Poppy woke to the sound her of her alarm screaming at her annoyingly. She pressed snooze and lay back into her pillow trying to wake up enough to move. Her alarm only gave her another five minutes before it was screaming at her again so she sighed and switched it off, sitting up and screwing her eyes up at the sunlight coming through the crack in the curtains.
Feeling hungry, she decided to get lunch at her new favourite café before she met up with Emma.
She chose to wear her yellow bikini and yellow beach dress, packed her sunscreen and her phone into her bag and left her apartment.
Sitting at a table, she ordered a chicken salad and a glass of water and sat back in her chair waiting for it to arrive. She could see the lifeguard tower from where she was sitting and she watched from behind her sunglasses as various people came to the tower for help and she saw Chappo run out of the tower and down the steps with Reidy and Mouse to help out with a rescue.
She ate her salad and checked her watch, it was nearly time to meet Emma and Poppy wondered if they should have exchanged numbers in case Emma was running late or had to cancel but there was point worrying about that now.
She paid her bill and walked out onto the parade, not entirely sure which direction Emma would be coming from so she kept looking all around her so not to miss her. After waiting about fifteen minutes, Poppy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Emma running towards her waving madly.
"Oh god I'm soooooo sorry" she squealed, out of breath "I got stuck with a customer as I was about to leave and couldn't get away"
"Its fine" laughed Poppy "I was beginning to wonder if everything was ok"
"We should have swapped numbers shouldn't we" said Emma "Give us your phone and I'll put mine in now"
Poppy handed Emma her phone so she could put her number in, then she pressed call and Emma's phone rang.
"I'll save your number now before I forget" she laughed as she handed Poppy her phone back and put her own away.
"So how busy does the beach look?" Emma asked as they started walking onto the sand
"Not too bad" Poppy replied "Chappo is working though, did you know?"
"I didn't know for sure but I secretly hoped" she laughed in reply "Oh look, Harrison is over there too so looks like we're both in luck"
Poppy looked in the direction Emma was pointing and saw Harrison stood next to a blue buggy talking to Jake who was sat inside the buggy.
"Let's not think about boys and just enjoy ourselves instead" Poppy said, smiling at Emma
"Deal" she replied and they shook on it and laughed as they chose an empty space on the sand and sat down together.
They chatted for a while, Poppy telling Emma about her family, how hard she had found it since her Dad married Beth and Emma sympathised with her through her own family issues.
Emma and her brother had lost their Father when they were teenagers and their Mother had drifted from one bad relationship to another throughout their childhood. They had only ever really had each other to rely on so as soon as they were old enough, they moved out. They had moved around quite a lot, making money where they could until they had saved enough to come to Bondi to allow her brother to carry out his passion for surfing.
"Do you think he'll make it as a surfer?" asked Poppy
"Doubt it" laughed Emma "But we're having such a good time here so I guess it doesn't matter, he'll have another dream career by next week anyway"
Poppy laughed but was secretly envious of Emma and her brother's relationship. She would have given anything to have a sibling growing up to confide in and have fun with. She did love Kate and Natalie but she didn't have a friendship with them.
"Fancy a swim?" asked Emma
Poppy nodded and they headed down towards the water, making sure they went to the area between the flags.
They saw Chappo coming in with a swimmer he had just rescued and he waved at them both as he carried his board back to a buggy and they waved back.
"Girl you got it bad" sang Poppy
"I really do" laughed Emma "Honestly though, do you think I'm being silly or do you reckon I might have a chance?"
"I'm rubbish at reading guys" sighed Poppy "But I did catch him watching you at the beach this morning so......"
They both squealed as a wave hit them both, knocking them off their feet and under the water and they laughed as they quickly came back up to the surface.
"Are you ok?" Emma asked, still laughing
"Yeah, are you" replied Poppy, also still laughing
Emma nodded and looked towards the shore
"Oh no" she groaned
"What?" replied Poppy
"I think Chappo saw that" she replied "He's laughing and looking right at us"
"So?" said Poppy
"So he'll think I'm a total idiot" she wailed
"Or, he'll think you are a fun girl who isn't afraid to do fun things because she's scared it will mess up her hair" Poppy suggested
"You think?" smiled Emma
"Maybe" shrugged Poppy "If you bite the bullet and make the first move then you'll know even quicker won't you"
"I couldn't do that" gasped Emma
"Neither could I if I'm honest" laughed Poppy
"So Harrison........" said Emma
"Yep, he kissed me first" nodded Poppy
"Lucky you" sighed Emma "Why does it have to be complicated"
"Part of growing up I guess" shrugged Poppy
They both looked at each other and burst out laughing
"Come on" said Poppy "Let's do a bit more sunbathing"
They made their way back to shore and Poppy made sure they walked back to their towels via Chappo's buggy.
"Thought I might have to come in and get you then" he called as they got near him
"We are strong independent women who don't need rescuing thank you very much" laughed Poppy
Chappo laughed and turned back towards the water again.
"Can I be honest?" said Poppy as they sat back down on their towels "I mean I know I hardly know you but..."
"Go on" said Emma
"Well, I don't blame Chappo for not making the first move" started Poppy
Emma looked at Poppy, not sure how to feel about what she was saying
"I mean, you don't give him any signals on how you feel" Poppy explained
"Don't I?" asked Emma
"Nope" Poppy shook her head "I mean, not many people would make a move on someone unless they were sure they liked them back would they"
"I guess you're right" said Emma "Thanks Poppy"
Poppy smiled back at her "Sorry if I was kind of blunt there"
"Blunt is what I needed" laughed Emma
Glad of their new friendship, they both smiled at each other and lay back on their towels to enjoyed the last few hours of sunshine.
YOU ARE READING
Bondi by request
FanfictionPoppy is 17 and guilt tripped into one last family holiday by her father. She really wasn't looking forward to it but when he told her they were spending the next 3 weeks in Bondi, a family holiday didn't seem too bad after all.
