The Urban Princesses: Ariel

Chapter 1

"OMG, Ariel!!!!" Fallon screeched while jumping up and down. I just scored us tickets to Eric Jacobsen concert. He is a singer that me and Fallon are obsessed with.
"You don't know how hard it was to find these 2 weeks away from the concert." I replied.

"Oh my gosh! You are the best!!!!" Fallon exclaimed. She embraced me in a hug.

"So how good are the seats?!" Fallon asked.

I hesitated before I answered. "They are technically not really official tickets for Eric Jacobsen." The smile disappeared from her face. I knew her excitement would be short lived.

"What do you mean?"

"I bought them from this guy on the bus..."

"Wait, you bought them from a guy on the bus?" Fallon said skeptically.

"He was trying to sell his sister's tickets and I said I would buy them. He said they might be for Eric Jacobsen, fifth row, or Marty Baldwin the comedian, row forty."

She looked disappointed. Her parents can't afford to send her anywhere special and this would be the best thing that has ever happened to her.

"How much were the tickets?" She asked wearily.

"Fifteen a piece." I replied.

"Oh well," she hesitated "At least we saved money."

A small smile stretched across her face.

" It's better than nothing." She said hopefully. "Hey, if it's not Eric Jacobsen, we can always see Marty Baldwin."

That's what I love about Fallon. She always sees the bright side of things, even though she is such a guppy.
Once, we snuck into a senior party and she thought we would get kicked out if they found out. Of course she was nervous about getting in trouble. Somebody noticed that we were sophomores, but they didn't care. They were too busy making out.
"I gotta get home. My dad needs my help at the beach club." I said.
"Ok. Thanks for the tickets!!!" Fallon replied.
She walked me to the door of her condo, her blond hair bobbing behind her as she skipped to the door.

As I left, the smell of salt filled my nostrils. The best thing about Fallon's house, is the location. She lives right across from Venice beach. Whenever I sleepover, we wake up at 5 am to go out and surf when no one else is out except for the
extreme surfers. I found a couple boyfriends that way.

The walk to "Tritan's Castle" isn't that long. Especially because its on Venice. I took off my flip flops so I could feel the warm sand in my toes while I walked. I closed my eyes and breathed in the comforting smell of salt. The ocean is my second home. My dad practically raised me here. He was a huge surfer and taught me to surf as soon as I could walk. I know all of the lifeguards and that comes in handy when I want to ride some extra waves.

I opened my eyes and started picking shells. I have a thing for shells. I collect them. My house isn't too close to the beach and I like to listen to them because they remind me of the sea.

I ran up the ramp to the beach club and jumped over the surfboard that was the counter.
"Ariel! Don't do that! That's dad's favorite board!" Abigail scolded me.

Abigail is my oldest sister. After her there is Avery, Amy, Aly, Adrianna, and Amanda. My dad insisted that all of our names started with the same letter so he could remember our names. My mom laughed when he told her that but she was fine with it.

"Don't be such a stickler, Abigail. I'm just having a little fun." I replied.
Abigail grabbed a stack of plates and started walking towards the waitress station.
"It's a good thing dad didn't see that. You know how much he loves that board." Abigail said.
I pulled my red hair into a ponytail and walked into the office. My dad was sitting in the leather office chair and filing papers. He was wearing floral board shorts, and a pink golf shirt. The usual. His assistant and manager, Seemal, was frantically counting money.

"Sir, I don't think we will have enough for the kitchen expansion. The profit from yesterday was below target! If we keep this up, we won't even have enough for new bar stools!" Seemal said in his South African accent.

Seemal is the exact opposite of my dad. My dad is the messy type who likes to play around a bit. Seemal on the other hand is all business all the time. My dad wears board shorts, Seemal wears dress pants. But, he keeps my dad sane. If not for Seemal, my dad would be a loose cannon

"Seemal, you forgot a stack." I said handing him a stack of money secured with a green rubber band.
"Oh dear, I am getting unorganized. I might have to retire a few years early." Seemal said, putting a hand to his head.
"Oh Seemal," my dad chuckled "what would we do without you."
"So what am I doing today?" I asked.
"Looks like you are on waiting today." Seemal answered.
I skipped out of the room.

I love being a waitress. It only happens once in a while. I'm usually on bus girl or hostess. Waiting is the most eventful out of all of the jobs. I grabbed a pen and a pad and went over to the waitress station. Our first customers came.

"Right over here." My sister, Aly, said to the customers.

I recognized them immediately.
Juila Thomas, Ren James, and Cynthia Lewis. Otherwise known at Palm Bay as "The cool people".

Julia is trying to ruin my life just because she is jealous of my hair. Every girl at Palm Bay goes for the bleached blond look. Except me and Julia. Julia's hair is a mousy brown color that is not flattering at all. She had tried to color it my flaming red color but it just turned into be an orange mess. So she is jealous, just because my hair is prettier than hers.

And then, there is her minion ,Cynthia. Cynthia used to be that girl who floated around from one friend to another learning their secrets just so she could use the secrets against them. Julia had to have this girl in her clique.

I hate Julia and Cynthia for what they do. But I act cool around them because Julia is dating Ren. I have a HUGE crush on him. He is the hottest guy in school. His blond hair, always gelled up in spikes, his brown eyes that blink just the right way. He is the opposite of Julia. Kind, smart, funny. He deserves way better than her. I don't have a chance with him though. He is our principal's son, I am the local surfer hippie's daughter.

I trudged over to their table.
"You guys know who I am so I don't think I need to introduce myself to you." I said. "Can I take your order?"

"Can we have another server?" Julia said, prissy as always.
I was astonished on how rude she was to me.
"Um, do you have a problem with me?" I tried to say kindly.
"Um yeah. You are staring at my boyfriend." She replied.
I almost threw a plate at her.
"Julia, it's fine. She is not staring at me. Your just being paranoid. I'm sure Ariel is an amazing server." Ren said kindly.
My heart just melted. He is so nice! And hot! God, why does he have to be so perfect! I almost cried just because of that.

"Ugh! Fine." Julia replied, crossing her arms.

A half an hour later, they finally left. After three dishes I had to take back to the kitchen, two spills, and one fight, they finally left. I was on shift for another 3 hours and finally I was free to go. I put the apron back and ran out to the water, taking off my dolphin tee shirt as I ran, and I leaped into the water head first. The cool water consumed my body. I was finally free from the greasy smell of the kitchen, the whiny kids, and the callouses from writing down the numerous orders. I may like being a waitress, but I like swimming even more. I swam to the surface for a quick breath before diving back under the water. I swam out far enough that the waves haven't even started forming and I couldn't touch the bottom. A normal person would be yelled at by a lifeguard and taken back to shore, but I have special privileges. I laid on my back and rested, letting the small ripples of waves rock me.

It was probably 20 minutes later that I noticed I couldn't see the beach anymore. I turned in circles trying to find any hint of land. Finally, probably a quarter of a mile out, I saw a speck of color other than blue. If my dad knew I was this far out, he would be fuming. I started to swim back when
suddenly, I was pulled under. I tumbled in circles. Salt water stinging. At my eyes. I swam up feverishly to reach the surface. I was almost there when I was pulled under again.

I was in a riptide.