Gull Island [final]

The drive to the ferry was always stifling. However, being stuck with your dad and your obnoxious older brother in the back of a taxi with your mom awkwardly conversing in the front seat with the sketchy cab driver was just about unbearable. Welcome to my life.

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This was a biannual event in my family, driving for three hours in a taxi to the Bauer Docks on the coast of South Carolina. I stared vehemently at the over sized dice that swayed from the rear view mirror. The cab smelled of old pizza and sweat, and my brother was getting dangerously close to my face with his greasy, salt-covered fingers.

"Want some french fries, Ollie?" Damek waggled his digits in my face. In his lap, a Styrofoam container of french fries sat, invitingly.

"No thanks, Damek." I rolled my eyes, and turned up the sound on my ipod. I just wanted this part to be over. All I wanted to do was see my friends. I missed them a lot. It had been two years, in other words, way too long.

On the island, my cousins and I hung out with some of the other native teenagers. Their names were Riza, alex, Stacy, Brett, Darcy, Keith, Tia, Quinn, Alicia, Felicity, Patrick, Tony, and Zach. I blushed immediately at the thought of Zach. Last summer, I had developed a little 'thing' for him. I don't quite remember how, but word spread with the group, and for most of the summer I was constantly followed by kissy faces and giggles. It really did a number on my already low self esteem. On top of that, Zach did not reciprocate my affection, leaving me high and dry on the love boat.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the fingerprint smeared window. I envisioned us all stepping out of the taxi, bags in hand, headed for the ferry. I tried to fall asleep to try and fast forward to the arrival at our destination, but Damek and my father, Daniel, were arguing next to me.

"No, dad, I'm not working at the Shack this year, okay! It's my last summer before college, I want to have a fun time, not spend all of my time working for Uncle Tim!"

"That's irresponsible, Damek, besides, how do you think you'll be paying for college?"

This went on and on. My mom was totally oblivious to it all, or ignored it. I wasn't too sure which. I tried to readjust my position, but my thighs were sticking to the pleather, and no matter now I curled up, it was uncomfortable.

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After what seemed like hours, we had finally arrived. I practically jumped out of the taxi as it parked in the lot next to the docks. My mom paid the man and grabbed my bags.

"Come along, Olexa, the ferry is leaving soon." She chided, scurrying towards the ticket station. My dad and Damek struggled to keep up.

"There should be four tickets under Nenad." Mom, Carla, informed the man at the counter.

"First names?"

"Carla, Daniel, Olexa, and Damek." At the mention of the last two names, the man's eyebrows rose. We were often asked by many a curious passerby if my brother and I were adopted. No, we were not. Our parents were just very, uh, proud of our Balkan heritage. So much so that they couldn't stand to give their offspring normal, Americanized first names.

The man handed my mother our tickets and we boarded the ferry.

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It took about half an hour to arrive at our destination, Gull Island. It was the residence of my Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Tim, and my cousins, Isaiah, 16, Eleanor, 15 (my age) and Jacob, 19 (a year older than my brother.) Uncle Tim and Aunt Ruthie owned and operated the Gull Shack, a popular spot for tourists and natives alike. Every other year we came to live with them for the summer, enjoying the beach and working at the shack.

As soon as I stepped off the boat, I was greeted by Eleanor.

"Ellie!" I squealed, dropping my bags. We hugged and jumped up and down for about 3 minutes.

"How have you been?!" She asked shrilly, looking at me. We both changed a lot in two years. She only got prettier, and I was starting to come into my own myself. I had grown into my previously awkward, gangly frame, and my braces were a thing of the past.

"Great. How about you?"

She giggled. "Oh, I have so much to tell you."

When we were younger, the first night was family night. Now was different. We had a gaggle of friends on the island, and the first night was reserved for 'adult catch up' and 'child bonfire.' The bonfire took place in Ellie's backyard, which was a long strip of beach. We took all afternoon to set up, and by the time the sun began to disappear behind the cliffs, people came from every which direction on bikes. Tiki torches blazed and paper lanterns were strung in the gazebo adjacent to the house. Further out onto the sand, a fire had been coaxed out of a tepee of scrap wood and kindling.

I sat with Ellie on a large piece of drift wood, one of six encircling the bonfire.

"So, you know," Ellie said slyly, drawing a picture in the sand with her big toe. "Zach's coming."

I rolled my eyes. Had I really expected her to forget? Didn't she understand that nobody really thought of me back then as more than friend material? At thirteen, I was lanky and had big feet and big ears, with bad teeth and other typical features of preteen-dom. I sighed heavily.

"Please, Ellie. That's in the past. Obviously we're just friends. I'm over it." She shook her head.

"Don't be so sure. He seemed excited when I told him about the bonfire."

"Yeah, him and every other friend we have on this darned island."

She laughed, watching ashes rise into the sky. "Touche."

We continued to talk when the first group arrived.

