If you don't move, I'll push you in {Avery!}

[emily kate welsh]

IDK.

Emily stared at the rocking boat, chewing her lip. She had left her new dorm that morning with the intention of getting some beach shots with her camera, but that plan had been a bit diverted when she realized that most people were out on boats, not lounging about on the beach. That wasn't to say that taking pictures of the beach was useless; people loved views of the shoreline and the sun, and Emily could always pad her portfolio with scenic shots.

But her real passion was photographing people. Without them knowing, of course. And in order to do that today, she had to get on a boat.

Which was problem number one.

Emily grew up in Rhode Island. Where she was from, people spent their time at the country club around chlorine and chemically-perfected water in pools. This whole seawater, nature-unedited thing was new to Emily. She doubted that her father had set foot on a boat since he spent some time in England, and even then it was a long rowing boat that looked more like a kayak than any of these...yachts. Besides, Emily had never driven a boat by herself.

Is that even what you did on boats? Was it driving or sailing? Didn't some of them have engines? Maybe you needed a different driver's license for that. And what if she ended up stealing someone's boat and not only sank it, but had to go to jail for grand theft nautical?

All these worries were so consuming that Emily continued to stare and chew her lips, not even realizing that there may be other people around.

[avery carina dawson]

outfit!

Unlike Emily, Avery had grown up with boats. Her family owned four and she could drive three of them, though two of them were dead to her now that her parents were back and using them. Still, she had her speedboat, named specifically after her, and it was this boat she was on her way to check on. At this point in the afternoon, all of the commercial boats had been checked out and it was only the private ones that remained docked. Avery picked her way over to the dock between rocks and people, boat key in hand.

When she arrived, she ignored the girl standing there with a camera and walked over to her boat. It bobbed as she untied it, but she steadied it to get inside. The girl was still standing there when she started to climb in, so she paused and looked at her. She didn't look like she was from the island--she was too pale. Sighing, Avery climbed out of the boat and put her hands on her hips.

"Hey," she called, taking a few steps of the girl, holding onto a line attached to her boat to make sure it didn't float away. "You lost or something?"

Avery looked at the camera and then the boat the girl was staring at. Maybe she was trying to take pictures of the boat for someone? "Is that your boat?" She didn't think it was, but it didn't hurt to ask.

[emily kate welsh]

Not expecting anyone to speak to her, Emily jumped about a foot into the air when she heard a voice. This caused her to nearly lose her balance and tip into the water, and once she regained her stance she took a giant step back from the edge of the dock, waiting for her heart to settle back into a normal rhythm.

Once she no longer felt a heart attack coming on, she turned to look at the other girl. Clearly she was a local...her skin was dark and she looked like she was practically a fish, comfort radiated so far off of her. Emily gaped for a few minutes, trying to remember what exactly had been asked of her.

"I...um...no," she managed to eventually squeak out. "Is...is...um...yours?" What the hell, spaz? You can't even form a whole sentence anymore?

[avery carina dawson]

Avery felt sort of bad. She wasn't really prone to empathy, but she did have a soft spot for people who looked like they really couldn't help themselves if their life depended on it. She raised her sunglasses to rest on her head, holding back her bangs.

"Uh, the boat attached to this rope is my boat." She waved the rope and pointed back to The Carina, about ten feet down the dock. The girl looked kind of shell-shocked and Avery wasn't sure what she could really do about it, but she felt that it was her duty as someone who owned and could operate a boat to offer her services.

"All the other boats are rented for the day. Did you need a ride?" She gestured back to her boat again, which could comfortably seat two people.

[emily kate welsh]

Now Emily felt even dumber. Of course she didn't look for a rope in the girl's hand. Someone with social skills would have done that, seen that the rope was attached to a boat, and made the connection that she owned the boat. Emily studied the vessel for a moment, taking note of the name painted on it. Carina. Maybe this girl's name was Carina!

She was caught off guard by the next question thrown at her. A ride? A ride to where? Without thinking, she blurted out, "Where do you go on boats?"

Oh, smooth.

[avery carina dawson]

Avery pressed her lips together. The girl was so sad and lost and confused--even Avery felt compelled to actually help even more than she had before. She looked out into the ocean and all of the other boats there and then back at the girl.

"Well. Usually, we go into the ocean. We could go around the island, but if this is your first time on a boat, I don't recommend it." She pulled her sunglasses back down, turned, and walked back to the boat, keeping hold of the rope. When she got there, she waved the girl over without turning.

