Many wondered after the war was over how the Reformers stayed hidden for so long preceding the actual war.  The answer is far more simple than people want to acknowledge.  Fear.  When given the choice between saving your neighbor or saving your own family, most people will save their family.  My family chose us over our neighbors and many in my town did the same.  The presence of the soldiers at my school stayed a well-kept secret even from our parents.  We often think we are protecting our loved ones by keeping secrets.  This idea was only enforced when one male student actually told his parents what had happened at school two days after the soldiers took over the school.  The family disappeared instantly.  Everyone knew about it, but no one talked about it. It took only one more student letting it slip to her family to convince the rest of the student body to keep their mouths shut.  Her house went up in flames.  No one made it out. 

After that, my peers did as we had been told.  We talked in-depth to each other, but no one outside of our school knew.  At least no one let it known they knew. It always amazes me how people will turn their back on everything just to protect themselves.  Again I am not innocent of this.  I did it too.  I never told my parents or any other adults about the Reformers.  I never told my friends that the Reformers lived with my family.  I never asked them if the Reformers were living with them.  Although I did find out later that they weren’t. 

School ended without any serious events.  Summer break normally was a relief, but, with the Reformers at home, all I could think is that I had no reason not to be at home.   Luckily my friends came through for me.  Before school ended, I signed Peter up for three summer camps, so that there was not a single week or day that he would be free for the entire vacation.  He couldn’t wait to go to the camps because they were all about camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities that required Peter to get dirty.  Summer also signed up for a camp, an intense soccer camp, that took her away for a solid month. Part of me felt jealous that Summer and Peter both could escape and I was left behind to face the men alone.  Bryan had told me that I was not allowed to leave for camp.

“If you leave, who will care for the men?” he had asked the day I filled out Peter’s camp forms.

“You all could care for yourselves,” I had offered.

Narrowing his eyes at me, Bryan told me to not be a smart ass. Leaving me to finish Peter’s forms, Bryan disappeared.  Thus, I was stuck home for the summer with the Reformers.  Ruben’s words haunted me. 

“You shouldn’t have to be taking care of her like you are her mother.  You have a mother and Summer is older than you. My point is, Kitty, you shouldn’t be acting like this family’s mother,” Ruben’s voice would echo in my mind as I labored over meals and dishes.

Yet, Kristy and Maria did the best they could to keep me busy during our vacation.  We would frequently go to the mall and beach.  Kristy turned sixteen in June and that meant she could legally drive us.  The men said little to me on the days I would rush out early to join my friends. 

Sometimes it felt as if my life was normal again.  If I forgot about the men who filtered in and out of my house at random, I could pretend I was just another fifteen-year-old on summer break.  I even thought I found a summer romance two weeks after Summer left for camp.

Kristy, Maria, and I had been at the mall when we met a group of guys from a neighboring town.  They were going to be college freshmen, which made them older and exciting to my friends and me.  Among the group was a boy named Justin.  I don’t recall his last name anymore, even if I remember him. The first time I met Justin, he gave me a pretty boy’s wide smile and I was instantly taken with him.  He wasn’t beautiful like Arkon, or ruggedly handsome like Ruben.  Rather he had a nice jock-like quality about him that I found irresistible. Justin wore his milk chocolate brown hair neatly cut and gelled with the shadow of facial hair on his jaw and upper lip.  His face was round from his cheekbones up and square from his cheekbones down. Thin lips that always had a sarcastic smirk as they rested under a wide nose.  Justin’s eyes were a dreamy, creamy brown.  Unlike Arkon, his eyelashes were short and not noteworthy.  Justin had played football for his high school team and still maintained his athletic form at the time we met. 

“Eri is a unique name,” he told me as he shook my hand.

Blushing, I found I couldn’t make eye contact with him.  I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but Justin’s smirking smile made me all flustered.

“Thank you,” I giggled.

“So do you have a boyfriend, unique Eri?”

“No.  I don’t have a boyfriend.  How about you, Justin?”

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.  I prefer girls.”

Giggling, I lightly smacked his arm.  Continuing to grin, Justin edged a little closer to talk to me more. Maria and Kristy, seeing my interest in Justin, kept talking to his friends, even though they found his friends to be boorish. 

“You knew what I meant,” I said, smiling.

“Maybe, but I can be kind of slow sometimes, so why don’t you explain it to me over dinner some time,” he said coolly. 

