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From: Daphne Xu <daphneXU@PSEUDOnym.mixTUREminIATURE.netMUNIST>
Subject: {ASSM} "A Bikini Beach Summer" 01-02/21 {Daphne Xu} (tg,magic)
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Date: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 04:10:01 -0400
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		A Bikini Beach Summer
		by Daphne Xu

		Part 1

Thanks to ElrodW, Bikini Beach's creator, for invaluable comments on this
story.  The Bikini Beach universe and its principal characters are
copyright 2001 by him.

   Any comments about Bikini Beach, how it works, what it does, by
characters other than Anya or Grandmother are potentially non-canonical and
wrong.  As this story is told from a particular point of view by the
protagonist, this includes comments by the narrator.  The protagonist, and
thus the narrative, are what the protagonist believes or interprets from
what he is experiencing.  Thus some of the mechanics of BB are biased by
the protagonist's view and experiences.  Furthermore, because of the
particular viewpoint of the story, those errors often won't be corrected.
When the errors are corrected, the correction will often be disbelieved and
rejected.

   Despite this I will admit to pushing the limits of Bikini-Beach canon,
perhaps even going outside on occasion.  

		Saturday, June 21
		A Day at Bikini Beach

Was it my imagination or did I actually see a tint of pink in the diffusing
shower mist?  I forgot about it, jumping at the shriek of my little sister
Ruth, in the next shower over.  "What the HELL is going on?!"

   "What happened?  You okay, Ruth?" I said, worried.  Good thing Ma wasn't
around.  Whatever happened, one must never curse.  If either of us cursed,
Ma punished us hard.

   "It happened to you, too?" Ruth calmed down somewhat.

   "Um," I was puzzled.  The only thing strange was that she'd forgotten
her bikini top.  Oh, and that we were both in bikinis.  Pa would really
jump on us if he found out.  But Ma had suggested we bring our bikinis,
when she told us we were going to Bikini Beach.  Pa didn't know we were
coming here, I'm sure.

   But forgetting her bikini top wouldn't make her scream and curse like
that, would it?  Definitely not curse, and definitely not wonder what was
going on.  "Um, what happened?"

   "Look in the mirror!"

   I looked over at the mirror, wondering what Ruth was talking about.  I
admit I looked attractive, and boys would surely find me hot -- especially
the naughty way I was exposing myself in a sky-blue bikini, wearing nothing
else but matching flip-flops and plastic beads around my left ankle.  I
really shouldn't have brought my bikini, and the beads didn't help either.
Now, I had to go out into the world practically naked.  Pa...

   I brushed hair out of my eyes as I turned back to Ruth.  "Well, I really
shouldn't be wearing this bikini.  Pa will be furious at me especially. 
Not so much you, although forgetting your bikini top like that, Ruth..."

   "Stop doing that to me, Lucy!  Please!  And why did I just call you
Lucy?!  Why did you call me Ruth?  I'm Ruth.  No, I'm Ruth.  No, no, NO!"
Her voice degenerated into gargling.  She made a bizarre image, stomping in
anger in only her red bikini bottom and red flip-flops.

   I knelt down in front of her.  "You didn't hit your head or something,
did you?"

   "No, I didn't hit my head!  Stop doing that to me!"

   The door to the shower room opened, and Ma entered.  Unlike us, Ma was
in a solid navy-blue one-piece swimsuit.  She was carrying Ruth's missing
red bikini top.  "Ma, something's wrong with Ruth!  She's all upset." I was
glad Ma hadn't heard Ruth curse.  That had caught me by surprise, and I'm
sure Ma would have killed Ruth.

   "Lucy, I'll take care of Ruth.  She'll be fine, I'm sure." She was
putting Ruth's top on her, although why she didn't let Ruth put it on
herself, I had no idea.  "Go out and explore the park in the meanwhile. 
Have fun.  Meet us at the office in about an hour."

   Relieved that Ma was there to take care of Ruth, I walked out to my
first real view of Bikini Beach.

   So this was Bikini Beach.  This must have been the biggest water park in
the world!  And so near my hometown as well.  Why had I never heard of it
until this morning, when Ma announced we were coming here?  The name seemed
peculiar too: why "Bikini Beach," rather than "Bikini Water Park"?

   I followed one of the paths, passing a couple pools where women and
girls were swimming and sunbathing.  I reached a place with a big sign
saying, "Princess Playland." It looked like a place for
four-and-five-yearold kids -- probably not for me.

   Somewhat farther was the "Junior Lifeguard Academy." I wondered what
that was about.  It was a very long pool, with not only room to swim, but
also a couple slides and various challenges.  I tried the "Safety Scramble"
once -- didn't even make it a quarter of the way across.

   I didn't attempt it again, not just because of how hard it was, but
because I noticed that everyone seemed to be younger than me.  The average
age looked about nine, my sister's age, and I felt rather out of place.

   I did notice a few girls around my age at the far end of the pool, among
many trying to climb a mountain-side to reach the top.  I decided to try it
myself.

   The wall turned out to be not only steep but more than vertical.  It
actually faced down a bit.  Of course, it had to do that so that if we
fell, we fell cleanly into the pool rather than scraping and bouncing
ourselves along the wall.

   I jumped into the water and tried it.  I couldn't get even a foot up,
and I wondered how the heck those other girls were making it even halfway
up.  Then one of the girls swam over, a pretty Asian girl, at least half a
foot taller than me, in a bright neon-orange bikini.

   "Hey!  You new here?  Never tried these before?" she greeted me,
treading water.

   "Nope, never.  It's my first time here at Bikini Beach."

   "Well, you're in for quite a treat.  There's no other park anywhere
quite like this one.  A little hint: always keep three hands and feet
securely on the wall.  Only move one at a time.  I call it the Rule of
Three.  Follow that rule, and you can climb almost anywhere."

   "Thanks!" I smiled at her.

   "Any time.  I'm Carol."

   "Lucy." I stuck out my hand, which she took and gave a good firm shake,
disrupting my water-treading.  I had to scramble to get my head back above
the water.

   "Sorry about that, Lucy," said Carol.

   I never managed to get more than a little bit up the wall before
falling. It seemed that my hands or feet were getting tired, but I noticed
that every time I fell, I'd violated the Rule of Three.

   But I had lots of fun, and I got to know her friends as well.  There
were four who met almost every other day at Bikini Beach.  In addition to
Carol Hsu, there was red-headed Alice Candy who was a bit shorter than me
and covered with freckles.  She wore an orange one-piece suit that matched
her freckles.  Another was a tall black girl, Vanessa King, who seemed a
little older than the rest, gorgeous in a white bikini, and bubbly stout
Becky Miura who was cheerful and excited about everything.

   I noticed Ma and Ruth at the other end of the pool.  "Oh, no!" I
exclaimed to my new friends.  "I was supposed to meet Ma and Ruth after an
hour.  I must have lost track of time!  I'm going to be in trouble. 
They're here now!"

   "We'll go support you," said Vanessa.

   We swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out.  "Ma!" I called out. 
"Ma, Ruth!"

