Her roommates woke up early but Amara woke up faster as she didn't want to wait on anyone to finish using the bathroom. She hated that. Their teacher had sent a message last night to meet at the beach for their first activity along with a thing that's important to them.

It was only four a.m. that she fell asleep again and woke up at six worse than ever. Amara decided to get down to the breakfast buffet and get some tea. She found Primo already eating at one of the wooden tables. He was in colorful shorts and a white sleeveless shirt that displayed his tattoos again.

Amara went to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"What's wrong with you?" Primo asked as he sliced his Eggs Benedict.

"I woke up at 4."

"To take a bath?" he chuckled. "Why the hell do you keep doing that?"

"I don't want to fight for the bathroom and make myself late."

"Poor baby." He chuckled, tapping the top of her head before he sipped at his coffee. "Wait here a minute."

Primo came back with a cup of tea. "Drink that and wake up now."

Amara peeked at the cup. "Milk and...?"

"Three sugars, yeah?"

She laughed. "I know there's a reason I keep you around."

"You're gonna get diabetes with that." He fed her a shrimp. "Start eating. Should we swim later?"

Amara chewed her shrimp as she tucked her dark hair over her ears. "Don't you have plans with Natasha?"

"Oh, right. We can still go though."

"Depends on you." She shrugged and went to get her food. Amara was starting to realize that Primo's attention had dwindled. Damn. This was exactly what she was afraid of.

They ate together until Natasha joined their table. Primo wasn't even talking until Amara kicked him. Students filled the area and the place was bustling with energy. Elijah strutted in and ate at another table.

Primo noticed his friend instantly. "Elijah, why are you sitting there?"

Amara wanted to laugh at Elijah's fearful face. He didn't seem to be afraid of Primo. Rather, his eyes were flicking at Natasha's form nervously.

"What happened?" Primo mumbled next to her.

"Elijah's shitty mouth insulted Natasha yesterday."

"It was an opinion!" Elijah butted in as he glared at his mashed potato.

"Opinion? You called me malnourished!" Natasha yelled with a flaming face. She scowled in Elijah's direction and walked away.

"Man, seriously?" Primo exclaimed, shaking his head. "You better apologize to her."

After breakfast, the whole class sat by the beach. They were lined up by last names that Amara and Primo sat side by side. They waited for Mrs. Ramsay. She was their guidance counselor and was in charge of the trip.

Mrs. Ramsay had a big smile as she stood in front of them. Her big, frizzy hair was tied with a red bandana as she yelled over the chatter. "Kids! Quiet down!"

Everyone kept their mouth shut as Mrs. Ramsay began her instructions. "Everyone has their most important object, right?"

A chorus of answers went up.

"I'm sure you know that this trip will help us get to know each other more. Your dreams, your goals, your future, we'll talk about it all while we have fun, of course!"

"Can we get drunk?"

The big woman chuckled. "We will but not now!" She gestured with her hand. "Okay. We'll start with the first row!"

Amara listened in to her classmate's statements but with the heat and her hair all over the place, her irritation was sparking. "Shit."

"What's your problem now?" Primo turned to her. His brows furrowed as he flicked her wavy dark hair over her shoulders, feeling the sweat on her forehead. "Geez."

"It's getting hotter." She rolled her eyes as she fanned herself. The large long-sleeved shirt she wore over her bikini and shorts weren't working anymore. She unbuttoned the first two buttons.

"Whoa. What are you doing?" Primo caught her fingers as his blue eyes widened in fear. "Stop that!"

"It's hot."

"I have a better idea. Turn to the side a little," Primo said before he arranged her hair in partitions. "I got this."

"Wow. Get a lot of practice with Arwen's hair, then?" Amara would get a laugh whenever Primo came over and Arwen was around. Her little sister enjoyed making a slave out of him.

And Primo knew better than to defy the women in the Luciano family.

"Done."

Amara sat properly as Mrs. Ramsey shot her a warning look. She inspected her braid with the red ribbon that Primo tied at the end. Amara frowned at his reaction but at least she felt better now.

They listened in until it was Amara's turn. She got up on the front and yanked a picture that was tucked in her tribal print shorts. "The most important thing in my life is my violin. Sorry, I couldn't bring it in this dangerous place," she chuckled as they all did. "Anyway, the first time I touched this instrument I know we would never be apart. It gave me a sense of who I am other than being Luciano's princess. I don't know yet what I want to do in the future. But I couldn't imagine my life without music and sharing the happiness it brings."

"You would never be apart?" Primo laughed when she returned to her spot.

"Shut up."

Primo walked to the front, holding up a red ribbon on his fingers. "I brought this ribbon. It was from the first gift my parents gave me which is my adoption papers. They gave me a family and since then, I promised myself to be the best son and the best person there is for them. Every day I strive to do that. So whatever the future holds, I'm ready for it."

Mrs. Ramsay clapped his shoulder. "Alright, next."

Amara waited for Primo to sit next to her. "Liar."

He rolled his eyes. "That happens to be the truth."

Amara knew his most precious thing was the handwritten Tristesse sheet music that his biological mother had left him. He loved his parents but she always worried about how he flat out refused to talk about his biological parents.

The only time they had discussed it was when she played Tristesse for him. To think she had to practice repeatedly to play it for him.

"If you say so," she muttered. Amara didn't want to push him but she hoped that one day he could talk about it without feeling pain.

It was Elijah's turn and he held up his phone with delete confirmation on it. "It's asking me to delete the pictures of my ex-girlfriend. And I will." He pressed the delete button before he stood straight. "Once upon a time, I thought being with her was the most important thing. Aligning our paths and all that. But it's really not! Things change and I realized that life is a constant change. So really, the most important thing to me now is to push myself and be better. That's it."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Primo clicked his tongue in irritation.

"He's angry, I think?"

Several more went up until Natasha's turn came. She stood tall, her pale blonde hair tied in a loose bun. "I have my ballet shoes with me. This is my passion and this is my life. I used to think it was just a hobby and all that but not getting the role I wanted so much opened my eyes. There's really nothing more important than my dreams. Not even boys."

"What the fuck?" Primo mumbled in shock.

Amara crossed her arms as several scenarios unfolded in her mind. She had to be sure before she let all hell loose.

✘✘