Chapter Text
“No, no, put it here.” Leon grabbed the umbrella out of Diego’s hands and stuck it into the ground. He pushed it deep in the sand, making sure that it wouldn’t fly away from a slight breeze.
Diego just watched him, shaking his head. “You know when it gets later in the day, the sun will move and it’ll be useless to have the umbrella there.” He pointed out, silently chuckling when Leon ignored him. “Or just pretend I don’t exist. That works too I guess. Just see what’ll happen when the sun moves.”
Maxi and Broduey were watching the two of them bicker. They knew it wouldn’t turn into any dramatic argument but they wanted to watch just in case. Maxi glanced around the beach, watching everybody set up.
The girls were off to one side, a very sunburnt Ludmila sitting next to a slightly scared Naty and the other three playing in the sand.
He looked the other direction.
The other boys were just wandering around. Tomas and Federico were hanging out with the seagulls again, Napo and Braco were at the edge of the water and Marco and Andres were talking.
Then he glanced behind him.
All of the teachers were fighting for a spot under the umbrella, except for Jackie who was content out in the sun. Eventually Angie and Gregorio got to sit closest to the middle while Pablo and Beto were on the outer edges of the shade.
“Do you guys wanna go in the water?” Broduey asked, gesturing with his hand to the waves that steadily washed up against the beach. He seemed eager to get away from Leon and Diego.
Maxi nodded. “Sure!” He responded and the two of them took off.
Eventually, after arguing where the umbrella was going to go, Leon and Diego just put it in the middle. Leon looked up from the sand and slid his shoes off.
“I’m gonna go see if there's water in any stores nearby. Don’t move the umbrella.” Leon warned and Diego laughed as Leon walked away.
Maxi headed towards Braco, Napo and Andres who had grouped up and were whispering to each other.
“Yeah! I’m serious! She was looking right at me.” Andres exclaimed quietly. “I’m not kidding guys! She handed me the ice cream and smiled!”
Napo nodded slowly while Braco looked thoughtful for a moment.
“She look at you like bear watches pikas?” Braco asked, his finger on his chin.
Andres stared at him for a second. “Uh… sure!”
Braco frowned but didn’t say anything in response.
“What’s up guys?” Maxi asked as he approached them. He fixed his hat.
Napo shrugged. “Nothing. We’re just bored and sharing news.” He replied. “Has anything interesting happened to you lately?”
Shaking his head, Maxi shrugged. “Not really.”
Andres sighed. “I wish there was something for us to do. We’re all so bored.” He complained, throwing his arms down at his sides. “Like… is there anything fun?”
Napo and Braco exchanged a glance, both of them shaking their heads while Maxi thought for a moment. “You know, I think I might know something that’s fun.” He responded. The other boys eagerly looked at him. “Alright. So last summer I spent a few weeks with my parents at another beach. My dad taught me to drive a boat and I technically have a license.” Maxi explained.
Andres, Napo and Braco all let out excited yells.
“Wait! How are we swimming to the boats?” Andres exclaimed. Everyone looked at him for a second.
Maxi just chuckled. “Ok. I’ll go ask Pablo and we’ll see what he says.” He responded and ran off, nearly face planting in the sand.
“Then you just stick your hand out and wait.” Federico explained, setting a few french fries in Violetta’s slightly trembling hand. Violetta nodded slowly and swallowed.
Tomas and Francesca were watching nearby, whispering to each other.
A few seconds later, a seagull came down from the sky and landed on Violetta’s arm. She squeaked a little and covered her mouth with her other hand. A few seconds later, Violetta relaxed and giggled softly.
“Woo!” Francesca called and Tomas clapped. Violetta smiled and Federico patted her shoulder.
“You sure you don’t want to try?” Federico asked Francesca who shook her head. “No. I’m not a bird person.”
Angie appeared behind Violetta and tapped her shoulder. Violetta looked behind her and smiled. Angie smiled back and Federico left the two to talk.
He and Tomas walked away.
“Pablo! PABLO!” Maxi called, skidding into a halt in front of the teachers. Sand flew up beneath his feet. Beto and Angie’s chairs were empty and the other’s looked up.
Gregorio was watching quietly and elbowed Pablo who was sleeping. Pablo woke up, confused. “What?”
“Hi. Ok. So, you said YouMix was paying for the hotel and things. Do you think that they’d cover the cost of renting a boat as well?” Maxi asked, excitedly bouncing from one foot to the other.
Pablo nodded slowly. “Uh… Yes. Yes I believe they would.” He replied. “Why?”
Maxi took a deep breath. “Ok. Well, technically I have a license to drive a boat and I want to drive around with some of the other boys.” He explained. “There’s a boat place right down the street!”
Pablo hesitated. “Er… I don’t know. What do you guys think?” He asked.
Gregorio sighed, yawning. “I don’t care. As long as he isn’t bothering me then he can do whatever.” He mumbled.
Jackie shrugged. “If he has a license then let him do it.”