   They turned around.  Ma said something to Ruth, Ruth jumped into the
water, and Ma walked fast toward us.  "No running near the pool!" I'd heard
the lifeguard shouting that often enough.

   "Sorry, Ma.  I must have lost track of time."

   "No problem, Lucy.  It's still early.  Someone recommended the Junior
Lifeguard Academy for Ruth, and we came to check it out.  I was going to go
back to the office to meet you, but it's not necessary now.  I see you made
new friends here.  You must introduce them."

   "Everyone," I told the girls.  "This is Ma--"

   "Ma, as in the Little House books?" asked one of the Asian girls, not
Carol but the other one, who had a tendency to giggle.

   I sighed.  "Yes, like them.  We get that a lot.  Okay, this is Carol,
the first girl I met in the group.  And she is Vanessa King."

   "Pleased to meet you, Ma'am," said Vanessa.

   "And this is Alice Candy," I continued.  "And, and, and..." Oh shoot!  I
couldn't for the life of me remember the fourth one's name, the name of the
one who'd brought up the Little House books, the other AsianAmerican.

   She giggled.  "I'm Becky."

   "Oh, right.  Becky.  Sorry about that." Becky giggled some more, joined
by the other three girls.

   "It's great to see you've made new friends already," Ma said to me.  "It
seems that parents are neither needed nor particularly wanted here, but
they appear to have good supervision.  So I'll just go look around, and
enjoy myself.  I'll be back in a couple hours to pick up Ruth.  If you're
not here, let's meet near the main entrance for lunch at noon."

   "Sure, Ma." I said.

   I was about to turn back to my friends, when Ma slipped out a tube of
sunscreen.  "You're already beginning to turn pink, Lucy, and the day's
only barely begun.  Turn around." She started with a huge glob of goo just
under the back of my neck.  "Ssssssttt!" Oooo, that was cold.  I couldn't
help clenching up hard.  All business-like, she rubbed it over my sides,
neck, and back -- even a little under my bikini bottoms.  It was
embarrassing in public in full view of not only numerous strangers - even
if they were all women and girls -- but especially my new friends.  "Do
your front and legs yourself, Lucy.  Don't forget your nose and ears." She
handed me the sunscreen.

   "Your Ma has a point, Lucy," said Vanessa.  "You're rather pale, and
damage has already begun when pink appears.  But it'll only get worse
unless you promptly apply sunscreen." So I had to smother myself in
sunscreen.  It felt irritatingly slimy.  The tube was empty by the time I
finished, and Ma had already departed.

   "Say, let's show Lucy the South Seas Adventure," said Alice.  "The rides
there are simply awesome."

   "Awesome!  Awesome!  Awesome!  Awesome!" echoed Becky, jumping up and
down, her hair flying all over -- until, "Yikes!" One foot landed on the
edge of the pool and slipped into the pool.  Her bottom landed on the edge,
and she rolled into the pool, disappearing under water.

   "Becky!  Becky!" called out Vanessa, Alice, and Carol, as I stood
frozen, not knowing what to do.

   Becky surfaced, and scrambled back out of the pool.

   "Are you okay?" asked Vanessa.

   "Yeah, I'm fine.  But my, was that a pain in the ass," said Becky. 
"Let's get outta here before that lifeguard chews us out."

   We all walked with pretended nonchalance to the nearest trail leading
away from the pool.  I followed them, as they followed various trails -- I
was lost by then, but at least they knew their way around.  We eventually
reached the entrance to a region, with a huge overhanging sign, "South Seas
Adventure."

   To the right, the ground rose gradually.  Off in the distance, the hill
or miniature mountain was topped off with a miniature volcano!  That's
right, this water park had an entire volcanic mountain within its bounds.
It was artificial, no doubt.

   "The best things, the Pipeline and the Tropical Waves, are at the
farthest end," said Carol.

   "The Pipeline begins near the top of that volcano up there," added
Alice.

   "Interested in a small hike and scramble?" asked Vanessa.  "This path
goes up the mountain, and follows it.  It passes the tops of most of the
slides, and goes up the volcano a little."

   "Sure, I guess," I said.

   "Let's swim in the Lagoon before we go on that hike up the mountain,"
said Carol.  The Lagoon turned out to be over at the right, a circular pool
of water about the size of a football field -- surrounded by sandy beach
and strange, but very pretty, foliage.  Statues decorated the area
throughout, shooting water up and keeping everyone in a continuous spray of
mist.  Many girls and women were swimming and sunbathing on the sand.

   Before I knew it, Becky and Alice were both racing toward the water. 
"Last one in's a rotten egg!" shouted Becky, as she splashed into the
water.

   The rest of us ran to follow them, as Carol shouted out, "First one has
to eat it!" I'd never heard that one before.

   The water in the Lagoon was a little cooler than in that other pool, but
still nice and comfortable.  We rough-housed, and I only occasionally
noticed that the talk of hiking up to the volcano had apparently been
forgotten.  Carol came up behind me and splashed me with water.  I shrieked
and turned toward her -- just as Becky grabbed my bikini bottom and yanked
it down.

   "Girls, girls, girls, let's keep it wholesome!" shouted Vanessa.  "None
of that, now."

   "Spoil sport," shouted Becky.

   I crouched down and struggled to slide my bikini bottom back up, while
keeping my bottom hidden underwater.  You're in trouble now, Becky, I
thought to myself.  I ducked underwater, and slithered around to Becky's
side, then leaped up with a roar.  She shrieked and fell over into the
water as I laughed.  This WAS great fun.

   Vanessa called out, "Dears, hug and make up now!" We had another group
hug.  I was coming to think that the group hugs were one of the best parts
of this experience.  Even if our hair was all soaking wet, and getting all
over us.

   After some more roughhousing, Alice said, "I'm bushed, guys.  I'm
getting out for a while."

   I looked at a clock in the distance.  It was now about ll:45.  "I have
to meet Ma at noon back at the entrance.  I'll probably be late!  I'm
afraid I'll get lost, too."

   "There are signs directing you to anywhere you want to go," said
Vanessa.

   "I'll go with Lucy, make sure she doesn't get lost," said Carol.

   "Let's all go with her," said Becky.  "We should have lunch anyway."

   "Great idea!" said Vanessa.

   So they all went with me back to the entrance to meet Ma again.  We
arrived about three minutes early.  Ma was there waiting with Ruth.

   "Ma," I called out, getting both her and Ruth's attention.  Ruth seemed
grumpy again.  I didn't know why, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

   "You got here!" said Ma.  "And your new friends came with you."

   "I was afraid I might get lost coming back here.  So they came with me."

   "That was very nice of them.  Ruth, meet Lucy's new friends."

   "That's my little sister, Ruth," I told them.

   "I hope I can remember your names," said Ma to my friends.  "Vanessa, I
definitely remember," she said to Vanessa, who smiled and nodded.  "Carol?"
she nodded at Carol, who nodded back.  "Allie?" she said to Alice.

   "Close.  Alice," she replied.

   "And Betsy, right?"

