sweet sweet cider !

ᴍᴜꜱᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴄɪᴅᴇʀᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴘᴇɴɴᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴅᴀʀᴀ

ʜᴀʀʀʏ ᴡʜɪᴛᴍᴏʀᴇ. 28. ᴀᴛʜʟᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴛʀᴀɪɴᴇʀ. ɴᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ.

intro, musings, character development

ᴀᴅʀɪᴀɴᴀ ᴄᴏꜱᴛᴀ. 30. ᴛᴇᴀᴄʜᴇʀ. ɴᴇᴡʙɪᴇ!

"Wow." That's it. That's all he could say about this disgusting drink. Why was it green? Why did people think this was tasteful in any way? His mother drank it daily, and all he could think was that it was for gut performance rather than for anything relatively delightful to the taste buds. "Sloane, you're trying to poison me? I thought we were better friends than that." Now he did ask her to make him the most popular seasonal item on the menu. Yes. Yet if anyone was liable in this case, this was just absolutely atrocious. "People really order this? Should I be concerned for the citizens of Cider Point?"

"I have to say, I am rather impressed you could keep up," she smirks as she looks back at Kyro. She had invited him out to a volleyball pick-up game she had participated in since the spring. With one of their teammates away for a wedding, she convincingly asked them to fill in for the vacancy. In return, she'd feed him and lavish him with bountiful drinks courtesy of Chilis. "So, you think you'll give pro volleyball a shot or will be a spectator from here on out? If you do end up in the stand, I want an amazing sign at our next game."

A loud belly laugh came from him before it actually dawned on him what fell from Vada's Lips. Shifting towards her to see if her expression would give it away, her poker face remained intact. "Wait, what? You're not being serious, are you?" Vada was so good at toeing the line when sharing news. Harry couldn't tell if the woman was fucking with him or not. The story was too good to be true, but knowing the things Vada's seen and experienced, he wouldn't put it past the woman. "So was it true or not?"

"Did I hear correctly… You're some hotshot hockey player?" Adriana was helping herself to another drink, needing to get out of the stuffy room that was slowly becoming a game of comparison, listing people's accolades and achievements. She came with a friend who was crushing on some guy, and quite frankly, Adri thought her friend could do way better. In due time, she'd voice her opinion, but tonight, she'd enjoy the free food and drinks relatively in peace. "If I hear Ryan talk about another one of his epic trips, I think I may smother him with a pillow."

The world of literature had always captivated her since she was a child. While her family was partying in the room next door, one could always find young Adriana with headphones on and a book in her hand. She loved the creativity that came with world-building and with inserting herself into those realms, as if she were a tertiary character, watching everything unfold before her in secret. It's why she is still proud to be a library card owner and to check out books weekly. Hence, her growing friendship with one of the librarians, Roman. The challenge this week is to find a highly misunderstood quote they've come across in all their reading. The loser had to pay for dinner at the diner. As she flipped through the page, she thought she would definitely come out the winner on this bet. "Okay, here it is…'Nothing will come of nothing,' courtesy of King Lear. Why everyone assumes it's about performance to get results has always made me chuckle."

Living in Manhattan for a few years showed her a level of fashion she'd never had access to before. Her brief little world of luxury had led her to have a few pieces she could no longer dare to part with, but the time had come. Yet the time had come to give up these pieces to a new owner who could very well take care of them. "You can have whatever you want. I'll donate the rest," she chuckled. Not getting around to spring cleaning, what was one season ago? "How are you? Anything new with you, babe?"

"Be honest with me… any prospective MILFs or DILFs at the pool yet this summer?" Not that there was anything he was going to do with said information, he was just genuinely curious. He only knew such things happened because he was on the receiving end of some parents' coaching in the last two years. It was humorous to him, not that he would ever entertain, but Harry didn't mind playing a little bit with the dynamics for fun. It was harmless as far as he was concerned. "I know those private pool parties bring a good wave of fun, so if you need a co-lifeguard this season, let me know."

