Not So Hot Girls Summer

6

My alarm went off at 6am and although I felt rottenly tired, I couldn't help but smile, as for the first time in a long time I woke up feeling free. It was also the first time that Jordan had woken the same time as me appearing more enthusiastic than I expected for the early hour of the morning.
''Morning,'' he said with a stretch and groan.
''Morning''
''Are you sure you want to just get up and go without saying anything?'' he immediately questioned.
''I'm sure,'' I replied. ''You know you don't have to come.''
He leant over me and placed his lips on mine. It was his second time of kissing me to reassure me.
I smiled shyly at the thought of my morning breath.
''Let's do this then.''
We were quick to pack and shower in order to get out of the house before anyone else woke. Had they arrived home before we fell asleep, we would have told them, especially as they would have all been intoxicated. But the morning of departure, minutes before we were about to leave, I couldn't deal with the interrogation from Frankie and Maddie, especially after Maddie's outburst last night. Both of us had had enough of the arguments and drama and were hoping to start the next part of the adventure in a calm and positive way. It was time to get away from the party islands and head directly for mainland Bali.

16th August

I filled the front zip of my backpack with a bottle of water, snacks and my notepad before heading out the door where Jordan sat on the rumbling engine of our moped which we had now named Bee. The nerves instantly fluttered to my belly at the prospect of the unknown, but I was ready for this adventure. I closed the door behind me, climbed onto Bee and Jordan drove off.
We had given ourselves 6 hours travel time to reach the accommodation that Jordan had booked. Bee wasn't entirely reliable nor quick, so we had to add a few extra hours in case of hiccups to the otherwise 3.5-hour journey. It wasn't going to be a pleasant one, sitting on the back of a moped with 10 days' worth of luggage hanging off my back, and it was this that made me realise that perhaps it was an irresponsible, wild decision to make, but as we drove along the coast towards the ferry, I couldn't have felt more relieved. Like two days previously, I clung desperately around Jordan's chest, but this time, it really did feel like a romantic novel. We were escaping.

The ferry departed at 7:40am and was expected to arrive in Uluwatu 4 hours later- according to Jordan, an area famous for surfing. Whilst on one hand I was entirely grateful (and wildly surprised) for Jordan's company, I was also incredibly nervous, especially so as I hadn't anticipated moments like this where awkward silences were almost certain.
It was the kind of situation I never found myself in. How do you act casually and coolly around someone who you're now traveling with but are also becoming somewhat intoxicated with?
''How you feeling?'' he asked.
''I'm ok. Excited. (Anxious). I'm wondering if they will even notice that I am gone,'' I nervously laughed.
'' Of course they will. But I do feel bad for leaving without saying anything. I guess now is a good time to call them and warn them that we won't be returning. ''
I smiled at him in false assurance. In complete honesty, I didn't want him to contact the others in fear of the cruel things they would say, but I also understood that they were his friends, (well, they were also meant to be mine) and it must have been wholly out of nature for him to just get up and leave. He rose from his seat at the edge of the ferry and wandered to the back where I could see his conversation commence. There was one perk to this, the fear I had of any awkward silence was now over, for I was to have many questions when he returned, despite what the answers may be.
Whilst he was gone, I took the opportunity of solitude to add to my notepad. I had so many emotions swirling around my mind that it seemed almost necessary to free some of them. I dove my hand into the front pocket and fumbled around the mound of snacks that I had stored in there- but I couldn't feel my notepad. I dug deeper, removing some of the packages before peering in, but only snacks and a warm bottle of water. I was certain I had put it in there. I had only just made an entry this morning and I hadn't been in my bag since; only to get my passport out for the ferry which was in the main compartment. I sighed in frustration as I continued my attempt to find it before finally giving up as Jordan unexpectedly returned.
''All ok?'' I asked.
''Surprisingly, better than I thought. A few of them joked and asked if they could come with us, but the girls didn't have anything to say. I'm not sure they were even awake to be honest so don't go overthinking it just yet,'' he replied.
I smiled again reassuringly despite my disappointment. I feared their silence more than anything as it was this that caused me to overthink. But what else could I do? That appeared to be the end of it. Maddie had chosen not to apologise for her outburst last night, and Frankie chose to stick beside her as she always had. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that our friendship must have been over, especially as I was halfway across the Bali sea without them. I had to accept it. Quickly.

''Ready for a surf today?'' Jordan asked desperate to change the conversation as he always did.
I looked over the edge to the deep waters below.
''Surfing?'' I questioned.
I had a fear of open waters. I hadn't agreed to surfing. But this was our new adventure, our adventure of freedom, and an adventure where it was about time I started saying yes, even if at times it was just to impress Jordan.
''I guess I am ready as I'll ever be,'' I replied sarcastically.
The ferry chugged on, as did the conversation, and after what felt like less than an hour, we were coming in to dock. We jumped back on the Bee and once on mainland Bali, headed directly for the accommodation that Jordan had arranged for the following few nights. He revealed little information about it, only that it would cost us under £50 total and that it sat on a cliff top overlooking Green Bowl beach- only a 20-minute scooter ride away. Whilst the cost of just over ten pound per night hadn't entirely reassured me about what we were going to turn up to, I tried to stay positive- I mean what could possibly be wrong with any cliff top stay.
Bee lazily rumbled up the dusty path, gasping for breath as she did, before stopping as we reached a large sign reading 'Rapt Cliff Surf' sheltered under a palm tree. I glared upwards to see a dark tiled roof protruding just above the expanse of greenery behind it. We were here, accommodation number two. It was already more than I expected, it had a tiled roof, but I hadn't set my expectations much higher than a shabby log shack hanging precariously close to the edge. So what followed next was more than what I could have even imagined. As the wooden gate opened, a striking white contemporary lobby appeared. A lobby made out of bricks, filled with people sitting idly on beanbags, their surfboards resting next to them. There was no loud DJ- not just yet anyway, and no piercing screams of immaturity echoing between the walls. Just pure, chilled tranquillity.
It was in this exact moment; I knew this was going to be magnificent.