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Nina could think of at least three different ways she'd rather be spending her summer vacation.
Sitting in her room was definitely not one of them.
Nina remembered the incident as if it were yesterday. It was the first official week of summer break. Her parents were at work, her brother was asleep at home-- what better way to kill some time than to go skateboarding? She had spent the afternoon in the city with a few friends, enjoying the adrenaline rush of running rampant through the streets. It would have been the perfect start to her vacation.
That is, until it happened.
She remembered standing atop the large flight of stairs that led to the local library, skateboard tucked under her arm with Shiro and Asugi standing right behind her.
"There's no way." Shiro crossed his arms.
"Please, I've practiced this a million times! I got this!" Nina smirked.
"Yeah? Wanna bet?" Asugi nudged her.
"How much 'ya talking?"
Asugi held out his hand. "$35 if you can grind the whole rail without wiping out."
"Deal!" Nina shook his hand. "Watch and learn, boys!"
Shiro quickly took out his phone and started recording. "All eyes on you!"
Nina took a few steps back, setting her board down. She stepped onto it and kicked off. As she bent her knees and jumped up onto the rail, time felt as if it had stopped. A horrific realization hit her like a truck once she looked down.
She had missed the rail completely.
Nina squeezed her eyes shut as she careened down the stairs, screaming bloody murder. Her skateboard tumbled down with her, bouncing off the concrete. She landed on the pavement below, knees skinned, elbows bleeding, and legs contorted behind her. She screamed again as she tried to push herself off of the ground.
"Holy shit, are you okay?!" Asugi ran down the stairs.
"Fuck, my leg!" Nina hissed, writhing in pain. "I can't move!"
"Dude, we need to-- Shit!" Asugi retched when he approached her. "Is that a bone?!"
"What? Bone? Where?!" Nina attempted to sit up, but shrieked as pain shot through her. "It's...it's cool! It's fine! Just slap a bandaid on it!"
"Shiro, call the ambulance!"
"NO! Shiro, don't you dare! I'm fine!"
Of course, deep down, she knew it wasn't fine.
According to the doctor, she had broken her leg. Before she could even bargain with the doctor to not alert her parents, they had immediately rushed to the hospital. She could barely handle the pain as is, but her parents' hissy fit certainly didn't make things better. First, they were thankful that she was still alive, but they quickly launched into reprimanding her for being so reckless. She had never seen her fathers so angry, nor had she heard her full birth name used so many times in one sitting. Even her brother was furious with her-- moreso for making him waste his time at the hospital, but she could tell there was at least a modicum of genuine concern for her.
It was an absolutely dreadful way to start her break.
Nina looked down at her cast in disgust. "Six to eight weeks with this thing...fantastic." She huffed. Spending the day in bed was one thing, but being forced to spend the day in bed was entirely different. To make matters worse, she was the only one at home. Niles was at work, Jakob had gone grocery shopping, and she hadn't the slightest clue where Dwyer was. The silence was starting to drive her crazy.
She looked over at her phone. Surely, there had to be someone who was just as miserably bored as she was.
"Ophelia!" She gasped, frantically dialing her number. Nina just knew that Ophelia was at home, watching anime or writing yet another one of her freakishly elaborate short stories. Sure, Ophelia would imminently talk her ear off, but she would take anything over the overbearing silence.
As soon as Ophelia picked up the phone, Nina's ears were assaulted by the sound of music blaring in the background.
"HELLO?" Ophelia suddenly yelled into the phone.
"Uh, hey?"
"NINA? IS THAT YOU?"
"It's...me alright."
"WHAT?"
Nina rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to call you back or--"
"HOLD ON A MOMENT!" Nina could hear the music gradually becoming more quiet until it was faint background noise. Ophelia's voice came up once more, significantly quieter. "Nina? You still there?"
"Still here..."
"Hello! How lovely fate is to intertwine our strings of fate on this day! Pray tell, what possessed you to contact me on such a fine summery afternoon?"
"You know! Just checking up on my friends and all!" Nina laughed nervously, eyes locked down on her cast.
"Oh. How uncharacteristically nice of you!"
"Listen, my brother's out and I don't know when he's getting back, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out! We can start that series you were talking about! Have some laughs, eat some snacks. Y'know, the usual!
Ophelia's voice began to waver. "Nina, I'd love to take you up on that offer, but, um--"
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
Nina squinted. "...Was that Soleil?"
"What? No! Soleil! You're hearing things!" Ophelia began to laugh a bit too hard.
"Heeeey! Come back! You sure you don't want your smoothie?"
"That's definitely her!" Nina's brow furrowed.
"I'm glad I caught you! Selkie nearly swiped the drink right outta my hand! You wanted pineapple, yeah?" Soleil's voice grew clearer over the phone.
"Selkie's there too?! Where the hell are you guys?"
"U-Um! I have...very important celestial business to attend to! Commune with Soleil for a moment!"
"Wait, answer--"
"Helloooo! This is Soleil speaking! To whom do I have the pleasure of talking to?"
"It's me." Nina deadpanned.
"Oh, Nina! Hey, I gotta tell you, you brother makes a mean piña colada! I've had like 2 of these things already!" Nina could hear Soleil slurping her drink.
"Dwyer's over there too?"
"Yeah! He's making smoothies for us! He's great! Anyways, when are you swinging by? You're missing the fun!"
"Swinging by where? Nobody will tell me anything!"
"Shiggy's pool party!"
Nina's heart sank.
"Pool...party?"
"Yeah! So many people showed up! It's craaaazy." Another long slurp.
"W-who else is there?"
"Pretty much our whole squad! Even Rhajat's out here! You should see her in her black sundress and her matching hat! She looks adorable! You should come over!
"I can't." Nina frowned.
"Why no-- Ooooh...right! Your leg. Sorry about that, hon."
"Wait. Did Dwyer tell you guys about that?"
"What? No! But Shiro miiight have played the video for us."
"...."
"I'm surprised you didn't end up with a concussion! You fell pretty hard! You sure you're alright?"
Nina's frown twisted into a scowl.
"....Nina? Hellooooo? You still there?"
"I'm gonna KILL HIM!" Nina threw her phone at the wall in a burning rage. "When I get my hands on him, I'll...I'll...!" Her eyes followed as her phone dropped onto her carpet. She stared at the newly formed dent in her wall, instantly regretting the moment she picked up her phone. She could already hear her father complaining about having to patch the drywall. Nina slumped down, grabbed one of her pillows and began screaming into it.
This was bound to be one of the worst summers of her life.