Ocean waves (poppy tetanui)

1 🌧️

"Mom, where is my board?!" I yelled from my room, frustration lacing my voice. I'd been looking everywhere for it and was starting to feel the pressure of our almost last day in New York.

"It's already downstairs!" Mom yelled back, her voice slightly muffled by the walls between us. I groaned, grabbed my backpack, already packed to the brim, and trudged out of my room towards the living room. As I entered, Mom looked up from her spot on the couch, her eyes scanning my expression.

"Ready?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, adjusting the strap of my backpack. "Yeah, but where's Summer?"

Mom sighed and then called out, "Summer! If you don't get a move on, we'll miss our flight and this competition you and Cameron so desperately want to attend!"

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Hey, I just wanna see my girlfriend and surf. But that's not the point."

Mom glanced at me knowingly. "You and I both know that you're going because of Poppy."

"How would you know?" I shot back defensively, even though she had me pegged.

She gave me a look that said she saw right through me. "Seriously, Cameron."

"Okay, fine," I admitted with a shrug. Just then, we heard a car horn honking outside.

"It's the taxi," I said, peeking out the window.

"Taxi's here! Let's go!" Mom called out again, directing her voice upstairs.

As I made my way to the door, Summer dashed past me, her footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. I glanced back at Mom, smirking. "One day she's going to fall, and I'm going to laugh."

Mom shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. I grabbed some of her bags along with mine and started down the stairs. "Did Summer take her bags?" Mom asked from behind me.

"Yeah, she sadly did," I replied, watching Summer load her luggage into the taxi's trunk. I paused as I reached the taxi and put our bags in the trunk, then turned to Summer. "You excited?"

Summer's face lit up with a smile. "Yeah, I can't wait to see everyone!"

I smirked. "Or a certain someone."

She gave me a pointed look. "Not everything I do is for him."

"Yeah, say that to a wall. Maybe it'll believe you, 'cause I don't," I retorted. Summer huffed and threw a gum wrapper at me, but it didn't even reach. I laughed. "Good try."

Just as she was about to respond, Mom approached the taxi. "Come on, let's go."

I nodded, opening the door and letting Summer climb in first. I slid in after her and settled into the seat, falling silent as my thoughts took over. It had been a year since I last visited Shorehaven. I'd tried to make the trip a few times, but school made it impossible to get away. Thankfully, Poppy and I had worked things out and were still going strong. We've been together for a year now, and this was the first time since last summer that I'd be seeing her.

She didn't even know I was coming. Manu knew, though. He supported us and i couldn't wait to see Brazil, aka Marlon. I was excited to see all my friends, my girlfriend, and finally get back to surfing. The competition had given me the green light to participate after reviewing the videos from last year. Despite my injury, I was doing much better, and I couldn't wait to hit the waves again.

After about an hour, we finally arrived at the airport. I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the taxi and grabbed my bags. I looked up at the airport, feeling a mix of anticipation and nerves. "Here we go," I whispered to myself, ready for the adventure that awaited.