   "Could have been, Mrs.  -- Um, I didn't get your last name?" said Becky.

   "Cuttington," answered Ma.

   "Could have been Betsy, Mrs.  Cuttington.  But it's actually Becky."

   "Becky's often silly," said Alice.

   We found the eating place.  Vanessa led us over to her mom and little
sister, and was apparently about to introduce her, when Ruth said, "Hi,
Mrs. King.  Helen, this is Lucy, my older sister, and this is Ma."

   "Just like `Little House on the Prairie' then?" giggled Helen as I shook
her hand.

   "We get that a lot," answered Ruth with her own giggle.

   "I'm pleased to meet you," Mrs.  King said to me as we shook hands.  "I
see you already met Vanessa."

   My new friends all went to their own families and friends for lunch. 
"We'll get back together, no question," said Vanessa to me.  "Don't you get
lost on us, you hear?"

   Ma, Ruth, and I got into line.  "Look at the prices!" Ruth exclaimed.

   Ma said, "The prices are always exorbitant like this at theme parks. 
This is standard.  We deal with it." She bought us a good-sized filling
meal.

   Ruth was shifting in her chair, squeezing her legs together.  A couple
times, she slid a hand below the table.  Seeing her do that made me
distinctly uncomfortable, and I did my best to ignore her, but at one point
Ma scolded her.  "Keep your hands away from there, Ruth, and stop
squirming."

   "Ma, you have no idea how utterly creepy this feels," said Ruth.

   "Ruth, that's Error whispering in your ear.  Just reject it, and don't
even think about it.  It didn't bother you when you were playing and having
fun with the other kids, right?"

   "No, but--"

   "So don't think about it.  That's all it is, Error, mortal mind.  It
never really exists." This was straight Christian Science, something we all
forgot too often to practice.  "Or maybe you'd care to visit a
gynecologist?"

   "No!" Ruth shrieked, turning as red as her bikini.  The conversation
around us softened momentarily, as people turned to look at us.  I flamed
silently in embarrassment.  I'd heard talk of gynecologists in the locker
rooms at school, and they were mentioned in a girls-only meeting of health
class.  I was always thankful that we were Christian Scientists and didn't
have to deal with such icky, embarrassing, and obscene things.

   I never thought Ma would ever mention such a thing.  And how ever did
Ruth even know about such things at nine?  I certainly didn't.

   After lunch, Ma called for an hour of nap-time.  "We mustn't be active
after eating.  It slows us down and stresses us." I was momentarily
confused now.  Wasn't that mortal belief?  I put it aside, realizing I
didn't sufficiently understand Christian Science.

   We found a place of reclined pool chairs in a shady spot, and laid out
our towels, and sat and lay back.  I dozed off for a while, but was
annoyingly awoken by Ma shaking me.  "You're turning pink, Lucy.  Let's get
more sunscreen on."

   I glanced over and saw Ruth gleaming with sunscreen.  She wasn't nearly
as colored as I was.  I noticed that our nap spot wasn't shady any more. 
Again, I had to cover myself with sunscreen.

   We decided to go walking around to see the sights.  Going off in a
random direction, we reached the "South Seas Adventures" again.  We walked
along the trail between the Lagoon to the right and the mountain to the
left.  We saw in the distance various water slides, raft rides, and inner
tube rides coming down from the mountain and ending in various pools.

   I first noticed a tall black girl in a white bikini off to the side
among some girls around my age -- Vanessa!  I recognized the other three
with her; they were the four friends I'd made this morning!

   Right at the same time, the redhead turned and saw me, and called out,
"Hey Lucy!" All at once the four of them turned and ran to us.  To my utter
embarrassment with Ma and Ruth present, and with both of us practically
naked, Vanessa caught me up in a bear-hug.

   She greeted Ma and Ruth after letting me go, while the others proceeded
to hug me.

   "We're headed for the Pipeline," said Carol.  "Wanna join us?"

   I glanced over at Ma, who said, "Go ahead.  Have fun with your friends.
Meet us back at the office at 5:00."

   "Great!" I went off with the other girls, barely hearing Ruth say, "I
wanna go, too." I didn't hear Ma's reply.

   "You're in for the ride of your life!" said Alice, as we continued along
the walkway.

   "Yes, yes, awesome!  Awesome!" Becky jumped up and down.

   We shortly reached a path leading to the left up the mountain.  "If we
follow this, we can walk along the top to the volcano, and arrive at the
top of the Pipeline," said Vanessa.  "Otherwise, we have to go to the far
end of the park."

   "We avoid the main line going up a rather steep climb," added Alice.

   We turned onto the path, and I found myself climbing a rather steep
scramble up the mountain.

   After a while, when the path became shallower, I said, "You know, it's
strange.  I never even heard of Bikini Beach until this morning, when Ma
announced that we were coming for the day.  Why isn't this as famous as
Disney World?"

   "A good thing it isn't," answered Vanessa.  "Otherwise this place would
be utterly crowded."

   "Yeah, so crowded nobody would come here," giggled Becky.  We all
laughed at that joke.

   Carol said, "I read somewhere that Disney World used to use about four
percent of all Kodak film produced."

   Becky whistled.  I managed to contain my amazement.

   The path reached another, near the top of the mountain, walking along
the ridge toward the volcano.  We chatted as we walked, approaching the
volcano and then walking along its side with the summit looming up the
left, passing the starting points of a couple water slides on the right.

   We reached the entrance to the Pipeline.  A worker was here, keeping an
eye on the line of girls, and ready to merge into the line persons like us
who took the mountain trail.  I looked at the ride itself, and almost
panicked.  The starting downward slide looked like a vertical drop of fifty
feet, and the slide had two other steep drops as well.

   There were three separate slides, so three of the girls went first. 
Carol stayed with me, waiting for the next turn.  Stomach in my throat,
feeling queasy, wondering what the heck I was doing here, I stepped slowly
up to the launch point and sat down.  I kept hesitating to take the last
final step of pushing forward, but someone pushed me from behind.

   I shrieked louder than I'd ever yelled before, as I suddenly dropped
down the steep slide.  I was jostled all over -- bumped to the left, bumped
to the right, dropped suddenly, rinse-and-repeat.  I was screaming and
wailing, my stomach bouncing around my insides, out of synch with the rest
of my body.

   I finally splashed down floundering, limbs flailing, into a deep pool.
Under water, I finally got control of myself and pushed myself up.  My head
broke the surface of the water, and I reached up and instinctively grabbed
something fluttering down.  I noticed to my mortification that that was my
bikini top.

   After floundering trying to tie it back on, I stuffed it in my mouth and
swam to the side of the pool, climbing out with my breasts bared for all to
see.

   "Great catch!" applauded Becky, as I tied my bikini top back on.

   Feeling properly covered now, I said, "I can't believe I lost it like
that.  It's so embarrassing!"

   "Don't worry about it," said Alice.  "It happens to the best of us, if
they're so naive as to wear a bikini on this ride.  We're casual about such
things." Alice was wearing a one-piece suit, of course.

