Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 8 - The Teachers

After leaving Ari's house, you head straight down to the surf club to see if Poppy needs any help with her beginner classes. When you arrive, Honey and Summer are at the top of the half-pipe, Honey covered in skating pads as she prepares to get on the board.

Poppy is just finishing up with a beginner class as you arrive, getting their wetsuits and boards put away. It's clear that Summer is distracting Poppy, or her methods of teaching at least.

You watch as she barely teaches Honey, tells her nothing except to go for it, and you watch Honey fall straight down the ramp the minute she steps on the board.

"I'm okay!" Honey calls as she gets up, and she looks fairly unscathed apart from a few scrapes on her legs.

Summer slides down to meet Honey, a huge smile across her face. "Way to go, Honey, you took that fall like a champ!" She high-fives the younger girl, as Poppy dismisses her class.

"I'm so fed up of these kids lessons." She says to you as she packs away the kit. "And Summer isn't exactly helping." She says, throwing the skater a quick glare.

"Just go and talk to her; is she's annoying you I'm she'll understand." Bodhi pipes up from the balcony.

"She better. I've got another class in a minute and I cannot deal with that girl for a second longer." Poppy huffs, heading towards the half-pipe where Honey falls yet again.

"If you want Honey to learn anything you can't just let her try and fail whilst you do your own thing."

"Why not? It's how I learned." Summer said casually, propping up her skateboard on her leg. "Better than acting like she's in the military."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Poppy looks taken aback.

"It means maybe you should try and loosen up a bit." Summer says coldly. They eye each other for a second.

"Y/n!" You hear Marlon call.

On one hand, you kinda want to stay and hear what's going down between Summer and Poppy. Maybe that makes you a bad person. You shake the thought and run over to Marlon.

"What?" You ask impatiently.

"Mum sent me to come get you. I went to your work but you didn't wait for me." He said.

"Yeah, something...happened." You reply. "What does Mum want?"

"We're grounded." He says. "You for shoving me, me for shoving Ari."

"What? Since when?"

"Since you left the house at like 5 this morning. Mum went mad and decided we needed proper 'boundaries'." He snapped, like him fighting Ari was my fault. "Just, come home with me." He says slightly more softly.

You roll your eyes. The timing is perfect. Just perfect. There's no way you're waiting for some other time to surf with Ari.

"Sorry, Mars. I'm gonna go help Poppy. Go home if you want." You say, shrugging as you turn on your heel and make your way back to where Poppy and Summer are still arguing.

You hear Marlon's hurried footsteps behind you, then feel him shove your shoulder back so you're facing him.

"I don't wanna get in trouble cos of you." He snaps quietly. "Just come home now and then..." He's cut off by the sound of Summer's harsh voice.

"If you ask me, this whole place is a con shop run by children. "Where are the adults?"

Poppy pauses and turns to Summer, a look of pure hatred on her face. "Dad's away, Mum's dead." She says, and you watch Summer falter, obviously expecting a comeback from Poppy.

Poppy walks off, her bare feet pounding on the grassy floor. You look back at Summer, regret falling across her face - an emotion you'd thought Summer was almost incapable of showing.

You debate whether to go after Poppy, but Marlon makes up your mind for you when he grabs your arm and practically drags you back down the coast path.