Rumble, rumble, boom!
Five pretty hula dancers wearing grass skirts shook their hips wildly.
Rumble, rumble, boom!
Men draped in Hawaiian print fabric stomped across the stage. Each carried a large stick, its ends lit on fire.
Iris and Hana looked at each other with wide eyes. They were sitting in the front row at the luau show, excited for what would happen next.
The men threw their fire sticks in the air like batons.
Iris gasped!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On stage, a large ring was set aflame. One by one, each man dove through the ring. They tumbled into a forward roll before standing up again. But that wasn’t all. A second ring was set on fire. The last man in line would be diving through both hoops at the same time!
Iris could barely watch. She covered her eyes but left a little space between her fingers for peeking.
A powerful drumroll pounded, and the brave dancer took a running start…one ring…two rings…He did it!
Iris and Hana stood up and cheered. “That was awesome!” Iris shouted.
Hana nodded. “Leilani and I are doing a hula dance at the wedding. It’s our gift for Malia and Jay. Do you want to be in it too?”
Iris didn’t have to think very long. “No way!”
Hana looked surprised “Are you sure? It’ll be fun!”
“I’m not a good dancer,” Iris explained. “One time, I had to dance in a school show. I twirled the wrong way and landed on a lady’s lap in the front row!”
The girls hooted with laughter until a thundering voice made them jump.
“WHAT’S SO FUNNY?”
Iris turned to see a plump woman with tightly curled short hair. She was wearing a sack dress with big orange flowers. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Iris and Hana. Iris gulped.
“Aloha!” Hana cheered. She ran over to the woman and threw her arms around her. “You missed dinner and the show. It was the best luau ever!”
Iris was confused. Why is Hana talking to this scary lady? she thought.
“Iris, this is Tutu, my grandma,” Hana said.
Tutu’s angry scowl quickly turned into a warm, beaming smile. “Nice to meet you, honey! Hope I didn’t scare you!”
“Oh!” Iris sighed as the color returned to her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Tutu. I like your name. Were you a ballerina?”
“Ha-ha!” Tutu burst out laughing as if the image of Tutu in a tutu was very funny. “Tutu is an island nickname for Grandmother,” she said. “Kind of like Nana.”
“Our family is a mix of many cultures – Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian,” added Hana. “My name means flower in Japanese.”
“A flower name is perfect for Flower Girl World!” said Iris.
Hana beamed proudly.
“Okay, that’s enough chitchatting,” Tutu roared, startling Iris again. Tutu put her arm around the girls’ shoulders and led them over to their parents. “It’s time for wedding work!”