Chapter 4
The car turned off the main highway and headed up Lahainaluna Road. Peter’s father drove slowly up the mountainside and took a trip down memory lane as he did, it had been years since he had made this drive towards the high school. He had a broad smile on his face. Peter was not paying attention though, his mind was still on meeting Kaila. He was hoping he would get to see her again sometime. The church was his only thought for the moment on where she would be. At least on Sunday mornings. He snapped into reality as his father began to play tour guide.
“That’s the old smoke stack from the sugar mill, long time ago,” his father pointed out. “Looks like a coffee store in front of it now. They grow coffee on the sides of these slopes.” Both kids looked up at the tall stack as they drove past. It was old and rusty looking, but stood proudly as a symbol of how things used to be on the island at one time. They passed neighborhoods on either side of the road. “Kids on this side of the island all come right here for school. All on this road here. Almost symbolic.”
“What do you mean?” Peter asked.
Without hesitation, his father explained. “The preschool is right here, near the bottom of the hill.” Peter noticed the small school and sign as they passed. “Further up is the elementary. Then a little ways further is the junior high. And at the top is the high school. With the best view you ever did see, son.” Peter gazed up the side of the mountain, trying to pick out where the high school might be among the buildings dotting the hillside. He was impressed. “The older you get the further up the mountain you go.”
“That’s neat!” Ana exclaimed.
Peter nodded as well. That’s pretty cool, he thought to himself. He kept looking from side to side as they slowly ascended the hill. Soon, he spotted way up high on the mountainside a single letter displayed very noticeably. It was a reddish-orange giant letter ‘L’ outlined in white. He was intrigued to say the least.
At the same moment, his father caught sight of it as well. “There it is,” he said, almost in awe.
Ana saw it too. “Oh neat! They put a big ‘L’ up there for Lahaina!”
“No,” her father corrected. “It’s for the school, Lahainaluna. It’s been there since 1904.” Peter sat very impressed. A school has its own emblem on the side of the mountain? “There is a lot of history surrounding this school. I want you to learn and appreciate it, kids. The school is very old. It goes back to the 1800’s. Supposedly the first graduate from here is buried near the site of the ‘L.’ They light it up at the end of the school year. They have a festival in his honor every spring, David Malo Day.”
Peter had definitely heard about David Malo in school but the ‘L’ on the mountain intrigued him more. “What do you mean they light it up?” Peter asked. “They shine some spotlights on it or something? What do they do that for?”
“No, they actually light it on fire.” He had Peter’s attention now. “They call it the ‘Lighting of the L’. On the day of graduation, students hike up there with lime and put it all around the edges. And right as graduation ends at Boarders Field they light the ‘L’ on fire very slowly until it’s burning bright on the mountainside. Everyone back here at graduation just stands there and watches. Well, basically everyone on this side of the island watches it. It’s a great tradition here. You can see it for miles they say, even on Molokai and Lanai if it’s clear.”
Peter stared at the emblem high upon the mountain. “Wow, they really do that?” Just as he spoke, he saw the sign for the high school. ‘Welcome to Lahainaluna High School.’ The car pulled in the drive. There were many people milling about and cars everywhere. They found a parking space near the large football field that prominently sat near the entrance of the school. Peter and Ana were glued to the windows, looking everywhere. A large scoreboard was displayed at the far end of the field beyond the end zone. It had bright red and white lettering that read ‘The Imu, Home of the Lunas.’
“The Lunas,” Ana said out loud. “Hey, I like that!”
“Yeah,” her father said. “The team is supposed to be good this year. That will be something fun for you too, Pika. The football games are always fun here.”
