One week after we got Percy, the school week turns into the school holidays. On the first day of the holidays, Ava posts a message in the group chat saying "we should take a day trip up to the beach."
"Um, can any of us drive? No," Taryn replies.
"We could bus," Lucy suggests.
"Can't. Broke," I post.
"I'll pay for you," Ava says.
"Thanks hunny, love you," I reply.
"So what's happening?" Alice asks.
"We're taking a bus up to the beach today. You in?" I says.
"Totally! What time do we meet at what bus stop?" she replies.
"The one outside Ettie's house in half an hour," Ava informs us.
"That's all goods with me," I tell them.
"All goods? Wait, people actually say that?" Taryn asks me, with about a thousand laughing faces emojis.
"See you in half an hour," Lucy says.
"Bye," we all say.
I tell mum my plans, and walk down to the bus stop 15 minutes early. It surprises me to see that, despite my earliness, I'm the second to last one to arrive.
"Why are we all so early?" I laugh.
"I actually don't know," Alice smiles.
We all have bags, filled with togs and towels and sunscreen. Taryn is true to herself, and is typically last to arrive. She comes running to the bus stop just as the bus arrives.
"Ary Potter almost missed The Knight Bus!" Lucy howls, and we all laugh.
Taryn raises her eyebrows.
"Isn't this whole 'Ary Potter' thing old yet?" she sighs.
"Nope," I tell her, as Ava shouts out "never!"
We climb onto the bus, and squish into the large seat at the very back at the bus. The bus ride takes an hour, which fascinates me, because in New Zealand there's beaches everywhere, and you hardly had to drive to get there. We finally arrive, and I'm glad to see that our particular beach is practically deserted, with only a few families playing in the waves, or on the sand.
"Where are we going to get changed?" Ava stresses.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm wearing my togs underneath," I say to them.
I expect them to drown my idea in praise, but instead they all burst out laughing.
"Togs!" Alice says in between laughter.
"Togs!" Lucy giggles.
I sigh, rolling my eyes.
"Swimsuits? Bathing suits?" I try.
"Better," Taryn says, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.
"My God, New Zealand is a strange place," Ava adds.
"Is anyone else wearing their togs, I mean swimsuits, underneath their clothes?" I ask.
They all shake their heads.
"I guess I'm stripping alone," I sigh, and they start laughing again.
I pull my sailor dress over my head, to reveal a purple bandeau bikini top, and matching bottoms.
"We could hold up towels for you guys," I suggest, "like curtains."
"Ok," Taryn says, "let's give it a shot."
Taryn goes first, and emerges from our curtain towels in a black bikini top, and bright blue board shorts. Alice, who goes next, makes a big show of it, throwing her clothes over so they land on the sand. Her Nike top lands on Taryn's face, her denim shorts on the sand by Ava's feet, and her bright pink bra by my feet. She parades out like the sand is a catwalk, her white bikini top with yellow polka dots, and her yellow bikini bottoms, showing off her model like body. Lucy is quick in our changing rooms, hugging her sky blue bikini top when she comes out. Her fluro pink board shorts totally clash, but no one brings it up. Ava, who goes last, takes her time. When she comes out, she's wearing her towel around her body.
"Ready to go?" I ask everyone.
"Yeah!" Alice screams.
"Let's all count down to 3, then run into the water, like they do in the movies," Lucy suggests.
We all line up, Lucy, me, Alice, Taryn, and Ava, who's still wrapped up in a towel.
"3, 2, 1, go!" we say in unison, and sprint down to the sea, screaming as the cold water splashes us.
"Hey, where's Ava?" I say, noticing that there's only four of us in the water.
I look over to where our bags are, and see that Ava is huddled on the sand. I start walking towards her.
"Hey, where are you going, Ettie?" Taryn yells.
"I'm going to go talk to Ava," I call back.
I know that I've mentioned before that I'm not a very sporty person. Despite this, I find myself sprinting up the sand. My friends mean a lot to me. I sit down on the sand next to my friend. She hasn't been in the cold water,but she's shivering.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask worriedly.
"I'm fine," she smiles.
"You sure?" I double check.
"Yes," she says, after taking a deep breath.
"You going to go swimming?" I ask her.
"Yeah, I think I will," she says.
She takes off her towel.
"Let's go!"
We splash around for an hour, and then walk up to an ice cream kiosk.
"What does everyone want? I'll pay," Alice grins.
"Mint chocolate chip," I yell.
"Cookies and cream," Taryn says.
"Just vanilla," Lucy says.
"I don't need one. I had a big breakfast," Ava says.
We don't push it. When I get home, I find my mum and dad yelling at Wren.
"And you go behind my back?" I hear her.
"Alouette was allowed her ears pierced at 12! I'm 13, why aren't I allowed mine done!" Wren screeches.
"If you'd asked, then we'd have let you!" dad thunders.
"I've been asking since I was 8!" Wren screeches.
I go into the living room, and notice that Wren's ears are now studded with a single pair of blue earrings.
"They look nice," I whisper to her, as I walk past.
When I get up to my room, I can't help but notice that no one talked about the elephant in the room at the beach; we could see Ava's ribs through her baggy rash top.
A/N: suspense... hey guys sorry for not posting actively for a bit, I'm going to try a bit harder. Thanks for 40 reads! Can we get to 100 some time soon? Thanks ily ❤️
-daydreamsandwords xxx 💋
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Can I Tell You A Secret?
Teen Fiction5 girls. 5 secrets. 1 way to find them out. When Alouette moves to England with her family, she's expecting to spend the rest of her school life in misery. With all of her friends and childhood memories back home in New Zealand she doesn't know how...
