Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 62 - Break

Bodhi is slightly sitting up in bed, and she seems pretty awake now, at least more than before. She looks okay, save for the tennis ball sized bruise on her forehead. It must be painful, you think.

What if it was down to you? You suddenly think. Well, you, Summer and Ari; maybe she got distracted by your celebrations and cheering, and accidentally hit her head with her board?

"Hey, how are you?" Marlon asks gently, as the five of you surround Bodhi, who smiles warmly. Poppy takes a seat at her right, taking her friend's hand in hers.

"I'm okay. It's nothing serious, just a bump on the head." Bodhi shrugs.

"It looked pretty serious from where we were standing," Summer says incredulously. "I thought something really bad had happened!"

"Well, I passed the concussion test, but they want to keep me overnight as a precaution." Bodhi replies with a solemn nod, knowing there was no way she'd be able to surf the final tomorrow.

"How'd you manage to smack yourself in the head anyway?" Poppy asks playfully. "That's a proper kook move."

"Someone may have distracted her." Summer replies, and you suddenly feel a pang of guilt knowing that you Ari and Summer were the reason she was in hospital. "But apparently someone also saved me," Bodhi replies - Manu must have filled her in on what happened after she passed out, you think. "So we'll call it even."

"You won that heat by a mile, so." Marlon said, reinforcing what you saw online earlier.

"They'll never let me surf the final now," she turns to Poppy on her right. "I'm sorry Pops, I really wanted to come through for you."

"Don't be stupid; you're okay, and that's all I care about." Poppy replies sincerely, although you know it must be difficult for her deep down knowing her chances of making the state team are shot.

"Still, not a post-worthy end to the season: stuck in hospital." Bodhi smiles sadly.

"Hey, at least you're not disqualified." Marlon replies, and Poppy jumps on the trend.

"Or the laughing stock of Anchor Cove." she says.

"Or grounded for life." Ari offers.

"Or being expelled from the country," Summer says. You keep quiet, not wanting to declare your part in the trend: 'Or just seen your kind-of boyfriend kiss one of your friends'. That would absolutely make things awkward. And things seem kind of okay now, between you and your friends at least. Things with Ari are a different story.

"On the upside," Summer pulls something out of her bag. "Jello. I swiped them from the nurse's office." she throws one to Ari, who gazes at her incredulously.

"Err, it's called jelly." he replies disapprovingly.

"It's called jello." Summer shrugs smugly.

"It's actually called gelatina, so..." Marlon adds, which you can't help but smile at.

__________

"Work again, Margot?" Summer asks, watching her mum tap on her ipad. You and the others have moved into the corridor to give Bodhi some space for a while, and apparently Summer and Margot cannot go five minutes without arguing.

"If by work, you mean desperately reminding potential employers that I exist? Then yes." Margot replies, barely looking up from her ipad.

You watch as Poppy and Marlon converse by the vending machine - it seems amicable enough, but it's probably a bit too much to hope for reconciliation, as Poppy took your brother's betrayal personally. Eventually, they finish whatever they were talking about and make their way back into Bodhi's room.