John woke up late that morning. Luckily he had his alarm set and since he had always been used to waking up direct to it, it didn’t fail this time either. He took a new neatly folded shirt from his suitcase before he remembered he hadn’t taken a shower last night. He looked at the time and realised he had to choose between shower and breakfast. He stood there the shirt in his hand until he finally decided that this would be exactly that kind of joining the masses he had needed. A bit disgusted, he put the shirt on and ran downstairs.

He entered the kitchen and saw that it was almost full of noisy, colourful people who seemed to all know each other and the place extremely well. He looked around a bit confused. After a while he spotted a pile of pancakes on one of the side tables and toasts next to it, which only left him in the need of a plate. He looked around – everyone else seemed to have one, so it wasn’t just a hostel habit to eat without one. He started walking around hoping he made an impression of knowing what’s going on while he let his gaze wander hoping it would catch the plates and the cutlery. How did all these people understand what’s going on?

A beautiful girl walked in, her hair still wet from a shower, or maybe she had gone for a morning swim. John didn’t know. Either way, she looked a lot fresher than himself or anyone else in the room. She walked directly to the kitchen, opened a cupboard and took a plate out of it. John thanked her silently in his mind and followed her. With his new-found plate and the cutlery that were in a drawer below the plates he went to the pancake table where the girl was waiting for her toasts. There was a little bit of awkward moving around when he took the toast, put it into the toaster and prepared himself pancakes.

   “Hey, have I met you before? Did I just pass you, didn’t mean to?” the girl asked smiling.

   “No, and no, I was… just looking”, John tried to keep his dignity, but she laughed.

   “Oh, are you new here? I thought you looked a bit lost. For future reference, it’s usually the cupboard that says ‘plates’”, she winked.

   “No, no… Or yeah, I guess. I’m not really used to this hostel thing”, John admitted. “I haven’t really done that much travelling. I’m a student. I study politics” Where had he lost his smoothness, it had still worked in Los Angeles? This was totally outside his comfort area, and it was a new feeling for him.

   “Oh, you are? That’s cool. And what’s your name?” Somehow John felt she was still laughing at him.

   “Oh, sorry. John. And you are?”

   “My name is Nana”

   “And are you… American? Of course you are”

   “Yeah, my mother is from the Philippines though. You’re English, right? From somewhere posh?”

   “Uh, I guess. Oxford”

   “Touché, haha. Do you want to sit down? Looks like your toasts are ready”

   “Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sorry, I just…” he took his toasts out of the toaster and quickly started buttering them. Meanwhile Nana was apparently trying to catch someone’s eye in the kitchen.

   “Hannah! Are you done? We got ourselves a new friend, he’s John from Oxford, a politics student”

   “No politics before breakfast! But I’m done, coming that way!”

John turned around expecting another beautiful, funny, fresh girl to pop out from the kitchen. Instead he saw a short girl, stained with what he assumed was pancake dough, her hair on messy dreadlocks and her clothes just a little bit too baggy to make her look anything else than uncivilised. He relaxed – if the other girl would have been like Nana, he would have been seriously worried about his dignity. But when this girl was around, he knew he could feel superior and he was happy about that. Back to the normal state of things.

They sat to have breakfast at a corner of an otherwise crowded table. Hannah smiled at him and offered her hand after wiping it carelessly to her trousers.

   “Hello, John. My name is Hannah. Are you going to ask next whether we voted for Obama? Because I did not”, she said with a mocking-serious tone before bursting to a smile that lit her whole face. For a moment John was dazzled by the direct way she had started, and after that by her answer.

   “So who did you vote for then?” he asked after a while of silence.

   “No-one. I was surfing. Didn’t want to miss the great waves that day”

   “You know it’s your right and duty to vote? That you can’t complain because you didn’t use your right to choose?” John felt like he was starting to preach, but he couldn’t just let this ignorance be. And wasn’t this why he was here? To teach these ignorant people how to take an interest? He might as well start with this one.

   “And you won’t hear me complaining. And they were actually great waves, really great. Now let’s drop this, okay? I knew you’d come up with it at some point, and I didn’t want to ruin any great night with it. I don’t take an interest in politics. We just have to resolve that between us. We have the love for travelling anyway. Where have you been?”