“Yeah, I might catch a few,” Peter nodded. He got out of the car and looked around the campus. The buildings lined the main road and went back further than he could see. His expression seemed sorrowful as he looked at the place he would be spending the next nine months. People live up here? he wondered to himself. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Then something caught his eye. He finally realized how high up they were on the mountain. The view was nothing short of spectacular. The town of Lahaina stretched beautifully along the coastline. The neighborhoods and schools below stretched all the way down to Honoapiilani Highway. To the left he followed the highway as far he could until the road disappeared around the pali. Beyond the town across the channel was the island of Lanai. One could see it from the shore but from up this high it was amazing. And the island was nearly clear of clouds. The highest peak was easily visible. Peter breathed easier as the view soothed his very soul. It made him feel at home. The views they had at home on the Big Island were this way. He was beginning to feel better. To the far right was the island of Molokai. The majestic cliffs towered above the sea with trails of clouds clinging to the tips of the mountain peaks. His father came and stood beside him as they both took in the awesome view before them.
“You really went to school here, Dad?” Peter marveled.
“Sure did, Pete.” He put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s going to be fine, OK?” Peter nodded nervously. He knew very soon he would be left here by himself. “Now come on, let’s head inside and get you settled in.”
The banner in the lobby read, ‘Welcome to David Malo Dorm.’ Peter glanced around the lobby. Near the check-in window, which also served more permanently as the dorm office, was a study lounge with an array of couches and lounge chairs. He dragged his one suitcase behind him as he frowned at his new home.
“Mr. Lane! Aloha!” a man’s voice called out from inside the office window. “Welcome back ‘ol boy.”
Tad smiled broadly. “Aloha Bob, great to see you,” he responded. He gave Bob a big hug through the window. “Been many years. Glad to see a familiar face. Not much has changed I see.”
“Yep,” Bob replied. “They still got me here. I guess they figured I’ve been here this long, may as well put me to good use. Hello Mrs. Lane, nice to see you.”
“Hello Mr. Campbell, nice to see you too,” Sara answered, shaking his hand. “This is our daughter, Ana.”
“Hey there, young lady.”
“Aloha!” Ana said cheerfully.
“And you must be Peter.” Bob walked out to the other side of the counter to shake Peter’s hand. Peter silently greeted him. “I’m Mr. Campbell, the boarding foreman. I remember when your pop was here.” Peter didn’t know what to make of a person who had stayed at the school for that long.
“That’s a pretty long time,” Peter finally spoke.
“Hey, I’m not that old!” his dad exclaimed.
“Well, actually,” Bob continued, “I went to school here too.”
“No kidding,” Peter said. He was impressed - or at least felt very sorry for Mr. Campbell.
“Yep, it’s pretty common for those of us working here. It’s like family, you just never want to leave.” Bob tried to say the words in the most sincere way. He could see the apprehension on Peter’s face.
Just then, a young man came sliding down the hall on his shoes and skidded to a stop. “You’ve got to be the new guy!” he announced.
“Vincent!” Bob scolded. “You know about running in these halls. Excuse him, please.”
“New guy?” Peter asked. “How do you know that?”
Vince spoke as he always did, confident and matter-of-factly. “Everybody knows, roomie. Come on, lemme show you around!”
“Roomie?” Peter asked again, flummoxed.
Bob stepped in to slow down Vince’s eagern
ess. “Yes, Peter. This is Vince Amoy. He’ll be your roommate this year. Vince, this is Peter’s family.”
“Hello!” Vince proudly said to them.
“Hello,” they all said in unison.
Vince quickly turned back to Peter. “Hey, lemme help you with your stuff.”
Peter motioned to his suitcase standing next to him. “This is it.”
“All right then!” Vince yelled. “We’re off!”
Peter looked back at his parents with a ‘save me’ expression on his face. “Go on, we’ll catch up,” his dad said. “Go take a look around.” He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and dragged it along and tried to keep up with his new roommate.
