The sands of Nuku’alofa were shining in the sun as the quartet all ran onto the sands. Marco led the charge in a jet black surfsuit with blue accents around the ribcage, showing off his v-taper. Ashley was right behind in a yellow one-piece swimsuit, looking slightly awkward. Miranda, in a purple bikini and sunglasses, was next and Yosef in standard swim trunks followed behind, struggling with carrying the beach chairs. 

“Told you this would be an unforgettable spring break Cadogan!” Marco shouted over his shoulder. 

“Oh my God, my followers are gonna love this. Ash, you and I gotta get some beach pics!” 

“Why take pictures of the beach? OH! You mean take pictures of ourselves on the beach!” 

“I swear you do this to torture me” 

Yosef trailed along, the beach chairs nearly falling with every step “How in the world did I get stuck hauling everyone’s bloody chairs?” 

“I believe it was when you drew the shortest palm branch” Ashley said, matter-of-factly. He rolled his eyes  “Thanks for the reminder” 

They finally settled on a spot close to the shoreline, the salty air occasionally hitting them with mist with the crash of the waves providing a cozy ambiance. 

Miranda started recording as she whipped out an energy drink.

“Can we please just enjoy the view without your energy drinks sales techniques, Mahabadi?” Yosef groaned.

“Hey, my selling of these can pay for our meal tonight”

“I thought Richy Rich had that covered”

“It’s true” Marco shrugged. “This whole thing is my treat. So you all just enjoy” 

Miranda leaned over to Yosef “Man this guy is really trying to buy our trust back” 

“Yeah, I guess” 

All of them noticed Ashley walk up to the shoreline and then remain immaculately still. Marco approached from behind and put his hand on her shoulder. She grabbed it, but stopped herself from flipping him. 

“Glad that didn’t happen this time” he said, chuckling, “What’s the matter? You seem like you’re in a daze” 

She looked at him and then back at the sea, the teal-green waves crashing. “I’ve never seen water this….pretty” 

His face dropped, realizing how much she truly missed out, but his grin came back “It is pretty” he said, quietly “The ocean is one of the places that became a solace for me as a kid. After spending summer in Zurich, I ached for anything with a beach. My mom always liked this place, it’s remote and there’s never too many tourists. But every year, I remember coming and it would be the best. My dad wasn’t working, my mom and I could spend time with him and we’d catch fish and then the locals would cook it. I remember my dad saying that my mom was as pretty as the sea, even gave her earrings to match. It was a happy time” 

She looked down momentarily as his eyes widened “Wait! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–” 

“Don’t apologize” she replied, looking up with a faint smile “it’s a good….memory” 

 He sighed “Yeah. Good memory.” The two stood at the shoreline, hearing the sound of waves crashing and feeling the water rush across their feet and back in. The sensation put them in a trance-like state. Then out of seemingly nowhere, a shove! 

 “I’ll race you in there, Ash” he said, giving her a light shove. She gave a smirk as she burst past him, the water resistance barely affecting her stride. “You’ve never won against me! Why do you keep trying?” 

“One of these days, the unflappable soldier will falter!” the two splashed into the ocean. 

“I guess opposites really do attract in some cases. Fiorello seems to be the only one to get her to laugh” Yosef observed. 

“I guess he is kinda perfect sometimes” Miranda replied, reluctantly “I still hate him” 

“You gonna slap him again?” 

“That’s not off the table if he messes with any of us again” 

A laugh. “Never seen him so rattled. But as much as I hate to admit it, I think he does have a good heart. After all the help he gave us with Dr. G. He’s really tried to rectify what he did to Ash” 

“Wow. Never thought you’d forgive him so easily. You hated him ever since he stepped foot on campus” 

“I didn't say I forgave him, but I can recognize when someone’s being fake. He reeked of performative shite when I first saw him. That’s probably why you liked him so much” 

“Hey!” 

“But he seems to be opening up, at least in a small way. Even if I still don’t particularly like or trust him” 

Miranda got up and grabbed a bucket, he raised an eyebrow “You building a sandcastle?” 

“Well I am a queen after all” she replied, filling it with the water but then dumping it on Yosef’s head with a splash. His strawberry-blonde hair flopping down into his face. 

“Are you crazy!” he yelled, immediately bursting out of his chair. 

Miranda laughed as she sashayed towards the shoreline “You called me performative. That was the only thing I could do” 

“I swear I’m surrounded by a psych ward sometimes” 

“You didn’t realize that after the first semester?” she called back, motioning “C’mon, get in the water” 

He smirked as he ran and dove head first into the upcoming wave. 

***

The bonfire was raging, the locals were singing as the quartet walked into the tiki bar. Marco again led the charge in a blue dress shirt with gold accents on the shoulders and wrists along with blue dress pants and brown loafers, Miranda trailed behind in a puffy blue skirt with a black blouse top. Yosef had on a loose Hawaiian shirt with khakis, radiating a relaxing mood. Ashley finally stepped in, sporting black leggings and a dark violet tank top, looking slightly uncomfortable. 

“Alipate wasn't kidding when he said Tongans know how to party” Marco said, looking at all of the lights flickering, torches burning, and the locals dancing. 

