The Beach Episode

The students were sitting on the bus as the trip was about to begin. Kazen had a frown on his face, counting the teens just to be sure no one was going to be left behind. The science teacher was already seated, and Kazen thought everybody was there when entered the bus.

“Sorry! Don’t go without me!”

Loretta arrived tired of running. This was the first time he saw her without her librarian clothes. Even being dressed casually, she still wore her glasses and was carrying a book, giving her a similar energy as usual.

“Are you coming?” Asked Kazen surprised.

“Of course, you didn’t know?”

This was the last thing he wanted. Not only the girl of his dreams rejected him, now he had to spend his weekend with Loretta.

“Hey, can we go? This trip is for us!” Screamed Fulgor on the bus, tired of waiting.

Miles was on Fulgor’s side, behind Lapis and Barb. Auron was closer to the end of the bus, sitting alone.

Respecting Fulgor’s shout, Kazen and Loretta sat together, and the trip started.

The fun began on the bus, as all the kids talked, laughed, and played games. Kazen, on the other hand, was not having any fun, looking through the window and trapped in his own mind.

“Hey, what happened?”

Kazen was so buried in his thoughts that he got scared when Loretta talked to him. Even though she made him uncomfortable, her face was always peaceful and her energy calming.

“What do you mean?”

“You clearly have something in your mind. You are not even trying to flex your powers around or accompanying the bus flying by its side.”

“I got rejected by the girl of my dreams last nithg.” Answered Kazen with tears in his eyes. Loretta put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“That is rough buddy. Who is she?”

He remembered everything Lapis said about him before, and he felt embarrassed to tell the girl was the same from high school.

“It doesn’t matter! I’m here to relax and enjoy.”

“I thought you were here to look after the children. You know, your job.”

Fulgor’s head began to appear over the pair before Kazen could answer.

“Kazen and Loretta are dating!” Screamed the kid so the entire bus could hear. She rapidly took her hand from Kazen’s shoulder as flames grew in his eyes. But instead of getting angry he gave Fulgor an evil smile.

“Do you want me to tell everybody who you are in love with?”

The words worried Fulgor more than the fire and he quietly went away. As he was leaving, Kazen and Loretta exchanged looks, getting a little flustered and not knowing what to talk about.

Not too much later they saw the sea. The water reflected the sun in a magical way and the teens went to the windows to appreciate the view.

As soon as they arrived, all of them wanted to go to the beach, however they had their assignments first.

They spent the day researching plants and any animals they could find, of course having fun in the middle, but the free day on the beach was the next one.

The teens enjoyed it a lot. Auron used his wind power to surf like a pro. Fulgor hated that, since his powers did not combine with water in a good way, besides give Enger a shock when he starts to bully someone.

Of course, Lapis played sports and swam. She did not have the use for her rock powers on the beach, so she enjoyed it like the normal kids did.

“Don’t you miss that?” Asked Kazen to Loretta. The two of then were seated under a sunshade, while observing if any of the students were doing something wrong or dangerous.

“Kind of. I like my life as it is, and I enjoyed my high school very much. But things change.”

“Why do they have to? I mean I like dodgeball, but adults don’t play that. I refuse to believe I already played my last dodgeball game.”

Once again, Kazen's childish speech made Loretta laugh. So close to her, he couldn’t prevent himself from thinking she was cute, even if his heart still belonged to Alis.

“You can play with the kids, I’m sure they will love it.”

“What about you?” Asked Kazen.

She showed Kazen her book and laid down to read.

“I will be fine, go for it.”

The man accepted and ran to the teens, organizing games between them and trying to participate, but it was not what he wanted. He was not part of that group and playing with children wasn’t his goal, he just wanted to feel what he used to on his past.

Then the sun was on the horizon, coloring the sky with orange when a giant sea monster emerged. With deep blue skins and various tentacles he attacked ferociously. Kazen let the kids try to defeat it for about 30 seconds, when he decided they were too slow and he killed the monster with a single blow as the science teacher watched all in disbelief.

They made a monster barbecue and enjoyed the night with music and a sky filled with shining stars.

Kazen noticed all the kids losing their energy and watching the beauty of a clean sky, seated on towels on the beach. He had an idea and used his fire powers, throwing flames to the sky that exploded in multicolored lights like fireworks.

The show went for a few minutes, which the teens thoroughly enjoyed, when Kazen got tired and returned to his seat.

“So, how was it?” Asked Loretta who had just finished her book.

Even seeing the smiles of the kids while they were playing and watching the fireworks, Kazen was feeling empty, but he did not know how to tell that to Loretta.

In the end they returned to their rooms and Kazen could not sleep, thinking about what was missing about his grand plan of reliving his high school adventures.

The next day, Fulgor made a presentation about the giant sea monster they eat and he actually got a good grade.

When they were leaving, Kazen saw Fulgor, Lapis e Auron looking to the ocean. They were not talking or interacting, just watching the vast world they lived in and reminiscing about the great memories they made on this beach that they will carry for all their lives.