   “Actually, I’m not really fond of travelling. It seems like a waste of time and energy, if it’s done just for fun. This is the first time I’m travelling by myself”

   “Maybe that’s the reason why you don’t love it yet, it becomes better and betters. Broadens your mind, they say. And who knows, you might learn to be happy about what you have and not to worry too much about what the big people all the way up there do”

   “But it matters! I mean, for you guys as well. They might make it harder to travel… Or less safe, or more expensive. What would you do then?”

   “We’d survive. We’d figure out new ways to go, travel with someone, or stay somewhere and be happy. It’s still better than a life when all you do is stress about politics”

   “Yeah, and that’s why we have the politics to care about that for you. All you need to do is to find someone who thinks like you do, appreciates the same thing, and vote for him or her”

   “But oh, then there’s another election and another one, always a new one coming up. And besides, the people who think like me are out there having fun. They are not sitting there thinking about whether there should be two millions more for the students, or whether we should raise taxation”

   “But that just makes it more important to you to create an interest in these things, because otherwise no-one stands there for your rights”

   “Well, you know, my wages are too small for the taxation to actually matter, but I get enough so that I don’t actually need support, I’ve been trained to survive by myself, and if I get sick, my friend takes a look at me, he’s a doctor. Can we now drop the subject, I want to start eating my pancakes, they are getting cold and I need to go wash soon”

   “Do you work… here?”

   “Temporarily, for my accommodation. I like cooking and I like early mornings, so it doesn’t actually matter. Do you like my pancakes?”

   “No-one can not love your pancakes, Hannah”, Nana joined the conversation she had been listening.

   “Yeah, they are good. But, I mean, if you work here temporarily, what do you do permanently? Do you study or work or what?”

  “You know, this and that. I wasn’t really made to study, so I go around, do things, travel, look around. Nothing specific. I think after this I’ll try to find some conservation work. I did that for a while with my mother”

   “But that’s not real life! I mean, don’t your parents worry about you not having a direction to your life?”

   “Ohh, no, they are hippies, they wouldn’t care. They want me to enjoy, that’s all. Enjoy life. I’m sure yours are expecting great things of you”

   “Yes, they are, and I’m expecting great things of myself as well”

   “The better for you”

   John didn’t know what to answer to that, so he just sat there, eating his pancakes, while Hannah was eating hers. Nana was slowly sipping her coffee and smiling at them both.

   “So, John, how long are you going to stay here in San Diego? Before you continue your travels or return to university?”

   “Well, I can’t return home until after half a year or so, I don’t really have a plan on how to proceed from here. I’ll stay at least a week, I think. Then I had thought about renting a car and heading to the east, maybe Arizona and then New Mexico”

   “Oh, sounds good”, Nana answered. At the same time she hoped they wouldn’t meet too often. She could see the spark of annoyance in her friend’s eyes, and by what had happened before she could say there was a great chance this would lead to something else. She also knew Karl wouldn’t appreciate Hannah’s hooking up seriously with anyone if he was to be her patron. Karl was in Nana’s eyes Hannah’s great chance that shouldn’t be ruined.

   Hannah finished her breakfast.

   “Anyway, nice meeting you John, maybe we’ll see each other again and so on. I’m off to the beach. Nana, you coming? I’ll just do the dishes”

   “Sure. Ask the boys for volleyball. And”, she realised they were being rude, “if you want to come, John, you’re welcome. It’s beach volley, just outside the hostel”

   “Oh, yeah, why not. I’ll just, uh, go to my room and check my mails, I’ll come after that. You guys start without me”

   Nana waited carefully until John was out of reach and sighed. This could become bad.

   Meanwhile, John walked into his room. He didn’t really need to check his mails but he hadn’t wanted to seem too eager. However, he really didn’t have anything else to do nor he did know anyone besides Nana and Hannah. This could be his chance to meet other people, by joining the activities of the hostel people.

   Duly following his excuse he opened his computer and clicked on the mail program he used for his personal mail. After deleting the spam there was still three e-mails. One was from his former classmate, who was excited about the start of his master’s programme and told John how sorry he was that he couldn’t be there with all of them. That bastard, he must’ve just been happy that there was less competition. He knew John was better than himself. The other e-mail was from his dad.

   Dear John, it started. How does your conquering the United States progress? Have you met any new people? If you feel lost, one of my friends from the UN is at the moment stationed in San Diego, so you can go and meet him. He can show you around in the city. It’s, after all, an old historic city, there should be a lot to see.

