in the sun

[cenizobelle]

Cenizo stepped away from his mother. He immediately knew they had arrived in Kiribati. The heat had hit him like a physical blow, the whole landscape was just sand, sea and palm trees and his mother had gasped excitedly. He gave the scenery a closer look and saw a few white houses beyond the beach. He looked towards his father who was smiling happily at the surroundings. “Shall we go and check in at the hotel then?” he asked, and without waiting for an answer, he swept off up the beach and over to the white buildings.
Upon reaching them, Cenizo discovered that the white ‘houses’ were actually huge hotels. His father led them into one of the largest buildings, across the cool marble floor and over to the receptionists’ desk. “Verum.” He said to the receptionist, who was a petite looking young woman with hair so blonde it was almost white. She smiled at Mr. Verum, then at the rest of the family.
“Welcome to Paradise Hotel.” She said sweetly. “You’re room number 15, it’s on the second floor, go up the stairs over there. It’s the first on the left” She said, directing them to the staircase. She waved her wand and handed them the key to their room. “I hope you have a very enjoyable stay.” She smiled again, and then walked back behind the desk.
Cenizo arrived outside his room and waited while his father inserted the key. Just as he opened it, the door behind Cenizo opened to reveal Zada.
Cenizo blinked at her. He was totally surprised to see her here. Her appearance had changed in the two weeks he hadn’t seen her. Her hair now reached the small of her back and was a natural brown colour. It was tied up in a loose pony tail. She smiled at Cenizo, blushing ever so slightly. “Hey. I didn’t know you were staying here. And in the room opposite me too. Lol.” She flicked some hair out of her eyes, and then walked down the stairs blushing, after giving Cenizo a casual wave and a smile.
Cenizo watched her walk down the stairs, but turned around when he heard his dad clear his throat. “Shut up.” Cenizo said frowning at his fathers smile, raised eyebrows and knowing smile. They entered the room and Cenizo groaned when he saw how large it was. Was Zada’s room this big too?
“I saw a nice pool on the way in.” Cenizo heard his mum say. “I think I’ll go for a dip. Anyone want to come with me?”
“Might as well.” Cenizo said shrugging.

TBC

[cenizobelle]

He met Zada by the pool where she was paying for a drink from the pool-side bar. “There’s no water in the hotel room.” She explained, smiling at him. “Just alcohol. . . Are you a good swimmer?” she asked.
Cenizo shrugged. “I suppose.” Why was Zada talking to him all of a sudden? They had been reasonably good friends in the first few weeks of their first year, but the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry had driven them apart. But now no-one else was here to see them talk it was okay? A frown crossed his features, but the moment passed when he noticed Zada looking at him.
He grinned sheepishly. “Do you swim?” he asked, out of politeness more than anything else.
Zada nodded, blushing faintly. “Occasionally; but not as much since I’ve been going to Hogwarts” Cenizo also nodded. “See ya later Cenizo.” Zada said, heading back to the foyer with her bottle of water.
“See you.” He replied.

TBC

[cenizobelle]

After changing quickly, Cenizo dived into the pool, but he found it was way too hot, and jumped quickly out again. He walked towards a glass door that led outside, his wet feet slapping nosily on the stone floor. Pulling the door open, he stepped out into the sunshine, covering his eyes with a hand. Walking down some steps he neared the outside pool. This time he jumped ungainly into the pool, the cool water filled his ears and nose as he went underwater; leaving large ripples in the pool that was once quiet and calm. His head broke the surface and he blinked several times to focus his vision, water dripping from his sopping wet hair that was now flattened to his head. He tried to reach the bottom with his feet, but found it was too deep, so swam to a shallower part where he was able to stand. Once he’d stood, he shook his head, sending sprays of water away from him. They cascaded through the air, causing the pool small ripples.