   Becky added with a laugh, "Alice, in fact, lost both pieces a couple
weeks ago, down the Otter's R-- yikes!" She shrieked and twisted wildly
away at Alice's swat to her rear end.  "That's why she only wears one-piece
suits now.  And that's how we know she's a true redhead," she added, well
out of Alice's reach.

   "I'll get you for that!" shouted Alice.  Becky ran, but Vanessa grabbed
Alice's shoulder before Alice could make chase.

   "Girls, girls!" shouted Vanessa.  "Time out, time out!  Group hug
everyone!" She pulled Alice into an embrace, while Carol went over and
hugged Becky.  Then they came back, and Alice and Becky hugged along with
Carol and Vanessa.

   I was feeling morosely out of it, when both Vanessa and Carol reached
out and pulled me into their hug.  I almost got sandwiched between them,
being way shorter than both.  Eventually, I wound up hugging all four of
them, both individually and in groups.

   Becky's comment about Alice being a "true redhead" led me to glance
surreptitiously at their bottoms.  Not a single bit of hair was visible. 
In compared with theirs, I seemed to have hair sprouting around my bikini
bottoms.  How did I get away with looking like that?  Thank goodness none
of the girls actually brought it up.

   "Last week, someone managed to lose a one-piece swimsuit coming down
this very ride," said Carol.

   "How did she do that?" I asked.

   "Beats the heck out of me.  I don't think anyone figured that one out.
The suit floated down after her completely intact."

   "I wouldn't be surprised if she deliberately removed her swimsuit while
sliding down," said Alice.

   "I can't imagine how anyone could do such a thing on that ride," said
Becky.  "Or why, for that matter."

   "Why?  For the mystery -- a magic trick.  Or just to be perverted,"
answered Alice.  "How?  Well, I suppose it's possible to concentrate on
doing something even while bumping and bouncing around on that ride."

   Having made up, we went on an inner tube ride.  It was vastly more
relaxing.  As we climbed to the top, Carol warned me to be careful.  "The
first time I rode this, I got caught in a particular pool, going around in
circles for about half an hour with other tubes passing me by, before
finally making it over the edge."

   How boring that must have been.  It didn't happen to me, thank goodness.

   "Hey, I'm tired," said Alice.

   "It's about that time in the afternoon," added Vanessa.

   "What time?" I asked dumbly.

   "Nap-time," said Vanessa.  "Push yourself trying to have fun, and you
hate it.  Sometimes, it's just best to relax and go with the flow."

   I'd already rested an hour with Ma and Ruth.  Still, I felt I should go
along with what these girls wanted.  We found a bunch of inclined outdoor
chairs and claimed five of them.  The girls chatted casually, while I
listened and relaxed.  At one point, Vanessa said, "Lucy, tell us a bit
about yourself."

   Normally, I didn't like being put on the spot, but Vanessa said it in
such a nice way that I didn't mind.  "Well,..." at that point I had no idea
what to say.  "My name is Lucy Cuttington.  There's Ma and Pa--"

   "Yeah, definitely `Little House on the Prairie'," injected Alice.

   I glared at her.  "Yeah, like them.  Of course, you met my little
sister, Ruth.  She's nine, and I'm fourteen."

   "What school do you attend?" asked Carol.

   "Do you have to bring up such a depressing subject?" asked Becky.

   "No-no, that's okay.  I went to Madison Middle School, but I'm starting
at Westside High this fall," I said.

   "Me too," said Becky.  "Actually, I (um) recognized you." She turned her
face down, with an embarrassed expression.  "You probably don't recognize
me." I looked over at her, trying to remember.  True enough, I didn't
recognize her.  I wasn't surprised.  There were quite a few Asian American
girls at school, and I was mostly a shy loner.

   "I'm going to Westside High this fall, too," said Carol.  "But I went to
Adams Middle School."

   "I was going to go there too, but now I'm not so sure," said Alice.

   I looked over at her, and was stunned to see her about to cry.  "What's
the matter?"

   Vanessa moved over and took Alice in her arms.  "It's okay, darling,
it's okay." Alice cried into Vanessa's bosom.

   I looked down, feeling distressed and embarrassed.  What was happening?
Vanessa leaned her head down and murmured in Alice's ear.

   "I'm okay now, I think," Alice said eventually.  "But I'm having fun
here when my cousin..."

   "Bad things sometimes happen to good people," said Vanessa somberly. 
"Sometimes, when things overwhelm you, you simply must escape just a little
while."

   "Tracy -- that's my big brother," Becky nodded to me, "is starting
college this fall at Pacific Tech."

   "Ooooooo!" said Carol and Vanessa simultaneously.  I'd heard of Pacific
Tech, didn't know much about it.  Well, it was a technical college,
obviously.

   Becky continued, "He tells me that they have a weekend called
Decompression at the end of every quarter, just before finals.  Full of
entertainment, it's supposed to be quite a stress reliever."

   "Bikini Beach is truly a unique place," said Carol.  "There's no other
place like it for getting off the razor-blade of life." The others erupted
with "Ewwwww!" That was a rather gruesome metaphor.  "At least temporarily.
It's good to be away from the ogling eyes of boys - especially if you lose
your swimsuit in a ride."

   Vanessa said, "Bikini Beach was founded on that premise, a purely girls'
water park." Becky began giggling.  "Grandmother -- everyone calls her that
-- built it --" Vanessa glared at Becky out the corner of her eyes.  "-- as
a retreat for girls and women away from men's lecherous gaze." Becky's
giggling turned uncontrollable.  "It's true, Becky!  What's got into you?!"
Becky was now in outright hysterics.  "Hush, Becky!  Stop it!  Now!!" By
now, Vanessa was sounding like stern mother.

   Becky immediately clammed up.  "Sorry," she said contritely.

   Vanessa continued, "You can temporarily escape day-to-day problems, pull
yourself away and see them from a more distant perspective."

   "Pa wouldn't have liked it, if he'd known that Ma was taking us here," I
said.  "He hates it when girls exhibit their bodies like this." I
remembered all too many rants about girls these days.  The very name of
this place would probably have triggered another rant.  "In fact, I really
shouldn't have worn this." I peered down at my nearly naked body.  "I hope
he doesn't find out."

   "You look wonderful, dear," said Vanessa.

   "Absolutely," agreed Becky.  Did she leer, or was it my imagination? 
"Anyway, how will he find out if you don't tell him.  You did bring
clothes, I assume."

   "Of course."

   I eventually dozed off, lying about half-asleep.

   One idea had been nagging me ever since the inner tube ride.  Would I
ever see my new friends again?  I was feeling a bit down, and Vanessa must
have noticed because she asked me, "What's wrong Lucy, dear?  You seem a
bit down."

   I hesitated.  "It's just...  well, will I ever see you again?  All of
you?"

   "We always meet here at Bikini Beach," said Alice.

   "You mean, you come here every day?"

   "No, not every day.  We've kind-of settled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays," said Carol.

   "Don't worry, you'll find us," said Vanessa.  "We always find each
other."

