[For Claire]

[noonelaughed]

For all that Chris might complain to some people on the island that he's bored, he's not. Not really, anyway. There isn't fucking college to go or any place he's got to to be, and all he's got now is time. Time to explore or meet people or do whatever the fuck he wants. Being on the island means he's got time to think about all the things he never got to do back home, the things he won't get to do back home.

One such thing is something Chris has always wanted to do: he's always wanted to break a world record. Of course, he's not sure it even matters on the island, since it's in some other dimension or whatever, but to Chris, it does. He's found the book on the bookshelf, The Guinness Book of World Records and it's current enough that Chris feels like it's worth giving it a go.

He's on the beach now, in just swim pants and an oversized pair of sunglasses, preparing piles of sand. He's found a shovel in the compound-- not one of those fucking tiny shovels kids use when they're little, but a proper one-- and is more determined than he's been since he can remember.

Chris is going to build the world record biggest sand castle. Or, at least, the island's biggest sand castle. Either way, it's gonna be fucking mega.

Comments

[regenerated]

Claire's starting to freckle, at last. Only a couple of months back, she had been doing her best to stay inside, wary of hanging out with strangers, wary of settling on the island at all, feeling very much like she had to cling to home to some degree, even if it meant reminding herself how miserable the island was in comparison without her family and friends. But now, she's starting to crawl, inch by inch, toward some sort of nebulous happiness, and it couples with her desire to stay out in the sun all day. Strangely, caring for her skin is one of those things that's just habit, for Claire. She knows she shouldn't have to, there's no reason to suspect that she won't just heal over in a few seconds, cool off from any burn. But after years of having Sandra Bennet smear Banana Boat sunblock all over her face (it's really thick and gummy, Claire remembers), it's just habit now for Claire to do the same.

Today, she's armed with even more than just a small bowl of lotion to reply as necessary. Today, she's carrying around an umbrella as well, one of the big patio types, clearly mended with pieces of clothes from the clothes box. There's a bag slung over her shoulder with all of her schoolwork for the day, and she's just walking along the beach in hopes of some free shade to work under, when she catches sight of Chris. With a shovel.

"If you're burying treasure," she calls out, a grin spreading from cheek to cheek, "I'm pretty sure on the beach isn't the best place. The tide will wash it out."