Welcome to Season Three!

Did I think I'd have the next arc finished by the time the previous arc was being published? Nope. At least this time, unlike the Winter Wonderland arc, I'm writing a summer arc in the summer. (That's a lie. It's being published in autumn… I started writing it in April when it was snowing). Now I'm assuming a good number of us are back in school so this is good timing.

Anyways, this arc will have a bit of a surprise in the last four chapters.

Play It Cress-cendo: Part One

School is out. Summer has started.

The weather is nothing but sunshine and clear skies. Once there was a day on the calendar when nobody was working, which was easier since Thorne and Winter didn't work at all and Cress wasn't tutoring any kids since school was out for the year (and currently not picking up shifts as her father's receptionist), they decided to take advantage of the available and beautiful day to go to the beach.

As she waited for her ride, Scarlet lies on the grass in her backyard. Her shades help protect her eyes from the bright sun blaring down on her but she still squints. She's lathered in sunscreen or else the heat will burn the freckles right off her pale skin. Scarlet was smart to wear her bikini top under a thin shawl and shorts. Not only would it be easier to get into her swimsuit at the beach but she won't overheat on the way there.

She jumps a little when she hears a car honking. Scarlet looks up and sees Wolf parked on the curb of the road along the fence where he could see her from the driver's seat. She spots him wearing a tank top and she loves the sight from afar so she can't wait to see it up close.

"You have a hammock," Wolf says, pointing to the hammock tied between two trees in the shade.

"I'm one with nature!" Scarlet yells back.

He laughs as he starts the engine again. "Get in."

-o-

Cress didn't mind going to the beach. A day in the sun while sitting under a beach umbrella. The sound of waves crashing on the shore with laughs harmonizing. Sand would be a bother and she'll find it on her body for days to come, but she didn't want to go out in a bathing suit. Even if she was alone, she wouldn't want to stand in the open in a one-piece. Stars forbid she'd wear a bikini.

It doesn't help that Cinder, Winter, and Scarlet are unbelievably hot and confident. Crescent Moon could never, according to Crescent Moon.

But here she is now, standing in her bedroom looking at her reflection. She's shorter than them, even Scarlet, but she admits her face is cute. Heart-shaped with a light assortment of freckles. She wears her one-piece underneath a translucent peach cotton tee and white shorts. Despite her one-piece hiding under her clothes, Cress still doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of her body being exposed yet hidden with thin fabric held together by flimsy string double-knotted behind her head.

At least she doesn't have to worry about her boobs spilling out since she barely has any.

Her phone vibrates against her bed and she doesn't look at the messages to know her ride is here. Cress smiles to herself in the mirror before grabbing her phone and bag. She heads down the stairs and out the door, locking it behind her. As Cress approaches Cinder's car, the back door opens and she climbs into the back to see Thorne and Kai beside her. Cinder's driving and Winter's in the passenger's seat.

Cress can't help but notice that Winter's in a dark blue one-piece over her shorts. She's relieved she won't be the only one not in a bikini. Cress can catch Cinder's black bikini top under her thin white shirt and peeking through her shoulders. Thorne and Kai were in similar ensembles with open short-sleeved button-ups, except Kai wears a tank underneath, and white shorts.

"We're good?" Cress asks as she closes the door.

"You look good," Thorne responds.

Cress blushes as if they weren't already dating. She looks away to buckle her seatbelt as Thorne holds out an open hand towards Kai. Kai doesn't hesitate to high-five only for Cinder to turn around and cringe at her boyfriend and Winter laughs.

"That will never work on me," Cinder says as she starts driving.

"You'd be blushing," Winter comments.

"You look good," Kai says, leaning forward to kiss Cinder quickly on the cheek.

"Sit down," Cinder states.

-o-

Once they arrived at the beach and managed to find parking spots, which was difficult since a lot of people and families had the same idea as them, Scarlet and Wolf spotted the rest of their friends making their way over since Cinder had to circle the parking lot a few times to find a spot. She finally found a spot near the back and not only was she salty that it was far from the beach but it was right beside the parking lot's entrance. At least it won't be so bad when they're going home but it'd be annoying when walking back to the car.

"I told you we should've just taken that spot when we arrived," Thorne says. He and Cress walk a few steps behind Cinder and Kai. "Kai and I were getting car sick with all the laps."

"Shut up, Thorne," Cinder states. She lowers her shades a little as she notices Scarlet and Wolf by his car which was a few steps away from the beach. "How did you get a spot so close? Were you here hours ago?"

"We arrived just before you did," Scarlet says.

"I was driving close to look for spots I didn't think there were but I saw this mother who left the engine running as the kids were getting out," Wolf continues. "Since she didn't park in the space and wasn't getting out of the car, I guessed she was only dropping them off and not staying herself. I idled nearby until she left and took her spot. If she was coming back, then too bad."

"And what did they say when the mom left and they were already blasting their stupid music? Play it crescendo?"

Wolf shrugs. "Sounded foreign to me. I heard Cress, like Cress right there, Cress-cendo."

Since it sounded like her name, they looked over at Cress for an explanation which they didn't have. She shrugged as Kai took out his phone to look it up. Typing in Cress-cendo only led to alternate results as if he didn't make the intentional spelling error.

"My music skills are rusty since I played piano as a child," Kai says as he scrolls.

Cinder snorts a laugh. She didn't know that about him, despite seeing a piano at his family home. "So Asian."

Kai hides his grin, nudging her. "Crescendo means to get gradually louder in music, commonly to the loudest point in the piece." He puts his phone back in his pocket.

"So they said to Play it Cress-cendo?" Cress questions. "Who talks like that?"

"Piano prodigies?" Scarlet guesses. "Kai when he was a small child playing the piano?"

"Either way," Winter mutters excitedly, nearly bouncing on her toes, "it'll make for some cool selfie captions. Now let's get out of the parking lot and stop talking about musical theory. We have the best beach waves out there!"

For reference, I'm a half-Asian who played piano for most of her life. Crescendo is one of the few music terms I retained from those many years.