Chapter Text
for some reason, the exciting mood from the boat had been replaced by a thick and chilly atmosphere. i wasn’t sure how that happened, but in just a few short minutes the car was back in park outside of the beach shop on the corner of seashell avenue and ocean boulevard. i raised an expectant eyebrow at freya, who flashes a bright blue key labeled ‘jimmy’s surf supply’ along with a sly grin. i think i knew what she was planning, now.
“it’s not breaking in if i have the key, right?” freya chimed.
”sure,” i said, rolling my eyes.
freya unlocked the door, ushering me in and then quickly locking the door behind us. ”watch your step in here.”
she took me to the back room where the manager worked. i recognized this place, remembering how when we were younger, freya and i got in big trouble at this place for breaking through a window with our ‘batting practice’. i smiled at the memory, scary in the moment but funny in hindsight. with a careful hand, she opened the gym locker shaped cabinet behind the desk and pulled out the most brightly-colored childhood-memory-provoking unmistakably-tessa-and-freya baseball bat, complete with the baseball we signed in sharpie when we pretended to be famous baseball stars.
”here,” she says, tossing me the ball. i wasn’t expecting the sudden action, so i fumble, ultimately dropping it.
the moment the signature-clad baseball hit the floor, alarms in the store began blaring and all the lights flashed on. freya’s eyes went wide, and in the blink of an eye she grabs me and we sprint out the door, setting off another alarm in the process. we rush to her car once again, and freya steps on the gas before either of my legs were even halfway through the door. with tires screeching loud enough to wake up the whole street, she didnt brake til we were way down the road. she pulls over into a secluded dirt lot, right next to the shore. once she shifts into park, we just sit and breathe for a moment as the adrenaline wore down. i glance at her, and we both burst out laughing.
“pfft… we’re gonna be in so much trouble…”
”yea, but look what we have now!”
my jaw drops to the floor. freya is absolutely unbelievable.
out of everything she could have done, she got us back our elementary school baseball stuff. i’m honestly impressed that i didn’t notice it when we were making our escape. freya is stealthy like that. for some reason, the big reveal she made of it throws me into an even bigger laughing fit. tears formed in the corner of my eyes and my stomach hurt. i missed laughing like this with her.
”…okay. it’s late. wanna go to my place?”
i nod, still recovering from my laugh, and make a mental note to text my mom that i wouldn't be back tonight. it’s been ages since the last time i was at her apartment. it always would smell like incense and in some ways it reminded me of my grandmas house. i hope it didn’t change too much.
she nods in return, and takes the car out of park, slowly rolling down the road to her building. the crumbling of the dirt road and freya’s radio quietly streaming 80’s r&b lulls me to sleep in the passenger seat.
i feel warm.