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"Oh my God! OLLIE!" I turned, instantly recognizing the voice of Riza. She was accompanied by her sister, Mina, and her brother, Alex. Mina acknowledged me quickly before taking off to find Damek. They had a steady relationship going since I was probably 11. They met when they were both only 14, and ever since then they picked up right where they left off when we stepped foot back on the island. Alex was 13, and came to join us along with Riza, who was our age.

We chatted and soon other groups leaked in. Jason, Yvonne, Greta, Beth, and Adam, who were all Damek's age, arrived next, followed by Stacy, Brett, Darcy, Keith, and Tia, all between the ages 14 and 16. I was delighted to see many familiar faces, but I found in spite of myself that I was waiting for one face in particular. I knew that Ellie wouldn't have the smallest inkling, but I blushed anyway.

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"Hey, hey!" The booming voice of Quinn diverted our attention. I got up to greet him and the group he came with, Alicia, Felicity, Patrick, Tony, and finally, Zach. I hugged them all, inhaling the nostalgic scent of Felicity's perfume of choice, Ralph Lauren Wild, and Patrick's scent of cut grass. That had been his summer job since he was old enough to work a lawn mower. Over his shoulder, I found myself stealing a furtive glance at Zach. He was tan and tall, just like I remembered. He had dark brown, almost black hair that fell just below his ears. Same dark green eyes, same pretty smile. I was blushing again. He was a semblance of the same boy I left on the island. Pat let me go and I walked over to Zach.

Act cool, I reassured myself. He's just another friend. You treat him the same as everyone else.

"Hey Zach, how have you been?" I asked, without hesitation. I hugged him, and despite what I had confided to Ellie earlier, I still those familiar sparks.

"I've been great, how about you?" He replied, holding me at arm's length now.

"Oh, you know." I said in an effort to be nonchalant. We both walked over to the bonfire, and i took a seat between him and Riza.

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We all caught up over marshmallows, hot dogs, and soda. I never laugh as much as I do when I'm at Gull Island.

"I remember," Felicity giggled, "That last summer, Damek was obsessed with baseball."

"Oh," I snorted. "Trust me, that didn't last long. He decided to stick with tennis."

We all laughed.

"Yeah!" Tony piped in. "And he used waaaay too much hair gel. I don't know how Mina dealt with it."

I laughed again.

"Oh, but what about you, Ollie!" Darcy exclaimed, gesturing at me. "You used to be so lanky, no offense."

"None taken." I shook my head.

"Yeah, remember I called you Giraffe?" Pat leaned over Riza to punch my arm.

"I see you also ditched the braces, Dumbo." Brett joked kindheartedly.

"Yes, yes I did, Pinoccio." I smirked at him. Everyone burst out laughing. I was not the only one who was the butt of jokes two summers ago.

"What do you think, Zach?" Tia raised an eyebrow. "Ollie's really pretty now, isn't she?" I gritted my teeth. Remind me later to throw a big clump of seaweed at Tia, I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes and shrugged off her petulance.

I was taken off-guard when Zach cast an arm around me.

"I don't know who you guys are talking about, but I always thought she was pretty."

Suddenly, my cheeks grew warm, above the heat radiating from the bonfire.

"Thanks Zach, I always thought you weren't half bad yourself." He laughed, and his arm fell to his side. As we all continued to chat and reminisce, his hand found mine, and it stayed there the rest of the night.

I knew it was going to be a good summer.

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2nd Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Skin Deep by E.M. Crane. Delacorte Press, 2008.

genre: fiction

Andrea Anderson is a sophmore at her high school. Her life is painfully boring: she is plain, quiet, and uninteresting. Or at least, that's how she perceives herself. She goes about her life without much fuss or excitement, until a tragedy rattles her school. It forces her to think about different aspects of her life and to reexamine her classmates. On top of this, her mom volunteers her to take care of her neighbor's dog while she is ill. These two events, combined with her new perspective on life, help her to grow and accept parts of her life that she can't change.

Reading from the book jacket, "If all the world's a stage, Andrea Anderson is sitting in the audience. High school has its predictable heroes, heroines, villains, and plotlines, and Andrea has no problem guessing how each drama will turn out."

E.M. Crane gives Andrea Anderson a very realistic voice in the book Skin Deep. Her thoughts are very authentic and believable. While reading this book, I could invision one of my friends saying a lot of the things she thinks. She has a very original way of describing situations. E.M. Crane's phrases in the book often got stuck in my head after I finished reading.

"Sometimes, when I lie in bed, I contemplate how much more content with my life I've become.

I'm satisfied with the events of a certain day, like the road trip with Honora and the day Ashley nearly backed her mom-i-van into the ditch at the end of my driveway." (195)

I really liked this book. At first, I was kind of skeptical, because it seemed like another one of those stories about the proverbial "girl in the corner who learns to love herself," like a lot of other books on the shelves. This book did include that, but made it much more interesting with a unique cast of characters and a very thought provoking plot. I really liked the plot, because you don't normally hear about the conflict with the teacher, but I'm sure it has happened. It really made for a good opportunity to show another side of the characters you get to know in the beginning of the book. While you read, you learn more about the people along with Andrea.