He dipped his head back into the pool and kicked off the side of the pool, propelling himself through the water. Again he came to the surface, but instead of trying to rise, he started to kick and pulled him self forwards with a powerful stroke. He continued at the same steady pace until he started to near the wall. Speeding up slightly, he rocked forwards, getting his head down quickly and rotating, trying not to paddle with his arms. His feet planted on the wall, and after bending his knees and pushing, he got into a streamlined shape and glided. He made the first arm stroke, keeping his other shoulder tucked next to his head and gently doing a fly kick with his legs. He started a front crawl again, keeping the pace reasonably slow and measured. He turned in the water slightly; heading for a different wall, doing lengths was the preferred option.

After 20 lengths he felt his legs starting to protest slightly. Instead of tumbling at the next wall, he stopped and hoisted himself up onto the side easily. He stood up, looking at the sky, a beautiful day. The sun was still high; maybe he could get a tan . . .

TBC

[cenizobelle]

Cenizo woke up on a large soft bed, sunlight streaming in through the window hitting his face. By the temperature, the height of the sun and the season, he would hazard a guess at the time being around seven. Throwing off the covers, he changed quickly, then walked into his luxury en-suite and looked at his face in the mirror. He shrugged and stepped closer to the sink. He filled the bowl with water; then splashed it on his face. It was wonderfully cold and refreshing, successful in waking him up properly. Exiting the bathroom, he decided on going down for some early breakfast. He closed the door, turned around, then jumped back in fright as he saw Zada stepping out of her door. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised, a slight flush on her cheeks. “Sorry.” Cenizo said. “You scared me. I didn’t expect anyone else to be up this early actually . . . “
Zada smiled. “Can I go have breakfast with you?” she asked.
“Sure.” Cenizo replied, also smiling. Of course, we’ve already discussed the fact that smiles are infectious. They walked down to the restaurant together, talking in quiet voices, not wanting to wake others up.

“We used to be good friends . . .” Zada said sitting on the beach next to Cenizo. After eating breakfast, they had wondered down to the beach and had found a sunny spot in which to sit in.
Cenizo frowned. “Yes . . . I guess that shows you what house rivalry does to friendships.”
Zada nodded, but found that this topic was awkward, so changed it hastily. “I love that shirt on you. Where did you get it?”
“Oh, err-” Cenizo blushed, not used to compliments. “I’ve no idea. Some shop in London. They’re all the same really.” He said grinning, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Zada laughed, flicking parts of her fringe out of her face. Then she leaned in towards him and whispered something.
His head turned from facing the sea to her. He noted how close she was and shifted uncomfortably. “Sorry?” he asked.
Zada smiled. “Never mind.” She said, leaning back again, moment ruined.
Cenizo smiled at her uncertainly. What was going on? But then he shrugged. Holidays were time to relax. Thank God he’d already done the homework.
He lay down in the sand and Zada copied. “You done any of the homework yet?” he asked casually.
“Nope.” She replied, grinning at the sky. “I don’t plan to either. Although I may do Astronomy; depends whether we get Saunders or that new guy.” She said lazily.
“I take it, not doing homework is going to be running theme then?”
Zada laughed quietly. “Yeh, I suppose.”
They relaxed into completive silence; each thinking different things.
’I wonder if he knows I like him yet . . .’

TBC

[cenizobelle]

It was a week into his holiday at the hotel, and Cenizo found that he actually really liked this place. His dad revealed last night at dinner that he used to come to Kiribati every summer too. Cenizo liked a lot of things about this place. He liked the way the sea splashed against the shore. He liked the way the sand felt under his feet. And he liked the way that Zada seemed to be spending all her time with him. Their families had dined together last night at one of the Hotels many restaurants. Conversation was plentiful amongst the adults, and the children had been allowed to leave the table while they chatted. Zada and him sat by the pool and talked lazily about the first things that popped into their heads.

He woke up the next day feeling like his friendship with Zada was probably artificial. She probably only talked to him because he was the ministers son. As soon as they got back to school, she would ignore him again. He was in Gryffindor, she was in Slytherin. The two don’t mix.

