Claudia Donovan is Mr. Knock Knock (endless_wonder) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-05-31 22:01:00 |
|
|||
Current music: | endless_wonder |
Who: Pietro and Claudia
When:
Where: Beach
What: Checking out the surfing scene
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Pietro had taken himself off to the closest beach to see what the area was like and had been drawn down closer to it when he realised that there were a number of people down there surfing. He loved sports, that was how he’d gotten his scholarship after all but surfing was one thing he’d never done. Europe wasn’t ideal for it, especially not once they had moved to the UK. Their focus there had been on learning English more fluently.
Noticing a girl waxing a board a little way back from the shoreline he moved over to her, “Excuse me” he said in his accented English, “Do you know if there is anybody who gives lessons around here?”
School was officially out and depending on the results of her finals, Claudia had come out of her first year relatively unscathed. Feeling good about the exams the redhead decided a little celebrating was in order. While for most of the freshman kids she knew celebrating meant parties at frat houses with copious amounts of alcohol, Claudia decided to just spend the afternoon surfing at the beach.
Donning her wetsuit and grabbing her board, the girl made her way down to the shoreline, greeting a few of the others she knew before sitting down. She had just started waxing her board when someone approached her.
"Yeah definitely! You can go to just about any beach and there are surf shops offering lessons." she said looking up at the man with a friendly grin. "They can be pretty pricey sometimes though. Have you ever surfed before?"
Pietro was pleased to see he wasn’t bothering the girl he’d approached and that she could help him. But learning the surf lessons would be expensive while not surprising was disheartening. He had very little money right now, he’d need a summer job at least.
“Thank you” he said before shaking his head, “I’ve done many other things but not that. I was living in the UK for a while and there isn’t much chance to surf there. Before that Europe and it was much the same”
"Europe sounds interesting though, minus the surfing." She replied with a smile as she stood up. She tilted her head slightly in thought as she observed the man in front of her. What she was probably about to offer was a bit bold for someone she knew for a few moments. But Claudia was nothing if not bold.
"If you'd like, I could teach you." She offered, shrugging slightly. "I know I'm a complete stranger, but when I'm not working I practically live here during the summer and I've been surfing since I was a kid."
“It was never boring” Pietro told her, mainly because as soon as they were old enough to he and his sister had left their foster home in Russia and travelled, doing whatever they could or needed to in order to survive.
“If you truly would not mind I would like to take you up on the offer” Pietro told her, he wasn’t about to turn down such a chance, “I am not sure what I can offer in return unless you have an interest in learning Russian” he smiled.
“Russian could be fun to learn. Though I tend to butcher English a lot of the time and I've been speaking it my whole life," she joked with a grin. “But if you’d have the patience for it, I’d love to take you up on that offer. Sounds like a great exchange! Oh, and I’m Claudia. I kind of forgot to introduce myself!”
Reaching into her bag, Claudia pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down a few notes. “One thing you’re definitely going to want is a wetsuit. The ocean is only about sixty two degrees around this time of year so it gets pretty chilly out there. Go to this guy and he’ll give you a really good deal on one. I have a board you can use so that’ll save you a few hundred bucks while you’re learning.”
“I have patience. I needed it to learn English, it is a most...frustrating language. So many meanings for the same words and the spelling is even worse” he told her with a wry smile, “I am Pietro, it is good to meet you Claudia”
Taking the paper when she handed it over he nodded, “You are most kind. I already like this country if you are an example of the people in it” he told her with a rather charming smile. He really was almost overwhelmed by her offer, he had not expected such a thing.
Claudia tilted her head slightly, as if thinking about the man's statement. "You know I've never actually thought about it but we do seem to have a lot of words like that. Through and threw. Bass the instrument and bass the fish..that would probably drive me batty trying to learn it too!"
"It's nothing really." She shook her head with a smile. "I love surfing and teaching it sounds like a lot of fun. Plus I get to make a new friend in the process!" She added brightly.
“Many many headaches were involved in learning” he admitted but he didn’t mind, after all it allowed him to communicate with far more people than his native language would have. And allowed him to follow opportunity which led him here.
“Indeed and I am lucky to have an experienced teacher and new friend. It is win-win, is that correct?” he asked with a wink.
"You say that now. But as you spend time with me all you'll be thinking is 'how did I get stuck with this crazy person?!'" she joked, laughing slightly. She knew that she tended to be a little out there at times. But it was just who she was.
Pietro laughed, “In that case I look forward to discovering how crazy you are” he told her with a grin. Already feeling glad that he and Wanda had taken the chance to come here. New experiences and new friends were good things.
Claudia laughed as well before looking up and seeing a few of her friends starting to head down the beach with their boards. They were only about twenty minutes late which was early when it came to them. Looking back over at Pietro she gave him a smile. "I should get going before my friends start whining like children. Just text me whenever you know you'll have a free day and we'll turn you into a professional!"
"Thank you again. I will definitely let you know. Have a wonderful day" Pietro told her with a smile before letting her signal her friends as he moved away. He couldn't wait to tell Wanda