"Come on. I can't stay for long. I'm Avery, by the way." She stood, waiting for the girl to get into the boat first so that she could hop in with the rope.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily scurried along without a second thought. This girl--Avery--was one of the first people she had actually spoken to, and she was surprised at how less awkward this was turning out to be, as opposed to normally.

In the short distance from her frozen spot to Avery's boat, Emily took off the lens cap, adjusted her focus, and snapped a picture. Once she reached where Avery had stopped, she put her camera safely in her bag and paused at the boat, hesitating. "So...I just climb on?" she asked, a little nervous. What if she fell in?

[/blockquote]

[avery carina dawson]

"Whoa!" Avery held her hand out in front of her face and turned her head. She was sometimes okay with pictures, but not in her boating gear--she didn't think she was photogenic on her best of days, and this was what she wore on the worst. "No pictures of me. At least, none with my face in it. Got it?"

She turned back to the boat and gave it a tug to bring it closer to the dock. It bounced against the wood. "Yeah. I'll hold it steady." She knelt down and pulled the windshield over, holding onto it. "Just get in like you're getting in a car." That's on the water and not directly in front of you, but whatever.

[emily kate welsh]

"It was the back of you," she clarified, shifting her weight. "Don't worry."

She watched the rocking boat and hesitated a bit more before closing her eyes and leaping onto the boat. Once she made it, she quickly sat down and pressed her back against the seat, convinced she was going to fall off the boat at any second and drown a slow, painful death strangled by seaweed.

"Does it always rock like this?" she asked, gulping a little bit. Transportation was so damn scary...walking was so much safer.

[avery carina dawson]

Avery gripped the boat to steady it for a few seconds before climbing into the driver's side. She coiled the rope and tossed it behind the girl and then looked at her.

"Well, yeah. It's a boat and it's on the water." She turned the key in the ignition and started backing up. She didn't warn her because it didn't occur to her and a few seconds later, they were headed toward open water.

"So, did you say your name?"

[emily kate welsh]

Emily gave a little squeak of surprise when the boat started moving. She couldn't quite describe the feeling...it was like a car, but there was definitely a lot more rocking than a car had. It was also a bit chillier than she had expected...not enough to warrant shivering, but a noticeable temperature change to a land-lover like Emily.

She closed her eyes and turned her face towards the water, breathing deeply. She had to admit, being out on the water was a lot less scary than she imagined it would be. It was during this little moment of reverie that she noticed Avery had begun speaking again. Blushing fiercely, Emily shook her head in response--and then realized that Avery wasn't looking at her and couldn't see her head shake. "Nno. I'm Emily. Welsh."

[avery carina dawson]

Avery glanced at the girl and silently congratulated herself. Obviously, she just needed to get out on the water to stop being weird. She nodded at her name, not really caring enough to invoke any social etiquette and tell her something like it was nice to meet her.

She would have been content to sit there silently, but since there were only two of them, it would have been a little awkward, so she figured she ought to talk. She glanced at the girl, steering around a buoy as she did. "So, where are you from?" She knew she wasn't from the island--probably not even the state.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily was glad that Avery didn't respond right away. She hated small talk...it was the easiest to do, but it was always so damn awkward. She hated talking about herself under any circumstances. Add to that the fact that she was on a boat without any escape, and talking would be a very, very bad thing.

Emily's fears were realized when Avery asked another question. Gulping, she finally managed to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth long enough to reply. "Rhode Island." She prayed that Avery had never set foot inside the tiny state. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck on her first boat ride with someone who knew anything about her--or her father, more specifically.

She decided to combat this and fire back. "Wwhat about you?"

Such hard-hitting questions.

[avery carina dawson]

Avery rolled her eyes, glad they were hidden by the sunglasses. She didn't know what to do to make Emily feel comfortable, so she figured she just would keep doing what she was doing until the girl got used to it. Of course she was from the North--no wonder she didn't know anything about boats. Rhode Island was an island, though. Maybe Rhode Island was just a stupid island.

"I'm from here. This is my boat." She patted it on the side. "You a freshman?" She figured that was the only reason she was there, and she didn't need to bother with asking her whether or not she went to school.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily blushed hard, clutching her camera tighter. Of course Avery was from Orange Island. People couldn't check their boats as carry-on luggage!

Once again, Avery was asking questions. Emily decided to be brave and try and utter more than five words, even if it made her pass out. "Yyeah. I'm sstudying photography and art." Damn. Tied the record for the day. Oh well, at least she was speaking.

And then her mouth opened on its own and more words came out. "I'm guessing you're not a freshman." WTF?