The Spitting Caves

Drew watched as the small silver coin twisted through the air. It looked almost orange as its polished sides caught the reflection of the afternoon sun over the turquoise-blue ocean behind him.

Across from him, a tanned shirtless boy stood, his eyes glued to the coin. A bead of sweat was making its way down his forehead. Drew smiled, it was nice to see him panic a little.  

It had been a simple bet. Heads and Drew jumped, Tails and the other boy would. Drew almost felt bad, knowing what he did about the unexplainable influence he had on the small coin, but then he thought of the boy's cocky attitude and decided he deserved what was coming to him.

It was Drew's first week on Oahu. His mom had won a long drawn-out custody battle in which Drew had been forced to pick a parent. He hated to think about those tense hours in the courtroom, waiting to be called on, dreading the look on his dad’s face when he chose his mom. Drew had tried to tell his dad why, that he needed a new start, but he was only 15 and couldn’t articulate something that deep and meaningful. Instead, his father had simply walked out of the courtroom without even saying goodbye. The final nail in the coffin of Drew’s hope for a reconciled family. 

Everything after that had been a blur. He remembered packing his bags, saying goodbye to the few friends he had, and flying with his mom to Honolulu. Her government job had offered her a transfer and she had jumped at the chance for a new start. Drew had told everyone he was most excited about getting away from the constant rain of Seattle, but all he really wanted to get away from was school. He had learned how to avoid most of the bullying, but he still was caught in the bathroom or between classes. 

“D’Lucky,” they would call out in mocking voices, pointing at him or giving him a shove.

The nickname had been earned at a birthday party earlier that year. Being new to the school, a cute girl had invited him to play spin the bottle. Drew had never been to a party, let alone kissed a girl, so he accepted. The rules had been simple. You spun the bottle and whoever it pointed at when it stopped spinning would join you in the closet for a kiss. Ten kids played and his hostess had gone first. As the bottle spun Drew stared at the bottle, hoping with everything in him that it would land on him, and it did. After their brief encounter in the closet, complete with giggles and an awkward peck, another popular girl spun. As the bottle turned, Drew thought it would be funny if she had to kiss the most awkward boy there. A few moments later the bottle had stopped on Ron, a pimple-faced red-haired boy that was funny, in an awkward kind of way. So it went all the way around the circle. Every match that Drew imagined, happened. He thought he was just lucky until one of the last spins. He had changed his mind just before the bottle stopped spinning, and, as if by magic, the bottle had jerked backward before settling on the new victim. When his turn had finally come he was nearly beaming with confidence. He spun the bottle with gusto and watched with a smile as it pointed again to the cute girl. It was enough to earn him the nickname “D’Lucky”.

Drew’s good luck was short-lived. As soon as the popular kids discovered he didn’t play sports or care about the newest trends, they turned on him. Light-hearted joking turned into tripping, and things being thrown at him during lunch as they shouted: “Come on D’lucky, or, “who’s the lucky one now?” To make matters worse, his success with spin-the-bottle meant none of the normal kids would go near him either, effectively marking him an outcast. So, when his mom told him she was moving, he hadn’t cared where, as long as he got a chance to start over. 

The only apartment his mom could afford in Hawaii was nearly an hour's drive from her office, which meant she had to leave early in the morning and ended up coming home late at night, and since school wasn’t starting for another week, Drew was on his own. For the first two days, he had sat around the apartment watching TV until he was bored, then he would take his book and sit by the pool or walk to the little mini-mart on the corner for a snack.

“There's nothing to do?” he had complained to his mom late the second night.

“Kalani told me all the kids walk to the beach.” his mom answered, not looking up from her dinner preparation. Kalani was an old Hawaiian woman who lived across the hall from them. 

Drew had seen a number of kids walking with their towels and surfboards during one of his snack outings. He tried to imagine what kind of introduction could start him off on the right foot but had come up blank. He loved to swim, but sunburns and the thought of sand getting everywhere restrained his enthusiasm. He would rather go to the pool and read about tropical beaches than experience them. 

His mom’s talking dragged him back to reality. “Maybe you could make some friends before school.” 

“I’ll think about it,” he had said before sitting back down in front of the TV. 