   "Hey now, what's with all this moroseness?" asked Becky.  "We have
attractions to conquer and pools to dive in.  Let's go!"

   We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, rough-housing and sliding
down slides.  All too soon, it was time to return to the entrance to meet
Ma and Ruth.  We all hurried back to the office.  We found Ma with a group
of other parents, talking and watching a bunch of girls Ruth's age swimming
and yelling and splashing about in a pool.  Ruth was among them, and she
promptly shouted, "Hey, there's Lucy!"

   "Hello again," said Ma to the other girls.  "I see you've spent all
afternoon with them," she added to me.  "It's great you made friends so
quickly."

   "Here, let's get your phone number," said Vanessa.  I gave mine, and
then the other girls gave me their numbers.

   Carol said, "The park closes at 8:30 this evening.  Can't you stay until
then?"

   "Yeah, Ma.  Can't we?" I asked excitedly.  A little bit of me cringed
inside at how I was begging, but mostly I was excited at possibly being
with my new friends an extra three hours.

   "Okay," agreed Ma.  "I'll have to find a phone and tell Pa we'll be home
late."

   "Yeah!" exclaimed Becky.

   All of us -- Ma, Ruth, me, my other friends, other parents and siblings,
and some of Ruth's crowd of eight- and nine-year-old girls -- had supper.
Then I went with the girls and we had much fun chatting and swimming and
riding as twilight developed.  Of course, all too soon, the fun had to come
to an end, and we had to separate and go our merry ways home.

   We had another group hug, saying our goodbyes.  "We meet Tuesdays and
Thursdays here as well," said Vanessa.  "I really hope you'll join us
again."

   Ma and Ruth were already changing when we returned to the changing room.
It looked like Ma was talking sternly to Ruth, as she slipped her dress on
over her head.  Ruth, already in tee-shirt and shorts and putting on her
sneakers, had turned grumpy again.  "We'll meet you at the car, Lucy," said
Ma.  "Come along, Ruth."

   I wondered what was going on here.  Ruth was excited about Bikini Beach
and playing with the other girls her age, and now she was grumpy and angry?
I opened my locker and pulled out my dress and underwear.

   My skin was rather red, with distinct white matching the shape of my
bikini.  I could already feel the tightness and mild stinging of the
sunburn.  When I pulled on my underwear, I couldn't help noticing that my
panties covered at least twice the area of my bikini bottom, and my bra
about one and a half times the area of my bikini top.  I flushed in shame
as I realized how practically naked I'd been outside all day.

   At least Pa wasn't there to see me, and I hoped he'd never find out.  Pa
strongly disapproved of girls displaying themselves in bikinis -- and I'd
done exactly that all day.  I vowed to wear a proper one-piece suit next
time I came here.  Pa was grudgingly okay with those for swimming, even
though he found those over-exposing as well.

   My bra was rubbing over my sunburn, and it felt distinctly
uncomfortable. I thought of removing it.  Would anyone notice I wasn't
wearing one?  Maybe my white unburnt bikini skin might resemble a bra if
people could see through.  Come to think of it though, nipples would be a
dead giveaway.  I decided not to risk it.

   Finally I was dressed up.  I spotted Alice as I went out, and called
out, "Hey Alice!" We left together.  She went to a car waiting to pick her
up, and I found our car in the middle of the parking lot.

   As I approached the car, I saw and heard Ma and Ruth arguing angrily. 
Ma was saying, "Stop crying or I'll put you over my knee and give you
something to cry about."

   Ruth glanced at me as I approached, got in the back seat, and slammed
the car door.  What was going on?  Was Ma being mean?  Or was Ruth being
bratty?  I got in the other side and sat down next to Ruth, who sullenly
ignored me.  I decided it wouldn't be a good I idea to try to talk to her,
so I just leaned against the car door and dozed off, the dry pain of my
sunburn hovering in the background.

   I woke up and dozed off every few seconds as we approached home, pretty
much every time the car stopped or turned corners.  It was quite annoying,
and all I wanted was desperately to sleep.

   "Lucy.  " Ma's voice woke me.  "We're home now."

   "Oh?" I yawned and slowly pulled myself up and awake.  We were already
in the garage, and Ruth was already out of the car and entering the house.
I slipped my flip-flops back on and sleepily stepped out of the car and
into the house.

   I groggily greeted Pa and headed straight for my bedroom.  I barely
disrobed and slipped into my nightgown before flopping down onto my bed and
conking out.

		******************************

		A Bikini Beach Summer
		by Daphne Xu

		Part 2
		Daily Routine

Thanks to ElrodW, Bikini Beach's creator, for invaluable comments on this
story.  The Bikini Beach universe and its principal characters are
copyright 2001 by him.

   Any comments about Bikini Beach, how it works, what it does, by
characters other than Anya or Grandmother are potentially non-canonical and
wrong.  As this story is told from a particular point of view by the
protagonist, this includes comments by the narrator.  The protagonist, and
thus the narrative, are what the protagonist believes or interprets from
what he is experiencing.  Thus some of the mechanics of BB are biased by
the protagonist's view and experiences.  Furthermore, because of the
particular viewpoint of the story, those errors often won't be corrected.
When the errors are corrected, the correction will often be disbelieved and
rejected.

   Sunday, June 22

   "Luke, rise and shine!  Time to get up!" That was Pa calling me awake.
It was Sunday morning, and that meant Sunday School and Church.  I groaned
and turned over, cringing at the agonizing pain and dryness covering my
upper body.  I'd burnt myself pretty badly at Bikini Beach yesterday.

   I'd slept very well last night, only vaguely recalling awakening from
some kind of dream about having to go -- really having to go badly --
really really badly -- and finding progressively more bizarre and more
public places to try -- such as a floor-urinal on a grimy bathroom floor
next to a long table in a banquet hall -- in my dream, I told myself that
this time, I was fully awake and I'd really pee for sure.  Ma was standing
next to me, as I began to pee.  Finally, I awoke in truth, stumbled out of
bed, across the hallway into the bathroom, relieved myself, and returned to
bed.

   At least I hadn't wet my bed.

   I glanced at the clock and found that it was already 8:30.  How long had
I slept?

   It took me a good minute to slither out of bed.  When I took off my
pajamas, I noticed how dark pink my body was, except for my usual pale pink
from my waist down to just above my knees, where my swimming trunks
covered.

   I slipped into a bathrobe to take my Sunday morning shower.  As I
crossed over to the bathroom, Ma handed me some lotion.  "Use this for your
sunburn, when you finish showering."

   I didn't take too long in the shower.  My sunburn was hurting above my
waist.  Warm water and cool water, both felt distinctly uncomfortable on my
sunburn.

   I dried off, and slimed Ma's goo over my sunburnt body.  It made things
feel a little better, although the sliminess itself was uncomfortable.  I
put the bathrobe back on, and stepped back into my room.  I heard vague
sounds through the wall of Ma and Ruth arguing.  I didn't want to know
anything about Ruth being disciplined; I tuned it out the best I could.

