You head towards the starting line shakily, with your board wedged under your arm. This is going to be terrible, you think. You're tired, your limbs are aching with exhaustion and you're surfing with a board still damaged from Stairway.
When the horn blares, you try to keep up with the other girls as they stride into the water, throwing their boards down in the shallows.
Once you're out on deeper water, Wren wastes no time in catching her first wave, with one of the other competitors from Queensland getting the next. You and Poppy wait for the next set to roll in, eyeing each other nervously.
Wren has already paddled back out by the time you finally catch a wave – each heat is only fifteen minutes, so you've already wasted valuable time – and you struggle to pop up. Once you're up, however, muscle memory takes over almost immediately, and you manage to complete the wave, however, there wasn't much skill on show.
When you paddle back for a second time, you hear your score ring out over the tannoy system: 5.6. Not bad, but not brilliant either. Unless you get an amazing score on the next wave, you'll be eliminated straight away. Maybe it's time to pull off something a little more advanced.
The cold water splashing on your face seems to wake you up a little, and when you catch the next wave, you manage to execute a roundhouse cutback, and a pop shuvit as the wave closes out, which may just be enough to get you through to the next round.
Your score ends up being a 7.3, which is pretty good, but apparently not good enough to get through. And Poppy's eliminated too, which doesn't exactly look good for team Victoria.
"Not your best form, Y/n," Elo says as you grab a towel from the tent. "What happened?"
"Nothing, I'm just...tired." you mumble, pulling off the rash vest.
"Maybe it's time to replace that board." Bax says, eyeing your board which you've thrown down on the sand.
"No thanks." you respond.
"Well, if you don't up your game you might need to." Elo picks up the board, her brow furrowing as she examines your scratched board.
You suddenly notice someone pulling on a yellow rash vest in the corner of the tent, and decide maybe now would be a good time to talk to him - Wren's not nearby after all.
"Hey, Ari, are you okay?" you ask, and he looks up in surprise, still a little jumpy.
"Yeah, yeah...um...where did you go this morning?" he asks, his voice lowering. "After you came to Wren's place?"
"Oh, I just had to go home," you say, struggling to find any other excuse. "Wren told me I wasn't needed anymore."
"Is that what she said?" he asks quietly – at least he's asking instead of just dismissing it completely, you think. You nod once, and he takes a deep breath, nodding himself. "But, hey, listen I really appreciate you coming out this morning. It means a lot."
"It was nothing," you reply slightly breathlessly; for some reason you and Ari seem a little...close to each other right now. Your hands reach backwards and hit a table, and you clutch it like a lifeline behind you, out of sight, as Ari continues gazing at you. "Glad I could help." you mutter.
"Ari?"
Your head drops instantly upon hearing Wren's voice, tucking your chin and keeping your eyes on the floor as Ari clears his throat, taking a step back.
"Err, want me to help you get ready for your heat?" she asks with a fake smile.
"Yeah, yeah, um..." he turns back to you. "I'll catch you later, Y/n."
YOU ARE READING
Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction
FanfictionAri x Reader In the Shorehaven community, you're Y/n, Marlon's sister. After a year out, Ari Gibson is back surfing - you notice how things have changed between you and try to reconnect with him, as well as trying to earn your place on the Boardride...
