Surf, Skye and a dream (Bondi Rescue)

Not all superheros wear capes

The annoying beeping of my alarm pulled me from my cozy world of sleep. Slowly, I opened my eyes and let out a groan. I wanted to go back to sleep so badly. Instead, I told myself that I had to get up and that I had to go out for drinks, it was only polite. With this thought fresh in my mind, I dragged myself out of bed and zombie walked to the bathroom. The sight I saw in the mirror wasn't pretty. My hair was half in, half out of the French plaits I had done that morning and I had dark circles under my eyes. Again, I groaned lazily. I climbed into the shower and let the warm water wash over me. It felt good to wash the salt from the sea off of my body. I shampooed my hair and then set about the laborious task of rinsing it out. My hair was long and thick so washing it was my worst nightmare. After what felt like hours, it was finally done. I stepped out the shower and wrapped myself in a towel before going off in search of something to wear. Again, I was faced with the mess that was my suitcase. I tipped it all out in a moment of rage but then immediately regretted it when I saw the chaos it had created. I sighed deeply before sifting through the clothes that were now strewn across the floor. I found my red skater dress and black heels pretty quickly but my leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. Finally, I found it at the bottom of the pile before lying the outfit out on my bed and going back to the bathroom to sort my hair out. It fell down my back in a torrent of wet hair and I shuddered at the feel of the sopping wet strands touching my skin. I brushed it gently before returning back to my bedroom to dry it.

Twenty minutes and a dead arm later, my hair was dry. Then the decision of how to style it came. I didn't want to curl it and I wanted it down so I eventually decided on having it straight and loose with the front twisted and pinned to the side. Next, I applied my makeup. I went for a smokey eye with red lips, my favourite look. The only thing left to do was put my dress on but just as I went to slip it on, my stomach let out a loud grumble. It was then that I realised that I hadn't eaten since this morning. I put the dress back on my bed, threw on my dressing gown and headed to the kitchen. There wasn't much for me to have seeing as I had only done a very basic shop the day before. I settled on brown toast with peanut butter and left the bread to toast as I went to select my jewellery for the night. I chose silver locket with a matching bangle and red earrings.

Twenty minutes later and I was finally ready to go out. I grabbed my bag and stuffed in my purse, phone and a small pair of flat shoes before checking myself one last time on the mirror. As I was adjusting my hair, a wave of anxiety washed over me. The feeling of dread hit me like a brick wall. I took a deep breath as I grabbed onto the wall to steady myself. My stomach was swirling with butterflies and my heart pounded against my ribs. I sat down on the floor with a bump and closed my eyes as I desperately tried to avoid a panic attack. Slowly, my heart returned to normal as I took deep, slow breathes. I opened my eyes gradually and got up. My anxiety always seemed to be worse when I was tired and today was no exception. It frustrated me how I couldn't enjoy late nights or long days because of my anxiety's love of making me worried over every little thing. Alarming, I didn't really notice it day to day any more as I was so used having to deal with the thoughts of dread that constantly bounced around my mind. Still, I tried not to let it stop me. I took another deep breath before once again grabbing all my stuff and walking apprehensively out the door. My hands shook as I locked the door and I had to steady myself once again. With my head held high, I walked out of the building and set off down the road back to the promenade.