   His father’s e-mail annoyed John even more than the one from his classmate. He was offering his help! Like he wouldn’t survive one trip without him! He had achieved an A level undergraduate certificate from Oxford, he would survive perfectly well from half a year abroad by himself. The third mail was from Thomas. That one he opened with a positive feeling – this friend he had made with his own achievements only, and didn’t he look up to him? The mail proved to be just as cheering as he thought. Thomas wrote that he was also planning to come to San Diego, and could John possibly keep him company there, and tell him in which hostel he was so that he could come to the same one. This one was the only one John wanted to answer. After that he felt so good about himself that he thought he had achieved some time to relax. He lay down on his bed and opened the newest politics journal, completely forgetting that he was supposed to go play volleyball with his newest friends.

   Meanwhile, Nana and Hannah had just made it to the beach and they were putting sunscreen on each other’s backs (because, as Nana said, putting sunscreen on someone’s back tended to become a lot more than putting sunscreen on someone’s back if you weren’t careful). The boys, Wayne and Greg from the hostel, had obviously made it to the beach a lot earlier, because for them it was just swimming trunks, a ball for the volleyball match, go, where girls had to put their hair, collect their things like sunscreen and a water bottle, decide which dress they were to put on and which combination of bikinis they were to wear and check they had keys at least twice. Nana was in this way a traditional girl, Hannah was a bit less but she had had to prepare the kitchen for all the hostel people to cook lunch and dinner. So where Greg and Wayne had already started their second round, Nana and Hannah were only just about to jump in.

   “So, that boy of yours, John, didn’t come, then?” Hannah said to Nana when they stood up to join the game.

   “Thank god, I felt I had to invite him but it would’ve been horrible”

   “So much above everyone else, he was! People tend to come and tell me how I should live my life, but he was by far the worst, in a while, anyways”

   “I think he was just ignorant, never met anyone like you. I mean, if he’s just been hanging around with the college kids”

   “Haha, the privileged class, yeah. I guess you’re right. I’m still happy he didn’t come, he would’ve just tried to preach more to us. ‘That’s not life! I’m expecting great things of myself’”

   “Poor boy. I wonder if he’s ever actually had fun. Guys! Stop your game, we’re in, let’s start a new one! I bet ten bucks we’ll beat you”

   “Ha, no way you’re going to beat me and mister Baywatch here, but give it your best shot and when you lose, you owe us a dinner”, Wayne mocked. He was a tanned, gorgeous Australian with an adorable hint of an accent and more than enough self-confidence. Nana showed them she accepted the challenge by giving such an opening that neither of the boys could make themselves catch it.

   “Oh, was I too fast for mister Baywatch?” Nana laughed when she retrieved the ball for the second opening.

   They played two energetic rounds, boys winning the first one and girls the second, before they decided it was time for a break. They picked the least-crowded spot from the crowded beach and laid their towels there. Nana and Hannah persuaded Wayne and Greg to go swimming:

   “It’s hot in here! Besides, you are all sweaty, nothing freshens you up more than a quick swim!”

   “Yeah, and it’s not even cold, I was there this morning”

   “Well, I’m sure it didn’t feel that cold this morning since the air was cold, but I’m sure it’s freezing there right now!” Greg complained. Wayne had already stood up.

   “Let’s leave him whining, I could do with a little swim”, he started towards the sea before Hannah and Nana had time to react. They exchanged a look and darted behind Wayne to the great Pacific waves.

   They were splashing and playing in the ocean when Nana spotted someone on the beach.

   “Hannah! It’s Karl. See?”

   “Ah. Oh. Shit.”

   “Do you have your painting stuff with you? You should show him the new one, the one with the hostel and the couple. I’m sure he’d love it”

   “I’m sure he would. And I’d be screwed even more than I’m now”

   “I still think you should. You might change your mind at some point, realise that this is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss”

   “Well, I guess I don’t have a chance, he’s spotted us now. I guess I’ll have to go over there. Will you come too? My moral support”

   “Sure I’ll come”

   Karl greeted them with a wave when they reached the beach.

   “Hello, Nana. And Hannah. I saw you down there and couldn’t resist watching, you were so beautiful. You match with the ocean waves”

   Hannah rolled her eyes to Nana. Karl didn’t notice, but continued speaking.

   “I thought you might have something new to show to me. I’ve thought about the rocky shore painting, I bet I could get that one sold, if you’d just paint a few more so that we could open an exhibition. Maybe in New York”

   “Well, I don’t know about that…”

   “Have you seen the one with the hostel? That one is quite new”, Nana asked though of course she knew he hadn’t seen that one.

