Having Fun in the Sun (Open) (1/3)

Suri PL: 3,000

Suri was on her first trip around the world. She was soaring through the sky, without a specific destination in mind. She was too excited, she just couldn't decide where to land. As she was pretty much just flying around aimlessly at that point, she decided to stop and think for a little. Suri floated down to the ground and looked around to find herself standing in a beach.

Suri didn't like sand, as it usually went in her shoes. However, it wasn't a huge enough problem for her to leave immediately. This seemed like a good place to think. The sound of waves, the distant voices of people, and the wind, carrying the salty smell of the ocean... It was quite relaxing, for Suri. Enough for her to let out a long sigh, and just take the sight in. The beach was beautiful. The sight of the waves coming in and retreating back, the gleaming sunlight reflecting on the sand, and the clear blue sky. This wasn't the first time she was at a beach, but this was her first time alone at one. She had all the time in the world, to let all of it go, and just relax. She could focus on her surroundings without a care in the world.

Suri considered just staying here for a while. This certainly wasn't a bad place to call her 'first stop'. She looked around again, this time focusing on the people around her. There were people playing in the water, and people relaxing on the beach. Although they were all very different from each other, most of them had one thing in common. They weren't wearing long-sleeved clothing meant for fall or winter. It had just hit her, she didn't bring any kind of swimsuit here. Her brown long-sleeved hoodie and her blue jeans made her feel like she was the only one from a different world. Suri definitely wasn't going in the water, and sunbathing was probably going to make her sweat so much that she'd melt into sweatdrops, figuratively.

What was she going to do at the beach? Was her first visit to the beach alone going to end with just her standing around awkwardly for a few hours? At this point, her mind was completely off of thinking about where to fly to next. Suri began to walk, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing. Maybe she would go get some shaved ice, or a slushee, or-

Suri's thoughts were abruptly inturrupted by a parasol smacking into her face, or, more accurately, her face smacking into a parasol. She tried to grab the folded parasol before it fell, but she was too late. Whether the parasol fell on the owner or not, Suri felt the strong need to apologize to him. She repeatedly bowed while saying "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I don't know what I was thinking..." She hoped that she hadn't ruined this stranger's day, her own day certainly was. If she had blood, it would have definitely rushed to her face. Even without any, somehow her face was visibly blushing purple.

Typha

Suri PL: 3,000

To Suri's relief, the man was very understanding and forgave her for her mistake. Good, the world wasn't going to end today. Suri felt her anxiousness subside a bit when he laughed and changed the subject, asking what brought her to the beach. The answer didn't quite come to her easily.

What was she doing here? Suri took a moment to think, balling up her hand into a fist and putting it on her chin. How silly of her to forget, she thought. His question did sum up the reason pretty well, though. After she remembered, she removed her hand from her chin the exact moment she opened her mouth to talk. "Well, I guess that's the gist of it, pretty much. Before I stopped here, I was flying around the Earth, and just wandering randomly. I decided to stop by here to clear my mind, and think about where to go." She looked in the direction of the ocean, and said "It's beautiful here, the view, the atmosphere. It's calming and relaxing, and I...I guess it did catch my eye. Too bad I can't go in the water, though."Suri smiled, and looked down at her own body briefly.

Yes, her hoodie was still there, keeping her cozy and warm. Too warm, as she was in an area with a tropical climate. Suri looked up at the kind man and asked "Would you mind if I bought you something cold to eat, or drink? I want to make it up to you, for knocking your umbrella-thing on top of you." Suri was telling the truth, though she also had a second reason for this suggestion. She was now feeling hot, sweating due to the heat. Perhaps she could cool herself down with whatever she would get the both of them. "I was thinking maybe a slushee, though I'm okay if you have something else in mind."

Suri PL: 3,000

Suri didn't expect the man to be an offworlder, but she wasn't very shocked when she heard him say that he was. He did look human in appearance while being an alien, but she had seen plenty of human-like aliens before, some of them were her school friends, even. A desert world, though, she couldn't imagine how that would feel. So empty and barren, at least, that was what she thought it woud be like.

He said that he was seeing what other places have to offer, to educate himself. "...Hmm. That's kinda what I'm doing, I guess. Though, just on Earth." Suri gained at least some assurance that she was doing the right thing, hearing that he was doing it too, on a larger scale. The idea of space travel lingered in Suri's mind for a short moment, before she turned to the ocean and talked about it instead. He seemed confused why Suri couldn't swim, perhaps she wasn't being clear enough that she didn't want to get her clothes wet. Suri ended up not clarifying and moved on, as it was too embarrassing to make both of them think about that.

