Love's In The Water ~Jake Nolan~

Chapter Three

I start today at Bondi as a trainee lifeguard after seventeen years, I finally got the traineeship. Nah, I'm kidding but all the guys reckon that I've been the longest trainee ever, beating Maxi's three years with seventeen. I pulled my shirt over my head and jogged to work with Dad. "Jake's offered to be your mentor so no funny business with him please," Dad says as we jogged "Dad, I don't like Jake in that sense, we're just friends," I say "So you're saying that Jake's not a good looking guy?" Dad was stirring the pot the wrong way "I didn't say that! I said that I don't like him in the way you think!" I remark "So he's a good looking guy?" "Yes! But I don't like him like that!" I say "Sure you don't," Dad says, I push him slightly before running faster and reaching the tower before he did "Keep up old man!" I call and go inside "Old man! Who are you calling old man!" He calls out before the door shuts. I get changed across the road and walk into the tower where Jake and Harrison was sitting watching the beach.

"Anything so far?" I ask taking a seat next to him "Nope" Harrison says which was to expected since it was only eight am "You stay you've grown up in the tower and with the guys. What's one thing, you always did when there were new trainees?" Harrison asks and I have to think about it. "Draw on them. If they got annoyed, they got the boot. Jesse was the funniest, you know how he has that rose tattoo on his neck?" I say pointing to my neck where Jesse has the tattoo "Yeah...." Harrison said having no idea where I was going with this but Jake was laughing so hard since he's seen me do it on people "I used to colour in the rose and other tattoos he has" I say "So you'd sit there and colour in his tattoo?" Harrison asked not believing me "You don't believe me, do you?" I say "No. It's a pretty weird thing to do" Harrison defends "Ask him then" I say "Jesse!" Jake calls and Jesse comes to where we were "When you were a trainee, didn't I colour your tattoos all the time. Especially the rose" I ask "Yeah, why did you do that by the way?" He asks "I was bored and you let me and Hoppo actually told me to do because you'd never know when you would have distracting kids" I dobbed Hoppo walked in "Is that true, Hop? Did you use Harries' daughter for training?" Jesse asked "What! Did Harries tell you?!" Hoppo said not denying it "No. But by the distraction herself, Evie" Jesse said "Hi" I said before running out the door with Hoppo on my tail.

I eventually stopped running when I made it back to the lifeguard door from the boardwalk. "Who am I on with?" I ask myself as look at the roster "Me at north, missy!" Mouse said as he picked me up above his head and walked out the tower while the guys in the tower laughed. "Well hello to you too," I say sarcastically as Mouse drives to the northern end of the beach. "How was America?" Mouse asked as we sat in the rhino "Yeah, good. But the beaches were nothing like this. Not as crowded, not as interesting, not as crazy as Bondi" I said "Yeah, you don't get the craziness of Bondi anywhere else. But you missed us didn't you?" Mouse said and looked at me for a moment "Yeah, somehow" I said and Mouse wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me down, messing my hair with his other hand. Mouse has always been like another dad to me quite possibly, the uncle that every family has that makes the party a bit more fun - in all the rights ways. If I ever never needed to talk to someone about something that I couldn't talk to Dad about, I go to Mouse. "What?" I ask as I could feel Mouse staring at the side of my face "Nothing. Just remembering how you were when you were little and needed to be rescued" Mouse said "Okay, that doesn't have to be remembered" I say, yeah I've had to be rescued before and the guys never forget it even if it did happen when I was six and I'm now sixteen "How old are you now? Twelve?" Mouse asked watching the water "You're so funny, but I'm sixteen" I said fake laughing at his dad joke.

"Do you see that little head there a little to the right?" Reidy radioed and we looked to the right and saw a little kid bouncing off the sand bank and "Yeah, copy" Mouse radioed back while I stood next to the buggie getting ready to go if I need to "You might need to go in E" Mouse said watching the kid jump off the sand bank before being swepped off the bank and out of their depths "Go E! Go now" Mouse ordered and I pulled my shirt over my head, the board from the side of buggie and ran into the surf. Dropping the board on the surf and paddling out to the small kid who was going further and further out. The current wasn't that strong for an adult but for a small kid, it was impossible to get back. As the set of waves kept coming, the kid got further and further out, struggling to keep their head above water and was running out of energy. As I watched the kid, they were going under. I reached them as their head went under, I stopped paddling and put my hand in the water trying to grab hold of them. Grabbing hold of the back of the neck I pulled her up onto the board. "You okay?" I asked as I started paddling in and she rested her head in exhaustion "Yeah" and she caught her breath.

Back on shore, Mouse was with the mother and the little girl ran up and hugged her Mum and they both walked away. A man with a muscular build who was very intimidating and was a lot taller then me approached the buggy "Who just saved my daughter?" He demanded "I did, and you're welcome," I said drying my feet "How dare you touch her like that! How dare you grab her so violently on the back of the neck" He said poking my chest "Sorry for doing my job as a lifeguard. And don't touch me again!" I defend rubbing my chest where he poked me "You're no lifeguard! Females aren't physically or mentally as strong as males so don't call yourself a damn lifeguard" The man yelled at me "I don't know what your problem is with me. But this is no way to treat someone. I saved your daughter's life, without me she'd be dead, she would have drowned then the whole team of lifeguards would have to deal with a death at the place they love to work at. So you're welcome for saving your daughter, now get out of my face" I say and turn around "Hey! I'm not done with you!" The man said and pushed me unexpectedly, winding me and pushed me to the ground "Alright mate, that's enough" Mouse said finally stepping in "No! It's not enough! Someone needs to put this b*tch in her place" The man said trying to get pass Mouse but wasn't strong enough to "Lifeguard or not, this is no way to treat someone now leave the beach or I will be forced to call the police and then they can escort you off the beach" Mouse said and the guy backed off.

"You alright?" Mouse asked "N-no," I said struggling the breath "Do we need to call an ambo?" He asks "No. I just need my inhaler" I say "Asthma playing up?" Mouse asks and I nodded. As soon as Mouse had his back turned me the guy grabbed me the straps of my swimmers, bringing me to my feet and punching right across the head. "Ow! You a**hole!" I screamed holding my head before coping another blow to the head then another and they kept coming. "Could someone come down to north corner with Eve's... inhaler?" Mouse said to the radio before turning around "Mouse!" I said and he turned around with the radio his hand "Hey! Get away from her!" The can-am pulled up and someone ran out and hugged me, passing me my inhaler while the other scared of the man. "You're bleeding pretty badly. I'm going to take up to the tower and we'll take it from there" Jake said and lifted me to my feet and helped me up to the can-am and sped up to the tower.

"You okay?" Jake asks as I step out of the can-am "Yeah" I say struggling and taking a puff from my inhaler without a sign, he picks me as I couldn't walk up the stairs. "Thanks," I said at the top "Yeah, no problem" And I stumble into the tower "Eve!" Everything goes black.