The two boys turned a corner and went through a door that opened to a long narrow hallway with rooms on either side. A small open room to the side opened up at the hallway’s end where a desk with computers lined the wall. Vince played tour guide as they walked. “Over here is the computers where you can do school work, look things up. Forget about surfing porn, it’s all blocked.” Peter did his best to chuckle. “Rooms on either side. No chicks, so forget about that too. Girls are all next door in Hoapili. You get to see ‘em in the cafeteria and class, so no worries.” Peter looked curiously at each door. There was a glass window in each one. You could see into each room clearly. “Yes, not much privacy up here buddy. Gotta keep your nose clean. Foremen walk the halls at any time checkin’ on us. Make sure we’re not lightin’ up, burnin’ the place down or disemboweling one another.” Peter looked at him funny. “Don’t worry, I gave up disemboweling people a long time ago.”
Peter laughed out loud. “Oh yeah, how come you need a new roommate?”
Vince winked and put his finger to his lips. “Shhh!” Peter laughed again. “I’m kidding. He graduated last spring.”
As they walked, most doors were opened to the rooms. Most of the boys left their doors open like it was one big family home. People came and went as they wanted up and down the hallway. Most only closed their door to sleep at night. Peter felt a little awkward about the lack of privacy.
Vince could tell he was uneasy. “You get used to it. The windows I mean. That’s why most of us just leave the doors open.” They passed the room with the Kapuli brothers. “That’s Kai and Oki.”
“Hey, new guy!” they both yelled.
Suddenly, a short skinny kid came racing out of his room shirtless right in front of them. “Aughh!” he yelled. “I got tracker-jackers on my ass!” He pointed a toy bow and an arrow, tipped with a suction cup, down the hallway and shot it and watched happily as the arrow stuck to the glass on the door. “Cornucopia! All for one! Aughh!” The kid went racing down the hall joyfully after his arrow.
“What the hell was that?” Peter asked, befuddled.
Vince rolled his eyes and replied, “That’s Fin. Ignore him. He’s trapped in his own world of make-believe ever since he saw the Hunger Games. He thinks he’s Katniss.”
Peter shook his head and laughed. “He knows Katniss is a girl, right?”
“I don’t bother to ask questions,” Vince said.
They stopped at a door in nearly the center of the hallway. “This is us. Welcome to your new home. I’m on the right.”
Peter scanned the room over. It looked much bigger than he had expected, even for a two-person dorm room. Each student had plenty of space on their side of the room. There was a desk to work at, twin-sized bed and a closet with plenty of storage. Peter arched his neck to see out the window.
“You got lucky, pal,” Vince smiled. “Since we’re both seniors, we got a window facing the water. Great ain’t it?” Peter curled his lip and nodded approvingly. “Freshman don’t get this great view.”
Peter rolled his suitcase to the foot of his bed and he sat down on the mattress. The bed felt good enough, he thought to himself. He felt a little less depressed than he had been. At least his roommate was cool. But he still sighed heavily. He still did not feel like he belonged here. He could feel the anxiety welling up inside him.
Soon, his parents and Mr. Campbell found his room and they all stepped just inside the door. “There you are,” his mother said anxiously. “What do you think?”
Peter didn’t really know what to say. What could he say? They were about to leave him in this room for the next nine months. He felt like the warden was giving them a tour just before his sentence was carried out. “It’s good,” he finally said. His mother gave him a long hug, while his father patted him on the back at the same time.
“I wanta see the girl’s dorm!” Ana said excitedly. “This is so cool!” Peter could not share in her excitement, however.
“We’ll see you at Christmas break, OK?” his father said. “Just use your phone and contact us whenever you want. You’ll be fine here.”
His father wasn’t much for speeches and even worse at saying goodbye, so Peter just nodded and stared at the floor mostly. His mother was emotional but knowing what they were getting Peter away from kept her from crying too much. She knew this was the best thing for him.
“Watch after him, Mr. Vincent,” she said sweetly to Vince.
“Oh you bet, Mrs. Lane,” Vince said happily.
“He’ll be in good hands,” Bob said. “Vince, fill Peter in on the daily activities and I’ll walk his folks out to their car.” Vince saluted like a soldier following orders.
With that, Mr. Campbell escorted Peter’s parents and sister out of the dorm and Peter walked out in the hallway and forlornly watched as they disappeared behind the door at the end.
The Lunas Page 4