"What if the love of your life is there, but you never meet them because you look like a hobo?" I ask.
"Alright, alright," Kennedy says, leaning over to fiddle with the Bluetooth. "I'm playing some music because pro tip, never give Liam the opportunity to talk about his love life."
"Or lack thereof," I interrupt.
"Because he'll go on for hours." Kennedy scrolls through her phone to find a playlist.
"Hey, you love listening to me talk about my crushes," I say. "And laughing at me."
Kennedy grins. "Oh, Liam. I love you. I can't wait for you to date someone."
"Wow, you're suddenly being nice," I drawl.
"It's going to be hilarious," Kennedy says, then strategically starts playing music through the speakers before I can interrupt.
I wave my middle finger at her. She turns and sees it and bursts into laughter. "Hey, you ragged on me when I got a boyfriend, so it's only fair," Kennedy says, voice loud over the music.
Bonnie and I laugh, but I notice Curtis stiffen beside me. My smile fades.
The music fills the silence as everyone keeps their eyes on the window, looking out on the ocean. To look at the expanse of blue, with the curly white clouds hanging above it, I have to look past Curtis. Good thing I'm taller than him, though unfortunately, it means his golden head obstructs my view.
The song changes and a pop song from last year plays. Erin comments that Kennedy's music taste is out of date, and Kennedy protests that it's a classic.
I remember nodding my head to this song at a party, about this time last year, during the Easter holidays. Jennifer Grant invited the whole year level to her party, and I remember I was standing in a group of guys when Curtis joined us. His cheeks were pink, and it made him look innocent. His shirt stretched over his broad shoulders, his teeth white in the light. His hair was almost as messy as mine.
"Someone's been playing with you," one guy had said, gesturing to his hair.
#
The sailing club walls are dove grey, the roof bright blue, and the building is on a square of grassy land that gradually slides into the ocean. The car park was full, so Erin had to park down the street.
There are so many tourists here, and we're all led inside to a large room filled with rows of chairs like a school assembly. At the front of the room, a man named William tells us all we need to know. We'll be divided up into groups of two or three, depending on weight, and lead out to the ocean. William's colleague, a guy called Alex who looks to be in his mid-twenties, explains the safety precautions and reassures us we'll be safe.
Later, the two of them hand out life jackets and help people put them on. Alex helps me, and up close, I notice he has strong forearms and bright blue eyes. I've always found blue eyes to be stunning.
"Do people capsize on purpose?" I ask.
He chuckles as he pulls on my life jacket to make sure it's properly secured. "Don't know why people would want to, especially in this weather."
"What if it's the middle of summer, and people want a swim? I went sailing once for a high school camp — I'm in high school, by the way."
"No," Alex drawls with a smile.
"Are you being sarcastic?" I ask. "Come on, I don't look that young, do I?"
"You've got to be in your last year. Seventeen, eighteen?"
"Eighteen," I say. "Anyway, the point is, when I sailed for camp, everyone capsized on purpose. So is that, like, against the rules or…"
He shakes his head. "It's not against the rules, and even if it were, you could claim that it was an accident. Capsizing is pretty safe, especially with your life jackets, and it's easy to get back on the boat. So you won't, like, die or anything."
"Okay, thanks for, like, explaining that to me."
"You're, like, so welcome."
With a laugh, I thank him for his help before he leaves to help someone else. Curtis, in fact.
"There aren't sharks out there, right?" Curtis asks Alex.