Heart fluttering, I nodded.  Gosh, he seemed so cool.  Momentarily, I thought about the men, but I quickly pushed them from my mind.  They never said I couldn’t date, and it wasn’t their business anyways.  Smoothly, Justin pulled out his cellphone and I gave him my number.  When we had finished exchanging information, Justin touched my hand gently and I felt heat rush to my gut.  My whole body tingled with excitement. 

Justin’s friends said something, and I had to pull my eyes from Justin.  His friends wanted to leave.  Rolling his eyes comically for me, Justin told me he would text me soon and said goodbye to my friends.  Maria and Kristy nodded and said goodbye.  We watched them leave and then I turned to my friends, giggling.  Kristy tried to look happy for me, but Maria frowned.

“What?” I asked, defensively.

“Doesn’t he seem a little…smarmy?” Maria asked, her nose crinkling in dislike.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like all those lines he used on you.  He just came off kind of like David.”

“He is nothing like David!”

“Maria,” Kristy interrupted.  “Eri is right.  He isn’t like David.  David is much slimier.”

“See, Kristy agrees with me.  He’s a nice guy.”

“I didn’t say that.  I mean I don’t know if he is or not, but I didn’t like his friends.  They kept leering at us.  My mama always said that birds of a feather flock together.  But I won’t judge him, Eri, because I don’t know him.”

“He was just trying too hard.  I’m sure he is much nicer when you get to know him.”

My friends’ expressions told me that they were sure, but they wouldn’t say another word against Justin. 

“Do you think I shouldn’t go out with him?” I finally asked fearfully.

“No, you should.  Just be careful,” Kristy shook her head. 

“Like maybe a double or group date,” Maria suggested. “Just until you get to know him better.”

“Okay.  That works for me.”

Feeling a little deflated, I walked around the mall with Kristy and Maria, waiting for Justin to text me.  He didn’t.  In fact, it took him four or five days to message me.  At first, I was put off but when he finally did text, I was so happy that I didn’t care that it had taken days.  Admittedly, I was an idiot. 

Justin and I made plans to go to the beach together with our friends for that weekend.  Kristy helped me find a new bikini to wear.  It was a pretty turquoise halter top bikini with string ties that held the bottom together.  Due to its simplicity, it was perfect for me.  I liked standing out, but I hated to be flashy.  Kristy said it helped make my eyes stand out.  That day I put it on and stood in front of the sliding mirror that was my closet door. Biting my lip, I evaluated my figure critically.  Unlike Summer or Maria, I wasn’t perfectly toned from soccer.  I did enough exercise to keep myself from being fat, but I didn’t have the muscular ridges on my stomach or legs that Summer did.  In no way did I look doughy or anything, but I longed to look like a toned model as Maria did in her suit. 

The hot weather had given my skin an almost almond color, bleaching my hair to a soft white-gold.  Standing out against my tanned skin, my lips formed a small pink heart.  I had always been grateful that my lips were pretty much equally portioned.  I didn’t like that my mouth was small and delicate, making me seem like a doll to men.  My nose fit my face, but I always felt that its rounded tip was too big.  Most would describe my face as moon-shaped, with a round jawline and a stubborn chin. While Summer had beautiful curly hair, I had thick, straight hair that I could do nothing with.  It was too thick to hold curls or waves for more than an hour. Normally I wore it in a messy bun or down. 

The only part that I truly liked about myself was my eyes.  I could study my eyes for forever.  My eyes were a mix between diamond and cat-like.  I always felt that their shape, coupled with the bright turquoise of my irises, made them intense and penetrating.  As a child I would imagine my eyes were magical and could see into people’s souls and showed that, while I looked ordinary, I was, in fact, magical. I stopped believing that when I turned thirteen and became more concerned with when I would develop like some of my girlfriends.

A low whistle came from my doorway.  Biting back a sigh, I placed my hands on my hips as I looked to see Tiger and Ruben standing in my doorway.  Tiger had whistled and now he grinned at me wolfishly.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“In that outfit, uh, yeah,” Tiger teased.

Suppressing a smile, I hated to admit that I liked Tiger.  He was like a goofy big brother. He never laid a hand on anyone in my family and would often help me with chores.  Ruben stayed silent.

“Stop that,” I said, pretending to be cross with Tiger.

“Sorry, but you look great.  Is that a new bikini?” Tiger asked.

“Yeah, I just got it.  Kristy picked it out.  So it looks okay?”

“Hell yeah.  You going to cause car accidents in that outfit.”

Giggling, I waved my hand at him to stop.  Still, Ruben said nothing. 

“Where are you going?” Tiger continued.

“The beach with Maria and Kristy.”

“Are there going to be boys?”

