Even with the air-conditioning of the bus, the wait and the sweltering heat in this foreign land, known as Zimbabwe, was beginning to unrest its tourists and amongst the restless was Tiffany. A popular tourist destination located in southern Africa, Zimbabwe was home to the famed Victoria Falls. Despite being neither the highest nor the widest in the world, the majestic waterfall was irrefutably the largest in the world. Yet, all of the wonders that this foreign country hold did not awe Tiffany the slightest bit. At the age of just twenty-seven, Tiffany was head of the creative department in an internationally-famed advertising agency, known as Amoeba. Yet, even some chores the director of her department could not avoid and site visiting was one. Packed for summer and dressed in a tight-fitting tank top, bright pink sport shorts and even brighter pink sport shoes, the Creative Director had only her painted nails, also pink, which deemed her unfit for the day’s activities. 

"Mister, aren't we supposed to leave half an hour before?" Tiffany asked boldly in irritation. She was backed by the other passengers who voiced their displeasures subsequently as well.

“A girl has yet to board the bus," The coach driver replied coolly as he adjusted the rear view mirror another time.

"What?! You can't be serious, you mean we've been waiting for just one person? That person should be left behind if she was late shouldn't she?!" Tiffany had not bothered to conceal her growing irritation and contempt.

Just as she was about to unleash more complaints, a girl, of short stature and with her chestnut brown hair tied up in a topknot, clambered clumsily up the coach. This must be the latecomer, Tiffany thought to herself.

The latecomer peered around anxiously, lugging her belongings along. "I'm sorry, sorry." She had first apologised to the bus driver who gave her a genial smile and then to the other passengers, individually as she walked down the aisle.

Seeing how flustered and apologetic she was, the rest easily forgave her, everyone but Tiffany. Tiffany Hwang was someone who lived by her principles and unfortunately for her, punctuality was prized above others. Dubbed as a pocket-watch, Tiffany Hwang was most feared and as well respected by her subordinates despite her young age. Everything she was in-charged of would run smoothly without any hiccups and that was her style of working.

In the field of advertising, everything has to fall in place perfectly. From concept-thinking to storyboarding and eventually filming, if any one of its components failed to keep up, everything tumbles consequentially. Half an hour could mean the end of someone's career in the advertising industry and this girl was late by more than that amount of time. Damn!

The Creative Director grimaced at her antics. As the latecomer neared the rear of the bus, where Tiffany had been sitting, she saw that latecomer’s complexion was fair and almost baby-smooth, likely to be the envy of many girls. Besides, her relatively large and round eyes gave her an even pleasant look. However, these looks did not bode well with Tiffany for she was not someone whose heart would soften at the sight of a pretty or cute face.

Sitting by herself in the last row, Tiffany found herself most unlucky when she realised that every other seat had been occupied and that the latecomer could only sit next to her. 

"May I sit here?" The late-comer asked politely, an apologetic smile still plastered on her face.

Can I say no?

"Sure," Tiffany forced a smile before turning her head to the side window and scowled. Being in the advertising film also meant that one has to have good Personal Relations skills to handle troublesome clients and so as fake as the smile was, it was mandatory for Tiffany to flash it.

However, unbeknownst to her, the latecomer was just as seasoned in facing people as such and was quick enough to see her seat mate’s scowl from the reflections of the glass no matter how brief it was. Well... Seems like I haven't been forgiven by this girl. Oh well... The girl noticed the prettily pink-manicured nails of Tiffany, her loud bright pink outfits and reckoned this pink-girl must have been a rather proud girl. Deciding to reserve her judgements for later, Taeyeon only shrugged to herself then kept her face straight. 

Throughout their journey on the coach, the girl beside her had been gawping and marvelling about every littlest thing. would fall open when they passed by a horde of elephants and would squeal when she spotted a lion cub. Seriously?! How old is she? Tiffany groaned inwardly and had either been scowling or grimacing at every single thing upon her arrival in this foreign land, Zimbabwe. This creative director would not have come to this wild place if not for their new advertisement concept. A client of theirs, the CEO of a health product company, had wanted an in-the-wilds theme for his product and he specifically wanted it to be at a place with the most beautiful waterfall. The hint was too obvious, either Niagara or Victoria Falls and Tiffany chose the latter for god-knows-what reason. The most troublesome request from this client was for her to go to site to look for inspirations. What?! Seriously? She literally let exasperation show on her face the other day. Come to think of it, the girl found herself quite embarrassing. So much for PR skills. 

