????????: ????? ??????? ~ ????? ?????

After everything, we were finally ready to open our surf shop for business.

-

"It's a nice day," Kiara sighed as she stared out the window, looking for any possible customers.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah," She said, though, I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was starting to lose hope. Hell, I was too. We'd been sitting in the shop for hours without one customer.

Cleo leaned against the wall, absentmindedly spinning a fishing net. Pope sat nearby, completely engrossed in a math textbook he was reading. Outside, John B and JJ lay sprawled out on the dock.

Meanwhile, Sarah, Kiara, and I lingered by the counter, aimlessly rearranging things that were already in place, waiting for something to happen.

Sarah's voice suddenly cut through the silence. "Guys, boat! Boat!" She said, pointing out toward the water. I followed her line of sight and spotted it as well.

Kiara's eyes widened. "Oh, snap!" She exclaimed, her voice a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"That's a boat!" Sarah repeated, "Pope, there's a boat!"

Pope's head jerked up, abandoning his book as he looked out toward the water.

"Booker! Maybank!" I called out to them, "There's a boat!

"Somebody's here!" Pope said, unable to contain his excitement.

JJ sat up, squinting due to the sun as he looked out into the water, "Is that a boater?"

"Yes! Get up!" I told him and John B.

Kiara darted around the shop, fixing any last-minute things that may have been out of place. "Get ready, get ready, get ready!" She said.

"Okay, It's our first customer..." Sarah practically squealed, "It's our first customer!"

John B and Pope jogged down the dock to greet the boat. JJ stayed just outside the shop, looking like he was ready to become a full-on salesman. Kiara moved behind the counter and Cleo stood by the tanks of bait. Sarah and I scrambled around, doing one last look over the shop to make sure everything was perfect.

"Howdy, sir!" JJ called out as the boat glided closer.

"How are you doing?" Pope added.

JJ grabbed a bag of ice out of the freezer, "I got your ice right here!"

"And we've got bait!" Sarah chimed in enthusiastically, gesturing toward the tanks.

"Bait, beer, a fresh pot of gumbo! What do you want?" JJ asked.

Once the boat was docked, a man and a teenage boy stepped out. They browsed the store, looking around at practically everything.

"Holy shit! You've got all this live bait?" The man asked, stepping closer to peer into one of the tanks

Cleo nodded, "Big and small!"

"Give me a whole bucket of that," He said, pointing.

"Coming right up!" She said, already moving.

The man glanced around the store, taking in everything. "Man...beer, granny-made sandwiches,"  He said, "I wish y'all had opened up sooner,"

"We're gonna be opened up 24-7, my friend, so nothing to worry about," JJ said with a confident grin.

"Not actually true," Pope quickly clarified, "Not open 24-7,"

"Still working on the hours," Kiara added.