Pablo sighed. “But if you crashed or something went wrong, then what?” Maxi blanked. “Just send one of us out.” Jackie replied, putting her phone on her leg. Gregorio laughed. “Oh please. Who’s gonna go out and save them? You?” He teased. Jackie rolled her eyes. “Believe it or not I was a lifeguard a few years ago, I doubt you know anything more than I do.” She snapped. Pablo raised an eyebrow. “You were?” He asked and Jackie nodded. Pablo slowly nodded. “Fine. You can go. Who’s going with you?
“Well, I think just me, Andres, Braco and Napo.” Maxi responded, counting on his fingers. “Yeah that’s right.”
“Ok.” Pablo sighed. “Go ahead. Try not to get an expensive boat… and be careful.”
Maxi nodded excitedly and clapped a little. “I promise!” He shouted and ran off again.
And about half an hour later, the 4 boys zoomed off on their boat into the ocean.
Broduey trudged back to the beach, a large cooler in one of his hands and an ice cream cone in the other. He caught the attention of Ludmila, Naty and Marco who came over.
“And… What is this?” Ludmila asked. Broduey smiled and continued carrying it until he reached the main area of the beach.
“I’m friends with some of the workers here. They gave me a lot of free stuff so just take whatever you want.” Broduey set the cooler down.
Naty crept over and snatched a popsicle out before dashing away. Marco took an ice cream for him and Francesca and happily skipped off while Ludmila grabbed another popsicle and stalked off.
“Hey Tomas!” Violetta called. “Want to come look for shells with me? Cami’s waiting in the water.” She added.
Tomas nodded and smiled. “Sure!”
The two of them went over to the water where Camila was sitting down and letting waves hit her. She grabbed the occasional shell and looked over her shoulder when her friends came over.
“Hi!” Cami exclaimed and stood up. Tomas waved and the three of them started to look for the shells that washed up with the waves.
A few minutes later, there was a rumbling noise from in the distance and Tomas looked up. Camila was a little out in the water and swam back immediately. Her eyes landed on a boat that was approaching them and she laughed. Violetta and Tomas looked in the same direction and chuckled.
Maxi waved, his hands on the wheel of the small white boat. Andres waved too while Braco and Napo were busy looking in the other direction. Music was blasting from a small radio and the boys laughed happily before speeding off again.
“Well…” Tomas trailed off.
Camila and Violetta giggled. “I’m not surprised he managed to get a boat.” Violetta pointed out and they nodded.
“Hopefully he’ll come back around again. I want to join.” Camila sighed.
Tomas nodded and glanced back at the beach where Marco, Francesca and Broduey were standing. Broduey waved him over and he left the girls behind to join.
“Hey! We’re gonna dig a big hole and put a towel over it, just to see what happens.” Broduey explained. “Want to help? We have shovels.”
Tomas hesitantly nodded and waved to Francesca as she left to join the girls. He, Marco and Broduey went off and started to dig. They dug for about half an hour and finished with a pretty substantial hole. Marco covered it with a towel and they mischievously dashed off.
Diego swung around 25 water guns over his shoulder and took his shoes off before stepping onto the sand. He headed out towards his friends.
Leon looked up from the beach and raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get those from?” He asked, confused.
Diego shrugged. “A store a little down the boardwalk. Help me gather everybody, we need to do something fun.”
Leon stood up and walked towards everyone else. In the end, Violetta, Francesca, Camila, Natalia, Marco, Tomas and Broduey joined him and gathered around Diego who handed out water guns.
“Alright, let’s start with a few rules.” Leon started and Diego stepped in front of him. “Nah. No rules. Everyone grab a gun and let's start!” He shouted.
The students did as he said and they all quickly filled their water guns before running back.
Violetta immediately shot at Leon who aimed back at her. He missed a little, hitting Francesca who thought it was Tomas and she charged at him. Diego shot some at Broduey, ducking as Camila fired at him and Marco and Naty fired at whoever came into view.
Natalia accidentally shot some water in the direction of the teachers, hitting most of them. She froze and prepared to get scolded.
Angie and Pablo both looked at each other and stood up. They nodded and both got water guns and shot some at the kids and the other teachers. Beto and Jackie both grabbed one too, leaving Gregorio behind to hide behind the umbrella.
Everyone shouted as they got hit with water and laughed. Eventually Gregorio came out from behind his hiding spot too and joined in.
Soon it grew a little colder and everyone gave up, soaked. The teachers were on their way back to their seats when Gregorio stepped on the towel covering the hole. He almost hovered in the air for a few seconds before tumbling in and disappearing.
Tomas covered his mouth and exchanged a shocked and nervous glance with Broduey and Marco. They waited silently.
Angie gasped and helped Gregorio back out of the hole. He whipped around, narrowing his eyes. “Which one of you did this?”
Everybody was silent before they started laughing quietly. Gregorio glared at them even more, confused. “What’s so funny?!”
