A/N: I apologize for any inconsistencies in the surfing scene. I know nothing about the sport accept what I have learned from watching the movie, Point Break.
"What?" Ryan looked stunned at her honesty or brutality as he would probably have called it.
"You heard what I said, Ryan." She turned and now addressed the whole room. "We will regroup and return in one week, for final planning on the project. You may go." She had a bit of her father in her that was undeniable. People left pretty fast at the tone of her voice and soon it was just Ryan and Kiersten. "How dare you bring me this garbage? You are so much better than this. I hire the best, I need the best and this is NOT the best."
Ryan looked for a moment like a sad sick puppy dog which had been running around lonely on the streets, and who had recently been stepped on. He remembered however that this was Newport; it wasn't his lowly life in Chino. These were the big dogs, and so was he. He had to stand up. "What don't you like about?" He asked in a moderately respectful tone.
"It's just not quality. The roofline is all the wrong shape, certainly not what I asked for. The thing in general is just not what I want. I know it's your vision but it's not what the company wants, Ryan. I'll write some specifics down for you and I'd like you to rework the model." She grabbed a pad of paper and scribbled a few notes. He took it and then took the model he had worked on for two weeks straight and threw it across the room into the wall and it shattered into a million pieces. He slammed the door behind him.
"Bend your knees a bit when you come close to a wave. Balance is key; always evenly distribute your weight." Sandy helped his daughter on the board in the midst of the small waves.
"Okay, I've got it." Abby replied. She was still not really interested in all of this.
"But most of all Abs, just feel it. Feel what is going on around you. Don't think too much and you will naturally react. Surfing is more spiritual and sensational than you'd think."
"Okay, I've got it." She replied just a bit obnoxiously, almost sick of listening and eager to get it over with. She moved out further into the water, slowly paddling with her arms. A medium sized wave was approaching. She closed her eyes a second and began to block out all the distractions around her. Her eyes fluttered open and her focus rested slowly on the wave. Before she knew it was up on the wave riding as if she was not the beginner which she was.
As the wave slowly flattened she paddled back to shore, back to her father.
"Abs, that was wonderful! Especially for you being it is your first time. Really, wow! That was great." Sandy smiled scooping her up in a hug. She found herself smiling too, and it was even genuine. It was such a rush, so exhilarating to go and conquer something like that. Her heart races and something urged her to do it again, this time on a bigger wave.
She could see some coming onto the horizon and got back on her board again. She focused just like the last time and swooped up, the wind blowing through her hair, the ocean spray misting her. She screamed at the excitement of it all but at the apex of the wave she lost her footing and slammed hard into the water. As she paddled back, she felt disappointed that she'd fallen.
"Abs, it's okay. Everybody falls. The important thing is that you get back up again."
"Stupid remedial drama class, I'm a photography major. Why would I need to take drama?" Seth grumped as he adjusted his messenger bag.
"Because it's an arts & English related class. Just like your major, remember?" Michaela walked with him into the lecture hall in which their drama class was taught.
"Whatever! It's like making Napoleon or Hitler take a class on being an evil genius. I already know how to act, I am if I do say so myself, quite funny." He struck a pose and Michaela playfully slapped his arm and laughed.
"This is drama, not comedy. The sort of acting composed of people dying, dangerous situations and those who look longingly into each others eyes." She replied as they took seats in the front. Seth ignored her as the professor entered the room. He was an early middle aged man who obviously dyed his hair, but he vaguely reminded Seth of Ryan.
"Okay, first things first, this is a drama class. Acting shall happen here and a theme common to all stories is human relationships, and especially ones involving love. Now who would like to demonstrate a stage kiss?" He looked around the room. It was utterly silent and no one dared look him in the eye.
"All right, umm--you two. Come up here." He pointed to Seth and Michaela. Seth looked terrified but got up just as she did. "These two are going to demonstrate a stage kiss, which I am sure all of you know is not a real kiss. He simply takes her and dips back, nearly touching his lips to hers at an angle such that the audience cannot see it is not real. So go ahead." He motioned to them.
Seth just stood there blinking, after a moment he realized how long he'd been there. He sucked in his breath and stepped forward, determined to just get it over with. He dipped her back and touched her lips to his. He wasn't sure whether she meant to or not. He found himself leaning in a bit. She reciprocated and it turned into a real kiss, although the rest of the class could not see it.
He pulled her back up and the instructor clapped. "Very nicely done," The class clapped and they returned to their seats. As Seth walked by him a smile broke on the professor's face. He knew.
As class wore on all he could think of was the kiss. Was it meant to be real? Of course it was-- they HAD kissed. The real question was how he felt about her. Was it possible that he liked her? Even though he thought of her as his Goth friend who was a girl. He figured stranger things had happened. He'd dated Summer Roberts, hadn't he? Was this really that different?
He glanced over at her only vaguely now hearing the lecture. She turned and a smile brightened her pale face.
"Hey, it's good to see you, Sandy. How was your trip?"
"It was fine, honey; busy but good." He grabbed his wife by the waist and pulled her close. "I'm just glad to be home." He kissed her neck in little pecks, dropped his bags and passionately pressed his lips to hers. They stumbled up the stairs a moment later. He was happy to be home.
"The designer I talked to last said she thought I had real talent, I'm hoping that means she'll pick up some of my line to display too. I need some starter money hopefully for my boutique. It's a dream, but it'd be great."
"It sounds really great, Anna. Maybe I can get you to make me some unique outfit and tell everyone who made it when they love it." Abby twirled her hair as she sat on the phone with Anna.
"Sure, we'll have a night sometime and it'll be awesome. I better go sweets. Have a good night." Anna hung up and Abby did too. She headed out the door with the keys to visit some of her friends.
It was 6:30pm and Ryan was still at work. He was slaving over this new model like nothing he'd ever done before. He was mad at Kiersten but at the same time he wanted her to be pleased. He put the final pieces on it and covered it with a white sheet. This was the best. To a degree, he felt Kiersten had been right. He loved this design and he had only one more day before presentation.
The house was empty when Abby came in that night about half past ten. She held in her hand a slip of paper, better known to most as a speeding ticket. She slammed it down on the counter and picked up the mail for her, which had already been opened. Her heart twinged a bit as she saw the letter from Harvard. It said they were sorry that she declined admittance and if she reconsidered she could be placed on a standby list. This meant her parents had seen it! Great! That's just how she wanted them to find out--NOT! She crept quietly up to her room in fear that they were home or awake. She plopped down on her bed and promptly fell asleep.