Malina Beach: A Paradise Island Series

by K. A. Burgdorf

  “Oh,” I say, glancing up at the sky. “There aren’t any clouds?” I say.

  “It’s blowing in from the water,” he says, pointing towards the ocean. That’s when I see the thick line of clouds, coming this way.

  “Oh, crap,” I say. “Okay, I’ll ask her to hurry.”

  I rush inside the resort, into the lobby, turn into the door beside the reception desk, down the hall and to my dressing room, where Judy sits, waiting.

  “Where were you?” she asks.

  “I’m sorry. I was outside with Seth, meeting people and taking pictures.”

  “Well, let’s hurry, get that dress off,” she orders. “There is a storm coming, and I want to get home before it hits.”

  I don’t worry about privacy this time. I tug the dress off, being as careful and as speedy as I can. She tugs the wig off of me, and starts to wipe my forehead with a white cloth. After that, she rubs my lips for a long time, taking off large chunks of red and orange. Then finally, she pulls the fake lashes off of my eyes. I slowly start to turn back to normal, like that scene in Cinderella. After I’m back to my old self, all I’m left with is my pumpkin and ratty, torn dress. The whole process takes only thirty eight minutes. So it’s easier to take it all off than to put it all on and perfect it.

  I thank Judy, tell her goodbye and march down the hall to find Ben, who has disappeared. It’s thundering now, and lightening out above the water. I decide to find Ben’s car and call his cell once I’m out of the pouring rain.

  But as I search for his car, soaking wet in the parking lot, he pulls around next to me and pops the door open. I hop in and feel relieved to be out of the freezing downpour.

  The wind starts to pick up, making the palm trees and Weeping Willows sway. I lean back against the seat, sighing in exhaustion.

  “I’m so tired,” I tell Ben. He rushes to meet the ferry, not saying a word. “How was your first day?” he asks as we sit on the ferry, waiting and watching the storm. It’s wicked. Trees are being blown this way and that, the water is creating bigger and bigger waves, and the ferry is completely drenched.

  “It was great. I sang to little kids and met some really great people,” I tell him.

  “Seth was great. He’s really nice.”

  “I bet he is,” Ben murmurs, and I’m not sure I was supposed to hear. My brow furrows. Don’t tell me he’s jealous of Seth?

  “You looked really beautiful as Snow White, by the way,” he tells me, turning to smile at me.

  “Yeah, I liked it”, I say. I scoot closer to kiss him.

  “Why didn’t you respond to my text earlier?” I ask. “I sent you a picture.”

  He wraps his arm around my shoulders. “I guess I didn’t get it,” he says, tugging his phone out of his pocket. He finds the text and laughs at the picture.

  “You’re so cute.”

  “Awww, thank you.” I kiss him again.

  We finally get off the ferry and head home. The storm is still pouring rain, but at least the lightning has stopped.

  I fall asleep in the car on the way home to the sound of the rain on my window.

  When I wake again, Ben is murmuring softly in my ear.

  “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We’re home.”

  I smile, opening my eyes. It’s dark now. We are parked on our street.

  “I’m Snow White, Ben,” I giggle. He grins.

  “Come on,” he says. “It’s still raining so we have to hurry.”

  I open my car door, and am fully awakened by the cold rain hitting my face. Ben leaves me at my room, kissing me goodnight and telling me he’s going to check on Emily and call me later. I hurry inside and tell my mom that I’m home. She asks me about my day and I tell her all about it. After listening to me rattle through all the exciting details, she says she’s happy I’ve found a job I’m good at. I rush upstairs to tell McKenna, but find her already asleep.

  I take a shower, cleansing and moisturizing my face. I pass out in my bed, knowing I’m going to be tired like this for the next few weeks.

  I go to work everyday. Ben and I spend time together on weekends and the ride home. But mostly, I work. It’s a fun job, but it takes up a lot of time and energy, and a lot of vocal strain. But I love every second and I’m making great money.

  Ben hangs out at the resort most of the time, probably to keep an eye on Seth and me, which is kind of insulting. If he doesn’t trust me enough to work with a guy, why would he even date me? Maybe he just wants to make sure nothing bad happens, which is thoughtful, but aggravating. The weeks flew by and before I know it, it’s time to quit and get ready for school.