The client later helped sign her on a sickening tour package to broaden her horizons and hopefully help her find inspirations for the ad. Seven days. She would have to follow the tour group for seven dreadfully long days in a miserable attempt find some 'inspiration'. How inspiring indeed. If it was an ad for pocket-watches, she would have come up with one already. She side-eyed her fellow tourist then gave a shudder when she found her on a lollipop. Amazing, lollipops at this age.

The girl seemed to have noticed her seat mate's uneasiness beside her and decided to initiate a friendly chat with her. "Hi, I am Taeyeon. You're from Korea?" 

Tiffany was taken by surprise but fortunately this time, she did not let it show on her face. "Hi Taeyeon. Yea," she replied curtly, not wanting to prolong the conversation. No, I am from India.

Taeyeon pouted, the girl had not even bothered to divulge her name. Sensing that her seat mate would not be one that is easy to get along with, Taeyeon decided to leave the girl alone. Just then, a scenic view came up. Taeyeon became too excited while trying to catch a glimpse of the scenery from the side window, slid so quickly towards the window and accidentally squished her seat partner. 

Tiffany let out a loud gasp and felt as if all the air had been squeezed out of her lungs. Damn that lollipop girl!

"I'm sorry..." Taeyeon realised her over-enthusiasm only later.

"I-It's okay..." Tiffany forced a smile while speaking through her gritted teeth. 

Seems like it has gotten harder for us to get along.

"People, we've arrived at the Zambezi river. The white-water rafting instructors are already there so get your gears down people!" The coach driver announced.

Tiffany took a quick peek out of the windows, saw the tanned skin instructors beaming brightly at them and shuddered when she withdrew from the windows.

The girl by the name of Taeyeon moved down the aisle as excitedly as a small kid who's eager to receive her Christmas present while Tiffany took her own time to get down from the coach. Tiffany used to be a strong kayaker but quitted after she got busy from work. It was a real pity though, she used to be so much more than a workaholic and a mean superior. Now she could only seek solace in receiving spa treatments, shopping and occasionally drinking cocktails at her favourite bar.

"Looks fun!" A tourist exclaimed.

"Not half so fun as kayaking in the rapids," Tiffany commented casually.

The tourist looked in her direction, her eyes full of interest. “You've rafted in dangerous rapids before?”

"Yea, a couple of times," Tiffany answered as nonchalantly as she could, attempting to hide her pride.

The group later realised that the four white-water rafts accommodated everyone but two. Tiffany heaved a sigh of relief and was about to opt for sitting out but someone else spoke first.

"I've actually got a kayaker's license so I can ride the Kayak instead, I just need a partner."

Tiffany recognised the voice as Taeyeon's, buried somewhere amidst the crowd of tourist.

Seriously?

Tiffany then glanced over to the side and realised that there were indeed extra double kayaks. twitched upon seeing it and she sensed a bad omen. 

Almost as if to prove her senses right, another tourist suddenly shouted from behind, "that girl has done kayaking in dangerous rapids before!"

Before long, everyone turned to Tiffany's direction, their eyes hopeful.

What? Me?! A most convenient sabotage!

"Actually I-I..." Tiffany smiled wryly back at the others.

"Can you kayak with that miss over there?" The instructor asked hopefully.

"Okay..." Tiffany's smile became even weaker.

Damn that girl and Taeyeon! I shouldn't have said a thing.

Taeyeon already had her vest on and she passed one to her ex-seat mate, now kayak partners.
Tiffany sighed before taking it, still damp from the previous use. She took a whiff at it. And it smells too. Tiffany rolled her eyes. 

Taeyeon was beginning to dislike the pink girl as much as the girl had disliked her. Not only was she unforgiving but also fussy. Why travel in groups if she was so disgusted of human contact, Taeyeon thought.

"Ready? The rafts will go first, and then the kayaks last."

"Okay!" Taeyeon replied, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

"Okay..." Tiffany's reply was weak as opposed to her kayak partner.

"The flow of the water is pretty fast at this time of the year, you two sure you can handle it?" An instructor looked worryingly over to the two.

No, of course we can't so can we pack our bags and go back to our hotel now? Tiffany had the urge to say it to that instructor.

"I'm kind of embarrassed to say it but I actually got a few titles from kayaking, even in rapids as well..." The latecomer beat her to it again and the meekness in Taeyeon’s voice made it all the more irritating Tiffany to swallow.

