My whole life I dreamt of living out by the ocean, studying marine biology, living my best life by the salty ocean. That's what my life has always been. Silence. Although when I go to my dream college in Florida to study marine biology my internship...
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Warnings- swearing, mentions of a hangover/ drinking, thlassophobia (I did not spell that right I fear💔).
First person- Merletta __________________________________
"Mimi!!" I awake to not only the blaring sound of my alarm next to me but Cece bashing me in the head with one of my pillows wearing her pastel pink Pilates outfit, she didn't even get out of her white leg warmers yet- wait.
It was 12:30!! I had my internship at 1:00! Usually, I'd be up and getting a morning coffee or stretching- or even packing in some extra calm, silent morning studying at 5am the earliest. Never had I ever slept in this late. That's when I realised it. I got almost black out drunk last night! Those memories crashed into me harder than a tidal wave with a light tsunami of embarrassment due to remembering that I had danced on a freaking table and had fell straight into Jamie's chest.
Nope. Never drinking again, ever! I can't believe Cierra roped me into that party. More so I can't believe I could drink so many twisted teas..who knew right?..Not the point. I'm straight shit faced and I have an internship soon with a marine biologist, an internship I had been waiting to attend since I was in a 7th grade classroom staring lovingly at all the marine animals on the projector wishing that one day I'd study them and get to know everything about them.
I quickly pushed Cece off of me, hearing her groan behind me. "Douche! Could've at least thanked me for saving your ass!-" Cece yelled as I gathered myself. "Yeah thanks I guess!" I replied half heartedly. Throwing on my university's sweater, a pair of Jean shorts and getting my shower caddy with all my skin care so I can make a quick stop to the bathroom. Maybe I'd do a messy- good looking fix with my dry shampoo to add some volume or a half up half down with pigtails? I needed to decide.
I raced to the bathrooms and getting there I saw two other students. Leila and Saydii talking amongst themselves. Saydii's somehow always perfect highlighted brown hair was thrown into a French braided bun to match Leila's bleach blonded one. "No- everyone knows that dirty dancing is clearly the best movie. My nana loved it therefore it's the best" Leila reasoned. She was passionate and dramatic about..a lot. I knew her and Saydii from middle school, Leila being in the school plays. Saydii, or affectionately known as 'Sayds" to Leila rolled her eyes and laughed. Asking her when she was gonna get her matching belly button piercing so they could twin.
I didn't really pay attention to their antics. I tuned them out for the rest of my bathroom visit. Looking at my eye bags I dug into my skincare bag, grabbing my eye masks and putting them on while I brushed out my hair, fluffing it and adding volume with some dry shampoo to put two tiny braids on each side of my head, quick with brushing my teeth, swishing some mouth wash and water, taking off the eye masks to a fresher looking face, washing my face off with water and cleanser, patting it dry and deciding that I finally looked presentable.
I looked at my phone- it was 12:35 already.. I had no time! I averted my gaze to the bathroom door, that was way too small to be shared with multiple girls because Saydii and Leila were making their way out arm in arm! I had to pass them- doing that I shove past Leila It was not a hard shove, I don't think I'm even physically possible of having such strength in my overcooked noodle arms. Yet Leila dramatically fell to ground with a loud "NOOOO!!"
Theatre kids.
I roll my eyes and start running back to my dorm, Cierra was gone for whatever, maybe a coffee run? Or more retail therapy for the imaginary problems she makes up. I slide on some black socks and white converse- which were for better lack thereof well loved. I grab my phone and pull it in my back pocket.
________TIME-SKIP_________________
This was scary, like, really scary. I look around and take in everything around me. It kinda looked like a warehouse? People in coats, gloves, and glasses everywhere. I nervously handed my paper into the receptionists desk. Clarissa was her name. Clarissa, admittedly dressed a little different from everyone else in the workplace led me to a laboratory where they had a starfish under a microscope with another marine biologist scrambling and messily writing down some quick notes. "Merletta Minette?" A man with a deep, baritone voice calls my voice. I immediately whip my head over towards him.
The name "Henry Macwell" was sewn into his white coat, he had a salty white coloured hair and held up a clipboard. He reached a large hand to shake mine, which I accepted. Henry's hand was cold, he had a very firm handshake, making me a little intimidated. "You must be the new intern." Henry smiled. It was more of a statement, bless my ambrovert-sorta-social-abilities I smile and nod. "I am, will you be showing me around and all that..marine biology jazz?" I do a little jazz hands motion and for a second I wish I could guillotine them off, but I digress. Henry laughs, the deep laugh settles a sense of relief in me as I start to warm up a tiny bit.
I was tasked with inputting data from a spreadsheet into the computer. They were doing an experiment on coral and how they breakdown in powerful waves and how many hits they can take before eroding and breaking off, how they reshape and where they end up. It was fairly easy. I wrote down the results of the coral breaking down, what happened to the different materials and makeup of the coral, etc, ect.
They took me out to the boat where they had fishers go out and get certain sea creatures that they conducted experiments on, collected data, and a separate department made essays on the data they collected on their new information. The ocean was huge, I watched as the waves crashed and the seagulls dropped down to try and get some wandering fish. The wind blowing and twiddling with the strands of my sandy brown hair. I soak in the Floridian heat, the smell of the salty ocean and the gentle sounds of peacefulness.
The ocean was so so vast, that's what I love about it. We could never stop exploring, or finding new discoveries. We've only explored 5% of the ocean. So many new possibilities, the very thought warming my heart and gracing a smile on my face as I sigh and picture a future of constant discoveries, a house by the ocean and a warm morning coffee looking out at the calm waves.
The internship wraps up. Me and Henry got to know each other so well, and developed a good professional relationship, so at least it'd be easy to work with him.
When I parked at the campus and locked my car door I went back to my dorm with a constant smile on my face, unfading.
Everything is going so right, so amazing, nothing could possibly go wrong.
