Julian was so lost in thought that it took him a full minute to hear his mother's voice calling from the other side of the beach. "Julian! Time for dinner! Come on!"
He turned in his direction and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry mom, I'll be right there!"
She shook her head and rolled her eyes, turning back towards the hotel. "Our reservation is in fifteen minutes. Get freshened up and meet us at the restaurant." Julian loved his mother, of course, but patience was not one of her strong suits. He knew he should've gone back to his family before now, but he had just gotten so caught up in the excitement of what he'd just done that he hadn't really bothered to think about it. Truth be told, he kind of wanted to stay with the boys for a while longer if he could, but instead made a mental note to check back in on them later.
He wasted no time in making his way back to the hotel, going up to the room and changing from his beachwear to something a bit more formal for dinner at the nice restaurant in the hotel's top floor. Once he was presentable, he left the room and headed for the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor, getting in when it arrived. A few seconds passed, and then the elevator doors opened to reveal a very pretty woman in her early thirties standing right in front of him.
"Um, hi," he said, hoping she was a hostess or a waitress. "I think my family is already here?"
"Oh, you must be Mr. Alvarez!" She said, smiling brightly and extending a hand to shake. "Welcome to our fine establishment. Please, follow me."
Julian smiled, and followed behind the lovely lady as she led him into the restaurant. Seated at the back at a large table was the rest of his family: his parents both already halfway through their first glass of wine, his sister with her nose buried in her phone, and his three older brothers snickering at him as he took a seat at the end of the table.
"Hey, guys! What's up?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
His oldest brother Robby smirked, raising his glass of water in greeting, sloshing a little on Julian (intentionally, he was sure). "Not much. Just waiting for your sorry ass to arrive, and we can get started."
"What? Why?"
"Because you're late, that's why!" Seth, the second-oldest, chimed in.
"Yeah, yeah..." Julian sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sorry. So, what's for dinner?"
"Authentic Hawaiian pork with pineapple glaze," his father answered. "It's quite delicious, and I'm sure you'll love it."
"Sounds great!" Julian said, taking a sip of his water.
"So, you had a good day today?" his mother asked.
Julian gulped, leaving the water glass at his mouth as he thought of what to say. "My day?" He knew he couldn't tell anyone at the table about the pendant, but he didn't really want to lie, either. "Well, I spent the whole day at the beach, looking for shells and stuff. I also, uh, had some fun with some other boys around my age there."
"Oh, really!?" his mother exclaimed. "With who?"
"Just some boys I met. One of them is from England."
"Well, that sounds alright," his mother said as she turned back to her wine, "but make sure not to get too close to any strangers, especially those older than you."
"Mom, I'm twelve!" Julian protested.
"Yes, yes. But still, be careful. There are some people out there who aren't very nice, and might try to take advantage of a child like you."
"Yeah," Robby snickered, "they probably would! You should hang out with us for protection."
"I don't need protection from the likes of you!" Julian snapped, fingering the pendant under the table.
"You're right!" Seth agreed. "If anyone was gonna try anything with you, it would be us!"
Suddenly, Joseph, his fourteen-year-old brother, gave him a kick in the shins under the table, a stupid grin spreading across his face.
"Ow!" Julian cried, rubbing his leg. "That hurt!"
The three older brothers all laughed their shrill, hyena cackle of laughs, and Julian started to fume. He felt his face turn red, and for a moment he thought about using the pendant right there to show his brothers what it would be like to be small for a change. Why, he could shrink them down so small that they could fit in the palm of his hand. That would be a lot of fun...
But no, he couldn't risk doing anything like that in public, right in front of his parents. He would have to wait until later to put them in their place.
As the meal went on, Julian grew more and more annoyed by the teasing, but tried to ignore them. Finally, after dessert was finished, he asked to be excused to go exploring, and his parents gave him permission as long as he would be back in the room before 9:30.
As he waited for the elevator back down to the lobby, he checked his watch. 7:13. That meant it was 10:13 back home in Phoenix. His friends Caleb and Christian would almost certainly be free from any family obligations, and he could teleport them here safely. Or, he could go and find the boys from this afternoon and see how they were fairing now that a couple hours had passed. He thought about what to do...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author