Seashells

July 27th, 2007

So yeah, that really sucked.

I'd grounded before, many times (mostly just for not doing my chores) so I was used to it. During the school year, I missed a lot of things because of that. But my parents never grounded me on the island. It was like an unspoken rule. We were on vacation, and they tended to be more lenient then.

I guess leaving the island was pushing it, and looking back I see that I could have gotten a much worse punishment. Although, in a way, it was the worst thing they could have done to me. It was cutting my time with you - and my other friends - short. I only saw you guys for about two months a year, so in that way it was completely unfair. It would have been better if they waited until we got home and then grounded me.

Of course, they had to ground me. And it was horrible. All I did was read books, but my mind was wandering. I had to read the same page about four times before I picked up on what was going on. Then I'd just forget it all when I went to the next page.

I kept thinking of you and what had happened. Did you get grounded, too? For how long? Would you be done with your punishment by the time I was? I knew Sim and Matt would be okay, so I wasn't worried about that.

I considered asking my brother about you guys, but I was afraid he would just call me obsessed or something. So I just avoided him, because the temptation to ask him was too much.

Three weeks passed and I was a zombie by then. An excited zombie. I was so tired, probably from sleeping so much that my body was used to it by then. But my first plan was to meet up with all my friends that day.

My mom reluctantly gave me my phone back and the first number I dialed was Sim's (it would have been you but you still didn't have a phone). It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. I hung up and tried again. This time, she picked up on the third ring.

"Cassie!" she said immediately. "Are you okay?"

"No," I said. "What have I missed?"

"Oh, so much," she said. "It really sucks that you got grounded like that. Reading books all day sounds like torture."

"How did you know I read books all day?" I asked, confused.

"Austin told me."

So he was talking to Sim. Maybe I should have asked him after all. "Oh. Did your parents get mad?"

"Nope. Like I said, they didn't really care."

"What about the others?"

"Oh, they're fine. Matt and Aden just got yelled at."

I had mixed feelings about that. While I knew Matt probably wouldn't get a punishment, I didn't think you would be let off that easy. I didn't like the thought of you hanging out with our friends without me. I kind of hoped you were grounded along with me, so that we could catch up on things... together. Does that make me a bad person? "That's good," I said, not sure if I meant it. "We should do something today."

"I've got that covered, Cass-Cass."

"Did you just call me Cass-Cass?"

"Yes, I did. Meet me at the ice cream parlor at two." She hung up.

I thought to call other people, but then I realized that it was already one o'clock (my sleeping cycle really got messed up in three weeks). Then, I started panicking. What first? Should I shower and do my hair? Or should I eat lunch?

I went with showering. Food could wait, and I could buy something while I was out anyway. I picked out a nice outfit for my return to normal people civilization. I opened my makeup drawer. It hadn't been touched in weeks, and I felt relieved that I would finally have a reason to use it again.

When I was done, it was around one fifty-five. I started panicking yet again. My parents weren't home (their car was, so they must have been close by) and I had no other way to get to the ice cream parlor but walk. And I really didn't want to be late for this. I went to the kitchen to try to figure out what to do or what to eat. Then my brother came out of his bedroom, holding the keys to my parents' car.

"Austin!" I said, rushing to him. "Are you going somewhere?"

He looked at me, then said, "Obviously."

"Can you take me somewhere real quick? It will only take a minute."

"No way, I'm going to be late."

"Please!" I begged. "Just to the ice cream parlor."

"The ice cream parlor? That's where I'm going. But I have to go now."

"I'm ready," I said. "Give me one second."

"You get one minute or I'm leaving your ass here. I'll wait in the car."

I sprinted into my bedroom and grabbed everything I needed. Luckily, everything was in my purse except for my wallet, which I had left on the kitchen counter. When I put on my shoes and went outside, my brother was already pulling out of the driveway. I ran to it and got in the backseat while it was moving (not fast, though).

"Really, Austin?"

"Took you long enough," he muttered.

I didn't really care - the car was very much preferable to walking all the way. When we got there, it was hard to find a parking space. Not because there were too many cars, but because there were people standing in the spaces. They did move eventually because they didn't want to get run over.

Before Austin got up, I noticed him leaning towards the passenger seat and picking up a bouquet of flowers. Daisies, to be exact.

"Ooh, who are those for?" I asked.

"None of your business," he said.

"Your boyfriend, probably," I teased. It really didn't matter all that much to me.

I got out of the car and looked around. Sim was no where to be seen in the front, so I assumed she was in the back with the older kids. Austin disappeared and I figured I could walk home from this if I really wanted to.

"There you are!" Sim said, emerging from behind some boxes.

"Yeah, here I am. Is anyone else here?"

"Just us right now," she said. "The rest are on their way. Everyone our age."

"Where are the older kids?" I asked. This was their place, anyway.

"Oh right, you missed it. We kicked them out."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "How did you manage to do that one?"

"Long story," she said, and it didn't seem like she was going to tell me it. That explains why Austin went off in the other direction, though. "I'll tell you everything when everyone else gets here."

We waited and everyone started showing up. Halden and Des came together, Karen followed shortly after that. I wondered what we were going to do today and if it included food. I didn't eat anything that morning and it was really getting to me.

"Tell your stomach to shut up," Des said to me.

I rolled my eyes, Sim-style. "Sorry."

"Hey, your favorite flowers are lilies, right?" Karen asked me.

"Uh, yeah," I said. I wondered how she knew. Or why she was asking.

"Yeah, that's what you said when we took those quizzes in that magazine or whatever it was. Remember? Like two years ago."

"Oh yeah," I said. Well, that answered my first question, but I still had no idea why she had randomly brought that up.

"Cassidy," a voice said from behind me. I turned to see that it was you, and instantly my mouth curled up into a smile. Your hands were behind your back and I ran up to hug you. You stopped me, though, and showed me what you were holding.

It was a huge bouquet of lilies. I was speechless as I accepted them, and I felt like there was nothing that could make this wrong. You smiled at me, and I think I may have melted on the spot.

And I guess that answered my second question.