Bailing - Surviving Summer

Part 3 - The Team

"Why are you back?"

I'm not prepared for the abruptness and his cold tone of voice as he drags me out of sight from the others. "My mums have a contract with Shorehaven, Marlon what are you doing?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Go on then."

He shuffles from foot to foot awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Are you coming to Ari's later for the announcement?"

"That's what you wanted to ask?" I reply, confused, and he nods innocently. "Uh, okay...well, I've got to get through the trials first." I say bluntly.

"Oh, yeah. Of course," he makes to turn around, to leave, then swivels back around. "Shouldn't you be trying out for the Queensland State Team?"

"Well, how would I do that, Queensland is like over two thousand miles away?" I reply, slightly sarcastically which seems to make him riled up even more.

He shrugs. "I'm just saying, you can't come back here and expect to take a spot away from one of us."

"Are you serious?" I reply. "I've literally lived here longer than you!"

"And then you left," he shrugs again, and it irritates me, how he's acting so nonchalant yet he's coming out with this stuff. "I just don't want you taking a spot from one of the others, like, Poppy or Bodhi."

Something suddenly clicks; Bodhi. "Yes, it must be important to you that Bodhi gets a place on the team. Poppy told me you and her finally got together last year."

"Yeah, so? We broke up. There's nothing there anymore."

"Whatever you say." I shrug, knowing I've wound him up now. He was just like this before, always talking up some random girl and pretending to care. Maybe it was the other way round with Bodhi, however, he always had a thing for her, while she never gave him the time of day.

I make my way back into the main area of the wave pool complex, to where the others are sitting around a table.

"Hey," Poppy says, patting the seat next to her with her hand, signalling for me to sit down. "Where'd you get off to?"

"Yeah, sorry, I was just talking to someone," I reply, not wanting to recount the whole Baxter and then Marlon situation. "But, hey, how'd your heat go?"

"Well, it was going well until Summer decided to jump into the pool halfway through," Poppy replies, and a wry smile plays on her lips. "Did you really help her sneak in?"

"She was very convincing," I laugh, not mentioning the fact Bax was there too. "Wait, wasn't Wren in your heat today? I bet she wasn't happy."

"Yeah. But she surfed well anyway, so I don't know if she'll be too bothered."

If she knew I helped Summer, she definitely would be, I think to myself.

—————————

I raise my eyebrows as I apply mascara to my eyelashes, leaning closer to Poppy's mirror.

"Stop hogging it!" Poppy pokes my side, shifting in front of me and dabbing lip tint on.

I lean back, scrutinising my reflection. "I wanna look pretty."

Poppy rolls her eyes. "You always look pretty."

"Fine," I purse my lips to spread my lipstick, "I wanna look hot."

She turns to me, smiling strangely. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

I divert my gaze. "Um. I don't know."

She turns back to the mirror, adjusting her hair, but I can still see her amused expression in the reflection. "Got a little crush, have we C? Has someone caught your eye?"