   Sunburn aside, yesterday at Bikini Beach had been a most wonderful
experience.  The rides themselves were fun, but apart from those, a group
of girls had taken me in and accepted me as one of their own almost
immediately.  I couldn't forget how bikini-clad Vanessa had hugged me in
front of Ma and Ruth, to my major embarrassment.  But all four of them were
fun and exciting, and made everything at Bikini Beach all the more
enjoyable.

   After hesitating a few minutes, I put on my Sunday Suit.  The sunburn
lotion made my suit even more uncomfortable than usual.  Always tight about
my thighs and hips, the suit now felt cold and clammy as well.

   I met Ruth and Ma in the hallway.  Ma was saying to Ruth, "...  proper
dress for a church-going young girl."

   "Yeah," I agreed.  "You look great, kiddo." Indeed she did, in a plain
bright-yellow knee-length dress with puffy short sleeves, white socks, and
black shoes.

   "Who are you calling Kiddo, Kiddo?" asked Ruth.

   Ruth calling me Kiddo?  That was a new one.  "You may recall I am five
years older than you and a foot taller," I said with a sniff.

   Pa had cooked breakfast this morning: scrambled eggs and toast.  Pa was
the best at scrambling eggs, without question.

   The four of us were sitting and eating at the breakfast table, and I was
thinking about my day yesterday at Bikini Beach.  How had I ever got caught
up playing with four girls all day about my age?  For the most part, they
treated me as one of the girls.  It was a cozy feeling how readily they
hugged each other, and me as well.  A couple things I remembered with
considerable embarrassment -- introducing bikini-clad girls to Ma, being
hugged in front of Ma, and a certain case where I'd reacted badly to a
prank.

   "Sit still, Ruth." Pa's admonition brought me out of my reverie.

   "You have no idea how creepy this feels -- almost like an itch down
there."

   "Young lady, such topics are inappropriate at breakfast, and
inappropriate in the presence of boys and men," said Ma.

   I blushed furiously, and glanced over at Ruth blushing with equal
ferocity.  Her face was almost burning.

   "Children, Erin," said Pa.  "That is aggressive mental suggestion.  Mrs.
Eddy tells us that we must defend ourselves daily against aggressive mental
suggestion." That admonition was one we heard every morning as part of the
Mental Work.

   "That reminds me," said Ma.  She got up and retrieved the cassette
player from the living room and turned it on to play the Mental Work.  I
spent the rest of breakfast in bored silence with the Mental Work sounding
in the background.

   Ma and Pa dropped us off at the church for Sunday School.  They would
return an hour later, and we would attend church services together as a
family.

   The first hymn was very familiar, by Mrs.  Eddy herself: "Shepherd Show
Me How to Go." I didn't even have to read it from the hymnal.  When the
Superintendent read this week's lesson-sermon subject, "Is the Universe,
Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?" my silent reaction was the same as
it had been every day this past week when we listened to the lesson on
cassette -- "HUH?!?" During the week, I'd absently wondering what in heck
these Bible verses had to do with atomic force.  But as I absently recited
the Golden Text and the Responsive Reading, I was preoccupied with the
previous day's fun at Bikini Beach.

   My Sunday School class had three of us students, sitting with the
teacher around a small table.  One was a boy about two years older than me.
The other was a girl about one year younger than me.  The teacher spoke out
against "material intellectualism." It was important not to explain matter,
but to deny matter as illusion of the material senses.  "The sun gives you
a nice tan, and supposedly supports life through plants.  Yet too much sun
can hurt and kill you!  See how inconsistent and illogical matter is?" Only
the good was real.

   I couldn't identify anything specifically wrong with the teacher's
argument, but somehow, it didn't sound quite right.  I just couldn't
articulate why.

   "Material senses are but illusion," the teacher continued.  "We look
around, we see the world is flat.  Our material senses do not tell us that
the world is round." I imagined a ball 8000 miles across, and what it would
look like to someone our size on the ball.  It seemed to me it would
automatically look flat.  But I didn't know how to articulate it in class.
"Human theories change all the time.  Only God's Law is eternal, and
therefore real." "Years ago, they thought that man was made from the dust
of the ground.  Now, human theories tell us that man comes from Atomic
Force."

   Overall, Sunday School was boring, and I was relieved when it was time
to return to the front of the room for the second and final hymn and the
Scientific Statement of Being: "There is no Life, Truth, Intelligence, or
Substance in matter...."

   Sunday School was over, a rather boring waste of an hour, that went on
forever.  I really should be more interested in learning about Christian
Science, but I just couldn't.  God would perhaps, in His own good time lead
me to Him.

   We had a little time to wait for Ma and Pa to arrive for Church
services. I normally waited alone on one of the benches in the church hall,
while Ruth chatted with other girls.  But this time, Ruth joined me on the
bench.

   We sat in silence for a couple minutes.  Then she said, "You know what
Mrs.  Vancourt said?" I looked at her.  "She asked, `You know what supports
the earth, keeps it in its path around the sun?  It's not inertia.' I
answered that inertia kept it going, and the sun exerted the gravitational
force to pull it in a little, to keep it going around the sun instead of
flying off." It was strange hearing Ruth talk like that.  She continued,
"The teacher then pointedly said that material theories are counterfeits of
God's Law.  `God is the only true Force, the only true Power.'"

   I couldn't think of anything to say.  I felt a bit angry at Ruth's
teacher, since I liked astronomy -- frustrated, too because I felt like I
couldn't think straight.  It just sounded wrong.  I also wondered at Ruth
knowing this about the subject.

   Ma and Pa showed up shortly.  Apparently, Ma talked with Ruth's Sunday
School teacher before joining us, because she called Ruth over.  I
overheard part of Ma's scolding of Ruth.  "A child does not correct her
elders." "You are here to learn about Christian Science, not debate your
teachers." There was a lot more.  I felt sorry for Ruth, and strangely
bitter at Ma.

   The service began shortly, with a hymn vaguely familiar.  The First
Reader then began his Scriptural Selection of readings from the Bible. 
Normally, I sat squirming in boredom, but now I let my mind wander over
yesterday's events at Bikini Beach.  Thinking about it, I was truly amazed
-- how did I ever get involved with four bikini-clad (okay, only three of
them bikini-clad) hot, very friendly, very nice girls, spending the good
part of a day with them?  How quickly they accepted me as one of their own.

   I let my hymnal cover my crotch, opened to the second hymn, as my hard
dick was pushing up my pants in a tent.  The tightness of my suit tended to
reduce the visible effect, but still.  I hoped nobody noticed how I was
flushing.

   The first reader announced the "Moment of silent prayer, followed by the
audible repetition of the Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation
as given in the Christian Science textbook." I kept thinking of the girls
rough-housing and playing around, hugging, until the Second Reader opened
with, "Our Father, which art in Heaven," and I automatically joined in with
the rest of the congregation.

   Then came the second hymn, various notices and announcements, and a
soloist singing one of Mrs.  Eddy's hymns.  The words were familiar, but
the melody utterly strange, especially as sung in an operatic voice.

