Connected by the Ocean

Chapter 1

Hello. Welcome to my story. I really hope you enjoy it.

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Cassidy POV

BEEP - BEEP - BEEP

I reach over to the side of my bed to turn off the alarm. I look at the clock and it's 3:00am. That seems like enough time to get ready and through the airport in time for my flight.

Oh by the way, my name is Cassidy Hart. I'm 21 years old and just finished my junior year of college. I'm studying marine biology at UCLA. School ended a week ago so I spent some time with my family back home in Oregon. Now it's time for me to head off for my internship with a marine research and conservation center in Florida.

I slowly get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. Luckily no one in my family is up this morning, so I don't have to worry about someone else being in the bathroom. I hop into the shower and just rinse off before I get out and dry off. While I let my hair and body dry, I brush my teeth and do my skincare routine. I grab the hairdryer and dry the rest of my hair that isn't dry yet. Once I'm done with everything in the bathroom, I go into my room and get dressed. I decide to wear black leggings, a gray t-shirt, and my favorite oversized hoodie. I throw on some black Nike shoes and head down to eat a quick breakfast.

Once I'm done eating my breakfast, a bowl of lucky charms, I grab my luggage from my room and walk out the door. I already said goodbye to my parents and brother last night, so they didn't have to get up early to do all that. I grab my phone off it's charger and order an Uber. The app says that the driver will be here in 3 minutes, so I quickly make sure I have everything and walk out the door. One minute later, my driver is here and he takes me to the airport.

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I arrive at the airport at 4:30am, and my flight leaves at 6:10am. That means I have plenty of time to check in and go through security. I drag my bag to the check in station, where they give my my boarding passes and check my bags. Once all of that is done, I head over to security where I wait in line for 20 minutes, When it's my turn, I walk through the metal detector and am cleared to go though. At this point it's 5:42am, so I start walking to my gate. On my way I see a coffee place so I stop and get a medium coffee. Once I have my coffee, I start walking back to my gate and they are just starting to board. I hop on the plane and just wait until we get to Florida.

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DING "This is your captain speaking, we are being our descent to Miami. Please buckle your seatbelts, stow your items, and return all seats to the upright position. Thank you."

I wake up to the captain telling us that the plane is starting to descend. I pack up all my stuff and get prepared for when the plane lands. I hear the plane hit the tarmac and wait for it to completely stop. "Welcome to sunny Miami, Florida. The local time is currently 3:36pm, with a temperature of 83• F. Thank you for flying with us today. We hope you enjoyed your flight." The captain announces. I grab my carry on from the overhead compartment and slowly make my way off the plane.

Once I'm in the airport, I make my way to baggage claim to pick up the rest of my stuff. I hear the machine start and not too long after, my bag is approaching. I grab it off the carousel and I'm off to the exit.

I open my phone to order an Uber, but the closest one won't be here for another 20 minutes. Wow. I wonder to myself. That's a long time for an Uber to get to the airport. They're usually packed with them. I decide to sit down on a bench and wait for my ride. I put my headphones in and listen to Queen. I receive a notification that my Uber is here, so I take out my headphones are walk to the black car. "Ms. Hart?" The driver asks. "Yes that would be me." I put my luggage in the trunk and slide into the back seat.

The ride is quiet, and soon enough, we pull up to where I'll be staying. It's a small apartment that I'll be sharing with another intern for the next few months. She's supposed to come in tomorrow. I thank the driver with a tip and take my luggage inside. I'm pretty tired so I decide that I'll unpack tomorrow. I throw on some pajamas and head to bed, as it's been a long day.

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The Next Day

I wake up at 10:00am. I decided to sleep in this morning, as I probably won't be able to do that again for a while once I start my internship in 2 days. I eat the bagel that I had left over from my trip. I'll have to go grocery shopping later today once my roommate gets here.

I decide to look around the apartment since I didn't get the chance to do that yesterday. When you walk in there's a medium sized living room. In the living room, there is a gray couch, a white coffee table, and a TV hung up on the wall. I go into the kitchen next. It has the basics, a stove, a microwave, and an oven. There are a few cabinets that contain some plates and cups. There's some silverware in the drawer above where the pots are. Very basic, but all we need are the essentials. I look at the bathroom next. It has a decent sized shower and a toilet with a sink. It's just your normal bathroom. I don't explore the bedrooms as I've already seen the one where I'm sleeping, and I decide to let the other girl just do what she wants with that room.

Once I'm done looking around, I figure that now would be a good time to unpack before the other girl gets here. I open up my suitcase and start by putting my clothes in the drawers and closet. I put all my bathroom stuff in the bathroom that's connected to my room. I put my shower stuff like shampoo and conditioner in the shower, and everything else either under the sink or on the space around the sink.

Just as I finish unpacking, I hear the door close. I guess that must be my roommate. Perfect timing. "Hello" I shout. "Hi" she yells back. I head to the front door where I see a beautiful girl standing by the couch. I introduce myself "Hi, I'm Cassidy." "I'm Mackenzie" the black haired girl says. "Let me help you that." I grab her suitcase and take it to the other bedroom for her. "I imagine you're probably tired from your travels so I'll let you rest a bit." "Thank you. After I unpack we can get to know each other. How does that sound?" "Great. Just tell me when you're ready." I let her know as I walk back to my room to rest for a bit as well.

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Thank you all for reading. Please feel free to leave your opinions or anything else in the comments. I hope you liked the start of the story. The next chapter will focus on Cassidy and Mackenzie getting to know each other.