Tomas pointed to his forehead and Gregorio put his hand on his. A large shell was sticking to his forehead, covered in sand and he pulled it off, irritated.
“When I learn which one of you did this, I’ll-,” Gregorio didn’t get to finish as Pablo interrupted him.
“Ok. Guys, seriously, who did this?” Pablo asked. Nobody made a noise. “Alright… I just want you to know this kind of stuff isn’t funny ok? Somebody could get hurt. If we find out who it was, there won’t be any punishments but please don’t try stuff like this again. If someone does, there will be consequences next time.” He warned.
The students nodded, none of them daring to speak.
“Alright… Go change and meet us back in the lobby. We’ll walk around on the boardwalk for the last time so you can finish up anything you need.” Pablo finished.
Leon and Diego sped up to their apartment and got changed into their clothes. They went back down into the lobby and met up with everybody. Then they walked down the boardwalk again.
This time Maxi suggested they all go to the nearby arcade. Him, Leon, Diego, Andres and Broduey went in, looking around.
The walls were black and the carpet was multicolored. There were a few neon lights around the place and rows and rows of games. The boys got some tickets and went off.
Maxi and Broduey stopped at a few grabbing machines, looking into one filled with balls and stuffed animals.
“I bet I can get one on the first try.” Broduey announced. He put a ticket in and moved the grabber around. A few seconds later, he clicked the button. The grabber went down and missed every single item, grabbing the air and opening over the drop area.
Broduey chuckled nervously and Maxi nodded. “Mhm. Let me try.” He jumped in front of him and put a ticket in. He angled the grabber and clicked the button. It went down and latched onto a ball and pulled it out, dropping it down to where Maxi could get it. He grabbed it and stood back up, smirking.
Broduey rolled his eyes. “Let me try again.”
Leon and Diego approached one of the basketball hoop games and exchanged a glance. They both ran forward, shoving tickets into the machine and grabbing a ball.
When the machine started a few seconds later, they both threw their balls. Both of them missed the first try and grabbed another. Leon was focusing on where he was throwing and how he was aiming while Diego was more freehanding it.
They played until the timer went out and looked at their scores. 11-11.
“A tie?” Leon questioned.
Diego shook his head and shoved more tickets in. “It must’ve gotten messed up. Let’s do it again.”
And they did it again. And again. They played multiple rounds until they were on their last tickets. On their last try, Diego finally beat Leon at the last second.
“Yes!” He exclaimed excitedly, grinning at Leon who just rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Good job.” Leon mumbled and Diego laughed.
“Sore loser huh?”
“Shut it.”
The two of them laughed and walked off. They headed past Broduey who was still at the grabbing machines and Maxi who was sitting next to him, buried in stuffed animals and balls.
“Woah! What happened here?” Leon asked, helping Maxi up. His stuff spewed everywhere and he just sighed.
“Broduey said he would win something out of there but didn’t. Then I did and we kept taking turns and I won every time and he keeps losing and he refuses to stop.” Maxi explained. “I don’t know what to do with all of this.”
Diego chuckled. “Come on. We’ll help. You could probably give the girls some of these.” He replied, picking up a few stuffed animals.
Broduey tried his last ticket, only to end up not getting anything and he groaned, stomping his foot on the ground.
Maxi sent him a sympathetic glance and handed him a ball and a stuffed animal. “Here. Have these, maybe give the animal to Camila or something?” He suggested and Broduey awkwardly took them. “Thanks…”
After grabbing Andres who was playing a large version of Crossy Road, the boys left. They handed half of the toys Maxi got, even offering a ball to Gregorio who snatched it quickly. Then Violetta suggested they should walk on the beach in the dark.
Maxi dropped his stuff off in his hotel room and everyone went onto the beach.
It was nearly silent out, just the sounds of the waves filling the chilly air. The moon and stars were out, lighting up the beach.
Nobody really said much, just walking around. Violetta had grabbed each of her friends’ hands and they were walking in the water. Leon was dragging his foot in the sand, messing around and the teachers were looking at the ocean.
“Hey, I have an idea.” Violetta broke the peaceful silence and everyone turned to look at her. “What if we sing?”
Everybody laughed and agreed.
“But what do we sing?” Leon asked.
Francesca’s eyes lit up. “Ven Y Canta? It’s been a little while since we sang that one.” She suggested and everyone agreed.
They stood relatively close to each other and started singing. Everybody sang in the chorus, even the teachers. Violetta smiled and when the song ended, she hugged her friends tightly, then hugged Leon.
“Are we ready to go back?” Pablo asked and everyone nodded. Nobody spoke on the way back, everyone more or less stuck in the peaceful feeling.
They arrived at the lobby a few minutes later and Pablo was instructing everyone on how the next day would go.
“After everybody packs up, we’ll meet again down here and load our stuff onto the bus. Does anyone have any questions?” He asked. Andres raised his hand and Pablo nodded. “Sure, what’s up Andres?”
Andres thought for a moment.
“When are we coming back to Florida?”