The man politely accepted her offer to buy them both a slushee. "Right. Follow me!"

Well shoot.

She hadn't thought this far ahead.

Suri nervously looked around for a slushee stand. She would stop for a short moment, to ask "S-so, uh. What flavor do you like? I-I like...erm...BERRIES! Yes. Berries." She wasn't thinking straight, she needed to act fast and look for a stand that sold slushees, or she had to find some sort of alternative... For now, though, Suri decided to try looking for one anyways, and headed toward the area with food vendors, a few steps away from the sandy beach. She walked with her head up high, trying to look as confident as she could, but in truth, she had no idea what she was doing. She already made the offer, though. She couldn't back down from this fight now. Her eyes glared fiercely at the vendors, practically scanning the area for any sign of colorful ice shavings.

Suri PL: 3,000

Suri was very surprised to hear him say that he had never had a slushee before, surprised enough to make her stop searching for a slushee stand so unnessesarily fiercely, stop walking, and look up at him with her eyebrows raised.

Until now, Suri had just been assuming that this man knew what slushees were, either because his appearance was close to human, or because he didn't bring it up earlier. "...Huh. You've never had one...?" Perhaps the man hadn't been on Earth for too long. Although, it wasn't like every single person on Earth were aware of slushees, either. She told him "That's okay! I don't think everyone knows what they are. They might also be called different things in different places." and gave him a reassuring smile. The man then asked what slushees were like, and Suri responded "Of course you may ask, I don't want to make you eat anything you don't want to." She playfully giggled before trying to describe what slushees were. "Well...Hmm...How do I explain this...?"

"...Huh." This was surprisingly difficult, to explain something that she herself was so familiar with. She struggled to find the correct words to describe the beverage. "It's...It's a drink, usually some kind of juice or soda, that's frozen and served in plastic cups. Not rock-solid frozen, it's soft and mushy. Think of slightly melted snow, 'slush', which is what slushees are named after. You can drink it with a straw, but you can also scoop it up. The straws usually have a spoon-like edge, so you can do both of those!" Suri felt like she gave him a basic rundown of what a slushee was. It didn't matter anyways whether she did or not, right? She could just show him what it looked like, as soon as she found a slushee stand...right?

Only if she actually found one. "Shoot, where are those darned slushee stands? In this hot weather, next to the beach, not a single one?" She mumbled to herself. Suri was starting to question herself now, were slushees ever sold next to beaches in the first place? No, she knew they were. "Usually, slushees are sold in places like this, because it's a good idea to sell cold drinks when it's hot. I can't find any today, though..." Suri glanced over the area one more time before she looked down and sighed, a wave of disappointment now washing over her face. She tried her best to wipe it off her face when she looked back up and said "I guess I'm gonna have to buy us something else instead... I'm sorry, for...for having us wander around for nothing. Maybe we could get some ice cream, or cold drinks, or something?"

Suri saw a convenience store nearby, they would definitely have cold things that they could enjoy. She pointed at it and said "Wanna try looking for something in there?" She would begin to head toward it, if he agreed to her suggestion.

Suri PL: 3,000

It was a shame that they didn't find a slushee stand. Despite the kind man forgiving her again, Suri still felt bad for not finding one anywhere. She made him walk around for nothing. 'Maybe I'm just making a big deal out of a small thing. Besides, he's been so nice to me so far...'

When Suri entered the convenience store, she was embraced by cool air, which came from the air conditioner on the ceiling. The coldness was everywhere inside the store. "Well, at least we're out of the heat for the moment..." They had the AC on, what a lifesaver that was. Before they entered, Suri had been sweating up an ocean of her own. She couldn't help it, as she was wearing long-sleeved clothes in such hot weather. Now that they were in a place with such cool air, though, the liquid on her skin actually started to help her cool down noticeably. ...Oh, she was sweating so much and she didn't even realize! Suri hoped that the man didn't notice, either...

Suri passed by all the snacks on display, and walked over to where the fridges were. Through the transparent glass doors, Suri could see all kinds of beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. There were also a smaller fridge on the side, with many types of ice cream inside. Suri looked in the direction of the man, and told him "Alright, pick anything you'd like..." She glanced through the glass and looked over some drinks when an idea came to mind.