After breakfast the next morning Drew decided even sand in his shoes would be better than another day of re-runs and a pool filled with toddlers. He had grabbed a towel and his favorite book and made the 15-minute walk to the beach. The small park was nothing like he expected. There was no white sand, just a breakwater of large lava rocks, broken by a small ramp used to launch boats. The bay itself had almost no waves because of a reef that extended almost a mile from shore. Instead of surfers and sunbathers, he had a front-row seat to fishermen and dive tours which seemed to be leaving from the small boat launch every fifteen minutes. After a few hours of reading and people-watching, he felt hot and tired and had decided to leave when a group of kids his age wandered past. He overheard them talking as he packed up his things.

“We going to the spitting caves today?” a tanned shirtless boy had asked. 

“My mom won’t let me go there anymore,” replied a second, smaller boy. 

“Yeah,” piped in a girl, “didn’t you hear about the tourist who broke his leg? My dad said they had to get the coast guard to fish him out.”

“He didn’t know what he was doing,” said the first boy again. 

“Sure…..and you do?” mocked the girl. 

“I bet you wouldn't jump off that cliff if your life depended on it,” said the smaller boy.  

“It’s not that scary,” said the shirtless boy, in a nonchalant voice. It sounded like he was trying to impress the others. 

“Prove it,” dared another girl. 

“You first Kate,” said the shirtless boy as they walked out of earshot of Drew. 

Drew watched the group meander down the beach, more specifically he watched Kate. She was taller than the others and strikingly beautiful. Her dark brown hair was loosely tied in a bun and she wore a blue and white tie-dye sundress that flowed in the wind, making it look like she was floating across the grass.

Before they had even disappeared down the beach Drew was daydreaming of them as a couple, talking about books and walking the beach together. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image. “Yeah right,” he had said out loud and walked back to the apartment. 

He spent the rest of the day thinking about Kate, wondering if he would see her again and if she had a boyfriend.  

The next morning he found himself back at the beach, hoping the group would be there again, but after two hours of waiting no one had come. Then he had remembered their conversation about the Spitting caves. A quick search on his phone showed it was a mile and a half walk from where he was. What else have I got to do today, he thought and he had set off. 

His phone led him down a long winding road with houses crowding both sides. The road ended in a cul-de-sac where a small well-used trail disappeared into the bushes between two fences. Drew took a deep breath and continued, pushing past the low-hanging palm trees before emerging on the top of a large cliff. The rock spread to his right and left and the ocean stretched out to the horizon in front of him. He made his way to the edge and cautiously looked down, some 50 feet below large waves were crashing into the rocks. Farther along he could see where the water had carved large caverns into the cliffs. Now and then an extra large wave would roll in, catching the retreating water just right, causing a violent explosion of water that rose nearly as high as he was. That must be why they're called the spitting caves, he thought.  

As he watched the waves he heard yelling coming from further along the cliff. Kate? He wondered, his heart beating a little faster. He cautiously made his way along a well-worn path until he emerged onto a small plateau. A mismatch of tourists and locals lined the edge, looking down into a small cove, now some 80 feet below. As Drew looked around, two shirtless men jumped from the rock. They seemed to float in the air before crashing through the water far below. He had watched the men swim to the side and start the climb back up when he heard a familiar voice. 

“Your turn brother!” It was the voice of Kate! Drew had turned to see the same group of kids eyeing the water far below. Kate looked his way as he turned and their eyes met for a split second.  

“You first,” the shirtless boy from yesterday replied, his voice shaking a little from the height of the cliff. 

They all watched as person after person jumped from the rock until it was just Drew and the group of friends alone on the edge. 

“Hey weren’t you at the park yesterday?” the small girl had asked, looking over at Drew.

“Yeah, he was, what are you doing, following us?” chimed in the smaller boy. 

Kate looked at him, locking eyes. Drew felt his face go red and knew he had to say something. 

He turned to the boy. “You going to jump?” he asked, trying to sound confident while hoping his voice didn’t crack. 

The shirtless boy looked around as if he thought Drew was talking to someone else. When he saw no one, he turned back to Drew. 

“You first punk,” he said, letting out a snicker.

