There was nothing I was more excited about in life than leaving the overpopulated city and heading out to my family's Georgia beach house for the summer. Junior year was over, and I couldn't wait to graduate and leave the stone forest. I could finally read a book in peace without hearing cars, people yelling, or sirens going by.

     Little did I know that my summer would be far from relaxing. My name is Conner Holmes, and I love nothing more than being left alone.

     Some people call it being an introvert; I call it a preference. My little sister, Rose, is the outgoing one. She was always getting into trouble and being overly loud. I had plenty of space at the beach to get away from her. Let me tell you about the crazy things that happened to me over the summer.

     I sat on the beach, toes deep into the warm, soft sand—book in my hand and the quiet waves humming a gentle song. Everything was perfect until an annoying noise echoed across the beach, people. Curiosity got the best of me; I decided to check out the commotion.

     I walked down the shoreline and soon spotted them. A group of teenagers blaring their loud, obnoxious music. At least, that is what I thought until I got closer and realized they were the ones singing. They were singing some fruity pop song and dancing the same choreographed dance. Completely confused by this, I decided to walk closer. The next thing I knew, I was sucked into their dances. I was shaking my hips and clapping my hands like a trained monkey dancing for a quarter. What is happening? I thought. I scanned the crowd, but no one noticed me till my eyes fell on her. Her; red curly hair and freckles, sitting on a cooler laughing and singing along. She looked at me and winked, then continued until her song ended.

     Once everyone stopped, they all cheered for each other. I was utterly baffled and, quite frankly, scared of what had just happened. I glanced back at the cooler where the girl was; she was gone. Gathering myself, I quickly rushed back to our beach house to escape the madness.

     It's a sad day when a guy can't sit peacefully on the beach and read. So, I went up to my bedroom and laid on my bed. My book was getting to the good part; I didn't want any more interruptions. Lost in the world of the pages, I was dragged back to reality by a tap on my window.

     Looking out the glass, there she was—one house over and tossing pebbles to get my attention. I walked over to the window and shut the blinds, trying to give her a sign. This, however, did not stop her persistence.

"Conner?!" My mom yelled from down the stairs. "You have a friend here!"

     A friend? I don't have friends, especially here. Rolling my eyes, I sat my book down and descended the stairs to see her standing in the doorway with my mom.

     "Conner, honey, look at you. We've been here a few hours and you have already made friends." My mom smiled at me and the girl. That's when I made a terrible choice.

     I tried to sound enthusiastic. "Yea, Mom, I'll be back later. Is that okay?"

     "Absolutely, dear; have fun!" She watched me as I followed the strange girl down the porch steps.

     She led me down the pier and turned onto the sand, stopping right before the waves. "What do you want?" I asked.

     "You're funny, you know that?" her voice hummed like a melody through my ears.

     "Funny? What are you talking about? Who are you?" I rolled my eyes at her to show my frustration; she didn't take that hint either.

     Turning to me with her hand extended, "I'm Liz."

     I contemplated for a moment whether I even wanted to engage in this exchange with her, but OK. "Conner." I shook her hand quickly and put it in my pocket.

     She tucked her arms behind her back and smiled brightly, "I'm your neighbor!".

     No crap. That is what I thought. "Oh, I hadn't noticed." I tried to advert my gaze to anything but her.

     She tilted her head at me, "You're a lot of fun, you know that?".

     "I get that a lot." I sighed. "Nice meeting you, but I have a dragon to slay in five pages. See you later." I turned to leave and felt her watching me as I headed home.

     What a confusing encounter that was; what a weird girl.

     I returned to my room, locked the door behind me, and ensured my blinds were shut tight. This time there will be no interruptions; boy, was I wrong.

     I made it through one chapter, just one! That's when the humming started; it started quiet and built over the excruciatingly long five minutes. One minute I was reading and traveling into the dragon's lair; the next thing I knew, I was standing on my bed! Holding my lamp and swinging it like a sword! 

  What is going on!?

     As if that wasn't bad enough, the doorknob started to wiggle. Rose! She had been known for picking my locks to get into my room and pester me; now, she would see me standing on my bed with a lamp, fighting an imaginary dragon. I began to sweat, the lock clicked, and the handle began to turn. I was thrusting the lamp into the air like a madman. The door slid across the carpet slowly, opening to expose my embarrassment. Then suddenly, my arm stopped moving.

     Rose stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and mouth wide open. "Um. What are you doing with that lamp?"