  With the money I have from working, I’ll have plenty of dough to buy some great school clothes.

  On my last day, I sing a little louder and smile a little brighter, attached to Seth’s arm. We’ve grown very close over the past few weeks and I’m saddened to say goodbye to my new friend. Even though Ben doesn’t approve, I hope Seth is still working when I come back next summer. I know I’m going to miss this job. I’ll miss this dress and this beautiful luscious wig.

  I’ll miss Judy and her early morning rants about her dog or spilt coffee, which she seems to do almost every morning. I’m going to miss seeing other Disney Princesses and Princes, walking around like it’s normal, when it’s honestly strange to see. It’s strange but good… very, very good. I’ll most definitely be back, even if it’s just to stay in one of their rooms.

  At the end of my day, Judy and I hardly speak. She takes off my wig and I slip out of the dress, saying a quiet goodbye. When every scrape of beauty products is off of my face, I hug her tightly and thank her, and say goodbye.

  As I leave my dressing room and saunter down the hall, sad to be leaving, someone enters the hallway in front of me. I look up to see Amber, the girl playing Cinderella. She looks up the same time I do, smiling at me as she walks towards her dressing room.

  I met her a week ago, though we haven’t really spoken.

  “Hi,” I say to her. She is wearing a real life Cinderella dress, complete with her long blonde hair up in high fashion. She tugs off her gloves as I make my way to her.

  “Hello,” she says. “Today is your last day, right? You’re Snow White?”

  “Yes,” I say. “I have to get back to school,” I explain.

  “Ahh,” she says, smiling kindly. “I graduated last year, so I get to stay and play dress up.”

  “Oh,” I say. “Congratulations. You’re lucky.”

  “I’m sure you can come back when you graduate, the Snow White’s always leave after a few weeks. For whatever reason,” she says. “I’ve been Cinderella since last summer, and I love it.”

  “Wow,” I say. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I tell her. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. I have to get in there,” she says, motioning towards her dressing room. “My makeup artist hates it when I’m late.”

  “Right. I’ve got to get going to. I’ll see you around.”

  “See you,” she says, but pauses. “You were my favorite Snow White, by the way.”

  With that, she hurries into her dressing room, smiling at me before she shuts the door. I head into the lobby to find Ben, who is sitting in the waiting area. I frown at him as I saunter his way. He stands and holds his arms out, wrapping his arms around me.

  “I know,” he murmurs, kissing my hair. “But it’s okay,” he says. “Cause I was talking to the receptionist, and as soon as you graduate High School, you can come back.”

  “I know… I just hate that I don’t get to stay a little longer. I really like this job.”

  “I’m sorry… but now we get to spend a little more time together before you start school and I start working again. We could go on that trip?” he suggests.

  “Emily still isn’t better.”

  “Yeah,” he sighs. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Let’s go home,” I say, pulling him towards the exit by his hand. He smiles at me.

  “You know, seeing you
as a Disney Princess was nice and everything… but I’m really glad I‘ve got Malina back.”

  I giggle. “But Snow White will be back!” I say.

  We arrive home by dark, for the last time, taking the ferry and the falling asleep on the way home because of the long, boring drive.

  Chapter Eleven:

  Since Ben and I have been dating for a while now, under Emily’s radar, I decide it’s best if I have a talk with her, face to face, about my relationship with her brother. So, I decide to take her out for lunch. I know she isn’t feeling well, but I think some time outside will do her good. Plus, I can tell her about my last day at work, and how I met Cinderella.

  “Is she ready?” I ask Ben as I step into their house. He shrugs.

  “She has been in the bathroom all morning. But the good news is, I haven’t heard her throwing up all day. Maybe she'll have a good day for once.”

  “Is she really that bad?” I ask him. He nods.

  “It’s the chemo, not the cancer. She hardly notices the cancer. It’s the damn chemo treatments.”