Ashley was tugging at the leggings, “These don't seem practical” 

Miranda rolled her eyes “I only let you borrow them because there was no way you’re wearing cargo pants or jeans to a Polynesian party. Plus, they look cute on you” 

Yosef slumped into a chair and put his feet up, “That fire is warming my bones up. Fiorello, I dunno if you’re gonna be able to get me on that plane back to the Garden State” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll just have Ash throw you over her shoulder and carry you there” 

“I could do that” 

“We know” they both said in tandem. 

Miranda whipped out her phone and started taking a video of herself dancing with the locals, who seemed to love getting into. 

Yosef smirked “There she goes again. Bad enough she made us take like a thousand pics of her by the sea. Straight torture”

Marco smirked and lightly elbowed him “Yeah, I'm sure you hated it, Cadogan. Taking pictures of the Tri Delta queen who models.”

“Oh piss off” 

Ashley took a seat by the fire next to him, staring into it for what seemed like an absurd amount of time

“You sure that's good for your eyes?”

“I never thought fire could be….enjoyed. Anytime I saw it, there were buildings burning or I was just trying to keep warm.”

Marco headed over to where Miranda was, getting in her video and doing a goofy dance in the middle.

She smirked “You just ruined my shot with your attempt at rhythm there”

“Oh you just haven't seen me at my best yet. You think I just sat around when I went to Zurich every summer?” 

He then went into multiple different moves right on the beat. She nodded her head and folded her arms “Not bad at all” 

“I aim to please, Madame President”

“Don't push it” 

He stepped in front of her and started dancing. He twirled her and dipped her. 

“So what did your sisters have to say when they heard about your trip to this Tongan Treat?”

“They were just jealous I was going with you. Quite confused as to why I was hangin’ with Ash and Cadogan. And then also kinda mad that I wasn’t gonna be around. They do the whole Miami thing, but sometimes I prefer peace” 

“Really? Wouldn’t have expected that” 

“Just because I have a large following on social media and like the whole club scene, doesn’t mean I wanna be in it all the time. You guys think I’m on my phone a lot during this vacation,  but it’s just me making sure I keep my followers engaged. It’s a part of my job. I’m trying to be more present….and make sure Ash doesn’t do anything insane.” 

“How on Earth did you get her to wear the swimsuit and the leggings? The girl flinches at fashion.” 

“Rude. Fair, but rude. It didn’t take much convincing, I just told her that this is what normal girls our age wear to the beach and she just kinda went with it. Same thing with the leggings” 

“Seems like she takes your word pretty seriously even after everything”

“Your one to talk” she scoffed, with an edge “Sure I bullied her, but you profited off of her and lied about it” 

“Yeah….you don’t have to remind me. I apologize, Miranda”

“I’m not the one you took advantage of. You’re lucky that she’s forgiving, I wouldn’t have been as kind.”

An awkward silence as the two pretended to dance.

“I hope one day, you and Yosef will see past what I did and where I come from. Until then, I’ll just keep trying.” 

She softened at that “We’ll see. For now just stop staring at Ash and I. Don’t think I don’t see you” 

He laughed, “Hey, when you look good, you can’t expect people not to notice.” 

She blushed, not expecting the blunt response “I, uh, thanks?” 

Back at the firepit, Yosef nudged Ashley “Never seen her so caught off guard. Wonder what the money man said”

“Nothing intelligent probably” she replied,  a bit too quickly. He was taken aback,  his eyes widening. 

“Good one! You’re catching on fast” 

“Unlike Marco or Miranda” 

He choked back a laugh “Ash! Never knew ya could be this brutal. What’s gotten into you?” 

“I’m trying to ‘roast’ people” she said, gesturing to the duo “That’s what it’s called, right?” 

“Yep, you got it” he said, then leaning back “So tell me, how does it feel?”

“How does what feel?”

“You've spent so much of your life as this weapon and now you're lounging by a fire at a Tongan party. You've also been at Aletheia for a semester and a half. You've made a lot of progress. What's that been like?” 

“It's calm. I don't know if I like it since it feels like something could go wrong at any moment. Lelise…” 

“--Isn't here” he cut in, “you don't have to worry about her. She did all of that to herself.”

“Where do you think she is?” 

“Hopefully rotting in hell”
        “I don’t think she’s dead. Just hiding. Lelise is a lot of things, but she’s above all– resilient” 

“Yeah. I suppose she’s a slippery one” he said. Both of them stared into the fire, watching it, the background of the dancers fading into white noise. 

“But you're with friends now. Friends who are gonna help you navigate young adulthood. Even if we don’t know what we’re doing sometimes” 

Ashley smirked “That’s the best part. I’ve spent so much of my life ‘knowing what I’m doing’ whether it was the next mission or learning a new technique. It is refreshing to not know what I’m doing. Makes me more….human” 

“Amen to that, Ash” he said, signaling to the waiter “Hey, my friend, can you get her and I some ‘otai?” 

“Right away, sir” 

He came back at a record pace with the drinks, a thick, reddish-orange juice. Yosef raised his glass and toasted Ashley "Just like we said when we first met ‘To new beginnings’” 

She smiled “To new beginnings” 

Marco and Miranda came back over, both sweaty and wearing Tongan scarves. 

“Heyyyyyy!” Miranda whined “You got ‘otai without me! Ash, you know that’s my favorite drink!” 

“Yosef’s the one that ordered”

“Thanks Ash, you’re a real pal”

The quartet all laughed as the two sat down, the group sipping on their drinks as the fire roared and the party continued.