Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mae woke up when the bus stopped. Everyone, as far as she could hear, was really happy. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. It was the afternoon. Mae looked at Adrian but couldn’t guess what he was thinking. She didn’t want to bother him or talk to him if he was going to be a brat.

The teachers said they could go to beach really quick and play before they went to their hotel and had dinner with the other bus’ classes. Everyone exited, stretching from their long trip. Some ran to the sand, which was lukewarm. Mae stayed behind, at the edge of the parking lot right before the sand. The sun was setting, leaving an orange glow about her. It was a pretty sight it was, prettier than the pastel colors of the sunset at home. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Everyone was playing on the beach.

This was the real reason she wanted to come. The sunset, how miraculous it was. It was her first time seeing it here. It was her first time being so close to the beach. Yes, despite how preppy everyone got about the trip, Mae looked forward to going. “How pretty,” she muttered and then melted down to cry.
She didn’t think people would see her and it didn’t matter to her if anyone did. But the tears wouldn’t stop.

Yes, it was because of that time ago.
“Mom! Mom!” Little Mae pointed to the rushing ocean. “Huh?”
“I want to play in the water!” Her mother smiled. “But we didn’t bring swim suits, hun.” Yet her father stood boldly behind them with arms crossed. “You can’t. No, I can’t permit you to go in that disgusting germ infested water. What if you got sick? What if you drowned? What if you died? A child shouldn’t be allowed to play in this kind of place. Understand?”
With much difficulty to keep back her tears, she replied, “I understand.”

Mae hadn’t been to the seaside since kindergarten. Her father faced everything with such a serious point of view. When she got invited to parties or sleep overs, he would totally be against it. Even if she made a friend, she was always moving around due to her father’s job. She was alone when she was young so she got bullied a lot. Eventually, she came to hate her father for making her life so miserable, thus developing a bad personality. In the end, it was her first year of middle school when he became ill with the late phase of cancer. She didn’t even know. Not even her mother. To be honest, she wasn’t sad at all.
Even when he apologized, his reasoning that he tried to protect his only daughter. He felt he was too hard on her. He felt guilty, she knew, and said that he loved her and her mother very much. He cried even.
“But I, at all times, love you very much because you are my only lovely daughter.”

Mae wiped at her tears. She was happy she came. Tomorrow, she’d feel the water for the first time. She settled with this and with a small, faint smile on her lips.

Mae dropped her bags into the room before letting out a sigh and collapsing on the bed. The dinner was horrible with all the chattering. She sat at the very edge of the table with the rest of the class, though she didn’t speak to anyone. She closed her eyes momentarily though the rustling around her made her sit back up.
It was her roommate, Luce (first name I came up with >.<), who was unluckily partnered up with her. There was two to every room since the rooms were small and there was only one bed. However, Luce was a strange one.
“I saw you crying. Thought I didn’t see you huh?” She giggled. She was quite the bubbly one. “Everyone says that you are some mute girl walking around the school. But I think after what I saw, I think of you differently.”

Mae looked at her sternly. She was nice but Mae was uneasy. She was so friendly and gentle, making Mae blush. Eventually, the two got a little friendlier, bonding quickly. Though Luce did most of the talking, Mae enjoyed listening. The two fell asleep late and eventually were late to breakfast. Luce, surprisingly, didn’t have many friends either and decided to eat with Mae. She was fine with it, though she was foreign to being with someone else. The teachers would let the students roam today until the afternoon when it was time to come back to the hotel. She was enticed, her aura a bit lighter than the dark mood people thought she had.


The first feeling of sand inbetween her toes was a pleasant one, her face instantly warming up. Luce left her on her own, saying she wanted to meet up with her boyfriend. Mae didn’t mind, she was pleased with this. Eventually she settled under her small parasol and towel, watching her classmates at play. Her bathing suit was under her clothes and she was a little shy with getting into the water. So she sat there reclined with herself, quietly observing everything around her.

