Chapter 8: Gram, The Beach Bum! / A Trip To The Beach

“Oi! Akihiro!” A voice said

“Guh! I told you not to call me that, Gram.” Evan said

“Yeah? Fine, then. Anyway, how was the tea party?” Gram asked, walking over to Evan

“I made some friends. Where the heck did you go to while I was gone, though?” Evan asked

“Oh. I went to the ocean.” Gram said

“Wait, seriously? How?” Evan asked sarcastically

“You seriously don’t know what’s around you, do you. The ocean isn’t even a five minute walk away from he- stop messing with me. Wait, now that I look at you a little closer, those are swim shorts aren’t they… you knew the whole time, didn't you, you bastard?” Gram said, grinning

“Ooo! Touchy! Are we going or not? My sister is getting changed. She’ll be here in a second. It's been a while since we went to the beach with you, hasn't it.” Evan said

“It's been about a week, I think. Oh, do you have all your stuff in the space ship?” Gram asked

“It’s not- Gram. It’s a subspace that has my stuff in it. Not a spaceship. And yes” Evan said

“Ah, whatever it is. You dang rich people and your fancy education.” Gram said

“I studied most of the stuff I know on my own or with lime.” Evan said

“... you and your stupid giant rich people library then?” Gram tried

“While our library is nice, we went to the public library. Our library has rare books, not useful ones.” Evan said

“Then… fancy transportation?” Gram asked

“The library is ten minutes from here on foot, slowly walking.” Evan said

“Um. What am I able to make fun of?” Gram asked, confused

“These are designer swim shorts. I think. Wait, no. I bought these the other day at the mall. Um. Honestly I have no idea. Why not just not make fun of me?” Evan asked

“You know damn well by now that it’s my tradition to tease you, Akihiro.” Gram said

“Damnit, Gram, I keep telling you to call me Evan. It’s hard to believe you’re a girl sometimes.” Evan said, grumbling

“Why is that? Because of the name?” Gram asked

“No. That’s an easy one. Your name is Milly. And you like swords.” Evan said

“Yup! Milly-Gram! Genius, right?” Gram asked

“How the heck did I meet someone like you…..” Evan asked

“Tell the story, it’s funny from your point of view. I wanna hear it again.” Gram said

“...fine…” Evan said

“Once upon a time there was a wall. The wall had a hole in it around the size of a person. There was a boy who played darts near this hole. One day, a girl popped up out of nowhere and got hit with one of my darts like an idiot. She found out I can use magic because I healed her. Now she won’t stop pestering me. By the way, you can come in through the front gate. You don’t have to use the hole every time.” Evan said

“Nah, the holes quicker. Also It’s funny because you don’t really like darts that much. What were you testing with them again?” Gram asked

“A lotta stuff, but mostly I was bored. Elizabeth wasn’t home, and I had to put lime to sleep that day. So I got super bored.” Evan said

“That sucks” Gram said

“Why the heck did you go through the hole, anyway.” Evan asked

“I never told you?” Gram asked

“No.” Evan said

“I had literally no reason, I just thought it looked interesting. And it was.” Gram said

“.........are you sure you’re a girl?” Evan asked

“......look at me. Does this body look, in any possible way, like a dude? My face? My voice? My calm and pleasant demeanor? My incredible table manners? My ability to sing? My fighting skills?” Gram rambled

“I admit you sound like one, sure. Most of the others are a large no.” Evan said

“Hey! Even the singing?” Gram asked

“Your singing is incredible. Why?” Evan asked

“.....fine….. I guess I’ll admit I’m not very, what you would call, girly. Is it because I like the beach so much that I’m like this?” Gram said

“You’re, like, the biggest beach bum ever. Heck, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything but a swimsuit. You are basically permanently tanned, too.” Evan said

“Oh my god you’re right….what’s a beach bum?” Gram asked

“A lazy beach person.” Evan said

“Fitting.” Lime said

“Yo! Wassup, lime! How are you?” Gram asked

“Do those sunglasses even do anything?” Lime asked, pointing at Grams head

“Yeah. They aren’t actually just decoration. The hat, too. Either way, I left my bag on the beach. Let’s go.” Gram said, running out the front door

Evan heard her yell "slowpokes" a second later.

Evan floated over to the beach, reaching it with lime in a few seconds.

“I’m going to guess that it’s the bag with three dudes who look like they got tazed. Those defense measures may have been on the wrong settings. Whoops. I hope they aren’t dead.” Evan said

“Their hearts seem to be beating and they are still breathing.” Lime said

“Quick analysis, as always. How far away is Gram, in your opinion?” Evan asked

“Probably ten seconds?” Lime said

“Wow. It’s supposed to be a 5 minute walk from the house to the beach, right? We got here in what, 12 seconds? I’m not doing that math. But she’s pretty quick.” Evan said

“And 11.13 seconds. I was close.” Lime said

“That’s more than just close, honey.” Evan said

“I guess so. Let’s just set everything up.” Lime said

Evan took out a couple of beach towels, and set up an umbrella.

“There, that’s good for now.” Evan said

“What? We aren’t having popsicles today?” Gram asked

“Oh, right.” Evan said, pulling out a cooler.

“Sweeeeeet.” Gram said

She grabbed a popsicle, shoved it in her mouth, and ran full speed to the water.

“Jeez. She’s so energetic.” Evan said

“Hey, Evan. Hey, lime.” A voice said

“Oh! Hello Mrs. E! I didn’t know you would be here today. Are you here for Gram?” Evan said

“I have to watch over her when I can. Sorry that my daughter bothers you so often. But Milly hasn’t been this happy in ages, so I have to thank you for always watching over her.” Said Grams mother

“No problem. She may be a handful, yes, but she’s a good friend of ours.” Evan said

“Is lime alright? She’s awfully quiet.” Grams mother asked

“Oh. She fell asleep. The breeze here is pretty nice. The sand is soft, and the sun is warm. The umbrella blocks a lot of the sun so it isn’t in your eyes. It’s a pretty good place to take a nap.” Evan said

He poked her cheek

“Fweee” lime said

“That was cute!” Grams mother said

“Agreed. My sister is adorable.” Evan said

Grams mother froze

“Did you just say sister? Wait… limes your sister?” Grams mother asked

“Yeah. Why?” Evan asked

“Oh. Just… surprised. You two have an… interesting relationship, then… huh. You guys aren’t a couple? You’re siblings? If so, some of your interactions are a little…” Grams mother said

“We’re both.” Evan said

“What? Both of what?” She asked

“We are siblings, and a couple. It’s pretty simple. They’re two different things.” Evan said

“Uh...huh…. well, I guess you guys are still young. you will learn eventually.” She said

“Learn what?” Evan asked

“Well, Evan. It’s wrong for family members other than a mother and father to have a romantic relationship with each other.” She said

“I know that. Me and lime just don’t care about that.” Evan said.

He stared at her blankly

“Well. I said all I need to. Personally I don’t have any problems with you two, but the rest of the world will. Just… be careful.” She said

“Yes, ma’am.” Evan said

“Well, I gotta go. I’m late, actually. Dang it. I’ll talk to you guys later.” She said, checking her watch

“Bye, Mrs. E.” Evan replied

She rushed off.

They played with Gram at the beach for a while, and ate popsicles until the sun started to set, and they went inside. The day ended.