One of us

Test

The next day I woke up pretty late, because I wasn't working today. I got up and wandered downstairs, almost falling over in the process. The fridge was practically empty, so I made myself muesli with honey, yoghurt and raspberries. I sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. I burst out laughing when the Bondi Rescue theme came on. After breakfast, I checked my phone and realised Hoppo had sent me a text 10 minutes ago:

Was wondering if you wanted to come down to the beach at around 1? Not to work, but I remembered I need to test you. Cheers :)

My heart sank. This meant I might not have the job. I hadn't swum properly for ages, and the test was probably really hard. I quickly typed a reply:

Yeah sure. See you at 1 :)

Checking the time, I realised it was already 10, and I wanted to go for surf. I rushed upstairs and threw on a black bikini. It showed off the body I was proud of, even if other people didn't like it. I then put on some shorts and a crop top. I made it out of my apartment and downstairs to the road without injuring myself, which was a miracle considering I was running so fast with my surfboard. I jogged to the beach and stood on the pavilion for a few minutes taking in the view. How would ever get over the beauty?

I stepped onto the sand and let my foot get swallowed up. It looked like a storm was coming, so the beach wasn't busy. I dumped my clothes and stuff in a pile by the lifeguard tower, waved inside and then sprinted down to the waters edge. I stood in the white water for a while, letting my feet get engulfed by water, before paddling out back. The waves were pretty good, most were peeling cleanly so you could do good tricks on them.

I sat out back for a while until I found the perfect wave. It finally came, and good 8 footer that had not yet broken. I quickly began paddling until I felt my fins bite the wave. I stood up swiftly and almost immediately performed an air. I saw a beginner surfer try to catch the wave and do a spectacular nosedive, which made me burst out laughing. I turned sharply on the lip and did a tail waft, and then a layback. (extremely hard surfing manoeuvre, clip above)

My surfing session soon ended and once I had put on my clothes, I walked up to the tower. As I climbed up the steps, Hoppo came out and said 'Hello Zoe. I hope your ready for the test today.' I didn't dare to admit how scared I was. 'Yep, can we do it now?' I replied. 'Yes, if you want.' We then walked along the pavilion and to the Icebergs.

When we arrived, Hoppo managed to get a lane of the pool closed. I sat with my feet dangled in the pool while Hoppo explained the test. 'You basically have to swim 800m in les than 13 and a half minutes. I reckon you'll do it, which is why I gave you the job anyway!' I felt a bit better after this. I took my shorts and t-shirt off and climbed up onto the diving block. I curled my toes around the edges and prepared myself for the arduous distance that would follow. As soon as Hop blew the whistle I smoothly dived off and began swimming, keeping paced.

Many lengths later, I pulled myself onto the side of the pool, extremely out of breath from the last few lengths of sprinting. 'Wow Zoe!' Hop exclaimed. '9 minutes and 36 seconds! That's amazing!' Soon after, we jogged along the pavilion so Hoppo could get back to work as soon as possible. As I opened the tower door I was greeted by a loud shout from Maxi. 'What time did you get? I bet it was great!' Hoppo laughed and said 'Not great, AMAZING! 9 minutes and 36 seconds!' Maxi looked shocked.

After I had eaten lunch (Chicken Caesar salad) I decided to stay at work, in the tower. I was introduced to the other lifeguard there, Chappo. Nothing really happened in the afternoon, except for a few radio calls, mostly for tourists in Backpackers rip. Pack up was soon over and we locked up at precisely 7. I had had an eventful day, but was so glad I still had my dream job.