Chapter 9
It was early the next morning, just past six, when Peter arrived at the pig pen. And just as the day before Kaila was already there, surrounded by the young, happy, squealing pigs. Peter chuckled to himself as he watched her. She noticed him as he was putting on his rubber boots.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. ‘Bout time you showed up,” she snickered. “Grab a pail and help me out, they are ravenous.”
“Hey there,” Peter said. “Hey, I’m on time. Aren’t you the early one!”
“I love getting here early. I don’t mind,” she said.
Peter retrieved a pail from the storage area and helped her with the feeding. He looked around the campus and noticed there was already activity happening in the parking lot.
“Wow, I guess this the first big day. I see cars coming up the hill already,” he remarked.
“Yeah, gonna be crazy from here on out,” Kaila replied. “You’ll be amazed at how many people will be around once they all get here.”
“Yeah, I heard. I don’t know if I’m prepared for it yet. Hey, where’s our baby?”
Kaila laughed and motioned behind her foot. “He’s hiding behind my leg. He’s being shy today.”
“Ha ha, I see him now. Hey little fella,” Peter said as he reached down to pet his cute snout. The tiny piglet just squealed and backed away a few feet.
“Aww, you scared our baby!” Kaila laughed.
“He’ll come around,” Peter said.
They both kept feeding the rest of the pigs and eventually Peter made his way over to the watering hose and began to give them fresh water. Kaila watched him as he moved around the pen quietly. She liked that he talked to her so easily. She was quite intelligent, so at times that seemed to intimidate boys that she encountered, but not Peter. He talked to her quite comfortably and she noticed that right away. She liked a boy who could talk to her confidently. She was not used to that. But she also liked his quiet demeanor as well. She had a certain curiosity about him. And the fact that Taney had noticed, in all her wisdom, how comfortable Peter was around her and how Taney just knew that he was smitten with Kaila. Kaila’s interest had finally gotten the best of her. She wanted to know more about Peter.
“So what’s your last name?” she asked finally. Her mind was full of questions actually, but that was all she could think of. Their time was short in the mornings and she knew she had to take advantage of it, but that was the only question she could muster at the moment. Maybe I am becoming the shy one, she thought to herself. That would certainly be a first for her.
“Oh, sorry. I never fully introduced myself,” Peter said as he wrestled with the watering hose. He tromped through the mud and extended his hand in a playful manner. “I’m Peter Lane, nice to meet you Miss…”
Kaila smiled. She was liking his comical side too. Something most boys never did around her as well. But not Peter, he was just himself around her and quite comfortable. She enjoyed how natural he was. It was refreshing to her.
“Alapai,” she said sweetly and shook his hand.
“Kaila Alapai,” he said. “That’s pretty. Kaila the Advisor. I think it sounds better in Hawaiian. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Alapai.”
“Smarty-pants,” she laughed. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Lane. So what island brings you to Maui, if I may ask?”
“The Big Island,” Peter answered. “I lived on the north side in a small village.”
“Oh it’s beautiful over there I hear,” Kaila commented. “I’ve always wanted to go over there. I’ve always wanted to see the lava flows at night. I hear it’s pretty scary.”
Peter laughed. “Yeah, that’s why we live on the north side as far away from the south side lava zones as possible. Kinda scary, yeah, but I kind of like the way it just quietly flows out. You just get out of the way. Nothing you can do about it. Besides, if it wasn’t for the volcanos, these islands wouldn’t be here and neither would we.”
“Very true,” Kaila said. “But I’m kinda glad the one on Maui is dormant.”
“Haleakala?” Peter said. “Well, technically it’s still active, but it hasn’t erupted since the late 1700’s. And the one we’re on right now hasn’t erupted in about half a million years, so I think we’re safe.”
“What are you, a geologist?” Kaila laughed.
“Nah, I just like Hawaiian history,” he chuckled. “Fascinating sometimes. Can’t make a career out of it though.”
“Well, I’m very impressed,” she added. “And you never know. You’d probably make a good teacher.”
“I don’t know, I’d probably want to strangle the students if they ever got outta line,” he laughed. Kaila laughed too.
She thought some more about what to ask him. It was almost time to go. She was feeling so out of sorts and she didn’t even know why. Finally she thought of something else.
“Wasn’t that typhoon awful last year?” she asked. “I heard the Big Island had a lot of damage. It wasn’t all that bad here.”
“Yeah, and right after the earthquake we had a few years ago. I definitely remember that. Shook my house good. My mom got mad because some of her dishes broke. But yeah, the Kona side got some bad damage from that wave. It was wild.”
“Oh, I forgot about the earthquake,” Kaila recalled. “I think there were some bridges that had to be repaired on the Hana side from that.” She thought for a moment more. When he mentioned his mother it kind of made her sad. “Your mother lost some dishes, huh? That’s too bad. Was that her at Mass the other day?”
“Yes, my dad and little sister too,” Peter said.
“You have a nice family,” Kaila said politely.
“Thank you. What about yours? Do they live here on Maui?”
Kaila knew he would ask her sooner or later. She did not usually like talking about it. But she did not mind telling Peter for some strange reason.
“My aunt and uncle do,” she answered. “Actually they live not far from here. Makai, just off of Lahainaluna Road in a neighborhood. I have my scooter there.” She hesitated in telling him about her parents for a moment more.
“Oh really, that is close,” Peter said. He was still wondering about her parents. He just assumed they lived on another island and that was why she was staying with relatives when she was not at school. “You have a scooter huh?”
“Yeah, a little blue one. It’s baby blue. I love that color. I get to use it on weekends sometimes if I don’t have too much studying.”
“Hey, I like that color too. Maybe you can take me for a spin on it. I have a bicycle back home, I’ll take you for a spin on it someday.”
“Oh,” Kaila laughed. “Sounds like an even trade. You got a deal then.”
“So,” Peter hesitated, “are you originally from Maui?”
“I’m really from Oahu,” she finally conceded. “My mom still lives there. But me and my two sisters live here. I have one older and one younger. Leilani lives at her own place. Kari lives with my aunt and uncle. It’s a long story.”
“That’s OK,” Peter said, trying to be considerate.
“My mom has always been kind of out of it,” she began. “And my dad just left her when we were real young. Not even sure where he is. She was never the same after that though. That’s why we all came here. Her brother took us in, they didn’t have any kids. And one of the main reasons I’m a boarder. Leilani was too.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Peter said. “That must be hard. I can’t even imagine. Your aunt and uncle must be good people.”
“It’s OK. And yeah, my uncle is. But my aunt is a little strict if you ask me. She drives me nuts. I’ll be so glad when I get my own place.”
It was almost time to get back to the school. More and more cars were coming up the hillside for the first full day of classes. They needed to get back to the dorms and get breakfast before school started. They cleaned off their gear, put away the tools in the shed and started walking back up to school.
&
nbsp; “Hey, you know how to play darts?” Kaila asked.
“Darts?”
“Yeah, you know, darts.”
“Well, I guess so,” Peter laughed. “I played maybe once. I don’t know the proper rules or anything, but yeah I know how to throw a dart at the board,” he laughed. “Do you?”
“Sure,” she said, smiling. “I can teach you the rules. Maybe we can play sometime in the lounge on the weekends.”
“Sounds like fun to me,” Peter agreed with a smile. “Race you to the dorms!”
They both took off running up the hillside, laughing as they ran together. School hadn’t even started and they were both already having a blast.