   Then came the Lesson-Sermon, read alternately by the Second Reader (the
Bible) and the First Reader ("Science and Health").  Again, we had to
participate in the Responsive Reading.  I'd heard the Lesson every day at
home in the morning, along with the Mental Work -- or rather, the lesson
flowed over me every day the past week, and it did so now.  It still seemed
to have absolutely nothing to do with "Atomic Force." I sat back and
day-dreamed more about Bikini Beach and the girls.

   Mmmmm...  hugging bikini-clad, practically naked girls, each of them
several times -- once in front of Ma even!  How could I ever have done
that?!  We weren't a hugging family, and I always froze when Grandma wanted
to hug - mushy stuff.  Now I was flaming with major embarrassment.  I
glanced over at Ma, sitting motionless with eyes closed, apparently
concentrating on the Lesson.  Ruth, sitting next to me -- strange, she
always sat next to Ma before -- also with eyes closed, more relaxed.  I
couldn't tell if she was asleep.  I was most glad Pa never saw me hugging
the girls.

   One embarrassing incident could have been disastrous, but turned out
quite heartwarming.  It happened when Becky caught me by surprise and
yanked my swimming trunks down -- the first time anyone saw me naked in
years - girls in particular!  I reacted furiously, causing Becky to burst
in tears.  I tried to apologize, feeling terrible about it.  Vanessa saved
the day.

   "All right everyone, out of the pool!" Vanessa sounded like a stern
mother, and we complied immediately.  "Group hug, everyone!" She
immediately gathered Carol and Becky in her arms.  Alice came and embraced
me.  I wound up hugging all of them individually and in groups, including
one massive huddle hug.

   Becky was initially hesitant when it came to me.  I repeated, "I'm truly
sorry, Becky.  Really." We held each other at arms length for some time,
until she melted in my arms and pressed against me.

   I still felt bad about that incident, but at least the girls had
forgiven me.  The girls were all as touchy-feely with me as among
themselves, afterwards.  I wondered what would have happened otherwise.

   I came to when the music began for the collection.  Pa reached over and
handed Ruth and me a dollar each.  The collection-cap went by, and we
slipped the cash in.  I saw Ma and Pa both contributing checks.

   Finally, the third hymn was sung, the First Reader went through the
final short readings, and Church was over.  At last!

   But we still had to wait through Ma's mandatory socialization, chatting
with fellow women at church.  She called us over and introduced herself and
us to some new-comer.  "This is my husband, Daniel Cuttington.  And these
are my children -- my son Luke -- he's fourteen now -- and my daughter Ruth
-- she's nine."

   Additionally, a middle-aged man whom I recognized slightly from church
was here with a girl Ruth's age.  This time, Ruth did the introductions. 
Ruth went up and greeted her.  "Hi, Beth."

   "Hi, um -- I forget your name."

   "That's okay.  I'm Ruth, and this is my brother, Luke."

   "Hi!" I said.

   "Beth's visiting her grandpa for the summer, and she just started my
Sunday School class.  Ma and Pa are over there."

   "Ma, Pa.  Just like the Little House on the Prairie!" Beth said,
laughing.

   Ruth giggled, and I couldn't help laughing a little, even while sighing.
We often got that reaction.

   But finally we got in the car.  I was quite itching to get out of this
tight suit, especially with my sunburnt skin.  Pa drove off.

   On the way, Pa murmured to himself something about filling the tank.  We
drove past a gas station, one we often used, but Pa didn't stop there.  A
bunch of girls in bikinis, and a few guys also in swimsuits, were holding a
car-wash.  The girls seemed about my age or somewhat younger, and they were
all in bikinis.

   I held my head averted from them, not wanting my family to sense any
interest in looking at bikini-clad girls.  Pa despised girls in bikinis,
and I sensed another rant coming up.  I tried to close it out.

   "Young girls these days, the way they dress up and expose themselves ...
the good old days ...  clothing common streetwalkers would be ashamed to be
seen in ...  unaware no doubt how they expose themselves ...  the
entertainment industry ..." We didn't have a television set, except for one
in Pa's home office that we were never allowed in.  "Don't let me catch you
in anything like that, Ruth.  Shorts are okay for you now, but when you're
a couple years older, they'll only be appropriate for gym and exercise." Pa
ranted on some more, about the state of the world and education these days.

   Did Pa even know that we'd gone to a water park called Bikini Beach the
previous day?  I had no idea what Ma told Pa, other than we were going
somewhere.  Pa would have strenuously objected, had he known.  Ma would
have won in the end, though.

   We had Sunday Dinner at home.  Unfortunately, Ma demanded that I stay
dressed up for Sunday Dinner.  I had to stay in this uncomfortable suit,
and couldn't change into tee-shirt and jeans until afterwards.

   I went to the library to spend the afternoon.  Pa handed me a bunch of
books to return.  I loved going to the library and reading there.

   At the library, I made my way to an aisle in the adult section, where I
often frequented when I was by myself at the library.  I picked out a book
discussing crime and criminal justice.

   As usual, I burned in fury.  I mean, how could they possibly think that
making a person confess to a crime proves that he did it?  I kept imagining
myself in the back room of a police station while police officers kept at
me.  Could I resist the pressure to confess?

   Something happened many years ago.  A woman had been raped and left for
dead in New York City's Central Park.  It had been a case of black teens
going wilding.  But years later, apparently after most were released after
serving their youth sentences, they were all exonerated through DNA
testing.

   Someone else -- a serial killer -- had committed the crime.  The police
had made the boys confess, interrogating them hours on end.  I couldn't
imagine what they had gone through.

   Finally, I couldn't stand the fury any more, and slipped the book back
in the shelf.  I went to another shelf just a few feet away, near one
corner.  I was feeling giddy and flushed as I looked both ways, not seeing
anyone in this aisle.

   Here were books about sex.  I pulled down a book called "Forbidden
Flowers" and opened at random.  While reading some of the fantasies there,
I kept thinking about the girls at Bikini Beach and found myself getting
the most excited since I first looked at that book.

   It was only when the library closed -- at four on Sundays -- that I
walked home.  Pa had watched the baseball game in his office.  That was the
only TV we had in our house, and only he and Ma were allowed to watch it,
most of the time.  Ruth was up in her room, and Ma was cleaning up
something.

   Monday, June 23

   Like every morning, after breakfast we all had to listen to the Mental
Work.  It was an old cassette recording of my great-grandma, with various
passages from the Bible, "Science and Health", and other works of Mrs. 
Eddy.  Mrs.  Eddy had founded Christian Science over a century ago, so what
she had to say was pretty important.

   But it was a boring ten minutes that went on forever.  "Neither
animosity nor mere personal attachment shall impel the motives or acts ..."
"It shall be the duty of every member of this church to defend himself
daily against aggressive mental suggestion..." "What is God?  God is
incorporeal, supreme, infinite, Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth,
Love" -- the Seven Synonyms of God everyone knew.  "Animal Magnetism,
hypnotism, etc.  are disarmed by the practitioner..." "The mental
malpractitioner is not, cannot be, a Christian Scientist.  He is disloyal
to God and man; he has every opportunity to mislead the human mind, and he
uses it."

