At about 11, you manage to sneak past Marlon's room, (thankfully he's playing music so won't hear your footsteps) then down the stairs and past the living room where your mum is sat watching TV. It's louder than usual, probably to block out the sound of Marlon's music. You realise you need to move quickly. Your mum will eventually have had enough and go upstairs to tell your brother to turn it down and get some sleep.
You pull the front door open, and once you're outside, sprint across the front lawn to avoid being seen from any windows. You know the road to Poppy's pretty well and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.
However, the lane is a lot darker than you remember, and you can't help feeling slightly nervous. Your footsteps speed up, but slow again in fear when you hear voices. Familiar voices. The familiar twang of an American accent.
You wait in the road for a second to see who's with her, gazing down the intersecting path that leads to the beach. You jump when two figures emerge from the shadows. Summer and Ari.
"Oh my god. You guys scared me!" You say, trying to catch your breath.
Ari laughs as you three begin walking in the direction of Poppy's house. "Sorry, Y/n. Didn't mean to I swear." He glances at Summer. "Oh, Summer this is Y/n."
"Yeah. We've met." She gives you what looks like a sincere enough smile, and you return it. It'll be nice to get past all that drama, you think.
"So I'm guessing...you're off to Poppy's?" Ari asks, the sound of music reaching your ears from in the distance.
"Yep." You reply. "Kinda just wanna have some fun for once, y'know?"
"Because you got disqualified?" Summer pipes up and you hesitate. Does everyone know? Did the whole beach really see it, including Ari?
"Uh, yeah. I suppose so." You reply to Summer. Ari stays quiet. "Ari haven't you got Quarters tomorrow? Shouldn't you be at home?"
"I've gotta make sure this one doesn't get into any trouble while she's staying with us." He gestures to Summer.
"And I told you, I don't need a babysitter." Summer rolled her eyes.
"Wait, you're staying with the Gibsons?" You ask. "How come?"
"Got expelled from a couple of schools, now my mom's gone to do some photography thing in the Middle East." She says casually.
"Hang on, expelled?" Ari repeats. "My mum never told me I was giving my room up to a criminal!" He laughs.
"A criminal?" Summer pretends to be offended. "Excuse me but-"
"You guys made it!" Poppy interrupts and you realise you've arrived at her place.
"Hey Pops!" You say, taking in the scene: people are everywhere - all over the skate ramp and inside the surf school, all dancing to some sort of hip hop stuff.
"Hey Ari, sick comeback today." Poppy says, hands in her jean pockets awkwardly. You know first hand it's been a bit awkward with Ari ever since his accident. It has been a year, and you didn't see him much.
"Nah...I just got lucky with that last wave." He smiles, but it falters when he takes in two people sat together on a bench.
Marlon and Bodhi.
Marlon must have used his loud music to sneak out before you, you think.
"Yeah so...that happened." Poppy points at Marlon and Bodhi, huddled up together. "Hey! Summer, I've gotta show you something." Poppy grabs Summer's arm and leads her away.
Marlon suddenly looks in your direction and you dart behind Ari until your brother looks away. You see Marlon give Ari a stone cold glare, which if you could see Ari's face, you'd guess he's probably returning.
"Um...Y/n?" Ari asks.
"Yeah?" You reply, still huddled behind him.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't let Marlon see me! He'll tell mum and I'm already in enough trouble as it is."
"Okay, c'mon. Let's go find Poppy and Summer." He grabs your hand, leading you away.
You find them both inside, Poppy admiring photos of Margot Torres, and Summer looking slightly less impressed.
"You didn't tell me you were from surfing royalty!" Poppy is saying, but Summer just shrugs.
"Your mum is Margot Torres?!" You say in surprise. "She's like a legend here."
"Well, they do say never meet your heroes." Summer responds.
"Oh yeah, also my brother said to remind you to be ready by three tomorrow if you want a lift to the airport." Poppy says.
"Great, thanks." Summer replies, but Ari looks surprised.
"Hang on, the airport?" He asks incredulously. "Where are you going?"
"Back to New York, dummy."
"But you can't, my parents will-"
"Okay well this is a crazy boring conversation." Summer says loudly, not even letting Ari finish his sentence. "Let me show you people how to really party."