Breathe // Bondi Rescue

chapter two

//𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎//

Almost immediately after I knocked, the door opened, revealing a tall man with dark hair. "Hey, I'm Bruce Hopkins, but call me Hoppo. It's great to meet you." He offered me his hand. 

"I'm Grace Avella. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to get to work," I responded as I shook his hand. Hopefully, my hand wasn't too sweaty. He gave me a small smile and gestured for me to sit down in front of his cluttered desk. Photographs of the beach cover the wall. To the left of Hoppo's desk hung a photo of all the current lifeguards. 

"That is good to hear because I am planning to basically throw you into the deep end. For your first few shifts, I will have you working with one of the senior lifeguards. Once we think you are ready, you will be on your own. I am planning to schedule you as if you are a full-time lifeguard and not a trainee. Is that okay with you?"

I nodded my head. "Yes. I am perfectly fine with that."

"Sweet." Hoppo wrote something down. "Now there are some other things we need to talk about. As I'm sure you know the Bondi lifeguards are featured on the tv show Bondi Rescue. Not every lifeguard actually appears on the show, so it is a personal decision whether you mind appearing or not. Although, your decision can impact what hours you work depending on the filming schedule."

I considered this for a moment before responding. "Oh, I'm fine with being filmed."

"Alright, I will let the production team know. They will definitely want to do a feature on you as soon as possible since you are the first and only female lifeguard on the team." He went silent for a moment. "On that note," he added with hesitance, "I want you to know that the guys are all great people; we're all mates. So, I don't expect any kind of problems, but if any of them make you uncomfortable in any way, do not hesitate to tell me. I will take care of it."

"I will," I said, feeling grateful that he has considered that something like that could happen.

"Alright," he lost his stoic face and smiled again. "I'm really excited to have a girl on the team. I think that it will be great for young girls in the surfing community. You will definitely change the dynamic of the team." He paused, but continued quickly, "In a good way, I have no doubt." I let out a small, nervous laugh in response. Maybe, being the only girl will be more difficult than I thought.

"Alright, since you are already here, I want to go ahead and give you a tour of the lifeguard tower, and you can meet the boys who are on shift. Corey, one of the senior lifeguards, should be over here in a moment to take you to the tower. We do have the camera crew with us today in the tower, so just be aware that filming for the show is happening." I nodded quickly in response as Hoppo stood from his chair and offered his hand for me to shake again. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the closed office door, and a short man, a few years younger than Hoppo stuck his head in. "Corey, mate! This is Grace Avella, the new hire."

I turned my head toward Corey and he smiled at me. "It's so nice to meet you. Your numbers for the swim trial were especially impressive."

Hoppo chimed in. "Especially, considering that you will be our youngest lifeguard. You're twenty, yeah?" I nodded, trying my hardest not to blush. Accepting compliments can be a difficult and awkward task. "I think the next youngest is twenty-five...? Corey?"

"Sounds about right," Corey said.

"Thank you," I respond, "I am so excited to be here."

I turned my head back to Hoppo as he said, "Well, I'll let you two go. I have some paperwork to finish. Grace, I expect to see you tomorrow morning at six for your first shift." He gestured toward Corey and the open door.

"Thank you for everything. I'll see you tomorrow." Standing from the chair, I grabbed my bag. Corey stood holding Hoppo's door open for me.

Walking through the relatively empty Bondi Pavillion, I followed a step behind Corey. "So," he began, "I think Hoppo already told you, but we do have a camera crew currently in the tower. I already spoke with the production team, and they won't be interviewing you today. They will just film you meeting the guys." We exited Bondi Pavillion and a film crew followed us as we began walking toward the tower. "Just pretend they aren't here," he muttered, nodding toward the cameras. In a louder voice, he said, "there are only two lifeguards in the tower right now, but both of them will be on your shift tomorrow" while pulling the door to the tower open. I must have looked nervous because he said, "don't worry. All the guys are so excited to meet you."

I walked across the threshold. Feeling a little nauseous from the nerves, I took a deep breath. Making a good first impression was important to me. I just want to be accepted.

"Boys," Corey exclaimed behind me, "meet Grace." I forced myself to walk around the corner to where the lifeguards sit watching the water, trying to ignore my nerves. One of the men turned in his seat. "Ah, Grace!" He gave me a large smile. "I'm Harries." He held his arms out, and I awkwardly realized he was waiting for a hug. I opened my arms to him, and he quickly pulled me to his side. His positive energy was infectious and I began to relax. "Nice to meet you," I responded.

"No way! You're American. Harrison's a foreigner too." He gestured to the man sitting in the other chair holding binoculars. Standing up, Harrison placed the binoculars on the counter and turned toward us. Extending a hand his eyes slowly swept up to my face. His eyes met mine, and he maintained eye contact. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. I'm so excited to start tomorrow." He smiled slowly.

"Yeah? I'm excited for you to start to," he paused, "we're all excited." Blushing slightly, I turned my attention back to Harries who had a small smirk on his face. "It was nice meeting both of you, but I should probably let you guys get back to work."

"Thanks for coming by, darling. We'll see you tomorrow," Harries said while returning his attention to the water.

"Let's go downstairs and I can show you the rest of the tower." Corey gestured with his hand to the door that leads to the stairs down to the sand. "Be back soon, boys." I followed him out of the tower and to the top of the stairs.

I heard a faint "Ah, mate!" from Harries back in the tower as I started down the stairs, leaving the camera brew behind. "Shut up," Harrison responded. Corey snickered as he reached the sand.

⸺ ╳ ⸺

Corey showed me the rest of the tower and the locations of any equipment I might have needed. He also gave me a uniform to wear tomorrow. Returning to Bondi Pavillion, Corey shook my hand again. "Well, that's it for now. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the tower. You'll patrol the beach with me during your first shift. Then, we will have you up in the tower later in the day."

"Thank you so much, Corey. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a wave, I headed down the promenade toward my apartment. Now, I just needed to survive my first day and prove my abilities to the boys.