"Oh that is great! Then this should be relatively safe for you guys. Good for you, you've got a strong partner." The instructor eyed over to Tiffany jokingly yet the girl felt offended. Tiffany was not to be insulted in this way.

"Yea sure, I've never gotten less than a gold in kayaking before, we're damn safe." Tiffany flashed her fake smile again causing the atmosphere to be slightly awkward.

Taeyeon pouted slightly, she was a hundred percent certain she disliked this girl. Arrogance and all. Now her worry was, both were strong kayakers, but would they be good partners?

Before long, the four rafts had disappeared out of sight and it was Tiffany and Taeyeon's cue to get into the water. 

"You push from the back," Tiffany commanded.

"Okay.” Taeyeon nodded. Fortunately, Taeyeon did not mind complying and soon their kayaks were in the water.

The instructors had been right. The waters were rough that day. The two were right as well, they were indeed strong kayakers and handled the water pretty well, at first. They paddled a little and allowed the flowing water to carry them for most parts. The two were actually surprised by each other's ability. Who knew that a seemingly careless late comer and a petty, fussy tourist would have such skills?

Baby crocodiles lined the rocks by their side and it was a great motivation for them to keep the kayak afloat as much as possible. They do not want to be gnawed or chomped by these reptiles and make headlines back home. 

"Pretty scary eh?" Taeyeon seemed to have put behind her dislike for her pink partner momentarily.

"Yea... Hope there isn't any more up ahead," Tiffany’s expression was all serious and she too had forgotten about her partner’s misdeed earlier.

Moments later, they began to struggle with the kayak along a stretch of rough waters. The gurgling river spluttered angry sprays of water in their faces obscuring their vision. Things were made worse when they realised that the water does not seem to be slowing down any moment. The kayak threatened to flip over several times. The girls gasped in synchrony every time it did so.

"Oh my god." Tiffany had never found herself in such great peril before but was too proud to let her fears show.

"Let's try slowing it down, use the paddle." Taeyeon tried to appear as calm as possible even though her insides were churning as violently as these waters.

No, it was not of any use. Instead, Taeyeon's paddle got stuck in one of the many rocks and she had not released it in time causing the entire boat to capsize. Her pink partner went under water briefly then floated up due to the buoyancy from the safety vest. 

"Damn!" Water entered Tiffany’s mouth as she cursed; served as a good reminder for her to keep shut when in peril.

Tiffany realised she had floated some distance away from the kayak and was still being washed by the waters. Then something caught her eye, it was the kayak partner, she should have supposedly been safe because of the safety vest but it did not seem to be the case. She was flailing like a helpless kitten. Her safety vest must be unable to keep her afloat well. What? So I’ve got to save her now?!

A stupid wave of bravado seemed to have taken over her senses and Tiffany tried to swim over to her partner, against the flow. Her muscles burned and her eyes were stung by the salty waters. Almost... There... Damn! Why is she so unlucky?! She stretched out her arm as far as possible and slid her fingers under her partner’s vest, pulling the drowning girl closer to herself and heaving her up slightly. 

"Damaged vest..." There, Taeyeon had a good drink from the river as well.

Tiffany shook her head to signal to her to not talk and her partner nodded obediently in response.

The two huddled each other closely as they drifted along together, their kayak was nowhere to be seen. The most unlikely partner to be with at a time like this but they could care less. They only felt fear in them now for they knew not what they were going to do, where they were heading to and if there would be any crocs waiting to snap their bodies in half. No more judging of each other by looks or tardiness or even arrogance.

Fortunately however, both shared something in common. They were tough girls and none of them were about to give in to the tortures from nature. It was actually an odd sort of relief to know that they were not alone despite them not liking each other, initially. They could not risk talking but rather, assured each other with those determined eyes of theirs. Damn this! We will get out of here alive!

**

Author's Note: Hi peeps, this is my first attempt at a scenic description. I've done a fair bit of research work about Victoria Falls myself but I cannot guarantee that it is a hundred per cent accurate. So if you guys spot any mistakes/ inaccuracies please do correct and notify me when you do so. I will be extremely grateful for that. 

Otherwise, may I present to you the first story, Victoria Falls. Enjoy people. Though it's kinda embarrassing of me to say this but it would be nice to have comments >o< 

Edited A/N: Hi guys, I have decided to make quite a fair bit of edits to this story (which is 2 years old) to improve it. (of course :P). The plot remains largely the same with perhaps only a few added scenes and more in depth description. So to old readers, it is okay if you do not wish to reread this story :)