What a Bunch of Fools We Lovers Are

I was in a daze as I made my way back to the campsite. I couldn't decide whether I had really heard Gavin singing or if I'd only imagined it. I was so inside my head that I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Faith yelling, "You've been gone for more than half an hour! What could possibly make a simple change of clothes take that long?"

"Sorry, I got distracted," I mumbled. "Are we still going swimming?"

"Everyone else is already at the lake," she said. "Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I... had a hallucination."

"What did you see?"

I sighed, hesitated, then said, "Gavin."

Faith's lips twisted into a smile. "This is some obsession, Serenity. Do you need me to intervene yet?"

I laughed. Faith and I had been keeping each other sane all our lives. We vowed long ago that the last thing we would lose each other to was a guy. "No, thanks. I can handle it."

"Fine. Just remember, I'm here for you whenever you need me." We shook hands, using the same handshake we invented in our childhood. "I trust you."

Aurora was the first person to see Faith and me arriving at the beach and raised one hand to wave at us, leaving only one hand to fend off the younger kids trying to flip over her inner tube. It wasn't more than three seconds before they succeeded and Aurora plunged, screaming, into the lake. She was laughing when she came up for air and ran one hand through her perfect blonde hair to push it back. Before I knew it, Aurora came charging at me from the lake, her entire body dripping wet. I tried to run, but she knocked me to the ground and pulled me into a huge, wet embrace.

"Blegh!" I spit some sand out of my mouth and said to Aurora, "I missed you too."

She laughed then and moved so I could sit up next to her. "You're just as energetic as I remember. That's comforting."

"Ah, and you're as hilarious as I remember. I imagine we've got a swell week ahead."

"Indeed we have."

Years ago, Aurora had been my best friend, just as close to me as my own twin sister, if not more. I'd always felt that I had far more in common with her than with Faith. But when her family moved away, we hardly bothered to keep in touch. After all, we were only seven. Ten years later, it was such a relief to know that Aurora and I still got along just the same.

Aurora's cerulean eyes widened suddenly, and a smile spread from her left ear to her right. "I have something to show you." She stood quickly, pulled my to my feet, and led me back to the campsite.