  “Well, just think of today as your day off. You don’t have to worry about her, or me, or anyone but yourself. Sit here in your underwear, watch some TV, and eat some junk food. Have a day for you,” I say and kiss him sweetly. He grins.

  “You’re an amazing girl,” he says. “Take care of my sister, okay? And yourself.”

  “I will. I always do.” I leave him in the living room and hurry down the hall to the bathroom the whole family shares. I knock on the door softly, waiting for an answer.

  “I’ll be right out, Ben!” Emily shouts. “Is Malina even here yet?”

  “It is Malina,” I say. “But there’s no rush!”

  “Oh, Malina!” she says, opening the door in a flash and tugging me inside. She slams the door back and flips the lock. She is digging in her makeup bag, lipstick and eyeliners lie everywhere. “I’m so glad you’re here! I need a girl,” she says. “I need help.

  My face is just so…” she sighs. She stares at me, crestfallen.

  “So, what?” I ask. “I think you look fine.”

  “I have no color,” she says sadly. “I have bags under my eyes. My lips are deflating and my cheeks… I look like a dead person. I have no life in my face,” she complains. “No life.” Tears begin to form in her eyes.

  “Oh,” I say. “Well, we can fix that,” I say. I apply lip balm and then lip gloss to her lips. I sprinkle some blush on her cheeks, and pinch them, making her laugh. Then I apply mascara and eyeliner.

  I learned some new tricks from Judy, so I make her look really stunning, not that she wasn’t beautiful already. But Ben was right. The chemo is really taking it out of her.

  “What do you think?” I ask her. She grins, staring at her reflection.

  “I look normal,” she says, touching her face. “I look healthy.”

  “Emily,” I say. “You are normal.”

  “Not as normal as you,” she sighs. “Anyways, if we are going to make it to lunch, we better get going.” She stands to open the door, but I stop her. Now is a good a time as any to talk to her.

  “Wait a minute,” I say. “Can we talk?” I wonder. “It will only take a minute. Then we can eat till we burst.”

  She smiles and takes a seat on the chair she has in front of the toilet. I lose my edge, nervously looking away from her. I begin to clean up her counter, placing all of her makeup back into the purple cloth bag.

  “What is it?” she asks. I chew on my lip.

  “Well… I’ve known Ben for a while now, and we really like each other. And we have…” I say, searching for the proper words. “Don’t get mad, okay?” I say.

  “I won’t, just tell me, Malina. You’re my best friend.”

  “We are dating. And we have been for weeks now, but we didn’t tell you… I just didn’t want you to get upset, because you were sick. And Ben especially, he didn’t wanna tell you at all, but I convinced him that you appreciate honesty.” I pause to catch my breath. “But we should have been honest weeks ago.”

  “You and Ben?” she says, testing that out in her mind. Her brow furrows. “I guess now that you mention it… I kind of already knew.”

  “What? How?” I gasp. She giggles.

  “I saw you two kiss once,” she confesses. “I just figured you would tell me when you were ready and here you are telling me. So it’s good. It’s a good thing.”

  “Really?” I say, grinning. “That’s great!” I say. “That’s so so great! I’m so happy that you’re happy!”

  “My brother and my best friend are dating!” she giggles, hugging me tightly. I laugh at her.

  “Let’s go eat, I’m starving,” I say, releasing her from my tight embrace. We leave the bathroom, both of us of grinning and find Ben still in the living room. He’s sitting on the couch, watching some war movie in his underwear.

  Really? I think, laughing. We aren’t even gone yet and he’s already pants-less?

  “Okay, we’re out of here. Clean up a little in here,” Emily orders, to which Ben rolls his eyes and looks to me.

  “I thought this was supposed to be my day? I don’t clean on my day.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Emily grins.

  “We’ll be back later.”

  We leave him alone, heading out into the hot humidity. “Do you wanna bike?” I ask her. “Or we could long board?”

  “Let’s board,” she says. “I wanna take my time.”

  “Okay!”

  We have lunch and talk, taking our time eating and talking and strolling down the raods, like she wants. Emily’s feeling better today, better than she has in a while. And she fears that it’s only going to get worse. We all fear that. But we have to have faith. That’s all I have, is hope and faith and dreams.