The short stroll helped to clear my mind, I had always used exercise to rid me of anxiety. I tried to take in as much of my surroundings as possible as I made my way through the shops and towards the beach. I could see the waves lapping gently against the sand and the repetitive action helped to calm me. I reached the tower quickly and stood outside awkwardly. I felt my heart speed up slightly and I had to breath slowly as I hung desperately onto the railings. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me and I turned to look as I inhaled deeply.
'Hey, are you ok?' I heard a voice say as I looked up. I saw a lifeguard in a bright blue shirt standing there looking down and I realised that I had somehow fallen to the floor.
'Umm...Yeah...no' I said as I panted for breath, 'I'll be...ok'
He sat down beside me and looked worried as he glanced over my body.
'What's up?' He asked kindly. I felt my cheeks glow red. I hated having to disrupt other people's days just because of my stupid anxiety. There were people in much worse situations that needed the lifeguard's help more than I did.
'It's just anxiety' I panted slowly, 'you don't need to worry about me, I'll be ok.' Suddenly, I felt my heart quicken and I struggled to control my breathing. My fingers felt tingly and my stomach swirled with increasing panic. Everything around me seemed to become more intense. The lapping of the waves became so loud it I couldn't bear it. Every colour seemed to get so bright that my eyes hurt and the smell of saltwater made me want to vomit. My panic increased and I felt my chest tighten as I struggled for air. I felt suffocated in my skin, as if everything was moving closer towards me and I couldn't bear it. Just as I felt as if I was about to choke, a voice cut through the panic.
'Breathe' it said, 'just breathe slowly, you'll be ok.' I looked to the side to see the lifeguard beside me staring at me. I tried to listen to him and slow my breathing but every time I seemed to control it, another wave of panic washed over me.
I heard him trying to get me to count my breathing and eventually, I managed to keep in time with his slow, gentle counts. My fingers started to tingle less and the mist in front of my eyes began to clear. I felt exhausted.
'Are you better now?' The lifeguard asked, 'what's your name?'
'Skye.' I replied weakly as I leant back against the railings behind me. He looked shocked for a second then thoughtful.
'Hang on, are you Skye as in the one who saved that girl earlier on?' He asked looking confused.
'Yeah that's me,' I said shyly.
'Well that was a brilliant job you did out there. Here, do you want to get up and come inside?' He held his hand out and I grabbed it shakily as he helped to pull me up. We stood for a second to let my dizziness subside before walking slowly into the tower.
'Hang on, I never told you who is was,' He said, stopping just before we reached the door, 'I'm Maxi.' I smiled at him gratefully and we made our way inside. The atmosphere in the tower felt calm but concentrated and everything seemed quiet. Maxi lead me up a few steps to the top of the tower. There were several other lifeguards sitting around, all staring intently at the water.
'Hey boys, this is Skye, the super hero,' Maxi piped up as I giggled quietly at this remark, 'but go easy on her, she not feeling too super right this minute.' I felt the eyes of all of the lifeguards land on me as they looked me up and down. My stomach swirled again but I managed to control it. One by one, each of the lifeguards thanked and congratulated me. I was touched by this because to me, what I did was just what any human would do. All of a sudden, maxi emerged round the corner carrying a bottle of water and a chocolate bar.
'Here, these are for you. Let's get some of that super hero strength back!' He said whilst smiling playfully at me. His grin was infectious and I must say that it helped to lift my spirits. I thanked him for them before taking a drink.

A while later, whilst Maxi was showing me the locations of the different rips on the beach, Jesse walked in. He did a double take as he saw me sitting in the tower surrounded by lifeguards. I felt anxious at the thought of having to explain everything to him but quickly, Maxi fixed this by hopping up off his seat and trotting over to Jesse.
'This is Skye the superhero!' He said as he dragged Jesse towards me.
'Calm down mate!' Jesse replied as he followed, 'I know who she is, I saw her earlier.' He turned to me and looked worried as he noticed my pale cheeks and tired eyes. 'Are you ok Skye?' He said gently.
'Um, yeah, I'm ok' I said timidly. All of a sudden, Maxi bounced in and explained to Jesse how he found me and what happened. I felt grateful that Maxi explained it as he managed to make it seem as lighthearted as possible. After the explanation, Jesse looked thoughtful before turning to me.
'Well,' he said, 'after the afternoon you've had I don't expect a night out is particularly important right now. How about I walk you home and we can go out another time?' I smiled at this suggestion, I had been secretly dreading having to go out for drinks in my current state. I gratefully accepted his offer and a while later, we were walking along the promenade towards my apartment. The sun was setting and I felt surprisingly calm.
'Thank you for what you did today.' Jesse said, cutting the comfortable silence we had fallen into.
'Thanks Jesse, but it was nothing, really. I just do it by instinct.'
Suddenly, his pace slowed and a moment of confusion passed his face.
'So are you a lifeguard?' He asked looking hopeful.
'Yeah, I've been doing it for about 9 years now.'
'So, you could work here?'
'Yeah, I was actually going to look for some potential jobs soon.'
'You could work at Bondi!' He said excitedly, 'the try outs are in late August, you'd be perfect for the team!'
Happy butterflies darted about my stomach and I couldn't help but smile.
'I'd like that.' I said shyly. I looked up to see that we had reached my apartment building so I stopped and looked at Jesse.
'We're here,' I told him, gesturing to the building. He looked ever so slightly sad before replying, 'I guess I'll see you around then. Here I'll give you my number, text me and we'll find a day to meet up.' I passed him my phone and we exchanged numbers before shyly saying goodbye to eachother and going our seperate ways.

I walked into the apartment with a whole heap of emotions inside me. I was exhausted, anxious and tearful but also slightly happy. I was so lucky to have met such a beautiful person as Jesse. He was my first friend in Australia and he was so kind and considerate, not to mention the fact that he was also pretty good looking! My mind then drifted to Maxi. I smiled at the thought of his cheerful personality. If anyone had been a superhero today, it was him. I flopped down on the sofa and took off my shoes before wandering into the bedroom. I changed into my comfy pyjamas even though it was only 7:30 before laying down and grabbing my laptop. It was time for long Skype session with my mum...