Daylight Katy

I dug my toes deep into the sand and looked at the ocean.  

I spent the previous day at Prem and Ku's sister's house, exhausting every school choice option we could think of.  I hadn't seen Prem in a long time and he looked exactly the same, except tan.  I wished we could talk more, but he jumped off the couch and went to his room after his sister and I started a detailed explanation on her application about her justification for a hardship transfer request.  Hearing your sister describe ongoing sexual harassment is probably not for everyone, I thought, while looking down at my bare feet.  My shoes were outside with everyone else's.  It was a little warm in the house and it had the same strong smell of fermented fish as Paw Ku's place.  Their mom and Ku sat across from us, mom nodding at the occasional translations their sister gave.  Ku would run over randomly and grab my neck, hugging me and showing me his video game.   I really wanted this to work.  

The sun was really hot and the water kind of cold, but I didn't care.  It felt good.  

I started receiving messages from Rafael.  Though summer school started days earlier, he decided he might give it a try.  I had enrolled him months earlier, with his mother's consent.  He asked me a bunch of questions, told me a bunch of dad jokes and sent me a picture of the clothes he intended to wear.  I asked him if he had spoken to Danny or Eduardo, but he hadn't.  It was weird for Eduardo to be this radio-silent. I mentioned that I was at the beach and he asked me to send him a picture.

"I haven't seen what the beaches look like here."  he texted.

"They're not as nice as Venezuela."  I warned.

"You will be unimpressed."

"So, unimpress me."  he answered.  

I floated in the cool water, just long enough not to be hot anymore.  I watched the various people doing various things on the beach.

"They rejected my application."  Naw's message read.

"THAT FAST??"  I texted back.

She hit me with a bunch of questions about other programs.  I didn't have the heart to tell her I was at the beach, but said that I wouldn't be able to stop by that day. I sat at my computer on the porch of our vacation house, answering her questions as best as I could.   

I got home and unpacked, glad to see Alec and Lola again.  Not long after I returned, I received a message, asking me to call Danny's parents about his Milestones results, because they only speak Spanish.  

I dread whatever message they want me to give.  

*Title, Gordon Lightfoot