It was time for the last ritual. I pulled my auburn hair away from my olive toned face and hazel eyes. I didn't know I was going to be nervous going on a trip I had gone on with the girls almost every summer. Sadly, this time, it would be our last. I dragged the zipper on my loose fitting jumpsuit and threw on my floppy hat ready to take a picture when my phone buzzed. It was Katie.
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"Hey you!" Her large brown eyes winked into the camera" What in God's name are you wearing?" I brought my phone down enough to show her the jumpsuit. We called her gingerbread because she had brown eyes, hair and loved brownies.
"That's cool, I was scared for a bit though, you're the surprising one." We giggled.
She was referring to the first time I met the girls at the beach, I was in a pair of tight denim trousers and ankle boots.
"Let me add Vanessa to the call"
Vanessa was our little star, she was the one with the voice of a nightingale and looks of a peacock.
"Hey, Van!" Her twinkly green eyes collided with her full red lips as she smiled. We called her little star because her eyes were shiny and she was well, little.
"Hi girls"
I was the quiet one and the last to join the gang. Infact when I initially started hanging out with them, I almost had nothing to say. I used to sit back and enjoy their free spirited conversations, their almost inevitable quarrels and their unique love for one another.
"Has anyone seen or heard from Anabel? I cannot reach her cell phone." Vanessa darted her green eyes worriedly.
"She's probably trying hard to fit her donut mass into a bikini to impress us. Let's go over to her place and stop her!" Katie said arousing deep throated laughter from all of us. Yes, Katie was like that. She had a way of talking down on people without thinking and that was almost usually the basis of all quarrels in the gang.
I picked my picnic box and headed downstairs to meet my stepdad who had been waiting to drop me off.
"Hey Sean, I'm ready now" his grey eyes folded at the corners as he smiled.
"You look beautiful" I rolled my eyes and said "thanks"
"So, where are we headed?"
"Anabel's house. The girls are converging there."
We were the last to get to Anabel's. Her parents were holding her up trying to pack their entire refrigerator so she didn't get hungry because she was 'staying out all day' and 'had a healthy appetite'.
"I'm so sorry guys, you know how Mr and Mrs Smith can be" she gave a pout which made her chubby cheeks even chubbier
"Oh, we know. Come on, who's driving?"
The beach ritual was one we formed after meeting two years ago on the beach. My mom had just gotten married and I was yet to adapt to the change so I just began strolling and ended up there. Anabel and Vanessa had been best of friends already and were having a nice time while Katie was fighting depression because her boyfriend dumped her for her best friend. That day, fate brought us together and we made it a point of duty to come back to the beach every year to relive those memories.
"How do y'all feel though?"
Anabel's large blue eyes searched into each of us, her blonde hair and maxi dress playing with the wind.
"I feel like a huge part of me is going away"
Katie scoffed
"Van, if any part of you goes away, there would be nothing left" we would have laughed but some how, noone found that funny. It was a sacred moment.
"How about you Jess, how do you feel?" They had the spotlight on me now
"Well I feel…nervous?" I gave a nervous laugh to support that statement
"Everyone feels nervous about college. It's okay" this was why Anabel led the group. She was like our mother.
"Alright, before we eat, let's do the memory recalling ritual. I'll go first." Anabel sat up "My best moment here on the beach was when Vanessa stood up to one barbecue faced guy who called me fat." We laughed. Vanessa sat up next.
"Oh, my favorite memory was when Katie and I stood right in the water and cried our eyes out, in each other's arms,.just after I pulled out some of her hair" Katie pushed her down screaming "Down with you pirate" and sat up. "Well, my bestest memory was when we stuffed our faces with chocolate then ended up at the hospital, which made us miss school and spend time together for an entire day!"
"That was one hell of a day Katie how did you remember that?" Vanessa laughed hard until she turned pink. I sat up.
"Every memory with you girls is my best one."
"This kid is gonna make me cry" Anabel sniffed, I smiled
"I didn't know what family could be until I met three of you. You girls helped me get away from the pain of loosing my dad and helped me accept my stepdad. But my favorite memory is that day Anabel called out to me despite how weirdly I was dressed to the beach and said 'hey you, wanna have some cake?' That question changed my life."
True to her words, Anabel was sobbing already.
"Oh come here you adorable creature" Anabel grabbed me in an embrace and before I could say I wasn't breathing, Vanessa and Katie joined in. Even if Anabel was going to suffocate me, there was no other death wish I would rather have than die with my beach memories.
