to the city though, what about you? Aren't you going somewhere?"

She shrugs, she's in a sunny yellow tank top and loose shorts, her curly hair in a fuzzy ponytail. "My mom might decide to go see her parents this time, the summer holidays are way longer than the one in winter anyway so it's best she makes the trip now."

I silently wow at this. "So you're going to Africa then?" I ask for confirmation.

"Yup."

"Ever been there before?" Dale asks and I glance at Virgil, everyone seems genuinely interested in Mae's take.

"Yeah, a couple times." She says succinctly.

"That's nice, so how's Africa? Do they have talking monkeys?" Shana asks with a kind of child-like excitement and we all stare at her like she had shrunk down to the size of a five-year-old and her brain also did the same.

"What? Africa has cool things." She defends.

Mae huffs a laugh at this. "No, we don't have talking monkeys but Africa is pretty cool, although I've only visited Nigeria, I'm quarter Nigerian anyway and I'm pretty sure there aren't any talking monkeys in Nigeria." She continues in a dry voice. "Nigeria is really nice, it's way warmer than Reef that's for sure, Reef is an icicle compared to it and so colorful. I love going to the markets with my Aunt, I stay in the capital, Lagos and I get to go to the beach…" She trails off at this point, her eyes going wide. "Oops! I'm rambling, sorry for monopolizing the conversation, I'll just say Nigeria is wonderful, you should all come visit sometime." She invites with an open expression.

"We just might." My mom grins a reply.

The pool we're headed to is a public pool of sorts, it seems highly unnecessary to have private pools in a tiny town where it rains half the year, has a couple weeks of sunshine, and starts to get cold again for the winter besides no one ever came to the collection of square holes filled with water that is partitioned off, which meant we get a pool all to ourselves.

"You'll have to complete your planning back at the house, Shana." Dale grins at her. "We're almost at the pool."

It baffles me sometimes how Dale just seemed to fit in perfectly in my life like he's always been there, I still remember the times he wasn't here but they're becoming more distant now.

"I can't believe I'm not invited to your beachside summer vacation." My mom pouts believably.

"Because you were a teenager nearly two decades ago." I sass her.

She just gives me an affronted look. "I knew I shouldn't have changed my mind when I thought of yeeting you into the woods as a baby."

"I'm sorry, Renee." Shana placates her. "But you'll be spending the time at Maggie's place, Candy says she'll be there too."

My mom sprawls on the seats in despair. "Exactly why I'd rather fly with Mae to Africa."

Shana gives her a smooth smile. "Who says you can't?"

I raise a hand quickly. "Me! I say she can't."

Laughter rolls through the car but I keep my face serious, I actually mean it. The time we would be spending at my beach house would be the most time I'd ever stayed away from my mom. I can't survive if she decides to go to Africa unless I'm strapped to her back.

"How long will we spend in Reef?" I ask Shana as we all file out of the car, bags in hand.

Shana throws me a smug smile and my stomach flips. "The whole summer."

I feel my jaw drop at this but she's already moved ahead, what?? The whole summer?? Living constantly with Virgil and Dale?? - I mean, I know that was what practically happens but it helps that I know they have their houses too.

We pick an empty pool and step into the confined space, all the pools are of similar sizes but it helps that there's more than one, pools could get really crowded sometimes and unless it's a pool party, no one really wants that.

The aqua blue squares of water are partitioned off by glass slides so you can see what's happening in the next pool, as we pass by the quiet hallways I see a lone person swimming in one of the pools we passed.

There were two changing rooms at each end of the pool, complete with shower stalls. We had already taken off our shoes at the entrance and now we had silly, colorful, rubber flip flops on, my feet disappearing in them.

"You'll come over to our side to get changed right, Baby?" My mom invites, already starting for the other end of the pool where the female changing room apparently is.

I freeze, shellshocked at her suggestion but then I realize that I'm going to be next to naked in a private stall with Dale and Virgil equally doing the same and that makes up my mind for me.

Usually, we wore our one-piece swimming trunks under our clothes but with my mom who keeps insisting that she had already packed up my swimming trunks in the designer bag slung over her shoulder, there's no way I could have done that.

I silently follow her in mortification, why did having fun with my friends have to come along with these embarrassing side packages.

Luckily, they're nice enough to give me privacy and I'm grateful too, I've walked in on Shana changing way too many times than could be healthy, adding Mae to that list would kill me for sure.

I get out of my clothes and fold them neatly into the dressers made available for this purpose, showering first before I get into the swimming trunks that my mom has been screaming about all day.

There's a mirror in the bathroom and I know I shouldn't have looked but I can't help the urge, I peek into the mirror and let out a muffled sound of horror.

"I'm naked." I mutter blankly to myself, staring at the swim trunks that left my upper body and most of my legs bare.

I glance at the showerhead with longing, maybe I could crawl up and hide in it.

I turn around slightly to fully inspect the swimwear and make another sound of dismay at my findings, the tight black spandex made my ass look fat, maybe I could just hide in a towel all day and not swim. I didn't really like swimming anyway, I easily got cold.

"Hayden?" Shana's voice calls to me, interrupting my mini existential crisis, she sounds like she's alone and I wonder how long I've been in here, mentally debating if to strangle myself with my long hair or not.

I don't reply, wondering if I could stall long enough to matter in here so when I finally get out, I won't have to spend long in these accursed swimming shorts.

"Are you dead?" She asks again and I hear a soft pattering of bare feet like she's making her way to my stall. "Did you slip and fall again?"

"No." I finally reply but my voice comes out in a pinched squeak.

I clearly hear her sigh and deduce that she's standing just outside the door. "So what's wrong? You can't get the trunks on? Need help?" She asks in concern, truly believing that somehow I wouldn't know how to fit my two legs in two obvious holes.

"I know how to put on the trunks, Shana." I tell her dryly.

"Oh? Then what's the problem?"

I sigh at this, staring forlornly at my reflection. "I look horrible." I finally reply in a pout.

Shana makes a disagreeing noise and huffs. "That's impossible, I believe you've proved that you can look good in anything."

"Not swim trunks apparently." I mutter under my breath but somehow Shana manages to catch my words.

"Look, I'm coming in." She says, already flinging the door open before I can stop her or at least try to crawl up the showerhead.

"N-No! D-Don't!..." I'm too late because she's already barging in.

"What are you going on about?" She asks, giving me a head to toe look over. "You look just fine, come on." She latches onto my hand and pulls me out.

I hear myself screaming in my head as this happens, my life is definitely ending and I hadn't even gotten to play a 'Ukukele' yet.