Kayla Caterson is the eldest child and only daughter in the Caterson house. She lives with her mother, father, and her two younger brothers in a beautiful stone house in the urban section of Sylvania.
Each summer the Catersons love to go on a family vacation together. One year they went to Paris and spent many days enjoying art museums and sidewalk cafes. Kayla learned a few words of French and her teacher, Professor Butterglove, was quite impressed. Another year her family visited San Francisco, and Kayla brought home a model of a cable car as a souvenir.
But this summer Kayla was not looking forward to her family’s summer vacation. This year they were going to Hawaii. Her family had rented a little house right on the beach for a whole week. Kayla’s brothers were both excited about swimming and snorkeling. Maybe their father would teach them how to surf! Kayla didn’t want to go swimming or snorkeling, and she did not care to learn how to surf.
You see, Kayla didn’t like the water. She had never liked it. There was never any particular reason, she just did not like to get wet. When she was young, she didn’t even like to take baths. And although bath time was still not her favorite thing to do, she didn’t mind them so much anymore.
Kayla sat in her room dreading the trip. Her family would have to leave for the airport in about an hour. She could hear her brothers running around in the next room checking and double-checking that they had remembered to pack their swimming trunks and swim fins. Her baby brother Charlie, who was three, was chasing his older brother Sean, age seven, around the room and they were both making quite a ruckus.
“I don’t see why they are so excited,” Kayla said to herself, “the beach isn’t exciting, even if it is in Hawaii. They will both be bored stiff after one day.” Suddenly there was a knock on her bedroom door. Then the door opened and her cousin, Tabitha Catwood stuck her head in.
“Hi Kayla. Are you all ready for your trip?”
“Hello Tabitha,” Kayla answered. “Yes, I am packed. But I don’t want to go. I don’t like the beach.”
“I know you don’t like water,” Tabitha reassured her cousin, “but there will be so many other things to do. You are going to have a great time! You will remember to send me a postcard, right?”
“Of course,” Kayla said sharply. “I’m sure I will have plenty of time to write lots of postcards.” Tabitha smirked at her cousin’s cheeky statement. Then she gave Kayla a big hug and said good-bye.
“See you in a week,” said Tabitha.
“Ya, see you soon,” Kayla called back. “Though it is going to feel like a lot longer than a week.”

Soon Kayla and her family were on their way. It was a long airplane flight to Hawaii. Kayla finished the book that she had brought to read before the flight was even half over.
“Great,” thought Kayla to herself, “now I don’t even have anything to read on the beach.” She spent the rest of the flight staring out the window at the blue Pacific Ocean.