Behind The Scenes

Chapter 2

"Wake up, wake up!" Naomi's cheery voice sounds outside our door.

I groan, and pull my duvet over the top of my head. Chanel makes no noise. She's probably still asleep. At night she's like a dead girl.

"Come on, girls, we have a big day ahead of us. Mingling, doing activities..."

I sigh, and sit up slowly. I grab my iPhone and check the time.

"Naomi, it's only nine. That's too early to get up."

"Breakfast finishes at ten."

Rubbing my eyes, I stand up and chuck my pillow at Chanel. She doesn't stir. I walk over to her quietly, put my face right next to hers, and say loudly, "CHANEL."

She opens her eyes and screams. I cannot stop laughing. "Come one, get up. We're going down to breakfast."

"Don't wanna get up."

I pull her duvet off her.

She sits up. "Fine, fine, I'm coming. I'm going into the bathroom to get changed."

I pick out my pale green shorts and my pink lace top, and quickly remember to put a bikini on underneath instead of underwear.

Chanel comes out wearing a pale grey sundress, and then we go outside and lock the door. 

"Naomi's already gone down," I say. 

"That's nice. Ditching us. Mean mum."

I laugh.

We traipse down the stairs, and make our way to the eating area. We spot Naomi at a table, helping herself to some scrambled eggs on toast.

"There's a buffet through there, go and help yourselves," Naomi tells us. So we do. 

I stick to my healthy eating style – a fruit salad and a piece of toast – while Chanel has the full holiday breakfast –fried egg, bacon, toast and tomatoes.

"So," I say, swallowing a piece of melon. "What's on the agenda for this morning?"

"Well, you guys can go off on your own. Go mingle! I'm going to do some yoga," Naomi says to us.

Chanel groans. "Mum, could you be more embarrassing? Yoga? Why can't you go have a facial or massage or something?"

Naomi shoots Chanel a look. "Yoga is perfectly normal for mums to go and do. Now, after you've finished breakfast, I suggest you go and have a look at the beaches. I've heard the sea is really warm."

"Sure," I say, while Chanel makes a non-committal grunt. I slurp down the rest of my peach juice, and pull Chanel to her feet. "We'll see you at around one for lunch, right?"

"Yeah, meet back here. Then you can have the afternoon to yourselves."

"Great. Come on, Chanel."

We make our way down to the beach, nearly tripping over at how many steps there are. I pull off my shoes and jump down onto the white sand. The sun beats down on my face, and I run my hand through my hair. 

"This is more like it!" announces Chanel, grinning widely. "Better than 'sunny' old England, anyway."

"You bet. Come on."

We find a spot on the sand, and Chanel pulls off her top and shorts to reveal her blue bikini underneath. Already I see a few boys eyeing her up.

I self-consciously pull off my own top and shorts, and glance at the inviting water. I have never been in the sea before, not once. I've been swimming in pools and stuff, but I have never – ever – been to a beach.