I wake up slowly. My eyes adjusting to the sun. I stand up from my bed to find myself tumbling over boxes and clothes. I had just moved to Lanai, Hawaii from Chicago. A sudden burst of angriness hits me. I hate this, I miss my friends, I want to go home. I mean I love Hawaii and the warm weather but I want my friends here with me. I pick myself off the ground and stumble out into our new house. “If my moms stupid boyfriend didn’t have to move for business I wouldn’t be here” I say under my breath. I walk into the kitchen to find my moms boyfriend, Adrian making breakfast. “Hello sweetie!” My mom pops up from behind him. I roll my eyes as I walk into the living room. “Hey I know your mad but your friends can visit. This will be good for us to live here”. I sigh, “I’m going to look around town.” I say and run into my bedroom to get changed. As I rummage through my clothes I can only find an ugly pair of blue shorts and and stained tank top. I guess I didn’t have much Summer clothes. Instead I put on a swimsuit and slip into a beach dress and flip flops. I look through the messy boxes looking for my wallet that I had accidentally packed. Finally finding it I run out of the house saying nothing else to my mom. As I walk out of the door a salty breeze flows through my long dirty blond hair. I take a deep breath. This place is definitely not like Chicago. As I roam through town I find some stores that I think are cute. As I walk through them I find many pairs of shorts and tank tops. As I glance up from my selections I see a kid staring at me from the other side of the store. Cute, brown hair, tan, brown eyes. I quickly look down and grab my wallet out of my bag. When I walk up to the counter I find a a teenage girl same age as me, 14. I set my stuff down on the counter.
“is this all?”
she says in a welcoming voice.
“Yeah, thanks.”
As she scans the items she says
“Have you just moved?”
“Yeah how’d you know?”
I ask confused.
“Well as you can see this island isn’t very crowded. You kinda get to know everyone here”.
“Yippee”
I say in a sarcastic voice.
“Yupp, where have you moved from?”
“Chicago, I guess I’m going to have to get used to it here, its so much different”.
“I feel you, I moved here a couple years ago from Maine. I had to leave all of my friends but I made even better ones here, you will fall in love with the Ocean. Oh and your total is $37.65.”
“Thanks!”
I say and start to turn away from the table.
“Wait!”
She says loudly.
“Maybe me and my friend can show you around since your new and all, we know all these cool spots to go.”
“I’d like that thanks, whats your name?” I ask
“Emily, whats yours?”
“Haley”
I say happily. I write down my number on the notepad by the counter.
“Call me whenever!”.
I walk out of the store. I think about what she says about the Ocean and walk down to the beach. I walk along the shore, the water tickling my feet picking up seashells on the way. I find a good spot on the beach and take off my sundress showing my slightly tan body. I walk into the waves and feel the warm current against me. The soft sand underneath my feet. I go underwater opening my eyes, it hurts for a second but I used to open my eyes all the time when we went on vacation. My eyes adjust and I can see clearly. As I swim deeper into the water I see something shining at the bottom. I swim down closer to the silver glistening object. I pick it up from the sand to find a key. I grab it a swim up into the sun. As I my head pops up from the waves I examine the key. I see strange writing as I look harder at it. A poem, with this key you will find something hidden deep inside your mind......Not being able to touch I am barley keeping my head above the water. Distracted I completely spaced about the waves coming towards me. All of the sudden a wave takes me down into its current like a black hole. I struggle trying to make my way back up to the surface but soon become weak, still holding the key tightly in my hands. I try one more time to try and make it up to the surface but can’t. The current is taking me down into the darkness. As I sink down I slip out of consciousness and into a dream. I’m swimming with the key in my hand, I have the feeling that I’m focused. I’m determined, looking for something but what? I look down to find a crevice in a rock and slip through it like butter. In the crevice I find a slit in the rocks that looks like a key hole but before I can put the key in I wake up, not being able to breath, choking. I quickly open up my eyes and cough uncontrollably. As I look up I see the same kid I saw in the store holding me in his arms. His hair and body soaking wet. Then I remember, I found a key and got hit by a current. I open my palm panicking. Where is it??? As I look around in the sand he says to me
“Looking for this? When I got you out of the water it dropped out of your hand is it your’s?”
“Yeah thanks How’d you find me?” I ask.
“Well I was walking up on the street and saw you swimming. I looked away for a couple minutes and looked back at you and you were no where, so I came to see if you were alright.”
“I’m fine”
I snap back at him.
“Thanks”.
I get up from laying on the sand and slip on my dress again.
“Wait, I never got your name”
“Haley” I say.
“Nice to meet you I’m Cole” he says.
“Well I’ll see you around.” I say and quickly walk back to my house.
As I get to my house I rinse off in the shower outside then take a towel and walk into my room. I sit down on my floor and look at my key. I remember I never got to finish the poem, the wave took me down before I could read the rest of it. With this key you will find something hidden deep inside your mind, an underwater secret held deep below the surface, use this key wisely or it will end up worthless. I think about this for a long time as I unpack my room. When I finish I go to bed with it in my mind. “Theres more to the story” I repeat in my head again and again as I slip away into my dreams. Im dreaming I say as I wake up in my dreams. I knew I was dreaming. I was awake in my dreams but I couldn’t control my body. It was the same dream I had had when I was unconscious. I had the same feeling, I needed to get to somewhere right this second. I was in a rush, I slipped through the hole in the reef again with the key in my hand. I found the key hole and the dream continued. As I put the key in the hole a door opening across from me. I reached to grab the rock handle and as I opened the door a bright light hit me. But it didn’t just blind me, It threw my across the ocean floor. I wake up from the dream instantly from terror. I find myself on the floor, I must of fell out of my bed when I got hit. It felt so real. I stand up lightheaded and reach for my door handle and walk down the hallway confused.
“Hey hun what do you want for breakfast” my mom says.
“I can make it myself thanks though” I say.
I pour myself a bowl fruity pebbles and I know that I have to go back to the beach and try to find the reef. It couldn’t be far from where I had found the key. I put my bowl in the dishwasher and change into my new denim shorts, a tank top, and vans.
“Bye mom!” I say.
“Where are you going?” She asks.
“Down to the beach.”
“Okay be careful honey there is a big tide right now.”
I walk out of the house quickly. Thinking about things that could be in the hidden door and what could have hit me. I flinch as my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I quickly grab my phone and check who the message is from. Its from Emily... without checking the message I put it back in my pocket and try to find the spot where the key was. As I almost get down to the beach I see Cole swimming in the same spot where he had found me yesterday. I try to walk farther down the beach without being seen by him but he turns around before I can sneak past.
“Hey!” he says cheerfully.
“Hey” I say back
“Get in the water it feels great!” he says swimming closer to the shore.
“Actually I can’t sorry I need to go to the grocery store but I’ll meet up with you after” I say and walk away quickly.
When he goes under water I quickly take off my shorts, shirt and shoes and hide them behind a bush. I jump in the water and immediately swim farther from Cole to look for the key. I see the reef under Cole. I look for another entrance and see one on the other side of the reef. As I make my way around Cole I see the door and slip into the entrance... but something else is swimming in front of it... Cole. Instead of him getting slammed back into the coral he opens the door and goes in. Why wasn’t I able to get through the door like him? Before Cole is able to shut the door behind him I grab the door handle before it shuts and sneak in through the dark door.