MC: New fic. This time it's about Aryll! Have fun reading.

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Zelda. I don't even own any pumpkins currently.

Pumpkin Sailing

"Why do all I ever seem to get is junk?" Aryll mused as she scrolled through her email.

There were ads for bars and coupons for greasy college dives. Random student organizations, especially men's sports, wanted her to join. A theater kept telling her about random uninteresting bands. Some studio kept sending her information about pole dancing classes. None of this looked particularly interesting to her.

"I'll just delete them all," she sighed.

Unfortunately, that meant she had to check each individual email so that she could delete it. So she clicked and clicked and clicked. Near the bottom of the page one email in particular caught her eye. The subject line read: Sailing… in a Pumpkin? It was from her school's sailing club.

She snickered when that headline caught her eye. If nothing else, it would be worth reading just to see what the sailing club was offering. Besides, Aryll wanted to join the sailing club. She was just a little too shy to go to any of the meetings. So she opened it.

Giant Pumpkin Regatta! Join us for the 7th annual Giant Pumpkin Regatta, sponsored by the Sailing Club and the Horticulture Department. Pumpkins are hallowed out into water ready vessels. No experience required, everyone welcome.

See you at the South docks! Be there at 2 pm, Saturday October 22nd, or be square!

Sent by Tetra Morgan, President of the Sailing Club.

"I've got to try this!" Aryll laughed, after seeing the message.

While she knew how to sail, Aryll had never tried sailing a pumpkin before, but she wanted to give it a shot anyway. After all, the email did say no experience needed. The event was this Saturday, almost a week from now and she just couldn't wait for it.

That was why Link could barely understand Aryll during their nightly conversation. When he finally figured out what she was saying he just laughed and told her he was happy she was enjoying her first year at college. He also said he'd be sorely disappointed if he didn't hear about the pumpkin sailing Saturday night. So Aryll promised him she wouldn't get nervous and chicken out. She had to admit, being in a boat again would outweigh having to try something new on her own.

The week passed. Sometimes it seemed incredibly slow, like when she was in physics and her Tokey Professor's accent was too difficult to understand. Other times, like when she tried to finish all her class readings at night before it got too late, it just zoomed right by. Eventually though, it was Saturday afternoon.

Aryll threw on the pair of swim trunks she stole from Link before leaving home and a t-shirt. Things she wouldn't worry about getting wet. Then she transferred her keys and school ID into her pockets, so she could get back into her dorm. Thinking for a moment, Aryll realized she wanted proof of her adventure, so she also grabbed her phone and camera. She could take pictures of the pumpkins that way.

Aryll trotted to the south docks as fast as she could. It was already after 3 and she didn't know how long this pumpkin regatta would last. She didn't want to miss it, or hear what Link would say if she did. Luckily, her dorm was one of the ones actually along the shoreline, so it didn't take long to get to the south docks.

She slowed as she neared the docks. There was a large crowd of people there, probably to see the pumpkin sailing. She couldn't spot any pumpkins and internally, Aryll started panicking a little. Crowds were made of lots of big tall people. They tended to squash Aryll and even carry her away at times. She was small and light and quiet. Not at all built for crowds.

Still, Aryll wanted to see the pumpkins. So she shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and pretended to be her sister-in-law, Zelda. She was fearless; she'd push to the front of the crowd and take a seat at the water's edge. Aryll could never do that, but by conjuring Zelda up in her head, she was able to creep over and find a spot where she could see the waters.

Aryll grinned when she spotted the first pumpkin. A young Zora man sat inside of the shell and frantically paddled with an orange oar. He rounded a buoy and headed back to the shore. Aryll snapped a picture or two of him; especially as he passed by a Zora girl he seemed to be racing. A little man with buckteeth declared the Zora winner when he reached the docks, while a big man, waist deep in the water towed the other pumpkin boat back to shore.

This process repeated several times. Aryll looked around and realized that there was a line for people to try racing the pumpkins. She got into it. Her heart thudded in her ears and Aryll felt really embarrassed to have people surround her, but she missed being in a boat. She wanted to be at home on the family's red sailboat, King of Red Lions with her seagull, Gulliver. Even if they were moored at shore, Aryll could feel the deck rock gently under her feet. She missed that feeling more than anything else about home. She talked almost nightly to Link and Zelda and wrote to Grandma on a weekly basis. Heck, when she missed Gulliver too much Link would skype with her to show off the bird or send her video footage of him being a silly bird. But there was no substitute for being on a boat.

