I was walking along the docks when I heard the sound - the engine of a motorboat in the distance. At first, I thought nothing of it - it was a common occurrence when you lived so close to the ocean, I suppose. Tons of people swimming, fishing, boating. But this one only got louder as I quickly came to realize it was coming up right beside me.
"Leona!" a female voice called out to me suddenly.
My head snapped to the sound, the iPod in my hand now completely forgotten as I pulled out my purple earbuds. Sitting in a bright red motorboat on the clear blue water across from me where three girls. Instantly, I recognized them - having seen the three of them in passing at school. Two of them were blonde - one with her hair in braided pigtails and the other with her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. The girl beside them - the brunette. She was the one who'd called out to me, though.
I frowned. But how did they know me? I was a loner for the most part - being on your own could do that to a person, I guess.
"You know me?" I asked suspiciously.
The girl's eyes widened considerably, remembering herself slightly too late.
"Oh, sorry! I'm Cleo. I just - I've seen you around school before," she explained in a friendly tone, tripping over her words a bit.
Slowly, I shot her a small but wary smile, nodding.
"This is Emma and Rikki," the girl I now knew as Cleo introduced, hooking a thumb at the other two girls behind her, "You want a ride?"
Glancing down briefly at the iPod in my hands, fingers brushing over the name label that had someone else's name on it before shoving it deep into my jeans pocket, I nodded to the girls.
"Sure, why not? I don't have anything better to do." I shrugged.
The girls helped me climb in and then we were off, the boat skimming across the crystal blue water as we all laughed, smiling in excitement from the ride. However, it was rather short-lived once the engine decided to stall on us.
"I think we're out of fuel," Rikki frowned, pulling on the lever again to get it to go.
But still, the watercraft wouldn't budge. I sighed from my seat beside Cleo, scanning the horizon for any sign of life when my cocoa-brown gaze fell on a large island looming in the distance. It was lush, green - and seemingly, uninhabited. But it would be better than just floating aimlessly and waiting to be rescued.
"Feel like paddling to that island?" I asked them, nodding my head towards the landmass.
"Mako Island?" Emma scoffed, shaking her head, "Forget it,"
"No one goes there," Cleo agreed, "It's surrounded by sharks. And reefs. And mangroves,"
"Well," Rikki shrugged, picking up a paddle off the floorboard of the boat to hand to Emma, "It's all we've got."
It was a slow pain-staking process - to paddle all that way out on the open ocean like this but eventually, the four of us made it.
"How are we ever gonna get back home?" Cleo frowned sadly after we'd managed to haul the motorboat ashore.
"Good question, Cleo. Ask your friend," Emma snapped, rounding on Rikki.
"Hey, don't put this on Rikki - none of us had to get on that thing. You chose to remember?" I defended the blonde next to me.
Rikki nodded to me gratefully and I returned it with a slight smile. Emma just rolled her blue eyes, whipping out her cell phone.
"Emma's always really prepared," Cleo beamed, gushing about her friend supportively.
"Oh, I'm so happy for her," Rikki spat sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes at the growing tension between the four of us, just ready to get back home - for once.
"I'm not getting any signal," Emma muttered, still messing around with her phone.
I shrugged, pushing off the motorboat where my back had been leaning against it so that I was standing across from the girls now.
"Well, why don't we try up there then?" I asked, pointing toward the part of the island that looked mountainous, "Surely, you'll get some signal there. Besides, we might as well have some fun whilst we're here,"
A grin split Rikki's face then for the first time today as the four of us began to trek up the beach.
"Now her? Her I like." I heard Rikki say as she brought up the rear.
I couldn't help but chuckle. At least I'd made one friend out of all of this.
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𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃 || 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭
FanfictionLeona Ramirez had never known an easy life, growing up on the streets of the Gold Coast. But one day when she catches a ride to Mako Island with three girls from her high school, she finds herself with more than she bargained for...including a new t...
