Daddy Faddy ~ Bondi rescue

Chapter 2.

It was the first shift after Mango's short break from work and she couldn't wait to meet the two new lifeguards on their first shift. Admittedly, she wasn't sure how easy she'd be able to click with them as often it would take her a little while to fully be able to open up to people, but she tried to keep an optimistic mind. She said her brief hellos in the tower before she clocked in and exited to the locker rooms just across the road. It was currently the middle of winter so was pretty cold. She decided to wear her racer bikini just in case she had to do any rescues although she was almost certain the beach would be empty for the next few months. She chucked on a hoodie over the top along with her lifeguard runners to keep her legs warm. Today she was on shift with Jake, Boo, Harrison, Jethro, Lachie and new recruits Clint and Luke.

Walking back over to the tower, Mango had a spring in her step, excited to meet the new members of the service. Walking over to her seat, Mango greeted each boy in their own special way. Mango had such a great bond with each of the boys and had a special handshake or phrase she would use when first seeing them in the morning. For example, Mango and Jake would lock pinkies and kiss each others hands as a sign of trust between the two whereas, with lachie, they'd insult each other in a friendly banter type of way. As she was doing this to each lifeguard she could feel eyes watching her and eventually laughter filling the air. She turned around to the two newbies and said "you have all this to look forward too" while giving each one a welcoming hug. She knew that she would have to get to know them much better before coming up with a special greeting for them.

As the brief of the day was underway, Mango soon learned that today she was going to be shadowed by Luke so he could get to learn the ropes. Deep down this excited her. She couldn't quite figure out why, but it did. She learnt that Luke had been surfing pretty much his whole life but never thought he would end up making the life guarding service down at Bondi. The first task of the day for the newly arising dynamic duo was to set up the beach with the relative signs, flags and equipment that may be needed during the day. Mango started off by showing Luke how to correctly place a flag in the sand and let him try with the one the other side. It took him a few failed attempts before he finally figured out how it was done. Mango laughed with the growing embarrassment on Luke's face with each failed attempt, she felt bad but he ended up laughing himself so she didn't feel too guilty about it.

Throughout the day Mango and Luke did tasks such as refill the first aid equipment, respond to a small incident at the skate bowl and Luke even did his first interview for Bondi rescues new season that they would be filming this year. This would be Mango's ninth season at Bondi and she couldn't quite believe it.

Later on during the day whilst sitting down the south corner overlooking surfers and brave tourists who dared their luck in Bondi's jaws, Mango learned that Luke prefers to go by the nickname Faddy, which also happens to be his last name. They were in the middle of talking about what drew them to the job when a call came over the radio. "Bondi central to south corner, there's just three heads out the back there, you're in for sure" Lachie relayed. "Copy" Mango replied giving Faddy a reassuring look. She could tell that he was nervous for his first rescue. Mango headed out first whilst Faddy went to retrieve  another board about 50m down the beach. Mango knew she would have to take two patients on her board so Faddy could just concentrate on one.

Paddling out, she realised that these people caused a big problem. The three people were much heavier than the two lifeguards and with Mango needing to take two of them on her board, she wasn't sure if she could get in without nose diving. She felt more pressure knowing she had a newbie with her and that this would be the first time he would see her do a rescue. Bragging rights were at steak.

Mango reached the patients with all three holding onto her board. None of them spoke a word of English but that wasn't an issue for Mango. One reason she was hired as a lifeguard was due to her ability to speak multiple languages, this came in handy when dealing with tourists. She soon learned that these three people were Norwegian so, used her knowledge of the language to communicate to them. Faddy took one of the guys and did a textbook rescue, riding a wave all the way into shore. For Mango, it was this easy. "legg på magen din for meg"(translating to 'lay on your belly for me'), she directed them as she was sucked further into the impact zone. She knew she would have to paddle across to get out of it or, risk being battered by the rocks. She saw a lull in the set and decided this was her one chance to get the hell out of there. She used all her strength to paddle these two men out of the impact zone and catch a small wave back into shore. Upon arrival she heard claps from the few people braving the beach that day along with cheers coming over the radio.

Climbing back into the buggy, Mango began to shiver, realising she had left her hoodie up in the tower so was now say in just a bikini. Her hoodie was oversized and acted like a dress on her- that's why she loved it so much. Faddy noticed Mango shaking and thought something might be wrong so questioned her. "What's up?" he asked with a growing concerned tone "oh aha i'm just a bit cold, left my hoodie in the tower, silly me!" she replied. As to her surprise, Faddy reached back gabbing something from the back of the buggy. He already had a wind breaker on so was surprised at what he could be grabbing. "here" he said handing her his hoodie. "are you sure?" she asked, just double checking it was alright with the blondie. "take it" he insisted with a more stern tone now. Mango threw on the hoodie, instantly smelling whatever cologne Faddy had sprayed onto it. He smelt so good. She couldn't describe it, it just smelt of him and that made her happy.