Part 24 (2/2)
”I second that motion, Queen Candi. Good night.”
Both girls turned over and went back to sleep. They missed the whispering that went on above their heads for the next two minutes.
Suddenly, Candi felt herself being picked up and carried at a fast pace down the beach.
”Whaa ... ?”
SPLAs.h.!.+ ... SPLAs.h.!.+.
Both girls came up out of the water, sputtering. Candi was still not exactly sure what had happened.
”My hair! My hair!” wailed Sarah.
”Holy s.h.i.+t, you did NOT just pick me up while I was sleeping and throw me into the ocean!” yelled Candi.
”If you say so!” yelled a maniacal Kevin.
Sarah and Candi jumped up, minds set on seeking revenge. The boys ran away as fast as they could, easily outrunning the wet and still groggy girls.
”That's it, ladies! Hup, two, three, four! Get those legs out the door! First exercise: a one-mile run up and down the beach!”
”Screw you!” yelled Candi.
”Okay, if you say so!” responded Kevin, making an immediate u-turn. He fixed Candi with his gaze and started bearing down on her. She took one look at him and turned around, running in the other direction.
Candi heard Sarah scream from behind her. ”Oh no you don't, Jonathan, you know I have bruised feet! Jonathan!”
Now both girls were screaming and running down the beach but not out of fright. It was more from the rush of being chased. Candi couldn't keep the crazy anxiety from rising up and bursting out of her lungs.
Kevin finally caught up to Candi, wrangling her around so he could pick her up. He carried her complaining over his shoulder back to where Sarah and Jonathan had finally given up the chase, Sarah holding her side, trying to ease the running cramp there.
He set Candi down and put his hands on his hips in a determined stance. ”I decided last night that just because we're on this stupid Peanut Island, it doesn't mean I need to lose all that I've worked for in my rugby career.”
Sarah made a scoffing sound, which looked to be about all she could manage since she was so out of breath.
”Mock me if you will, but you don't get a body like mine,” he paused to flex one of his biceps and wink at Candi, ”by sleeping in and eating bananas all day.”
They all looked at Sarah as she opened her mouth to get ready to sing, and yelled in unison, ”Don't!”
Sarah closed her mouth and looked at them crossly. ”d.a.m.n Gwen haters.”
”I agree with you in principle, Kevin,” said Jonathan. ”I just think maybe your methods could use a little work. I'm used to running a lot, but maybe we could not get up at the crack of dawn. Say, more like, I don't know, eight o'clock?”
”It's too hot then, we'll get exhausted.”
They all looked at each other and shook their heads.
Kevin looked a bit defeated. ”Come on, guys! This is important to me, seriously, don't make me do it on my own.” He turned his most powerful puppy dog eyes on the girls. Then he turned to Jonathan with his tough guy look.
”Come on, man, don't leave me hangin'. Besides, I can get your rubber band arms looking like this in no time.” He flexed for emphasis, and Candi felt her heart leap once again at the sight of his bulging muscle.
”Really? You think I could get muscular like you?”
”Well, maybe not as muscular, but pretty close. Look at you, man you've only been out here in the sun a few days and you're already looking leaner and tanner. Now we just need to get some protein into that body and start doing some workouts; you'll be big in no time. Chicks like big muscles, don't you, chicks?”
Sarah just raised her eyebrow at her brother.
Candi's face turned red, but she nodded her head. No use denying it, she thought. They are impressive.
”That's my girl! Now, Jonathan, whaddya say, are you in?”
Jonathan thought about it for a second. He looked over at Sarah who caught his eye and gave a very slight shrug of her shoulders.
”Fine, I'm in. But I prefer not to wake up at the crack of dawn if you can manage it.”
”I'll see what I can do. Don't worry you'll be very happy with your decision. Exactly one month from now you will be well on your way to being the second biggest stud on Peanut Island.”
Jonathan frowned. ”Aren't I already in that position?”
”Nope, Jonathan, you're not.” Kevin clapped him on the back and then went running down the beach, turning some pitiful cartwheels on the way.
”Where does he get that energy? Wasn't he on his death bed yesterday?” asked a mystified Candi.
”I have no idea. I think he sucks it out of us. I'm feeling more tired already.”
”Yeah, me too. Let's go eat some bananas; and please, for the love of G.o.d, don't sing the bananas song.”
”Fine.”
The girls made their way back to the campsite, deciding that their energies were better off channeled into packing up to move to their new home rather than doing crazy cartwheels down the beach.
Jonathan watched everyone go in different directions as he mulled over the idea of getting buff. He'd never considered it before; not because it was a bad idea it's just that he never saw himself that way.
He looked down at his arms, noticing for the first time that he was getting tanner. All his life when he had looked down at them, he'd seen the lily-white, freckled skin of a kid with distant Irish ancestry. Today he saw something else. The idea that he could be something different, someone other than who he'd always been, was intriguing.
The fact that he had looked to see Sarah's reaction to his decision of whether to commit to working out was also interesting. She was a girl that was so far out of his league, he never would have considered he could be a part of her world. But now here they were, in a very small world, indeed but he was in it and she was in it. And if he played his cards right, pretty soon he would be the second biggest stud on Peanut Island. And that could be pretty hard for someone like Sarah to resist. Or at least, he hoped so.
Jonathan walked up to the campsite just in time to hear Candi say, ”Well I think we should do it.”
”Do what?” he asked.
”Candi thinks we should each be in charge of some sort of activity. Become an expert in it and train the others.”
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