TBC

[cenizobelle]

Zada stepped out her hotel room, to see Cenizo walking down the stairs. “Hey Cenizo.” She said, catching up with him.
“Oh. Hi.” He replied. “I was going to go swimming . . .”
“That’s fine. So was I.” She said grinning.
“Oh, err, okay.”

They walked to the changing rooms and said they’d see each other in a bit. Cenizo changes and showered as quickly as possible. Then practically ran out into the pool area, nearly falling over as he did so. He checked the pool was empty; then dived in, submersing his body in the warm water. He’d already finished a few lengths before Zada came out of the changing rooms. She grinned at him as he stood up in the shallow water. Then when he looked at her, she found herself blushing. She continued smiling as she walked towards the pools edge. She sat down on the side and slipped in. “You’re really good.” She complimented him.
“Thanks.” Cenizo replied, shaking water from his hair.
“Do you wanna go sit in the Jacuzzi?” Zada asked him. Cenizo shrugged, and they half swam, half walked to the Jacuzzi area; bubbles appearing as soon as they sat down. They spent their minutes talking about anything and everything. When another wizard appeared and asked them if he could use the Jacuzzi, they walked back to the main pool.
“Shall we go outside?” Cenizo asked Zada before they both got into the water.
Zada raised her eyebrows. “It’ll be freezing. The sun hasn’t had time to make the water warm yet. And that Jacuzzi was really hot.”
Cenizo shrugged and grinned. Zada felt something inside her soften slightly at that warm smile. “Okay.” She said, laughing.

When the outside pool neared, Cenizo left Zada’s side, ran to it, and then dived in neatly. When he surfaced he saw Zada laughing and clapping. He smiled too. Maybe their friendship wasn’t superficial. When Zada reached the edge, she took a deep breathe and jumped in, eyes shut tightly. She was mildly surprised to find the water wasn’t that cold. She kicked off the bottom and floated towards the surface. Treading water for a while, she waited while Cenizo swam towards her. When he’d got closer to her, she swam to the edge while he followed.

“Play beach ball?” Zada asked, levitating a beach ball over to them. Cenizo frowned; she’d done magic without a wand . . . Then he shrugged it off and nodded, smiling again. Zada hit the ball up into the air when it reached her. It floated upwards; then drifted back to the surface of the pool. Before it hit, however, Cenizo had smacked it back into the air.

This continued until the pool started to fill. They smiled at each other and placed the ball on the side of the pool. “Shall we go and have some lunch now?” Zada asked him.
“Sure.” Cenizo said grinning, while rubbing the back of his head; water flicked off it everywhere.

TBC

[cenizobelle]

Zada sighed. It was Cenizo’s last day in Kiribati. She probably wouldn’t see him until the start of the year. She sighed again. He’d ignore her when his friends were around because of the Gryffindor/Slytherin hatred. Sighing for the last time, she stood up and made her way to the beach where she knew Cenizo was sitting.

“Mind if I take a seat?” She said, indicating to the sand.
Cenizo shook his head, not taking his eyes of the sea and the sunset.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Zada said softly.
“Yeh . . . It is.” Cenizo replied, equally as quiet. He sat up, dusting sand off his hand, and hugged his knees.
“What time are you going?” She asked.
He shrugged. “When my dad decides it’s time I suppose . . .”
Zada nodded, and subtly moved closer towards him. She found herself studying his face, its angles and features highlighted by the setting sun.
Cenizo felt her watching him, and turned to meet her gaze. He saw her blush and slowly brush some hair out of her eyes. This time, she shuffled herself noticeably closer to him. He frowned only slightly, and then the frown turned into a look of surprise as he realised her upper body had moved much nearer to him. Her head was tilted slightly, and was slowly moving closer. Taking his sign of non-resistance to be a positive sign, her lips made contact with Cenizo’s. An image of Tobi’s face flashed in Cenizo’s mind, and he blinked. What the hell was he doing with Zada? He pulled away from her, leaving her looking confused and, he hated to admit it, slightly hurt.
“I’ll see you at Hogwarts . . . Sorry.” He added softly. Then standing quickly, he hurried away, back to the hotel.

Finite