When she neared the front of the line a little man with big glasses shoved a piece of paper in her face. She backed away from him, but he kept waving the paper at her. Timidly, she accepted the page from him. He told her to sign it and then return it. He gave her a pen. After reading it over, Aryll realized it was a release form for the sailing club, excusing them of any harm that might befall her. She signed the release and gave it back, which earned her a life jacket.

She stood in front of him for a moment longer and then asked if he would be willing to take some photos of her when it was her turn in the pumpkin. He smiled at her and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Certainly," he said, accepting the camera.

When she made it to the front of the line the bucktoothed man asked for her name. Feeling the stares of the crowd on her Aryll could barely whisper it. That only made things worse because he asked for it again and told her to speak up. She wanted to run away, but instead froze in place. There were too many people staring at her. She wished she had stayed in her dorm room.

"Niko, leave her alone, yeah?" the big man in the water said.

"But Gonzo," the bucktooth, Niko, whined. "I'm supposed to give commentary. How can I do that without her name?"

"Not her problem," Gonzo said. He smiled at Aryll. "Come on, sweetheart, I'll help you get in." He held onto the pumpkin's skin to steady it for her.

Aryll smiled gratefully at the big man as she stepped into the craft. She knelt on pumpkin seeds and accepted the oar from Gonzo. Technically, this would be pumpkin rowing, or something like that, because there wasn't a sail, but she was happy to feel the fruit rock under her. She had never rowed before, but she felt confident she could manage it. A Rito girl took the other pumpkin.

A shout from Niko started the race. It was a lot harder to paddle than Aryll expected. Each stroke only moved her a little bit forward and the pumpkin wanted to twist far enough that she'd be pointed in a different direction after every stroke. The Rito girl got in front of her, but Aryll held her own and stayed right behind her.

Everything went well until they reached the buoy. As Aryll tried to circle round the pumpkin spun out of control and she found herself paddling backward. She tried to realign herself, but Aryll leaned back too far and suddenly the pumpkin dumped her out into the water. She splashed a bit, but the life jacket steadied her and she was quickly on her feet.

Aryll felt tears welling up in her eyes. No one else had made a fool of himself like she had. She bit her lower lip and pushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to collect herself. She refused to cry. Her brother wouldn't and Zelda would say there wasn't a reason to. Besides, she was sick of looking like an idiot in front of these people. So she grabbed the pumpkin and started swimming toward shore.

Gonzo asked if she was okay and if she needed help. Aryll said she was fine, but he took the oar from her so she was able to push the pumpkin easier. When Aryll reached the docks Niko grabbed the pumpkin and congratulated her on rescuing the pumpkin. Aryll pulled herself up out of the water and fled the scene, pausing only long enough to retrieve her camera. It wasn't until she was safely inside her dorm room that Aryll realized her cell phone had been in her pocket when she capsized.

It took far too long for Aryll to calm down enough to think rationally about the situation. Yes, her phone was soaked. Yes, this meant it would be extremely hard for her to contact her family. Yes, it was her alarm clock, sole way of getting to class in the morning on time. Yes, she had no easy way to fix or replace it, but she could try.

Aryll dismantled her cell phone and dried the parts off best she could. It was an older phone, the one Link had when he had headed off to college several years ago, but she had always liked it. It was black and flipped shut, just like the phone she always imagined having when she went off to college. Sure it didn't have a camera or take texts, but Aryll had a snazzy camera Zelda bought her just before school started and Aryll actively hated text talk. She felt it was eroding the beauty of the written word.

Feeling slimy from the impromptu bath Aryll took a quick shower. She dried off and changed into dry comfy clothes. Finally, her brain felt like it might work again. It also kept her hair from cementing to her neck.

Then she went onto the all-knowing Internet. She shot a quick message to Link letting him know his old phone was probably toast and ran a search for soaked phones. The general consensus online seemed to be that dry rice would save her phone. While it sounded a little strange to her, Aryll vaguely remembered hearing Zelda say something of that ilk. Problem was, she didn't have any rice, dry or otherwise. She looked around a little more, to see if bread, another carbohydrate, might help, but didn't get an answer on that.

