#wellcliffbonfire

“come with me, i have a secret mission,” stacy whispers to the nearest figure, her finger missing her lips as she attempts to make a shushing noise. “you see that dude over there,” a wobbly finger comes up to point at some random townie. ‘they, like, totes were harshing my vibe by taking all the punch and i say we pull a little wellcliff prank on ‘em. i don’t even think they are from here. i don’t recognize ‘em. why are you at the, like, resident bonfire if you don’t even live here full season?”

he'd be able to recognize his political rival anywhere. tejay was sure that they would try and snatch the position of city manager if he looked away for two seconds. he scowls, his third drink of the night in hand. “oh, you’ve got to be absolutely fucking kidding me,” he chugs down the rest of his drink, walking up to the rival while exuding swagger. before he can make the mistake of speaking to the other politician, he feels a hand on his arm, he stops without turning around. “what can i do for you?” he musters his best grin up.

ruby speaks into the mic of his station calling out to the crowd and listeners at home, “i’m your host, ruby gould, and things at the bonfire are already starting to heat up wellcliff... if you’re not here then you are definitely being a square,” he winks at the crowd, making his sound board play a sad trumpet noise. “so, get your behind down to the beach and show us your best movies. WAVES 8.38 is hosting a dance contest in an hour for anyone who thinks they can bring it to the table. the prize? i’m glad you asked... it’s a basket put together by some of the small shops here in town. looks like we’ve got some local cheeses, a bouquet, a certificate to sparky’s worth thirty-bucks, and a chance to meet yours truly and get a station tour,” he finishes the announcement with a charming smirk. “well, until six pm, my friends, it’s all music, no ads sponsored by sparky’s. see you soon,” he takes off his headphones, passing them off to his stand in for making sure the booth is maintained and who is queuing up the pop hits. his first stop is the bar.

“cute little one,” he comments, looking at the little girl thalia has trailing behind her. to be honest, she looked a little like some of the parekhs when they were younger. she could have easily fit into a family portrait. “i don’t believe you mentioned her when we first met at the town hall. how old is she?” he asks casually, sipping on his first drink of the night.

“sorry, sir, i am not selling any hot dogs tonight,” stacy slurs and wobbles. it’s been a long night of drinking, dancing, pranking some random tourist who ended up at the resident bonfire, and generally getting into shenanigans. “i am, however, selling s’mores from my own creation. fifteen dollars a piece, dude,” she gestures to a plate where there is a terribly assembled s’more. the marshmallow, chocolate, and graham crackers all practically separate from one another.

“oh, chan-chan, lovely!” stacy plops herself down on the sand, laying straight out. “come make some sand-angels with me, don’t you think the beach should be graced with our beautiful art,” she is smiling to herself with her eyes closed. “i miss not having responsibilities and shit, high school was hard but not being at the beach every single day is harder,” she complains, continue to move her arms and legs to create an angel impression. “like, when i was a kid, my mom wouldn’t care if i came home covered in sand and shit, but now she’s gonna yell at me for getting my clothes dirty and not looking like a ‘presentable young woman.’”

“fish man!” tejay calls out to the familiar figure, he’d been drinking the night away with emmett and could barely stand on his own two feet now. he smiles wide, walking towards luca with a hand outstretched for shaking. “i’m so sorry about the fishery, but you’ve got to admit your boss is an absolute dick,” he laughs because he’s cursed and it’s something he hasn’t done in public in a long time. “he could have killed me with the chair at that town hall meeting, or he could have just killed me with his bare hands,” he exaggerates a shiver, like he’s scared bash might overhear the conversation. “tell me, does he ever play nice?”

he sits down in the sand, not even worried about his nice khakis anymore. he spent several hours at the party just asking about satisfaction. was he satisfied? tejay looked towards the bar and sighed. “i could use one of those,” he licks his lips looking at the whiskey the bartender is pouring. “sweet, sweet, bourbon...” tejay had never been a big drinker, but he deserved a little something sometimes, right?