Chapter Text
“You bitch!” Miriam Kent was fuming. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into that stupid mermaid costume and then you steal my crown with whatever… that… is.” Miriam gestured towards Tiffany’s sea urchin costume.
The two girls were in the parking lot after the disaster that was the Miss Sea Queens pageant.
Tiffany knew there would probably be issues with Miriam after accidentally beating her. Regardless, she didn’t think she deserved the blame.
“But I didn’t talk you into that. You’re the one who thought Cleo would be wearing…”
Miriam cut her off. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. I don’t even know why I let you hang around me.” Miriam stormed off, leaving Tiffany without a ride home.
Tiffany stood in the parking lot, her soaked costume dripping on the ground around her. She couldn’t fathom why Miriam was always so mean to her. Tiffany thought that she had always been a good friend but it was dawning on her that her friendship wasn’t reciprocated. She pulled out her phone to try to figure out a ride home but the phone had been drenched from Kim and Elliot’s sabotaging of the pageant and had stopped working. She sighed and began her long walk home.
The next week, Miriam was annoyed with Tiffany again. Tiffany was meant to have done Miriam’s math homework but was nowhere to be found and wasn’t answering her phone. Miriam rolled her eyes, figuring that Tiffany was being petty about being left at the pageant. Miriam thought that one of her half-hearted attempts to fix things would work like it usually did but she had had it with Tiffany being “disloyal” in her eyes and wanted to teach her a lesson. She sent Tiffany a text:
--- I don’t like it when we don’t talk:( Let me make it up to you. Party tonight out on Mako. We’ll have a big bonfire. Everyone will be there. Please come!!!! I miss you!!!!!
Miriam smirked as she shut her phone.
Tiffany finally had her replacement phone and turned it on for the first time. She scrolled through her missed texts until Miriam’s popped up. ‘Finally.’ She thought. ‘It’s about time Miriam apologized to me for a change.’ Not quite realizing that it wasn’t really an apology. As upset as she had been with Miriam, she didn’t want to lose her social status and Miriam was the queen bee at South Coast High. She texted Miriam back saying that she’d love to go.
--- Great:) Can you go out there early with me to help set up? I’ll have Zane take us. I sweet talked Lewis into bringing out all the supplies – he’s such a dope. See you on Zane’s dock at 6
Tiffany thought it was mean that they were making Lewis bring everything. She knew Miriam was using him, but as long as it wasn’t her who was in Miriam’s crosshairs, she was willing to overlook it. She picked out her cutest bikini and threw a couple other things together, happy that her social life was back on track.
She met Zane and Miriam on the dock.
“I’m so glad you’re coming! I hate when we’re fighting. Tonight is going to be so awesome!” Miriam continued to give non-apologies. Tiffany didn’t seem to notice. About half way to Mako, Tiffany began feeling a little bad for Lewis and pulled out her phone while they still had a signal.
---Thanks for bringing all the stuff out to Mako! You’re a life saver!
Tiffany assumed no one would thank him and she felt good to be the one who did. She lost signal shortly after that, though Lewis never texted back. He didn’t have Tiffany in his phone and figured it was a wrong number text and didn’t bother to answer it. Besides, he was busy getting ready to help the girls with Emma’s dad’s surprise birthday party.
Zane drove his Zodiac up to the edge of the beach, the bow just touching the sand.
“Tiffany? Be a sweetie and jump out to catch the rope so we tie the boat up.”
Not thinking anything of, Tiffany jumped out into the ankle-deep water and as soon as she was ready to catch the rope, Zane put the boat in reverse and gunned the engine before spinning the boat around and heading back out to sea. Tiffany stared, open mouthed, as the boat pulled away, Miriam’s laughter ringing out over the sound of the motor.