By this point it was getting dark out. Aryll ran across the street to see if the university student store had any dried rice. No luck. She returned to the dorm and looked up the nearest grocery/general store online. It was on the other side of campus and it was dark now.

Technically, it wasn't that late and if she were at home, Aryll would have no problem wandering around outside on her own even hours later. But this was school and Grandma was constantly warning her to be careful. Also, that scary statistic about how nationally, one in every six women would be sexually assaulted while at college she heard during orientation weighed heavily on her mind. Plus, there was always the chance of being mugged.

"It probably wouldn't happen," Aryll said, trying to reassure herself. "Lots of women walk around campus in the middle of the night, drunk even and they're fine… they're also usually in groups." She didn't know anyone well enough to ask them to go to the store with her. She wished she could talk to Zelda or Link, but it was nearly impossible to get a hold of either one of them online.

When she realized she only had an hour before the store closed, that made up Aryll's mind for her. She really wanted her phone working and the longer she put it off the less likely the rice could save it. So she left the dorm, determined to get there as quickly as possible.

She was headed to a Malo Mart, small chain of stores Aryll hadn't run into before coming to school. They were small stores with a bit of everything and sold it all cheaply, while staying open fairly late. She thought she might buy some Halloween candy after she found the rice, if she was calm enough to find the rice.

On the way over Aryll stuck to the larger well-lit streets to the best of her ability. That wasn't saying much. Without a compass and sextant, Aryll couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag. Being on land just made things worse. She went to every class on the exact same route everyday (and she kept a campus map in her bag just in case), but still lost her way on a weekly basis. On her way to the store Aryll found herself in front of the genetics building three times and once on the side of campus equidistant from Malo Mart and her dorm.

She eventually made it to Malo Mart fifteen minutes before they closed. Aryll found the grocery section quickly by her standards and scanned the shelves for rice. She knew they carried instant rice; it was just a matter of finding it among the dried pasta and cake mix. It wasn't there. She checked the three grocery aisles twice. Aryll stood in front of those three types of pasta and just processed her next move.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked.

Aryll turned to see a tanned woman standing next to her. She was about a head taller than Aryll and oozed a confidence that Aryll knew she could never have. The woman pulled her blonde hair up into a bun on the top of her head allowing Aryll to notice she wore a blue mesh vest and a nametag. Obviously, she worked there.

"Rice," Aryll squeaked.

"Sorry, we're out," the woman said, shaking her head. "The Union is showing Rocky Horror."

That was the nut that broke the deku's nose. Aryll felt the tears well up again and this time she didn't care. She started crying in the Malo Mart.

"Woah, woah, if you need rice that badly, I bet we can find some somewhere," the woman said, touching Aryll's shoulders. That was the first bit on genuine compassion Aryll had gotten from anyone since she had arrived on campus. It made her cry harder. "Chudley," the woman yelled. "I'm taking off early tonight. Store's practically dead anyway."

"You need to help me with inventory," Chudley called back.

"What inventory? Malo forgot to order on time this week. We won't have any new stuff until Tuesday," she said. "Come on," she said softly to Aryll, "dry those tears. We're going to find you some rice."

"But," Aryll said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"No buts," the woman said firmly, taking off her work vest. "I can't stand to see a pretty girl cry." She took Aryll's hand. "Let's go."

Aryll couldn't help but follow.

When they were out of the store the woman led Aryll to a nearby parking lot. She grinned at Aryll and said. "In case you didn't see my nametag, I'm Tetra. And you are?"

"Aryll," Aryll said. "Aryll Waker."

"Well, Aryll, Aryll Waker, what do you say we go to a Cheapskate Cuccos?" Tetra asked.

"There aren't any near enough to walk to," Aryll said.

"Which is why we're taking my bike," Tetra said, pointing to a motorcycle. She opened a saddlebag and traded her vest for a helmet and a small red scarf. She put on the scarf and handed the helmet to Aryll. "Ready to go?"

"I don't know you," Aryll said.

"And I don't know you," Tetra said. "And you are perfectly welcome to refuse my offer, but you seem like you really need that rice. What's it for anyway? I can't believe you're that broken up over not having rice to throw during Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"I fell out of a pumpkin and soaked my phone," Aryll said. "Rice might save it."