  Chapter Twelve:

  The end of summer is fast approaching. I can feel it flying by faster and faster every moment I spend with Emily and Ben. Uncle Jim and I have been paddle boarding whenever we get the chance and he keeps telling me to keep my spirits high about the audition. I’m convinced I didn’t get it, though. I’m nervous about joining a new school as well. I miss my old school building. I grew up there. I know that school inside and out.

  I’ve ridden by the school I’ll attend in four days time and wasn’t very impressed. It’s smaller than my other school. There’s only half the amount of students attending that I’m used to. And being that Ben and McKenna already graduated, the only person I’ll know is Emily. And I don’t know if she will be able to attend school as often as she would like. Being sick and having to have chemotherapy does more wear and tear on your body than any rigorous workout routine ever could. She’s tired all the time. She has aches and pains that no sixteen year old should have.

  She’s a young, beautiful sixteen-year-old girl trapped in an old woman’s body at the moment. She’s dropped twenty pounds, she can hardly eat or drink, and she sleeps for hours at a time during the day. We are all trying to be strong and supportive for her, but I miss my friend.

  I sit in my room Saturday afternoon, painting my toenails bright red, and thinking. How can we end this amazing summer? How can I say goodbye to my old life and hello to my new one?

  My life now is in Hawaii. And I’m okay with that, though it isn’t what I expected at all. I’ll graduate here, I’ll get married here, and my kids will grow up here and be sunshine children just as Emily and Ben were.

  That’s fantastic. But I don’t know how to start.

  A party. Parties are always fun. You can’t go wrong with a party. We will have cake and cookies and chips and dip and drag Emily out of bed and into some sunshine. We won’t have it indoors. It will be in the backyard, in the sun, with the wind and the birds. That will make Emily’s day, I’m sure.

  I call Ben and tell him my idea. I start to make the plans.

  “I’m sure Emily will like that. But I don’t think we should pressure her into coming if she doesn’t feel up to it,” he says. “She was throwing up
all morning. And she has another chemo appointment in two days.”

  “Oh,” I say, bummed. “Well, we’ll ask her. Can you put her on the phone?”

  “Maybe you should come over,” he says. “She’s in her room right now, I think she’s sleeping, but you may be able to catch her awake.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right over.”

  I hang up and let my mother know where I’ll be. Then I tug on some clean shorts and a tank top before heading next door to Emily and Ben’s. Their parents are out for their traditional Saturday brunch.

  I let myself in, moving through their small, charming living room and through their messy kitchen. You can tell Ben cooked breakfast. There’s flour everywhere, sugar spilled on the counter, empty egg shells on the stove, the milk is left out and there are dirty plates still on the table. I set the milk in the fridge before heading down the hallway, to Ben’s bedroom. I tap on the door before pushing it open. His room is cleaner than his kitchen. There’s a twin-sized bed in the far corner, pressed against the only wall that has a window, looking out over the ocean just like my bedroom.

  His dresser is next to that, with drawers’ open and clothes spilling out. The carpet is clean, white and spotless. His walls are cream, with pictures of him, Emily and his parents hung up in different places around his bedroom. His High School Diploma hangs above his bed in a gold picture frame.

  He sits at his computer desk, shirtless, in jeans, with his back to me. He looks up as I come in and smiles at me. I glance at his computer screen. He’s watching a movie that I don’t recognize.

  “Hey,” I say to him, closing the space between us to cross the room and stand next to him. He wraps his arm around my waist but remains seated.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he says. We are quiet for a while, watching the movie together. It looks to be some type of war movie. People are being shot and killed. I can’t stand to see people being tortured or hurt. A man is shot in the chest. I turn away.

  “I’m gonna go see Emily,” I tell him and lean down for a quick kiss.

  “I’ll be here,” he says as I turn to leave. Emily’s room is next to Ben’s and is deathly quiet. I don’t bother to knock before I slowly creak the door open. I see her thin body lying on her bed. Her covers are knotted up at the foot of the bed. She’s laying on her side with her back to me. Her t-shirt is pulled up enough that I can see her hipbone sticking out from under the white fabric.