Turtle Bay (10 page)

"Farrah?" I said, surprised to see her on my porch. "How did you find me?"

"Evan told me." She smiled tentatively, peeking cautiously over my shoulder.

"You want to come in?" I asked, holding open the door.

"I can't. I mean, I would, but I'm grounded. My mom said I could come over to see how it went with you today."

"I got a butt-load of community service," I said, leaning on the doorframe. "What about you?"

"A fine. My parents pulled some strings." She looked sorry, like she should apologize for having parents who had the means to get her out of trouble.

"Well, the only strings I have are in my shoes," I said sarcastically.

She looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry. It hardly seems fair."

I shrugged. "Hey, it's not your fault. That's life, I guess. Money talks. Evan got off too."

"Maybe with the judge, but his dad went nuts. He's forcing Evan to go back to New York with him. From what Leslie says, he's always been that way. Pretty much runs Evan's entire life like a tyrant. Talk about daddy issues to the max, huh?"

"I guess," I said, digesting her news. Apparently we all had parental issues. Some worse than others.

"Anyway, I better head home before my dad comes and drags me away. Maybe when I'm not grounded we can hang out? You know, without getting arrested."

"Truth," I snickered. "I'll either be here or serving my debt to society."

She grinned before heading down my driveway.

"Who was that?" Buttercup asked, walking out of the kitchen.

"Farrah. She got off with a fine like Evan."

"That's just the way the world works, sweetie," she said, placing an arm around me and dragging me in for a quick hug. "How did she seem besides that?"

"She was cool," I said, flashing my first smile of the day. Maybe I didn't lose all my potential friends.

Chapter 6

For the rest of the week I pretty much hung around the house, reading and entertaining Player. I did stop in to give Fred at the Tasty Freeze the bad news. He was cool about it, stating that if I wanted to try again next summer, he'd be willing to give me another shot. I also heard from my court advocate with the details of my community service sentence. Six-hour shifts per day for the next nine weeks over the summer and then weekends for the final thirty hours once school started.

The following Monday I woke up early and dressed in an old pair of cutoffs and a T-shirt since I had no idea what kind of work I would be doing. Butch drove me to the address I had been given and promised to pick me up later that day.

The nondescript building matched the color of the sand, which seemed fitting considering it sat right off the beach.

"Good luck! Don't pick any fights with anyone bigger than you, and don't drop any soap in the shower," Butch joked, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes as I climbed out of the van. "You're hilarious. I'll try to hold my own."

"Be careful," he said solemnly.

I waited until he drove away to walk into the building. A blast of cool air hit me in the face when I opened the door. I stood for a moment, soaking in the air conditioning I didn't have in my room at home. Not that I would complain. I loved having my own space more than anything.

"Do you need help, dear?" the receptionist asked from her desk that sat right inside the door.

Stepping farther into the small waiting room, I handed over my court advocate paperwork that I held clutched in my hands. "I'm supposed to report here for my community service," I said, feeling slightly flushed. Not knowing how much of the details people would have on me made the experience more humiliating.

The receptionist, who introduced herself as Vanessa, was nice enough. She had me sit for a few minutes while she figured out my assignment for the day.

"Looks like we're going to have you do some beach cleanup today," Vanessa said. "You need to keep this paper with you and have whoever you're assigned with sign off on it every day. At the end of each week you hand it in to me and I will send it off to your court advocate so your time can be recorded," she said, handing me a sheet of paper. "Do you have any questions?"

"I don't think so. I mean, where do I go?" I asked, folding the paper and sticking it in the pocket of my shorts.

"You've been assigned to Larry today. Just wait here. He should be here any minute to pick you up."

I nodded my head, sitting on one of the chairs to wait. My heart stuttered when someone wearing the familiar lifeguard shirt walked into the reception area. It took me less than a second to register it wasn't Josh. I knew when I was given my assignment that it was probably inevitable that I would run into him. Talk about the ultimate kick in the head. It was a sad twist of fate, but the punishment made sense, considering my arrest for destruction of public beach property. One thing was certain: When and if I did run into Josh, I would show him he meant nothing. Cute or not, he was still a narc.

Larry arrived within minutes and turned out to be as nice as Vanessa. "Welcome to the Camden County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue Agency. Or as I like to call it, the C.C.B.S.O.R.A." He laughed when he saw the confused look on my face. "I'm just kidding. Not about the name though. It is a mouthful. You'll get used to my humor, don't worry. I'm Larry," he said, holding out his hand.

"Rain," I replied, reaching for his hand. Rather than shake in the traditional manner, he clasped my hand upright and placed his other hand over ours like we had made some sort of pact.

"Rain? I can dig it," he said, nodding his head. "Let's go."

Larry looked like a throwback to the surfer era of the Sixties with his long, choppy hairstyle and deep tan lines. He had to be in his early fifties if I had to guess, judging by the gray hair and wrinkles on his face, but you would never know it based on his physique. He had the build of a much younger man. He reminded me a lot of Butch, go figure. He was definitely as talkative as Butch and kept a running commentary throughout the day. I was relieved he didn't treat me like some sort of drill sergeant.

Even though his job was more to babysit me for the day, Larry pitched in when he could and helped me pick up trash and debris off the beach. After only a few hours of work, I was completely disgusted by what we had collected. Seriously, did no one know how to use a trash can? As the morning wore on and the beach became more crowded, Larry had to work to maneuver the four-wheeler we were riding around sunbathers and small kids who would wait until the last possible second to cross in front of us. Larry handled it well by slowing our speed to a near crawl. I was just happy not to be working in the area near my house since I assumed Josh would likely be in that vicinity.