Mae rummaged to her bag before pulling out a hair tie to put her hair into a ponytail. Rarely did she ever put her hair up, the change revealing the bangs that framed her face and her slender neck that was hidden by her black locks of hair. She was only shy of taking her clothes off. Her mother went with her to buy her bathing suit and Luce said it looked smashing. She was shy but eventually decided to pull off her shirt and shorts, folding them neatly on her bag. She wore a pink, girly two piece, revealing her stomach and legs. She covered herself with her hands. The air was cold but the sun was beaming down on her skin. In time, she received several looks, most of them surprised to see Mae so open. She didn’t care, they could think what they wanted of her. She was at the beach in her own bathing suit and no one telling her not to go into the water. She couldn’t believe she was at a place like this.

The water looked promising, however despite her anxiety, and she was excited to get into the water. Familiar blonde hair caught her eye and she smirked as Adrian sat only a few yards away. Was it fate? “You look jolly,” she teased. She stood and dusted the sticky sand off her. “Glad to see that smile is back,” she murmured before looking back out the water. It looked promising, her face alighting. She gave him a small wave before walking off to the water. She cringed at the cool water against her feet. How refreshing. She walked deeper in until the water lapped about her knees. It felt serene. She loved the salty air, sucking it in as much as possible before basking in water and sun.

Completely content with herself, Mae got out of the water, heading to her towel. Luce caught up with her and invited her to a game of volleyball. They had three people and were missing a person so Mae was ideal for the position. She was hesitant in answering but decided to for the fun of being at the beach. Volleyball even turned out to be a great talent of hers. She was tall and lean, not afraid to dive for the ball. The game caught a lot of attention, maybe too much. However, she lost in the end. Giving a weak smile to Luce and her boyfriend, some nerdy kid she didn’t know the name of, before waving to them goodbye. It was nice playing and she actually blushed when she came to the realization that she actually did like the attention. Maybe she was blooming? She covered her face with her hand, embarrassed at her thoughts. She bought herself an ice cream before eventually plopping back down on her towel. She never did like too much sun on her and cowered under the umbrella.

She found Adrian right next to her, widening her eyes a little before sitting up and covering herself partially with her arms. “What a coincidence that you sat next to my camp. Say, Adrian, are you stalking me?” Of course, she was joking. She seemed to return to how she had always acted in front of him. She gave a smirk before looking down what was in his hands. She licked the cold creamy dessert in her hands before adding, “What is that? You’re actually drawing?”

Mae leaned on her cheek on her knees as she hugged them, watching and listening to Adrian with such deep eyes. She took a pause in her reply, thinking things through and pursing her lips before speaking.
“It must be nice to have a talent. I don’t have a hobby or special talent,” she murmured. Her eyes drifted down to his hands, such pretty hands they were. And his drawing, so full of detail and texture. She watched him for a bit before looking out at the blue sky from underneath her umbrella.
“So, what made you change from being Miss Leave Me The Hell Alone to back to your regular self? You couldn’t take the isolation?”

Mae closed her eyes, listening to the deep tone of Adrian's voice. It was soothing as he told her about himself. When she opened her eyes, his endless blue eyes looked to the sky. She buried her face deeper into her arms, hiding her pink cheeks.

"I have someone up there as well. But I don't want to bring him back. I don't think it'd make him very happy," she admitted sheepishly.
She waited a long time to say anything else. "If it means anything to you, I'm sorry I kicked you out. I was just a little embarrassed. And I could tell the misunderstanding effected you. I kinda wanted to deal with the mortification on my own, y'know?" She murmured and scratched her head, lifting her chin slightly.

Mae gave a small smile, leaning back. She brushed her bangs out of the way before replying, “Of course."
She straightened her arms behind her so that she could lean on them as she lounged out, stretching as she did.
"I may have been a bit extreme but I'd glad you came around. And I should be saying the same to you. Putting up with depressing old me, dragging you down and possibly ruining your image." She gave a small shrug afterward. A friend. Ah, it felt nice to be called that. "Besides, I didn't know such a misunderstanding could have such a toll on you. Were you that suprised? And I was shocked, with what those watery eyes looking at me and all," Mae toyed, laughing as she did. She stood.
"If you're done with that drawing, play with me in the ocean." Mae put her hands on her hips, giving a mighty grin before digging through her bag for what seemed to be an underflated beach ball. She threw it at it, motioning him to blow it up.