Chapter Ten: Rainy Beach Barbeque:

At seven in the morning, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I pulled my pillow over my head.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“Get up!” Noiz shouted. “We’re heading out!” I sat up in my bed.

“Wha?” I asked.

“We’re going to have a picnic on the beach. Get moving!”

I sat there with a puzzled look on my face. A picnic? I swung my legs out of my bed and looked out the window. I frowned as I got a good look at the weather. Is she serious?

“But it’s raining,” I said.

“So?” Noiz asked. “Get moving or we’ll leave you behind!” I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Fine,” I said. I slid off my bed and walked over to my closet. Minutes later, I walked down the stairs in shorts and a tank top. Everyone stood at the bottom of the stairs staring at me. Noiz clapped her hands.

“So glad that you decided to join us,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said.

“Everyone ready to go?” Kyoko asked. I was as enthusiastic as everyone when they said, “yes.” Still, I followed the crowd out the door.

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I still couldn’t understand why we were having a picnic in the rain.

“It’s raining,” I said.

“Yes,” Eddie said.

“Shouldn’t we reschedule this or something?” I asked.

“Why would we do that?’ Kyoko asked. I looked at the people ahead of me in a funny way. Am I missing something here?

“But… it’s raining,” I said.

“So?” Tommy asked. “It’s not even pouring down.” He held out his hand. “See? It’s only little drops.” Somehow, nothing I say will convince them otherwise. What else could I do?

We made it down to the beach in thirty minutes. Just as I predicted, there was nobody there because of the rain. Everyone in our group scattered out and got into the beach side spirit. Makoto and Eddie began setting up a grill. I raised an eyebrow at them.

“Really?” I asked. “Are you going to try and grill in this weather?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said. “That’s how my dad did it back in Scotland.” I tilted my head.

“Can you even keep the fire going?” I asked.

“Sure we can!” Tommy said. “I have the magic!” Right, I thought. I turned and walked down to the waves.  The girls stood in the shallow waters, splashing around. They at least have good sense not to go swimming today. Noiz ran up the beach.

“Brianna!” she shouted. “Come and play with us!” I waved my hand back and forth as I shook my head.

“Nah, I’m good!” I said. She ran over and grabbed me by the wrist.

“Come on, silly!” my cousin said. I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let me go. I screamed when my feet into the water.

“Cold!” I yelped. The girls laughed at me. I turned my head, red in the face.

“Shut up!” I shouted. Noiz splashed sea water in her face. I spat out the salty taste.

“Oh come on,” Noiz said. “Loosen up!” I clenched my teeth.

“It’s raining and cold,” I complained.

“Catch!” Yui shouted.

“Huh?” I asked. I tried to grab a giant, brightly-colored beach ball flying towards me. “Whoa!”

“Over here!” Ruri shouted. I looked around, panicked.

“Uh… uh…” I said. “Here!” I tossed her the ball. Ruri laughed and tossed the ball to Kyoko. She threw the ball at Noiz. My cousin threw the ball back at Yui. We played this game of catch while the guys were throwing a frisbee. Makoto and Eddie worked the grill. Somehow, playing on the beach in the rain didn’t seem so bad after all. I still didn’t understand it myself.

Around eleven o’clock, Mosh walked over to us into the water.

“Sweetie!” Noiz shouted when she spotted him. She ran over and playfully tackled him to the ground, laughing. Her boyfriend tried to push her off.

“Cut it out,” he said. Noiz pretended to look hurt.

“Why do you have to be so mean?” she asked. She laid her head on his shoulder and pretended to cry. Yui put her hands on her hips.

“You see what you did?” she asked.

“You made her cry!” Ruri shouted. Noiz looked up at Mosh, pouting. Her boyfriend sighed.

“Fine, I’m sorry,” he said. My cousin squealed and cuddled on him. I could understand his frustration. Mosh cleared his throat.

“Lunch is ready,” he said.

“Hurray!” the girls said. They ran straight onto the beach. I shook my head before helping Mosh to his feet.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Sure,” I said. I followed him on the beach. We had, you guessed, more fish. This time, we somehow managed to get crab in the mix. Usually, I would get sick of eating the same food over and over. Somehow, Makoto, Tommy, and eating with everyone here made it taste that much better.