“Maybe…”

Tiger chuckled and I smiled.  Ruben’s eyes narrowed.

“Is it really appropriate to be going out in that swimsuit?” Ruben asked clipply.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with my suit?” I frowned.

Looking down and back at the mirror, I thought I had looked good in my suit.

“It's just a little revealing, isn’t it?  Kind of asking for trouble, right?”

“I don’t think so.  I mean I’m not showing more than any other girl on the beach.  Some wear less even.”

“Don’t listen to him, Eri.  You look great,” Tiger said, shooting Ruben a glare.

“I’m just saying she is going to give boys the wrong idea,” Ruben sniffed. “They will see her in that suit and think she is easy.”

“I’m not easy!” I said.

“Eri can take care of herself.  She had fended you off plenty of times,” Tiger scowled.

Glaring at Tiger, Ruben snorted then turned and left.  Making a face, Tiger watched Ruben leave.

“Ignore him, Eri,” Tiger told me. “He’s just a spoil-sport.  You look great.”

“Thanks, Tiger.”

Waving goodbye, Tiger wished me a great day.  Slipping into a swimsuit cover, I finished getting ready for the beach then headed out the door. Maria met me at the end of the driveway, and we headed off to the beach.

The boys were already at the beach by the time we arrived with Kristy.  I got the reaction I wanted from Justin.  His eyes went wide, and he couldn’t stop staring, which made me giggle and blush.  For the rest of the day, we splashed around in the water and played games on the sand.  During our lunch break, I walked along the shore with Justin.  Talking, we held hands as we walked.  A Frisbee flew through the air, almost hitting me.  Squealing, I ducked, and it landed just behind me.

“Hey! Watch it!” Justin yelled, pulling me up and close to him.

I knew it was just an excuse for him to touch me, but I didn’t object.  Smiling, I stared up into his face as he looked for who had thrown the Frisbee.  Footsteps padded on the sand as the culprit approached.

“I am sorry,” a calm voice said. 

Starting, I turned to see Arkon, standing in swimming trunks.  His skin glowed in the sun and his hair was wet from swimming.  He looked glorious.  Swallowing hard, I turned away from him and grabbed the Frisbee, trying to compose myself.  Once I was under control, I stood and smiled at Arkon.

“This yours?” I asked pleasantly.

“Yes. Thank you,” Arkon smiled politely.

Justin looked between us and frowned.  His arm snaked around my shoulder and pulled me close.  Arkon took the Frisbee and bowed to Justin.

“Sorry about that again.  I have terrible aim with these things,” Arkon apologized.

“Yeah, well be more careful.  You almost hit my date,” Justin said stiffly.

His grip tightened on my shoulder, but I barely noticed.  My whole attention was on Arkon. 

“I will be.  Sorry.  Have a good date,” Arkon grinned.

It was not his real smile. I knew that.  It was too happy and plastic.

“Hope you have fun, Ms. Lee,” Arkon added to me before jogging off.

“Ms. Lee?” Justin asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

“He helps fix my family’s attic fan with his uncle sometimes,” I quickly lied, recalling how I first met Arkon.

“Oh.”

We fell into silence for a beat.

“Do you like him or something?” Justin asked bluntly.

“What?” I gasped.

“Well, you kept looking at him and he seemed a little too friendly for someone who just works at your house sometimes. Did you all date or something?  Or do you want to date him?”

“No, Justin.  It isn’t like that.”

“Sure…”

“No, really.  I don’t think of him that way.  He’s just nice.  And I was surprised to see him here.  That’s all.”

“It was just kind of rude of you to just stare at him when you are with me.”

“I didn’t realize I was staring at him.  I’m sorry.  It won’t happen again.”

“Don’t promise me stuff.  I mean if you like him, then you like him.”

Grabbing the hand he had pulled away from me, I stared pleadingly into Justin’s eyes.

“I like you.  I am here with you.  I didn’t realize I was being rude.  I won’t do it again.”

“Okay…if you say so.”

Justin appeared unconvinced, so I repeated myself, leaning my body against his.  That pleased him and he hugged me tightly.

“I’m sorry. I guess I just got a little jealous,” he smiled crookedly.

A small alarm bell went off in my head.  Jealous.  Didn’t Ruben say he was jealous of Arkon too?  No…Justin and Ruben were nothing alike.  Pushing the alarm down, I grinned back at Justin.

“It’s okay.  Jealousy happens,” I lied.

“I’m so glad you understand me,” Justin hugged me tighter. “I knew you’d be different when I met you.”