If there weren't any slushees, she could just make some. "...Actually, could you pick a drink? One that would taste good as a slushee. I wanna try something... It's a little trick that I learned from my auntie, I think I can make a slushee out of whatever you choose." She asked the man, her eyes still on the beverages behind the glass. Whether he agreed or not, Suri made her own choice by taking out two cans from the fridges, one was mango juice while the other was kiwi juice. Even if they weren't trying her trick, she was still going drink juice. If he did agree, she would think to herself 'This is going to be fun, if it works...'

Suri would pay for both of their purchases, and walk near the exit of the store while carrying her own drinks. In the front area, next to the entrance, the convenience store had an area where customers could eat whatever they bought. It was still inside the store, with glass that allowed you to look outside. There were small tables right next to the glass wall, but no chairs, so they had to stand. Suri pointed at the tables and looked back at the man. "Do you want to drink them here, or would you like to go back to the spot you were on the beach?" Suri asked, assuming that he still wanted her around.

Suri PL: 3,000

The man said nothing, and picked two cans of apple juice. Suri took his silence as a yes, and proceeded to purchase the drinks for the both of them.

The answer to Suri's question was one that she had anticipated very much. They were staying in this air-conditioned heaven for just a bit longer. ...Had he noticed Suri's sweating? How considerate of him, Suri thought to herself. Suri walked over to the tables, and stood next to them. She put the cans down and opened all of them. Suri backed away a bit, rubbed her hands together, before putting them back to her side. ...She didn't actually need to use her hands.

"...Alright. Here goes."

Suri's eyes flashed pink, and the four cans began to fade away slowly, as if they were being erased from existence. The cans vanished into thin air...was that supposed to happen? No, it wasn't. Suri looked back and forth between the empty table and the man. "Uhm...That's not supposed to..." They were supposed to turn into slushees! Had she just wasted both of their drinks? What was she going to tell him? Suri put a hand to her face and groaned at her failure, but then...

"...Oh."

Suri could feel that she didn't use any of her power, in fact, she had gained a small amount of magical energy. She could smell mango, kiwi, and apple, as they had joined her mana pool. She had converted the drinks into magical energy, and all she had to do was use that to create the frozen drinks that she desired.

"Alright, I thought I failed for a second there, but I think I can make this work." Suri's eyes flashed pink once again, but this time she raised her right hand and pointed a finger at the table, for style only.

"Turn into...SLUSHEES!!!"

And as if on cue, two rather large plastic cups appeared where the juice cans used to be. The transparent cups were filled to the brim with slush-like frozen juice. Both were layered, one was a combination of yellow mango and yellow-green kiwi flavor, while the other was of red and green apple flavor.

Straws with a round spoon-like edge appeared in the slushee cups as Suri picked up both of them and handed one cup to the man. "So...what do you think?" Suri asked. Suri drank her slushee from her straw, and was amazed by the taste. The cool and sweet combination of kiwi and mango, it was just like she had imagined. Suri had never tried a layered slushee, and this was her first time making food with magic materialization. In hindsight, it might've been a good idea to tell him that earlier. "I can't believe how great this is!! This is my first time I've had a slushee like this, and...I really needed this." She expressed her amazement, while making it vague as to what she was talking about when she said 'a slushee like this'.

Suri PL: 3,000

This day had been quite...eventful for Suri, with a lot of moments of her worrying about things. She had just been on a spree of making things worse. Now, though, Suri felt like she made everything better. She had successfully made it up to the man with her magic trick, and she could finally get a breather, with a cold and sweet drink. This was nice, to say the least. No more worrying about making situations even worse, they were just standing there and drinking. Suri let out a sigh, she was probably doing that a lot today. She went from drinking from her straw, to scooping up some of the slush and eating it, and back.

The man was staying pretty quiet while drinking his slushee. He did seem to like it as well, which was a relief. The silence was making Suri anxious, fidgety, uncomfortable. She played with her own slushee, mixing the icy cocktail-slushee with her spoon-straw. She wasn't really good with these awkward silences, if this could be called that, even. What now...?

Oh yeah, she had never asked the man's name, nor had she told him her own. Maybe this would be a good time to do that, introduce herself. She decided to break the silence by doing so. "So...uhm... never got your name, did I? My name is Suri, what's yours?" Suri asked. Suri also wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as she thought he was, so after that, she would ask him "Are you...enjoying your time on the beach, so far? Do you like your slushee?" Suri certainly hoped so, but also..."I sure am." She certainly was.