   I noticed Ruth glaring at Ma.  Both Ma and Pa seemed oblivious.

   Of course, it wasn't the end when the Mental Work concluded.  The
Lesson-Sermon for the week followed.  Mondays, we had to taperecord it so
that we could listen the rest of the week.  Ma and Pa recorded it together,
playing the First Reader and Second Reader.

   I started by listening, but as usual fogged out, only picking out
isolated sentences: "And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was

   moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having
a shepherd..." "His proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion
and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and
Love." "We cannot build safely on false foundations." "WINE.  Inspiration;
understanding.  Error; fornication; temptation; passion." I blushed at
hearing that; I'd learned what fornication was only a year or two ago. 
"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line,
line upon line; here a little, and there a little..."

   Eventually it was over -- finally!  Pa went off to work, and I spent the
rest of the morning reading books I'd checked out yesterday.

   But I had piano lessons at 11:30, a weekly event I always dreaded, and
then Taekwondo at 1:00.  I changed into my TKD uniform at home; as I did, I
overheard Ruth complaining to Ma about ballet lessons, which she had the
same time as my TKD.  "I can't let Luke see me dressed like that!" I
couldn't hear Ma's muffled reply, but I was puzzled.  I always saw her in
her pink leotard and white tights when we walked home together afterwards.

   Hey, I even saw her in a red bikini at Bikini Beach last Saturday!

   I gathered my piano music, and left the house to trudge off to the piano
lesson.  It was simpler to wear my TKD uniform, than to carry it with me to
change when I reached the TKD dojang.

   I arrived at Mrs.  Prudence's house with time to spare, even though I
always slowed down as I got closer and closer, and my stomach sank lower
and lower.  I practiced a few punches and kicks while waiting outside.

   Eventually, the door opened and Mrs.  Prudence's previous student came
out -- "Hi," we greeted each other -- and I nervously entered.  Mrs. 
Prudence was such a scold, although she seemed nicer now -- perhaps since I
began TKD this summer?  Or since I began wearing my uniform to lessons?  I
wasn't sure.

   "Hello, Luke," she greeted me, ignoring my TKD uniform as usual.

   "Hello, Mrs.  Prudence."

   At the piano, I stretched and exercised my fingers, and the lesson
began. We did scales and arpeggios, and I had three pieces to learn and a
fourth to memorize.  It seemed that I was doing considerably better this
summer, perhaps because she was being nicer.

   But still -- "Turn your thumb under just when you play the note!" "No,
no, that's sharped!" She rapidly wrote in the sharp next to the note.  "No,
use your *third* finger.  Obey the marked fingerings!"

   After the lesson ended, I walked the half-mile to the TKD dojang at the
mall.  TKD was more fun, as we practiced various punches and kicks, and
even sparred together.  We practiced roundhouse kicking against huge bags
hanging from the ceiling.  I'd thought it would seriously hurt when I first
saw the instructor a month ago kicking the bag hard over a month ago, but
it really doesn't.

   TKD was in the same shopping center as Ruth's ballet, so I had to meet
her after class and walk home with her.  As I approached, a bunch of girls
with a couple boys among them emerged, variously dressed -- leotards,
tights, jeans, shorts, dresses, skirts.

   Ruth was one of the last to emerge.  She was in her usual pink leotard
and white tights, but additionally wore a pink wrap-around skirt.  She came
out very slowly and stopped and blushed as pink as her leotard, and looked
down when I called her.  Very strange.  Usually, she came out chattering
with the other girls and guys.  But now, I got the sense that she felt
herself at the bottom of her world, utterly defeated.

   "Hey, Kiddo." She let me take her hand, and we slowly descended the
stairs to ground level.  "What's wrong?  Did something happen in ballet?"

   She kept her face down, not looking at me.  "I found that I remembered
everything and understood everything."

   "Well, yeah.  You've done ballet for, like, two years?  You're pretty
good."

   We walked in silence, exiting the mall and turning onto the street that
led home.

   "You really don't remember, do you, Luke?" Ruth asked.

   "Uh, no.  I don't understand." I really was puzzled.  Ruth was getting
really strange there, almost adult-like even.  What on earth was she
getting at?

   "You don't remember -- Ru, ru, puh, p-p-Pater?" It seemed that she
choked up on the word, and finally pronounced it the German way.

   "You mean Peter?" There was a Peter in a couple of my classes last year
in eighth grade, and a couple other Peters here and there.  "A classmate of
your?" It occurred to me to needle her about having a boyfriend, but then I
sensed it wouldn't be a good thing to do.

   "You really don't remember."

   "Tell me, what should I remember?"

   "You don't remember your little sister?"

   Huh???

   "Arrgh!!" Ruth pulled from my clasp suddenly, and ran off.  I gave
chase, but she was surprisingly as fast as me.  I never knew she could run
so fast.

   "Ruth, wait up!  Ruth!"

   Continuing to run, she yelled out, "Mental malpractice!  Animal
magnetism, hypnotism, and so forth!" Gads, she was taking the Mental Work
talk of mental malpractice too seriously.  I wound up chasing her all the
way home.

   She ran right into the house, and up to her room.

   Ma was out somewhere, probably shopping.  Pa was at work of course. 
Ruth stayed in her room, coming out only to shower, even refusing to come
downstairs when her best friend Daisy came over to play.

   Daisy went up to Ruth's bedroom, then came back down in tears.  "Daisy!"
I exclaimed.  I don't think we'd spoken five words together in the past; I
mostly ignored her as Ruth's friend.  But I couldn't bear to see her like
that.  "What happened?"

   "Ruth just told me to go away!  What did I do?" Daisy bawled.

   "I'm so sorry.  Ruth's been mad a lot lately.  Would you like to do
something with me, play a game perhaps?" I wasn't sure she'd like anything
I did, or I'd like anything she did, but I felt I had to try.  I handed her
a Kleenex to wipe her eyes, and she blew her nose.

   "Thanks, Luke.  I'd like that." We wound up downstairs in the basement
playroom playing Sorry, a children's board game that was still interesting.
Daisy was beating me hands down on our first game, when Ruth came down, her
face drawn from crying.

   "I'm so very very sorry, Daisy.  I was just bitchy and nasty; I'm very
sorry." The two girls hugged, and both began crying again.  I felt a bit
like crying myself.

   Eventually, we got back to the game.  Ruth stayed and watched while
Daisy got her four pieces into Home.  Afterwards, the three of us played a
second game.

   We were still playing when it was time for dinner.  Daisy called home
and got permission to stay.  Ma made Ruth go upstairs and change into a
dress.  It seemed unfair, as I was allowed to wear jeans.  In fact, I
thought of changing into slacks myself, but I wimped out.  From the
expression on Daisy's face, she thought it was unfair too.

   After dinner, I practiced the piano for half an hour; then the three of
us played another game until Daisy had to go home for the night and Ruth
had to go to bed.  I went to bed at the same time, feeling elated and
surprised that I could have such a fun time with my little sister and her
best friend.  

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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