There was no way she could have survived her first school year without Rashmi. They were truly a godsend when she arrived at the elementary school. Adriana immediately clicked with them, and before she knew it, she had found her first friend in town. Now that the school year had come to a close, they could all collectively breathe and soak in these next two months before the mayhem begins. In the same token, she needed to decompress. "Okay, I'm not one to gossip…But I truly can't believe they extended another contract to Emilia?" The art teacher was horrific by every standard of the word. "If I have to pick up her lesson plan for the fall, I'm more than happy to," she chuckled as she reached for some cheese. "Is it just me, or am I out of line here?"

There were some truly talented individuals in this town. He never understood how he didn't get a sliver of the creative genius his own mother had, yet being around such people fueled him in a way that he could admit hockey never did. There was something about creating from nothing and building a world of thoughts and ideas to turn into something tangibly expressive for others to ruminate on. Then there were those with the gift of gab. If he'd ever seen such a wielder, he'd happily give the crown straight to Grace. "You know…for as long as we've known each other, Gracie, I'm kinda heartbroken you've never asked me to come on the radio with you. It hurts me to the core," he says in jest.

"Wow, Owen Wright is alive in the flesh. I thought I was going to have to call a wellness check on you," she chuckles, sliding herself into the booth. There was an unspoken bond that connected teachers, no matter where they were. Spending sixty hours-plus, pouring into the lives of students for more than three-quarters of a calendar year, was no easy feat. They groveled, cried, and cheered one another through the highs and lows of those one hundred and eighty days. Even though they had the opposing challenge of age demographics, the consensus remained the same. Summer was finally here, and they could all breathe. "I thought you ran for the hills and left me behind, you know. How are you?"

"Well, hello, stranger," he smirks at the sight of Dakota as he opens the hotel room door. At this rate, he couldn't even pinpoint how this dynamic all started. He wasn't mad about it one bit, though. It was nice to have this hidden encounter with someone who did not bother him regularly throughout the week. They never pried into one another's orbits and kept a respectful distance in shared spaces. It was as if they were completely operating in another universe. Sacred in some sense. Undisturbed and preserved from the reality of their worlds. Nonetheless, when he got the text, he couldn't help but feel a bit excited to see what would unfold. "I thought you were gonna leave me high and dry waiting on you. How was the drive over?"

Piper was a powerful woman, and Adri was just delighted to call her a friend. A last-minute Galentines dinner invite had brought these two to a shared table with endless sides, and the rest was history. Even with their competing schedules, they made the monthly commitment to catch up in person between texts, voice memos, and sending one another the latest viral video. "Please don't ever let me go out of town on a random date with someone from an app. It was highly disturbing. The man talked about puppets. For forty-five minutes. Hand-made ones too."

"Nice work," he says, lifting the weight back onto the rack. "I think I fell more in love with you than I think I ever could." The two of them were thick as thieves in their earlier years. We have been causing mayhem in the classroom together since elementary school. It was definitely more so, Harry leading the charge. As the years progressed, they grew distant in their preteen and teen years with different hobbies and interests. Harry definitely wishes he could retroactively have been more of a present friend at the time, but hockey had all but absorbed his world. Nonetheless, when they did reconnect in the last two years, it felt like they picked up right where they left off. "Alright, what's on the agenda for this summer?"

With the limited free time she had between lesson planning, yoga, and keeping her plants alive, there were a handful of people she befriended outside of work in her first few months in town. Saul was one of those special folks. Incredibly brilliant and refreshing to be around in the midst of his inquisitive nature. A PhD program in physics was no easy feat. She couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around it, but she could listen to people talk about their passions and interests all day. "What's going on in that head of yours today? You're quieter than usual."

"Did you know you're a hard woman to find these days?" She, in fact, was not. You could most likely find Tommy at the bar or the club. On the off chance you couldn't, Harry would like to think she was off causing mayhem somewhere in the world. This gathering was quite the celebration, and Harry was more than happy to celebrate the birthday girl. Probably, since he was a kid, this was one of the best birthday celebrations he's been to in a minute. Definitely beats his old teammate buying out Universal for the day. "And what did we wish for on our twenty-fifth trip around the sun?"

Do you hear BICHOTA BY KAROL G playing ? That must be ADRIANA COSTA walking around PENNY LANE.