Fluke

2: Strangers Like Me

The six of us piled all of our belongings onto Toby's small boat for him to take to Paradise City along with a few brave souls. Toby brought the boat back, and I climbed on board along with a few strangers, including Puke Boy, who still looked awfully green.

The ocean sprayed my face, and even though salt wasn't a usual part of a skin care routine, I savored the way it cooled my skin. I could already feel how red my face was, and even though I used SPF 50 sunscreen, there wasn't much I could do to keep my skin from burning.

A loud foghorn greeted us, and as we landed on the rocky shore of Paradise City, one of the brave souls from the first venture held out his hand to help me out.

My eyes followed his tattooed arm up to his face as I took his hand, and he wore a small smile.

"Thank you," I said with a small nod of the head.

"No problem. What's your name?" he asked.

"Reagan. Yours?"

"Brett. You don't talk a lot, do you?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, at least."

"Good, because the other chick won't shut up."

I scooped up my luggage into my arms, and although it had gotten a little wet from the trip, it wasn't enough to soak through the suitcase. I looked over to Puke Boy, who carried his stuff in a plastic garbage bag.

The foghorn blared again, and I looked back to my belongings and sighed.

I was no stranger to athletic activity, but the thought of carrying my stuff up the rock-strewn terrain didn't sound the slightest bit enjoyable. But there were some times that I just had to get back on the horse of life.

Yeehaw.

We began our trek to the house, which wouldn't have been far if it weren't for the unevenness of the land. Some rock formations towered higher than I could climb, so the only option was to go around.

I wasn't even short, so what kind of bullshit was that?

The foghorn went off again, and the gulls of the island squawked as we passed by.

"We're not going to hurt your babies. Stop yelling at us," an unnamed student said. He walked beside Toby, and as a gull flew overhead, it dropped some poop on him.

I laughed.

He let out an annoyed sigh, then turned to me. "Yeah, it's hilarious."

I stopped laughing.

"Darrell, you really should be used to that by now," Toby said, laughing just as I did.

This Darrell person wiped his hand through his hair, which was tightly coiled to the top of his head, then flicked it to get the bird poop off. "That doesn't make it a pleasant experience."

We stopped in front of the house, and I set my bag down and stretched out my arms.

Toby looked over the group, then said, "Alright, everyone. As most of you know, my name is Toby, and I act as the manager here at Paradise City. However, most of the time, I try to stay out of your hair. Darrell, if you'd like to take them on a tour of the house, that'd be great."

"Consider it done." Darrell clapped his hands together. "Okay, rookies, pay attention and try to keep up, because this is going to be the most efficient tour you've ever been on."

He opened the door to the house, and we headed inside. A Home Sweet Home mat adorned the floor, fresh and clean for the new year of projects.