Blink Our Eyes Life's Rearranged

Summer. The time to live your life with no regrets, no mess, and no worries. Ha, yeah right. I was absolutely, completely, and utterly worried. Why? One word. College. Sure, it’s only June. Sure, I literally just graduated from high school like, two seconds ago but… summer’s not long. Especially since college starts in August. I have two months to have the time of my life. Two months… that I’ll be spending with my family in a cabin up at the lake. Meaning… what the hell am I going to do?

I nudged my bedroom door at the cabin open with my foot and took in the scent of dust and wood. The smell hadn’t changed in the fifteen years we’d been coming to the cabin. Dropping my bags on the bed and coughing at the clouds of dust that billowed up I walked to the wall where I left my posters from last summer. A layer of filth sat on the faces of Kevin, Joe, and Nick. A spider had created a web between the wall and my poster of the Eiffel Tower.

“I’ll have to wipe those off later,” I muttered, turning back to my bed. I sighed when I realized how much I had to unpack. I had stuff to make my bed, a shit ton of clothes, and my jewelry and makeup.

“Rach we’re going to the beach!” Cory, my younger brother, shouted up the stairs. “You coming?”

“Yeah! Let me change first!” I called back, my arm already halfway in one of my bags searching for a bathing suit.

As fast as I could I changed into the brand new bikini and grabbed one of my beach bags, tossing in a towel, a book, and my iPod. Slipping my flip flops on and grabbing my sunglasses I raced down the stairs meeting my family in the living room. My Dad and brother were sitting on the couch waiting for me but my mother was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“In the kitchen putting the food away,” Dad answered.

“According to her system,” Cory added and simultaneously he and Dad rolled their eyes. I turned on my heel and headed into the kitchen to find my mother assembling some food into the fridge.

“You coming to the beach, Mom?”

“No thanks honey. I have a lot to put away in here and it will be easier with the rest of you out,” she said, turning to smile at me. She held a head of lettuce in one hand, a bag of bell peppers in the other.

“Alright. See you later!”

“Put sunscreen on!” she shouted and I grunted in response, following my Dad and Cory outside.

As we made the familiar path from our cabin to the beach we watched all the families, old and new, flurrying about the camp ground. Kids were running from their cabins over to the playground in the middle of the whole grounds. Cars of families were coming in the entrance making their ways to their homes for the next two months. One car in particular caught my eye. It was black, big, with dark, tinted windows. Very different from the usual mini-vans and occasional station wagons. I shook my head, shoving it aside, and stopped at the edge of the beach.

“I’m going to find my own spot,” I said to them when they realized I had stopped walking. Cory shrugged and kept walking.

“If we don’t so you Mom wants us back at the cabin by five,” Dad said. I smiled and nodded in agreement, slipping my flips flops off as he walked away.

I sighed as my feet hit the sand. I relished in the feel of the grains between my toes, loving the texture and the temperature. Looking around I noticed that the beach was semi-crowded today. Patting my bag with my book inside, I weaved my way through the towels and chairs, looking for my usual spot down the beach. A smile came to my face when I saw it. My rock. Okay, not really my rock but I never see anyone else sitting on it ever so I like to think of it as mine. I dropped my flips flops on the ground next to it, taking my book and iPod out of my bag and setting the bag with my flip flops. The surface of the rock was hot at first from the shining sun but felt cooler as the skin on my legs adjusted.

I sat with the book closed on my lap for a few moments as I took in the view of the lake. It always made me happy just looking out at the surrounding trees and watching the waves. I grabbed my iPod, stuffing the ear buds into my ears and setting it on shuffle before finally grabbing my book, The Alchemist. This was a new book, for me at least. I had received a Barnes & Noble gift card from my grandmother for graduation and I used part of it to buy this book. I flipped to the first page and dove into the literature.

Sixteen pages in, I was already falling in love with the writing of Paulo Coelho and the character of Santiago. As I was about to turn the page I felt something hit my arm, causing me to drop the book into the sand as I lost my balance and tumbled over the side of the rock to the ground, my feet landing in the cold water. I shrieked and stood up, my iPod leaving my side and resting in the sand. Bending over I picked it up and turned around to grab my sunglasses. Straightening up I looked over the rock to see what or who had hit me.

On the ground next to my book was a football. Not a nerf football. No, a real, pig skin football. A shadow was approaching and I looked up to see someone jogging forward, the sun reflecting brightly off their sunglasses. I shielded my eyes and squinted trying to see who it was.

“Cory?” I called out. No response came as the person continued forward.

“I’m sorry,” he said as soon as he was close enough. His voice was indication enough that it wasn’t my brother. “I’m really sorry.”

“Um… it’s okay… I’m fine,” I said, walking around the rock so I was standing in front of him. He raised his sunglasses and stepped forward, taking my wrist in his hand and gently turning my arm to see where the ball had hit me. I gasped when I saw his full face with nothing hiding behind a pair of glasses.

“You’re not fine,” he muttered. “That’s going to bruise. Oh man… not even here an hour and already my clumsiness has hurt someone.”

“You’re Joe Jonas,” I said slowly and quietly as he continued to look at my arm. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine when I said that. A smile appeared on his face and he held his hand out. I put my hand in his, feeling slight calluses from his guitar playing as we shook.

“And you are?”

“Rachel,” I said, in disbelief that I was talking to Joe Jonas, shaking hands with Joe Jonas. “Rachel McCarthy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rachel. I don’t think I’ve ever met a fan to have a reaction such as yours,” he said, letting out a slight laugh.

“Well… I am eighteen,” I said, smiling at him as he released my hand. Joe laughed again then bent down to grab his football but to my surprise he picked up my book.

“Sorry I made you lose your place,” he muttered, shaking it so the sand would fall out. He flipped it over, wiping sand off the cover, his eyes widening when he saw the title. “The Alchemist?”

“Yeah, have you read it?” I asked, taking it from him and flipping to page 16, dog earring the page.

“It’s only one of my favorite books. Ever,” he said, now picking up the football.

“Oh cool,” I said, leaning up against the rock. “So um… what are you doing here anyway? It’s not like Lake Metawee is a major celebrity attraction.”

“The family just needed somewhere we could go to for a break from all of the Hollywood lifestyle. I mean, we’re grateful for it, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes we just need to be able to…”

“Breathe,” I finished for him and he smiled.

“Yeah, breathe.”

“So you’re staying here. In a cabin,” I said and he nodded his head.

“Yeah, cabin number fifteen. What number are you in?”

“Seven. We’ve been here a long time.”

“Lucky number seven,” he said and I laughed. “Are you here with family?”

“Yeah. My parents and younger brother. He and my Dad are here on the beach somewhere,” I said, looking around.

“Where’s your Mom?”

“Back at the cabin. She has a system for putting things away in the kitchen and she said it would be easier without us around. Where’s your family?”

“I’m here with my brothers and our parents are back at the cabin figuring out rooming situations since there are only three rooms and all that.”

“Gotcha,” I said, nodding my head.

“Do you want to meet them?” he asked and I turned my head to look at him.

“What?”

“Do you want to meet my family?” he said, laughing.

“Oh… yeah, sure,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Okay, come on,” he said, standing up from the rock.

“Now?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“There’s no time like the present,” he said, moving his sunglasses back over his eyes and walking backwards. I watched him for a minute and he stopped. “Well are you coming?”

“Yes!” I cried, bending down to grab my stuff. I put the book and my iPod back in my bag and grabbed my flip flops and followed Joe down the beach. I was following Joe Jonas down the beach of Lake Metawee and no one around us knew. It was surreal.