Somehow, after admitting that to a perfect stranger, Aryll found herself babbling. She couldn't understand her physics professor's accent and all her courses except for Old Hylian were huge lecture classes. Old Hylian was worse though, because that professor insisted on everyone performing skits in the language on a weekly basis, which was terrible because Aryll couldn't speak in front of groups. There were too many people on campus and she hadn't made any friends. The girls on her floor were so noisy she could barely study and Aryll was too cowardly to confront them. She got lost easily and she missed her family. She missed her seagull. She missed being on a boat and she didn't dare show up to a sailing club meeting because she'd need to be outgoing and she simply wasn't brave enough. She hated being in college.

Tetra didn't say anything. She just gave Aryll a big hug and rubbed her back. At some point in the rant Aryll had started cry again, but she was able to stop in Tetra's arms. She felt safe.

"You remind me of my sister-in-law," Aryll mumbled.

"I hope that's a good thing," Tetra laughed.

"It is," Aryll said, nodding. "Zelda's amazing."

"I'm taking you to Cheapskate Cuccos and we're saving your phone," Tetra said, wrapping an arm around Aryll's shoulders. "After all, I'm partly responsible for this debacle."

"How so?"

"It's my sailing club that held the pumpkin regatta," she said. "Presidents ought to take responsibility."

"But I signed a waver."

Tetra sighed. "Look," she said, letting go of Aryll to glare at her. "I think you need help because you're absolutely miserable. So let me help, otherwise you're going to have a horrible time here and that isn't how you should spend the next four years. The only thing I ask is that you come to one of our sailing meetings, alright?"

Aryll put the helmet on. "I've never ridden one of these things before."

Tetra grinned at her. She helped Aryll onto the motorcycle before climbing on herself. Aryll clung to Tetra all the way to Cheakskate Cuccos. Tetra also helped Aryll find her rice in the 24-hour big box store and then bought it for her along with some candy. Then the club president drove Aryll right to her doorstep.

"Thank you," Aryll said shyly as she returned the helmet.

"The next time we go for a ride I'll bring a second helmet," Tetra said lazily.

"I'd rather go sailing," Aryll laughed.

"Then come to a meeting and join up. Or if you're really just too anti-social and refuse to get a membership, come to me and I'll take you out."

"I'd like that."

"Good. Give me your arm."

Aryll did as she was told. Tetra whipped out a pen and scrawled a series of numbers on Aryll's arm. "That's my number. If you get your phone to work, call me. If not, we can go out together a pick a new one for you."

"You're serous about seeing me again," Aryll said, surprised.

"Course I am," Terta said. "Like I've said, you're cute. And even if that isn't your thing, I'm an amazing friend and you need some of those. If nothing else, I'm the sailing club president and you want to sail. So we should see more of each other."

They said their goodbyes and Tetra waited until Aryll was safely inside before driving off. When she got back to her room Aryll filled a bowl with rice and submerged all her phone bits into it. Then she went to bed.

That Thursday Aryll ran to the south docks. She was very close to being late to the sailing club meeting and she didn't want any unwanted attention, which would be any attention. When she reached the first dock Aryll stopped and looked around. On the nearby patio half the lawn furniture set out for students had been taken over by sailing club members. She saw Tetra sitting on a metal chair in the center of a semicircle of club members. Obviously, everyone paid attention to their club president. Tetra looked bored out of her mind.

Aryll pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had preprogrammed into it earlier that week after she got it working again. When Tetra answered Aryll said, "You look bored."

"Aryll?" Terta said, perking up and looking around. "You're here?"

"Yeah, I am," Aryll said, giving a small wave.

Tetra caught sight of her. She gave Aryll a huge smile and motioned for the freshmen to come and join the group. Just about everyone in the group looked over at Aryll to see what had gotten their president so excited, but Aryll didn't notice. She just wanted to greet her new friend in person. Then, as Tetra introduced her to the group Aryll didn't mind all the eyes on her. Not when Tetra was beside her.

That was how Aryll joined the sailing club.

Moral of the story: it's for the best to not carry a phone into a pumpkin boat. Luckily, my phone is incredibly sturdy, like Aryll's phone, when I did this. Please read and review, if you get a chance. I always love them.