Drew saw a smile creep across Kate’s face and decided to push. 

“How about a coin toss?” He asked, “It’d be fair right? Either you jump or I do.”

The boy frowned as he mulled the decision over. 

“Do it,” shouted the smaller boy. 

“You’re not scared are you?” asked Kate, walking between the two boys and pulling a shiny quarter from her skin-tight shorts.   

“Course not,” said the boy, standing up as straight as he could. 

“All right then,” said Kate, "if it's tails you have to jump,” and without waiting for an answer she flipped the coin into the air.  

Drew stared at the coin, the game of spin the bottle flashing through his mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago he had willed the bottle to stop on a pretty girl, but how had that ended for him? 

The coin landed in the dirt and continued to spin in slower and slower circles. Then, unexpectedly it bounced, turning itself over before settling on the black rock. The boys looked at each other and then back down at the coin.

“Heads!” shouted the boy, a look of relief washing across his face. 

“I guess that’s me then,” Drew said, his voice quivering slightly. 

“Unlucky,” said the smaller girl, looking from the coin to Drew, her mouth slightly open. 

“Luck’s not all it cracked up to be,” said Drew. 

“Only when your unlucky one,” said the boy, his pride returning. “You're gonna chicken out, aren’t yuh?” he asked. 

Drew didn’t answer. Instead, he laid down his backpack and book, kicked off his flip-flops, and stepped to the edge of the cliff. The highest thing he had ever jumped from before this was the high dive at a YMCA back in Seattle. That had only been 8 feet high. This was ten times higher with crashing waves at the bottom. Drew swallowed hard and looked back at the group of friends. They were all staring at the water below, except for Kate. She met his gaze, and for a moment he thought he saw concern in her eyes. Drew managed a weak smile, then turned to the water and jumped. 

It only takes a few seconds to fall 80 feet, but for Drew, it felt like an eternity. He flailed his arms wildly trying to ensure he went in feet first and not on his back or side. He went in holding his nose with one hand, the other out to his side for balance. The rush of cool water engulfed his body and then there was a mass of white bubbles as he plunged into the turquoise water. He felt like he was 100 feet underwater and kicked frantically to get back to the surface. Just before panic had consumed him, his head broke the surface and he gulped down deep breaths of fresh air. It took him a second to believe that he had actually jumped, but the cheers from high on the cliff confirmed his excitement. Looking up he saw the group of kids clapping and cheering, even the shirtless boy was pumping the air with his fist in celebration. 

Drew swam to the small outcropping where a few of the other jumpers helped him out, giving him high fives as they did. It took him almost 10 minutes to make it back to the top. There was no real path and parts of the climb were almost treacherous. As he cleared the last handhold his heart sank. The plateau was empty. They had left. Kate had left. He let out an audible sigh as he walked back to pick up his things, only to find that they were gone as well. He scanned the rocks, thinking he may have been in the wrong place, but there was no mistake. 

“Really!” He said, throwing his arms up in despair. They had taken his backpack, his book, and even his shoes. He was about to start the long walk back to the apartment in his bare feet when he heard a familiar voice. 

“Looking for these?” 

He turned to find Kate, sitting at the base of a palm tree holding his book. His backpack and flip-flops lay at her feet.

“Sorry,” she said as she got up, her tanned face growing a bit redder as she spoke. “My brother ran off with his friends and I didn’t want someone taking your stuff.” 

“Thanks,” said Drew. He walked over to her and pulled a towel out of his bag. 

“You like this book?” she asked, holding up the book he had been reading. 

“Yeah,” said Drew, “it’s one of my favorites.”

She looked down at the book and then back at Drew. 

“It’s good,” she said smiling, “but I like the third one better.”

Before Drew could say anything she had extended her hand. “My names Kate,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, Kate, I’m Drew.” He shook her hand, it was smoother than he imagined as they touched. 

“I’m going home for lunch, you want to come and meet everyone else?” she asked, nodding toward a small trail that disappeared into the palm trees.

“Sure!” Drew replied, hoping his enthusiasm didn’t scare her away.

As they walked along the trail together Drew couldn’t stop smiling. Maybe luck was more about making the right choices than just random chance, he thought.