Waves

CHAPTER 01

The other man laughed along with Nora. He introduced himself, saying, "I'm Deano."

"Nice to meet you, too," Nora shook his hand as well.

"Wow, you do have a strong grip!" Deano gasped.

"Sorry," Nora apologized, wondering if she was about to be scolded.

"Not at all!" Deano assured her at the same time Mouse said, "It's alright!"

Nora laughed. She already liked these guys.

"Well, let's get home, shall we?" Mouse held the rope up so Nora could duck through. "Is that your only bag?" He asked her.

Nora nodded. It was all she needed.

Mouse and Deano both frowned, but didn't say anything more about it. They led the way through the airport confidently, and Nora trailed behind, trying not to get lost or pushed away by the crowd. She was amazed at how tall both Mouse and Deano were. Especially Deano. He was at least 6' 4", if not more. And Mouse was probably 5' 11". They were huge compared to Nora's puny 4' 3".

--

When the group finally made it past security and bag checks, and out to the streets of Sydney, Nora was sweating. Back home, it was November and winter was already deciding to show its true strength. It was abnormal for temperatures to be below ten or twenty degrees in November, but it had been negative twelve when she left for the airport, so Nora was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck.

She rolled the sleeves up as she walked, but it did little to help against the already humid air of the Australian November. It must have been seventy eight degrees outside, which was way too hot for a turtleneck and jeans.

Mouse cast her an amused look as he watched the girl tug on the neck of her shirt. "Hot?" He asked her.

"Yes," Nora replied honestly.

"Well, I hate to say this, but you're a bit overdressed," Deano said.

"It's winter in America. The day I left on the plane, it was negative twelve degrees Fahrenheit," Nora explained.

Mouse and Deano both cringed at the mention of the temperature, making Nora laugh slightly. Clearly, they were not used to the icy cold winters of Midwestern America.

As they walked through the doors of the airport, it was Nora's turn to cringe. She was so hot in her clothes she felt as if she were almost choking. Mouse led her over to a gray Subaru, while Deano dropped back to walk next to her. Nora wondered if he was thinking she'd get heat stroke.

"Here, you can put your bag in the back," Mouse told her, opening the back door. "I hope you brought shorts and tank tops, because this is only the start of the summer," He added after a moment.

Of course Nora had brought shorts and a tank top. But only one pair. Just as this was her only pair of warm clothes. Nora had a few others back in America, but she had left them with the orphanage because, technically, the orphanage owned them, not her.

Once again, Nora was reminded of her bank account. Her bank account that sat, entirely unused for all of her life despite her being able to access it since she was five. Her bank account that held 400 million dollars in it, an inheritance from her parents. She had the debit card in her bag, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to finally tap into a little bit of the money. At least enough to buy her some new clothes and a new backpack. Maybe a surfboard if she was really feeling like treating herself.

"Passenger rear," Mouse told her as he closed the door after she had placed her bag carefully inside. It didn't hold much, just the change of clothes and the laptop that she'd saved up for four years to buy. Oh, and that debit card with 400 million dollars that she hadn't spent a penny of.

"Okay," Nora was confused on why Mouse wanted her to walk into traffic instead of get in the driver's side, but maybe there was stuff there or something.

She moved to walk around the car, and Mouse grabbed her arm instantly, hauling her back as a line of traffic whizzed past so close that Nora nearly touched the side of the door. "Passenger side, Nora," Mouse snapped.

Nora turned toward him, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "But that is the- oh."

"Australia, not America. We're not backwards," Deano sang as Mouse steered her around the car back to the sidewalk. Nora's heart was still racing from the close call.

"Sorry I snapped at you," Mouse apologized as Nora opened the door, "You cut it really close there, that's all."

"It's okay," Nora replied with a small smile. She really wasn't perturbed. After all, she knew just how close that call was, too. She'd been hit by a car before, and it wasn't pretty. She was certainly not keen on it happening again so soon.

She hopped into the car and Mouse shut the door behind her as Deano hopped into the driver's seat. Traffic whizzed past only a moment after he'd shut his door, but all of them were unharmed.

"Who knew that would be so difficult?" Mouse asked the rest of the car.

Nora laughed slightly. She certainly hadn't. It was her first time flying, and only her second time at an airport, if you counted the one in Omaha that she'd flown from.

"It's a forty minute drive, so you can relax," Deano told Nora as she clicked her seat belt in place.

Nora nodded and looked out the window, watching as skyscrapers and cars flashed past.

MOUSE

Mouse relaxed in his seat, glancing again at the rear view mirror to check on Nora. She seemed pretty comfortable, just chilling in the back. Her phone was in her hands, but her eyes were focused on the city flashing past. Occasionally, she would lift her phone and snap a picture of something, before putting it back down.

"Have you ever seen the beach before?" Deano was the one who broke the silence. Mouse was relieved to hear something other than horns honking and sirens going off. The lack of noise hadn't exactly been awkward, but it hadn't been all that comfortable, either. Probably because Mouse didn't know Nora, and she might be a little intimidated by the presence of the two men.

"No," Nora told them, "I've only ever swum in swimming pools, and once in the wave pool at a theme park."

"Oh, alright," Mouse said in surprise. He couldn't imagine growing up without a beach nearby.

Nora shifted in her seat slightly as the car fell quiet again. She was so tiny! Mouse was amazed that an eleven year old could be so small. She looked more like she was eight than eleven. Mouse would have thought she'd faked her age, had she not acted so mature and calm with him and Deano. No doubt she was intimidated by the two.

--

Forty minutes later, Deano pulled up to Mouse's street. The drive would have taken a lot less time without the traffic in Sydney, but Nora didn't seem to mind. Then again, she'd just been on a 22 hour flight. Forty minutes was probably nothing to her.

"Are you ready to see the apartment?" Mouse asked Nora. When he'd seen that she had accepted him, he'd gone straight to work on her room.

"Yea!" Nora grinned back at the two guys. She watched as Deano pulled up to the curb, right next to a three story apartment complex.

Mouse stepped out of the car and stretched, feeling tired after a several hour round trip. He had no doubt that Nora was feeling ten times worse. The time zone shift meant that she had basically skipped over Friday as well, which probably didn't help her.

Nora grabbed her bag from the back of the car, and Mouse pulled his keys out and led the way inside.

--

DUN DUN DUN...

Anyway, that's the first chapter of Waves. Hope y'all liked it! Thanks so much for reading and once again, please vote and comment!