   “No, I haven’t. Do you have that one with you?”

   Hannah sighed but gave Nana a quick smile before leading him to their little camp where she had her bag. Nana smiled back. She knew that Hannah’s works were good enough to be in a gallery somewhere, and she was pretty sure Hannah secretly wanted that as well, but she was just worried about her freedom. She would come to her senses at some point, Nana was sure. When she stood there watching as Hannah and Karl were discussing over the painting, someone tapped her on her shoulder.

   She turned around and saw John, who had finally crawled up from his bed to the beach.

   “Oh, sorry, we stopped playing already…”

   “It’s all right. Who’s that?” John pointed towards Hannah and Karl.

   “That’s Karl. He admires Hannah’s paintings”

   “I didn’t know that she paints. Do you? I mean, make art or something?”

   “No. I study business in college, I’m halfway through”

   “Oh, you do? I didn’t know”, John cursed his repetitive answers. Why couldn’t he invent something interesting to say?

   “Yep. I also voted for Obama”, Nana winked. John grinned. “So, did you come to the beach to stand with your clothes on and all that? You’re way too pale, you need to get some colour”

   John took his shirt off as they went to their camp. Nana was surprised, she had not expected to see such abdomen, he was actually quite good-looking. She introduced him to Wayne and Greg, and they chatted for a while, John seemed to relax a bit. He did, however, cast long glances towards Hannah and Karl, when he thought the others weren’t looking. What was that girl doing with an older man like that? He could be her father, and there they were, and he knew well what these older men had in mind for a cute – on someone’s opinion, definitely, if not John’s – girl like Hannah.

   After a while Hannah and Karl started heading towards the others. She came first and had apparently decided the two groups should join.

   “So Karl, you’ve met Nana and Wayne, this is Greg and this is our newest friend, John. Greg, John, this is Karl from Sweden”

   Karl gave his hand for John and Greg to shake. Greg stood up with enough energy that the other youth saw it was a somewhat mocking gesture. John stood up slower and without a smile.

   “Nice to meet you, sir. How have you ended up here, all the way from Sweden?” With his tone he highlighted the fact that he was talking to an older person. Nana gave him an annoyed look – he had no right to make his statement about this situation, he had just arrived and they didn’t even know him that well and he definitely didn’t know anything about their lives.

   “Why, nice to meet you, young man. Sweden was too cold and too small, there’s no such charming creatures as these girls we have here. But you’re not local either, could I assume you are from the glorious England, the mother of this country as well as many others?”

   “Yes, I’m English, and here only to see the how this child of our country is surviving without the guidance of our Queen”

   Hannah was amazed. Where did this conversation come from? He could hear the mocking in the tones of both of the men, but couldn’t see why it was there. What was there to make these men hate each other from the very beginning? She tried to get some hints from Nana, who must’ve said something to John when she was talking with Karl further away, but Nana was showing no signs of anything. She kept wondering, until suddenly she heard her name.

   “I’ve heard you’re a great fan of Hannah’s paintings. I assume you’re a great admirer of art in general?” John said.

   “I can’t say that I am, but Hannah is quite an exceptional painter, I’m sure everyone who has seen her work would say that. Have you been granted the honour?”

   “I have not, yet, but I’ve just been acquainted with our artist for a couple of hours so I hope this won’t be held against me. I’m sure she’ll show them when she wants to, I won’t push her to do anything”

   “Ah, that’s admirable of you. She is, I admit, a bit shy and doesn’t show her work to anyone but her closest friends”

   At this point Hannah suddenly got furious. These two men whom she barely knew and was not sure whether she even wanted to know discussed her as if she wasn’t there! She had not been able to decide which one annoyed her more, but now Karl, indirectly saying that he was one of her best friends, went too far. She interrupted the conversation.

   “Oh, John, I was just thinking you might like to see my newest painting? It’s the hostel, so you can say whether it looks like it or not. I’m not perfectly sure about the colour of the roof”

   Score, John thought to himself. He didn’t himself really know why he wanted so badly to beat this Karl. Probably it was because Hannah was such an ideal target to his plan of civilising people and if Karl became her patron, Hannah would never learn to be an independent, strong member of the society. That was it, he was sure. He moved so that he was sitting next to her, while she once again pulled the paper out of her purse.

 

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