Pride | Baxter Radic

one | rapunzel, rapunzel

Stepping out of the airport doors, a relieved sigh escapes Florentina as she places her sunglasses over her eyes. She takes a moment to look around before adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. "Any minute now..." She mumbles to herself. Not wanting to waste any more of her energy after a painfully long flight, she leans against a wall that just so happens to give her some cover under the harsh sunlight.

It ends up being no more than two minutes before her eyes latch on to the car she recognizes. She pushes off of the wall and walks towards the man waiting for her. A large grin rests on her face as she greets him enthusiastically, "Thank you! I appreciate you, sir."

They shake hands before he drops the keys into her open palm while she hands him his payment. However, she didn't miss his slight hesitation when he had realized how young she is. Deciding to just brush it off, she opens the door and tosses her backpack on the back seat before proceeding to get in the car and drive to her destination.

* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 • ˚

Flo had made sure to double check what day the tryouts are before getting on her flight just to be sure her surprise would go well. It's a good thing she did too because they ended up changing the date to the day that she and Summer would both arrive in Shorehaven.

Thankfully, she ends up getting to tryouts before Summer so she makes herself comfortable in a random empty chair which most likely belongs to someone, but she can't find it in herself to care. She watches the surfers for a little bit despite not having a clue what they're doing half of the time. She then decides to watch two boys who are loudly wrestling each other. The younger one gets trapped in a headlock and a small smile forms on her lips while she listens to their banter.

"Attention, Poppy Tetanui and Bodhi Mercer. Your pizza is ready. I repeat, your pizza is ready!" Florentina's small smile turns wide as she recognizes Summer's voice over the loudspeaker. "And, Marlon Sousa, could you please put on a shirt for once?"

It's then that she realizes that the two boys who were wrestling beside her must know Summer too since they start grinning. Two girls squeal loudly when they see the American girl, throwing themselves at her.

"Could everyone clear the water please?" The voice on the loudspeaker isn't Summer this time, but some random man that was likely the original speaker. Florentina's eyes lock in on a blonde boy approaching the group of excited teens. That has to be Ari, she thinks to herself. Summer had shown her at least a dozen pictures of him while they were in New York.

Deciding that it's better now than later, Flo stands up from her seat and walks to stand behind the group of friends. But before she can make her presence known, a blonde girl jogs up to Ari and pulls him in for a kiss that's wildly uncomfortable to watch. A sadness weighs on Flo's chest when she is forced to watch her best friend's whole mood drop in seconds.

Ari, now "The Douche" according to Florentina's thoughts, turns his attention back to Summer. "Wren, this is Summer," His girlfriend pulls Summer into a tight hug and makes small talk but Flo can sense that there's an underlying tone in her words. Rolling her eyes, Flo cements her opinion on this random girl immediately. "And, Summer, this is Wren. My girlfriend." The Douche slings his arm around his new girlfriend's shoulder and acts like everything is fine and dandy.

"Summer, what are you doing here?" He asks.

Flo watches and can tell that Summer is masking her emotions when she answers him, "I'm actually here to try out. I'm good now, guys. For real!"

Making sure to mask her own sympathy for her best friend, Florentina steps forward to stand next to Summer, "I'd say she's pretty good even though I know literally nothing about surfing." Summer absentmindedly nods in agreement before freezing. She does a double take at the sight of Flo who is supposed to be back in New York.