(}--|NINE DAYS LATER|--{)
NORA
Nora leaned over her computer as she entered the answer for yet another mathematical equation. She let out a little victory cry when it was correct. That was her last math lesson for the year. She was ready to enjoy the rest of her summer, and then start ninth grade in public, Australian high school the year after. Or year nine as it was called in her new country.
Squeezing the squish-mallow stuffed animal that Jesse had given her a week and a half ago, Nora glanced at the bandages across her hand. The wound was mostly healed, thankfully, because Jesse and Matt Dee had promised to take her surfing that day.
Mouse was in the living room, watching some sort of television talk show that bored Nora to death. Not that she would say that out loud.
Over the past week and a half, Nora had gotten closer to each of the lifeguards. Especially Jesse, Matt Dee, and Mouse. She hadn't gotten to speak with Jules much, but Nora had her number and the two had texted.
Talia and Nora had talked a lot, too. They had even face timed once or twice, but Nora's old phone was too decrepit to keep its battery when that happened. Nora feared that her phone might die once and for all pretty soon, since it had to almost constantly be on the charger.
Nora stood from her desk and pushed her chair in. She clicked off of her math program and closed her computer lid, before stretching as largely as she could. She yawned, squeaking slightly like she always did, and then walked out of her room.
Mouse glanced up as Nora walked into the living room. She offered him a wave, and he lifted his hand in greeting, before turning back to the television. Some dude dressed in a purple suit with sparkly golden dyed hair spoke into a microphone. Nora thought he looked like Caesar Flickerman from the Hunger Games.
"Jesse and Matt should be here in like five minutes," Mouse told Nora, "You should go and get your wet suit on."
"Okay," Nora turned and scampered into her bedroom, where the wet suit she'd bought from Rosie was hanging next to her closet.
She slipped a small bikini for underneath the suit, and then struggled into the piece. It was hard to get on, and she knew she would probably have to have help zipping it up. And then she grabbed the board bag from the closet and struggled to lift it down the hall.
"Mouse?" Nora asked as she lifted the board into the living room and leaned it against the back of the chair.
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Can you help me? I can't reach the zipper at the back of the wet suit."
"Sure," The television paused and heavy footsteps thumped around the living room. Nora couldn't see Mouse, because she was trying to grab the zipper and pull it up.
"Here," Mouse's calloused hands wrapped around her own and pulled them away. He reached down and zipped up the back of her wet suit, all the way up to the little turtleneck thing.
There was a knock on the door, and then the door opened. "Hey guys!" Jesse's voice sounded out.
"'Sup bro?" Mouse walked from around Nora's board and did some sort of weird handshake with Jesse and then Matt Dee. A third man popped up from around the two, and then another after that. Nora recognized Reidy from when she had met Jesse and him after her drastic disaster of a swim with Mouse, but she didn't know the other guy.
"I'm Whippet," He was quick to introduce himself, and he offered her a one armed hug, which Nora accepted.
"Have fun," Mouse told the group as they traipsed outside. Nora turned back to wave goodbye, before Matt put his hand on her shoulder and steered her across the pavement.
The group trotted down the stairs, surfboards under their arms, and took off towards the waves.
Nora grinned as she and Matt Dee jumped over the tops of the waves and then flopped onto their boards. Nora already knew how to paddle, since she had been boogie boarding with Talia. She managed to keep up with Matt as the two made their way out into the middle of the impact zone.
"Harrison will join us later," Matt told Nora as they waited in the surf. There was a lull between the waves as they were waiting, which was good because Nora wasn't sure how she would have gotten out while there were a lot of waves rushing her. She'd never been on a surfboard before.
"Okay," Nora said. She remembered Harrison from the party. He had been fun, and nice. A lot like Maxi.
Matt Dee watched the swell, and Nora copied him, but she had no idea what to look for.
All of a sudden, Whippet said, "It's coming, move!"
Nora was grateful for his warning. She struggled slightly to turn her board around and then started to paddle, trying to keep up with Matt and Whippet.
"Get up now!" Jesse hollered.
Nora leaned forward onto the wave and popped up. Or, at least, she tried to. But her feet slipped and instead she ended up falling backward, landing on her back painfully. She sank beneath the waves for a moment, before breast stroking upward until her head broke the surface.
She reached for her board, grateful for the leg rope, and pulled herself back onto it. A little ways away, Matt Dee was sitting on his own board, waiting for Nora. He grinned at her as she wrung out her hair. "You good?" He asked.
Nora gave him a thumbs up and turned into a wave to paddle back out. She did it wrong, though, because a moment later she found herself in the water again instead of on her board. She resurfaced to the sound of Matt laughing at her.
Nora laughed, too, and listened as Matt instructed her on how to lift her board to tackle the waves coming at her.
MOUSE
Mouse leaned back into the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table and holding the ice pack to his chest. Harrison was standing, a beer in his hand as he absentmindedly watched Mouse's talk show with him. He was supposed to be surfing with Nora and the others, but he'd stopped by to talk to Mouse, first.
Maxi had gone down to the beach after saying hi to Mouse. He was more excited than usual to go surfing, and Mouse wondered if it had something to do with Nora also being down there. Maxi loved kids, and he loved to teach. It wouldn't surprise Mouse in the slightest if Nora was going to be his experimental surfing pupil. He wasn't worried. Maxi knew when to back off and when to push.
Mouse was watching the talk show, too, but only slightly. His focus was mostly on Harrison as the younger man sipped his 'special drink', to use one of Nora's strange terminologies.
"What's on your mind, mate?" Mouse finally asked as he reached over and clicked off the show. Neither of them were really watching it, anyway.
Harrison blinked, as if coming out of a trance, and turned to Mouse. "Maxi and I got kicked out of the apartment," He said.
"You did?" Mouse asked in surprise. He hadn't heard anything about this, but he'd been so busy with Nora and his injuries, and having not been at work for the past week, that it wasn't all that surprising he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah, two days ago. We're staying in a hotel right now," Harrison explained.
"So you guys don't know what to do," Mouse realized.
"Yeah. Maxi's thinking about moving back in with his family, but I know he doesn't want to. It's a bit chaotic at his house right now, since his mom just had another baby and then there's a four year old, too," Harrison said.
Mouse chuckled. Maxi was good with babies, but he couldn't imagine the lifeguard turned firefighter living with his mom and dad again. "You know, I have two extra bedrooms," He said, "You're both welcome to stay if you like."
"You do?" Harrison asked in surprise, "I didn't know that."
"Yep, let me show you," Mouse stood and strode to the hall where he and Nora slept. He hadn't opened either of the doors in a long time, since he had no use for them. And judging by the dust on the doorknobs, Nora hadn't explored them, either. She probably just thought they were extra closets or something.
Harrison leaned over Mouse's shoulder, looking at the painted blue walls and plain white bedspread. There was a small closet, and a mirror, and that was about it.
"Not much, but it's a warm bed and there'll be Nora's cooking," Mouse told Harrison.
"That's all either of us need. Thanks, Mouse! Can I pay you or-"
Mouse cut him off, "Move in on Monday and bring Nora a stuffed animal, and we've got a done deal."
Harrison shook his hand and grinned.