pretty face laboratory and remove blemishes, or make your eyelashes look longer, or widen or slim your face. You can even lengthen your legs. The most popular function is the décor function where you can choose from hundreds of icons to decorate your picture with.”
We kept walking and I was amazed by everything.
“That’s so wild, Emiko. I have to do it! Can we do it? I want to get our picture taken together. It’ll be an awesome keepsake. I’ve always wanted to get rid of the little mole above my lip. Now I can just magically erase it.”
We chose a hot pink booth with neon Japanese script and flowers. It snapped our photos in several different poses. We were laughing and acting goofy when we weren’t preening to look like models. We spent forever decorating, enhancing, and doodling on our images. I got a small sheet of picture stickers and a sheet of regular picture strips.
“This was so much fun,” I said. “Thank you for bringing me here. I can’t wait for my family to see these pictures.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re having fun. We can come back anytime.” We said bye to her friends and caught a cab back home. We got home just as Ms. Nobuko was setting the table for dinner. Mr. Nakamura greeted us from the kitchen.
“Hi, girls. Did you have fun?”
“Yes, Mr. Nakamura. Emiko took me to the arcade and it was great.”
He smiled and motioned for us to come to the table.
“I’m glad you had fun. The arcades here are a big attraction to locals and tourists alike. They’re pretty incredible; the technology these days is hard to fathom.”
Mrs. Nakamura didn’t join us because she had an evening function at school. We ate dinner and chatted about all the other places I wanted to visit. Mr. Nakamura said that he and Mrs. Nakamura planned on taking me to some of the ancient castle ruins that were popular tourist attractions on the island. He said it would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about the culture of ancient Okinawa. We said goodnight shortly after dinner and I went up to my room, intent on going to bed at a decent hour, but I couldn’t resist going out to the balcony to listen to the sound of karate class.
It was 8:30, which meant class was halfway over. I glanced down to the cone of streetlight and saw a group of white flowers with a white ribbon tied around the stems to hold them together. They were propped against the post of the streetlight. I scanned the street up and down and didn’t see anyone around. I went back inside and ran downstairs and out the door in my bare feet. I padded down the street and stopped at the flowers. They were the same chrysanthemums as the one Jonathan pressed between the pages of the letter. I reached down to pick them up, bringing them to my nose to inhale their sweet smell. There was no note or letter; just the flowers. I was certain he put them here, and my heart ballooned until it was ready to burst. I pulled the flowers to my chest to hug them. I went back inside and found a vase. I filled it with water and arranged the flowers. I sat them on my nightstand next to the orchid and fell asleep staring at them .
Chapter Ten
I was in paradise! Emiko brought me to a beach in central Okinawa called Zampa Beach. It was beautiful and the water was the bluest blue I had ever seen. I realized that the beach near Galveston was like a murky lake compared to this. We spread out our towels and removed our cover-ups. I wore my bright white Chanel sunglasses and a white Michael Kors bikini that I bought for the trip. I knew how popular the beaches were here and I planned on taking full advantage of them. Emiko insisted we put sunscreen on, but I objected because I was trying to get a tan.
“No, Nicole. You need to wear sunscreen, even if it’s just a 10 or 15 SPF. The sun here is brutal. You’ll get fried if you don’t.”
“Okay, just a little. Can I use yours?” She handed me a tube of SPF 15 and I spread it on. We lay out
We kept walking and I was amazed by everything.
“That’s so wild, Emiko. I have to do it! Can we do it? I want to get our picture taken together. It’ll be an awesome keepsake. I’ve always wanted to get rid of the little mole above my lip. Now I can just magically erase it.”
We chose a hot pink booth with neon Japanese script and flowers. It snapped our photos in several different poses. We were laughing and acting goofy when we weren’t preening to look like models. We spent forever decorating, enhancing, and doodling on our images. I got a small sheet of picture stickers and a sheet of regular picture strips.
“This was so much fun,” I said. “Thank you for bringing me here. I can’t wait for my family to see these pictures.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re having fun. We can come back anytime.” We said bye to her friends and caught a cab back home. We got home just as Ms. Nobuko was setting the table for dinner. Mr. Nakamura greeted us from the kitchen.
“Hi, girls. Did you have fun?”
“Yes, Mr. Nakamura. Emiko took me to the arcade and it was great.”
He smiled and motioned for us to come to the table.
“I’m glad you had fun. The arcades here are a big attraction to locals and tourists alike. They’re pretty incredible; the technology these days is hard to fathom.”
Mrs. Nakamura didn’t join us because she had an evening function at school. We ate dinner and chatted about all the other places I wanted to visit. Mr. Nakamura said that he and Mrs. Nakamura planned on taking me to some of the ancient castle ruins that were popular tourist attractions on the island. He said it would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about the culture of ancient Okinawa. We said goodnight shortly after dinner and I went up to my room, intent on going to bed at a decent hour, but I couldn’t resist going out to the balcony to listen to the sound of karate class.
It was 8:30, which meant class was halfway over. I glanced down to the cone of streetlight and saw a group of white flowers with a white ribbon tied around the stems to hold them together. They were propped against the post of the streetlight. I scanned the street up and down and didn’t see anyone around. I went back inside and ran downstairs and out the door in my bare feet. I padded down the street and stopped at the flowers. They were the same chrysanthemums as the one Jonathan pressed between the pages of the letter. I reached down to pick them up, bringing them to my nose to inhale their sweet smell. There was no note or letter; just the flowers. I was certain he put them here, and my heart ballooned until it was ready to burst. I pulled the flowers to my chest to hug them. I went back inside and found a vase. I filled it with water and arranged the flowers. I sat them on my nightstand next to the orchid and fell asleep staring at them .
Chapter Ten
I was in paradise! Emiko brought me to a beach in central Okinawa called Zampa Beach. It was beautiful and the water was the bluest blue I had ever seen. I realized that the beach near Galveston was like a murky lake compared to this. We spread out our towels and removed our cover-ups. I wore my bright white Chanel sunglasses and a white Michael Kors bikini that I bought for the trip. I knew how popular the beaches were here and I planned on taking full advantage of them. Emiko insisted we put sunscreen on, but I objected because I was trying to get a tan.
“No, Nicole. You need to wear sunscreen, even if it’s just a 10 or 15 SPF. The sun here is brutal. You’ll get fried if you don’t.”
“Okay, just a little. Can I use yours?” She handed me a tube of SPF 15 and I spread it on. We lay out
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