     I quickly thought up an excuse, "I thought I saw a bug on the ceiling; I was shining the light up there to see if that was what it was." I lifted my gaze to the popcorn ceiling.

     "Okay... Well... Dinner is ready." Rose looked at me confused, then turned and headed back down the stairs.

     I stood there for a moment, feeling like a complete idiot. I set the lamp on the end table and headed to the dining room.

     "Taco Tuesday!" Mom danced into the room, holding a plate of tacos. "Who's hungry?"

     I took my two tacos and poured myself a glass of water. Everyone was talking about their day, Rose telling Mom about the shells she found and Dad discussing the weather back home.

     Suddenly, my ears began to buzz; no, it wasn't buzzing. It was that humming sound I had heard earlier. I felt the sound enter my ears and make its way through my body. Before I knew what was happening, I was standing on my chair doing the Macarena.

     Everyone stared at me for what felt like forever, then Mom and Dad began doing it with me. I didn't find anything humorous about this.

     Moments passed, and finally, I stopped. Mom and Dad cheered, and Rose stared at me like I had lost my marbles. I jumped down from my chair and walked out of the house.

     What the crap is going on!? What is that humming noise?

     I wasn't sure if I was confused, angry, or upset, but emotions flooded in. That's when I heard the giggling coming from the side of the house.

     Following the sound, I found her. She was sitting in the bushes beside the dining room window, laughing her butt off.

     "What do you think you are doing?" Anger rushed over me.

     "Just having a bit of fun. You should try it." She continued to giggle.

     "I do have fun, thank you very much. What I don't do, is spy on people?" I crossed my arms to show her I meant business.

     "Spying? I wasn't spying." She stopped; realization showed on her face. "Ohhhh... You thought I was..." She busted into laughter. I did not know what was so dang funny. Why is she laughing about being a peeping tom?

     "Explain yourself, or I am calling the cops." I was over the shenanigans.

     "Or I could just do this..." She began humming. The same hum I had heard early sent me into battle and an impromptu dance. My legs began to move; I looked down and saw them doing an Irish jig. She laughed through her humming and started to clap in rhythm.

     When she stopped humming, my feet stopped firmly on the ground. "What are you?" bewilderment flooded my voice.

     "Oh, book boy, I'd have thought you would have guessed by now. Especially since you read such fictional tales." She grinned at me mischievously.

     My brain raced through my mental dictionary; it landed on a word I felt silly saying out loud. "Siren?"

     "Bingo!" She jumped up from the ground and smiled at me.

     "I cannot believe that." I placed my hand on my head to keep it from popping off my neck.

     "Shall I sing for you again?"

     "NO!" I threw my hands toward her like I was blocking a bull from charging. "No, please..."

    "Hmph, you're no fun." She crossed her arms, and her lips pouted. Moments passed, and she looked at me, and a corner of her mouth wrinkled into a sly grin. "Wanna have a little fun?"

     "Um... You're not going to drown me, are you?" She laughed at my question.

     "No, silly boy. Come with me!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me down to the beach. That's it; I'm going to die. It was all I could think, but she took me to where a young couple sat playing on their phones while their kids-built sandcastles.

     "Watch, and don't worry, it won't affect you. It only works on who I intend it for." She stared at the couple, then began to hum a soft tune. Their phones fell into the sand, then they stood up from their towels and began to dance with each other and the kids. Happiness and joy washed over the children's faces; love was seen in the eyes of the adults. I watched Liz as she sang the mystical tune that caused the parents to abandon their devices and bond with their children. It was a magical moment, and it made me smile.

     She stopped humming, and the people continued to laugh and dance. Liz looked at me and started laughing, and I joined her. "Can we do more?" I asked shyly.

     Liz gently smiled at me, then took my hand and led me to another group of people. We continued this till the night fell; sometimes, we would join in with the goofy antics. Sitting in the sand, staring into the vast ocean, we laughed about the day.

     "You should have seen your face when you pounced on your bed with that lamp." She fell back in the sand, laughing and holding her sides.

     "Haha, very funny." I tossed some sand on her playfully. "Thank you," I said in a severe tone.

     "For what?" She sat back up and looked at me in the moonlight.

     "For showing me a good time," I spoke.

     Liz spoke softly, "Conner, books are an amazing way to travel and see things from a safe spot. But don't forget to have some adventures of your own. There may not be any dragons..." 

     I interrupted her, "What, no dragons?!" 

     She laughed and continued, "Not to my knowledge, but I guess there is only one way to find out." She smiled at me softly.

     No, summer was not what I had in mind; but it was the most extraordinary summer of my life.