"You did real good today," Larry said when my six-hour shift came to a close. He drove the four-wheeler along the wide sidewalk to take us back to the patrol office.

"Thanks," I said, trying to work the kink out of my back from the constant bending over. "My back may not forgive me. I feel like a fifty-year-old man," I teased.

"Ha, until things start popping and creaking when you stretch you don't get to make that claim. You're a spring chicken."

"I feel like a cooked chicken."

He laughed. "You're out of shape, girl. We need to get you out on a board. A little wave time will get you all loosey-goosey before you know it."

"Hard pass. The ocean made me its bitch already. I'm not looking for a repeat butt kicking."

"That's the first step. It's all about respect. Now that she's made you feel inferior, you can serve her."

I snorted. "You gonna start chanting?"

"I just might," he laughed. "To me, there's no place better than right out there in those waves."

"I better just stick to my community service."

"How many hours you got?" he asked, pulling around to the back of the building.

"Two hundred and ninety-four left to go," I answered, pulling out my sheet of paper from my back pocket so he could sign off.

He let out a low whistle. "Damn, what'd you do, rob an ice cream stand?"

"You got me," I lied. After spending the day picking up trash with Larry, I was mortified to admit what had really happened. "When I want a banana split I will go to whatever lengths necessary."

"You and me both," he said, holding up his hand for us to shake in the same manner we had done when we met. He was in the process of filling out my time sheet when another ATV pulled in beside us. I didn't have to look to know it was Josh. I had a feeling, especially since with my luck lately, that of course I would run into him when I was hot and sticky and covered in sand.

Larry called out a greeting to him, which Josh returned. I waited for him to offer up an apology, like "hey, I'm sorry I ratted out the party and got you in a heap of trouble and blew your new job and basically ruined your summer." Anything like that might have been appropriate, but he didn't even acknowledge my presence. He headed into the building without so much as a glance my way. I glared at him for good measure and would have stuck out my tongue at his retreating backside if it wasn't so immature, especially with Larry watching.

"Will I be with you tomorrow?" I asked when he handed over my time sheet.

"Not tomorrow, honey. It's my day off, but you should be in good hands," he said, shooting me a wide smile before heading through the same door Josh had disappeared behind. I decided to walk around the outside of the building to wait for my ride rather than cut through the receptionist's area. The last thing I wanted to do was give Josh another excuse to snub me. Butch showed up after only a few minutes and I climbed into the van quickly, grateful to put some distance between the rat and me.

"How'd it go?" Butch asked as he maneuvered into traffic.

"Okay. They assigned me with a nice guy you'd probably like. People are freaking slobs though!" I griped, looking at my dirty, grimy hands that were also scratched up from the pieces of driftwood Larry and I dragged out of the way earlier. Half my nails were broken down to the quick while the other half had an inch of dirt crammed underneath.

"Looks like you had a tough day," Butch observed, taking in my battered hands. "You should bring Buttercup's gardening gloves with you tomorrow."

"That's what I was thinking," I said, resting my head back against the seat in exhaustion.

Once we got home, I showered thoroughly before crawling into my favorite PJs. It was still the afternoon, but I was beyond tired. Switching on my fans, I opened all my windows before crawling into bed with Player.

I ended up dozing off before dinner and slept through the night, but woke up the next morning feeling refreshed but ravenous.

"Feeling better?" Buttercup asked when I joined her in the kitchen.

I shrugged, grabbing a coffee mug from the cabinet. "I'm still sore and my fingernails may never be the same again, but I guess I'll survive. I did the crime, I guess I have to pay the piper," I answered, using one of Buttercup's favorite quotes.

"I'm glad you have that attitude. Your dad and I still feel three hundred hours was excessive, but we're proud of your maturity."

"It stings a little since technically I did nothing wrong except the underage drinking, but at least I feel like I'm doing something good. I'd be singing a different tune if they had me volunteering at a hospital or something," I said, shuddering slightly.

Buttercup nodded, well aware of my aversion to blood.

"Who's giving me a ride in today?" I asked, before heading back to my room with coffee in hand.

"I am. What time do we need to leave?"

"I have to be there by nine, so probably like a quarter till."

"Okey-dokey, artichokie."

Vanessa was sitting at her desk when I arrived at the beach patrol office with five minutes to spare. I was dressed in old clothes again like I had the day before, but this time I had come prepared with gloves.

"How'd it go yesterday?" Vanessa asked after greeting me.

"Not bad. Larry's cool. People are slobs though."

She laughed. "Welcome to tourist season. It'll get better once summer ends. It's the double-edged sword of living in a beach community. We need tourist dollars, but unfortunately, they don't always appreciate the importance of protecting the environment like we do."
 

"Well, I got all summer to show them," I joked.

She smiled and pulled up the work schedule on her computer. "Larry's off today, but I matched you up with one of our younger workers, Josh. He's going to be manning his lifeguard stand, so you'll be working around that area. That way if you need anything he'll be on hand."

I muttered a string of curse words under my breath. I'm pretty sure Vanessa heard me, but she was still looking at her computer screen. It was bound to happen. As a matter of fact, I'd been expecting it. Just not so soon. I needed more time to mentally prepare myself. Then maybe the urge to punch him in the nuts would have passed.

"You okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have something caught in my throat."

"Oh, there's water over there if you need it. Josh told me to tell you to meet him out back when you got here," she said, smiling warmly before returning to her work.