Spain or Shine by Michelle Jellen

Friday.” Marci tossed the idea out casually.
    â€œAll right.” Alex began to stand. “I have to take off. I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Elena.”
    â€œOkay,” she said as she squirted a blob of sunscreen onto her palm and began smearing it on her arms. “If you’re early, save me a seat.”
    He nodded and then said good-bye to the rest of the girls, though his gaze seemed to linger a little longer on Jenna. While Caitlin and Marci returned his good-bye, Jenna just smiled slyly and tipped her head back in a good-bye nod. Alex flashed one more wide smile and strolled away.
    â€œHe was nice,” Caitlin said once Alex was out of earshot.
    â€œHe certainly thought you were nice,” Marci teased, poking Jenna in the ribs.
    Jenna shrugged. “He was all right.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, he was all right? You were all over him,” Elena cried. From the way Jenna had transformed so quickly into Marilyn Monroe, Elena had assumed she’d found the love of her life.
    â€œI know. I’m so bad. I just like to flirt.” Jenna laughed.
    â€œWell, you’re very good at it,” Elena returned, laughing now as well.
    Jenna struck a fashion pose on her towel. “Thank you, dahling,” she drawled like an old-time movie star, throwing her head back dramatically.
    After a couple of hours at the beach Elena decided to leave. There would be plenty of time to get a tan, she reasoned. The last thing she wanted to do on her first full day in San Sebastián was to stay at the beach too long and end up glowing like a boiled lobster. When she stood up to put her clothes on and stuff her towel and sunscreen back into her bulging backpack, Jenna stood, too.
    â€œI’ll go with you,” she said, slipping on a pair of shorts.
    They left Marci and Caitlin, and trudged through the soft sand and up the stairs that led to the promenade. Elena stopped for a moment at the top to take it all in, the sea, the sunbathers, the tiny boats bobbing at the horizon. She tried to take in the scenery the way a filmmaker would, as a shot on a wide-screen lens. If she were scripting this moment, she’d linger on a shot of the sea and then write, “Fade out.”
    As the girls headed up the hill toward the Cruzes’ apartment, Jenna veered off their path for a moment and strolled over to a shawl of bougainvillea that dripped down the wall of an apartment building from a balcony above. Jenna plucked a sprig of magenta flowers from the dangling vine and tucked it behind her ear. Then she twisted off another piece and helped Elena wind it through her thick ponytail.
    â€œYou look hot,” Jenna exclaimed as she stepped back to take in the sight of Elena, who smiled shyly and felt a little goofy standing on the sidewalk dripping in petals. “We needed a little color.” The girls fell back into step. Elena felt the eyes of some passersby brushing over them. She wasn’t used to drawing attention to herself. Her instinct was to shrink away from it. But Jenna, strutting unself-consciously beside her in a bikini top and a crown of pink flowers, had a way of making things seem less goofy.
    When they arrived at the Cruz apartment, Alita bounded to the door to greet them.
    â€œDid you go to the beach today?” She followed them through the foyer and into the living room.
    â€œWe did,” Elena answered.
    â€œI am not allowed to go during the week, only weekends,” she explained, then turned her attention back to Jenna. “Maybe you can take me with you this weekend.”
    â€œSure, maybe,” Jenna answered.
    â€œWhat are you doing now? Do you want to go for a walk?”
    â€œWell, we were outside all afternoon,” Elena offered as gently as possible.
    â€œWhy don’t you read magazines with us in Elena’s room,” Jenna suggested.
    â€œYes. American magazines,” Alita sang as she motored down the hall and into