The Uneventful Life of Harvey Mackler

c h a p t e r | n i n e

The blond surfer readjusts his board then promptly jogs back into the water to catch the next wave.

"No seriously, Harv. What do you do all day?"

I consider this for a moment. "Things have been slower than usual lately," I admit. "Nothing that exciting has happened since Hunter's party last week."

Finn's technique is slightly better this time. He manages to stay on the board for longer and even do a couple manoeuvres while in the water.

"Really? Not even Hayden?" Gia asks. "He hasn't found a way to upset you?"

"He's got a job now, so he isn't around as much."

"Hayden got a job? Where?"

I pull my phone away from my ear and check the caller ID to make sure I'm talking to the right person. Since when did Gia care so much about Hayden's life?

With a shrug, I reply, "That tech store in the White. He said Jay got it for him or whatever. Anyway, that's beside the point. We're getting off topic."

"Oh yes," Gia realises. "The topic. Your uneventful life, wasn't it? Well, hopefully something exciting will happen soon to spice up your life."

"Yeah..." My gaze drifts outside once again. Looks like Finn's attempting a roundhouse cutback. Not bad...

"Maybe like that Finn guy that you're always bitching about."

That gets my attention.

"That I'm what?" I splutter, pulling myself away from the window. "Gi. Don't even get me started."

Suddenly, I hear a slew of sentences spoken in quick-fire Italian coming from Gia's end of the phone. She responds back in Italian in an equally loud, equally rapid fashion, then releases a sigh.

To me, in English, she says, "I'd love to get you started, Harvey, but I think I need to go now."

I pull a face. "I guessed so. Don't sweat about it; I haven't spoken to anyone since breakfast. I should probably go socialise myself."

Gia laughs again. "Okay then. Talk to you later, Harv."

"Bye, Gia."

><{{{(•>

A few hours later, after getting roped into a lengthy Lego project with Harry, I finally venture downstairs to find the living room empty.

I look around curiously. I swear I could hear Hayden's voice down here before.

Something on the coffee table near the sofas catches my eye, so I walk towards it. It's a pair of reading glasses, but I don't think I've seen them before. I pick the glasses up, turning it over to examine it.

"HEY, HAYDEN!" I shout, as I slip them on. "DID YOU GET NEW GLASSES?"

Whoa. I blink rapidly, promptly taking the glasses off. My eyes adjust to seeing normally again. These feel different to Hayden's usual prescription.

"Those are mine actually," a familiar British accent says, taking the glasses out of my hands.

Baffled, I turn to face Finn. "You wear glasses?"

Finn's gaze flitters up, breaking away from his glasses which he had been previously inspecting. "Yes, well. Not everyone is born with 20/20 vision."

Finn starts to walk away. I follow him into the dining room, where I see Hayden sequestered in the corner with towering piles of paper assembled around him.