Swell (Complete)

Chapter Four (Part Two)

"Some days it feels like the ocean lies inside of me."

....

Adora leaned against the bike rack after school. The first week of the Taylors living in Wheeler Falls had been nothing if not fun and surprising.
Tom had asked her out on their second day, which still made her feel nervous and unsure, Will was quiet and distant almost everywhere except in music. He didn't exactly turn into Tom while he was with the band, but he definitely seemed to feel more comfortable. He and Brett got along well, he was still strange around Rae and her violin, but he was trying to move beyond his discomfort, which was more than some would bother to do. He paid attention in psychology, and Adora had noticed he was more of a student than Tom was, but perhaps that was because Tom was always more distracted by socialising.
She was waiting for Marti now, they were going to go over the curriculum for the semester and try and make sure Marti was caught up.
Marti was nice, and friendly. Adora had seen her make a few friends, and Marti had easily joked that half of them only wanted to be her friend because of her brothers. That had made Adora sad, she couldn't imagine feeling that people only spoke to her to get a chance to be closer to her cousin, Iain. Marti had laughed it off, but Adora wasn't so sure she was wrong with some of the girls in their school.
Iain had become friends with Marti faster than a wick on a candle could light up. That did make Adora feel better for the girl, she at least knew Iain wasn't using her to try and get a date; he was too obvious to play games.
Her backpack was weighed down with their maths and English books, and her basket had her exercise books with notes to share in them. She had wrapped her helmet strap through the handlebars and told Marti they could walk to the bakery to study.
She straightened up her lean and smiled as she saw Marti leaving the front doors of the school building. She was grateful that the weather was going to be sunny for the weekend. Her Mum had set her a deadline for dinner because of the murder mystery, and tomorrow after she was numbered for clues, she would be showing Tom around town on their date...
She had planned to take him to her favourite places, the less touristy ones, so the weather was important.
"Sorry, I couldn't find the papers that Dodge gave me Monday about all the class projects and their due dates." Marti flicked her wavy hair over her shoulders and smiled broadly at Adora.
"That's fine, you're not too late, and that info is kind of important. Did you find them?" Adora pulled her bike from the rack and started to walk to the street.
"Yea, I really appreciate you doing this, Tom told me that your Mum has something on you need to be at tonight." Marti started as they walked.
Adora smiled, a strange churning in her stomach at the knowledge that Tom was talking about her to his family, although, really it should be expected considering she had introduced Marti to the school, and she was related to the principal; it was just different to know she was a hot topic.
"Yes, so, that just means I have to leave by quarter to five to make it home in time to get in costume and greet the guests at dinner." Adora felt her cheeks flush a little as she spoke and realised that this was probably the first time she'd have to explain to anyone in her life who she was and what her mum did. "I get to be the murder victim this time around. We kind of take turns between me and a few friends and family members."
"It sounds really fun actually, do you think your Mum might let me join one time?" Marti looked down at Adora and Adora realised that the girl was almost as tall as the boys.
"Probably. We do it once a month, for different businesses or groups from the city." Adora looked ahead and took a deep breath as the breeze blew off the ocean towards the storefronts.

The Esplanade wasn't really a long street, but it was beautiful to see. Most of the stores had glass windows so the shoppers could view the ocean while inside. The only thing out of place was a new apartment complex that had gone from a double storey to four stories in the last few years. The owners had made sure that they complied with all the limits that the council had set and because of their co-operation with the town it almost looked as though it was part of the long-time skyline.From the start of the street and the shops you could easily see Brett's parents' pub on the other end, the street was two-way traffic with lots of pedestrian crossings and angled car parks. The first few blocks from the beach were set up to be tourist friendly, the main street thrived in summer, and even the end of spring and start of autumn, but the colder months often made Wheeler Falls seem like a ghost town.
There were scattered parks along the beach line, green grass cut high enough to keep it thick and healthy before the sand started to creep towards the street.
She couldn't imagine growing up anywhere other than her town.