CHAPTER 2 - SHE-DEVIL IN THE RED BIKINI
Chapter Two picks up as Rebekka sets out to start making trouble for Kelly - but before long, Kelly won't be the only one who's going to have her hands full. As promised, there's also some ReeFin later in the chapter (but you may want to brace yourself for what happens).
Prime Writer - Reef's got something coming for his little prank on the girls in the first chapter, but it won't be coming until the end of the story. As for Rebekka, you're right about her being a piece of work, but we'll see just how much of one she is in this and the later chapters.
The following morning, Emma and Lo arrived for work at the Pirate Ship and met Kelly near the pickup window. "Wait, hold on a second," Emma said when she noticed something was slightly off. "I see the three of us here, but where's Bonnie? I thought she'd be joining us for work."
"She is, just not in the DR," Kelly explained. "I had to reassign Bonnie temporarily to food prep in the kitchen."
"Why, is Sabrina after her again?" Lo wondered.
"No," Kelly said. "One guess why I really had to, though."
The answer quickly dawned on Lo. "Rebekka," the middle Ridgemount offspring guessed.
"Right," Kelly said. "It's bad enough as it is when Sabrina hassles Bonnie, but the way Rebekka is? That's why I don't want Bonnie anywhere in sight of her. If Rebekka found out about Bonnie's shyness and her stuttering problem... No, I can't risk it. Bonnie's better off in the kitchen until Rebekka leaves."
"What about if she showed up here to eat?" Emma said. "What if she asked for one of us to wait on her?"
"If Rebekka comes here to eat - well, I'll just have to bite the bullet and serve her myself," Kelly said. "I dread the idea, but if it'll draw her attention away from the rest of you, then I'll take one for the team." As she was about to say something else though, Kelly, along with Emma and Lo, heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Looking to the front entrance, the girls spotted Rebekka standing there, looking right at them as she waited to be seated.
"Speaking of the she-devil..." Kelly said in a low tone, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she saw her old adversary waiting for a table.
"You sure you don't want one of us to serve her?" Lo said, following Kelly's lead by talking quietly to make sure Rebekka did not hear them from where she was. "She doesn't know me or Emma..."
"No, it's okay, I got this," Kelly said, right before she started toward the Pirate Ship entrance, prepping herself mentally to deal with what she expected to have to deal with while Rebekka was in the dining lounge.
"Well, it's about time you got here," Rebekka remarked as Kelly arrived at the cash register. "You know that waitresses are supposed to be, like, prompt with their service."
Kelly was tempted to fire off a comeback at Rebekka, but she instead held her tongue as she shot the snobby blonde a glare, figuring right away that she was going to prove to be a difficult and demanding customer. "Come on, I'll take you to a table," she replied as she started toward the nearest empty table.
"Come now, Kelly, you're supposed to smile like the other waitresses do when they serve their customers," Rebekka said, enjoying every second of being able to look down at her rival. "And I'd prefer to have a table with a lobby view, if you don't mind."
I'll give you a close-up view of my fist if you keep pushing your luck, Kelly thought as she again glared at Rebekka. "As you wish," she said semi-enthusiastically, then she led Rebekka to her requested table where she could people-watch while looking out to the lobby.
"Oh, and nice costume, by the way," Rebekka said as she took her seat, commenting about Kelly's pirate captain outfit. "I never knew you could pull off Pirates of the Caribbean chic like that."
Kelly was none too pleased about Rebekka's backhanded "compliment" of her work outfit, but she had to grin and bear it. "Here you go," she said as she handed Rebekka a menu. "I'll be back to take your order in a bit."
"Wait, don't go yet, Kelly," Rebekka said after taking a quick glance at the menu and spotting what she wanted. "I've already decided what I'd like for breakfast."
"Okay...what'll it be?" a hesitant Kelly asked.
"I'd like a chicken caesar wrap with the soup of the day and a lemon sparkling water," Rebekka said.
Crap, I knew this was coming with her, Kelly thought to herself as her suspicions about Rebekka's intentions were confirmed. "The chicken caesar wrap and the soup of the day aren't on the breakfast menu," she rightly pointed out. "We don't serve those until the lunch menu starts at eleven."
Rebekka simply glanced at Kelly after hearing what she told her. "Do I look like I care?" Rebekka said dryly. "When I ask for something from the menu, I expect to have it. I asked for a chicken casear wrap and the soup of the day, and that's what I want." Even though she knew that the items she asked for were not on the Pirate Ship's breakfast menu, Rebekka had demanded them anyway, simply to give Kelly a hard time.
"Well, if you want them, then you should come back here at eleven," Kelly stated plainly. "Otherwise, there's other things you could order from the breakfast menu. If not, then maybe you should go someplace in town to eat."
"Do I have to call whoever's in charge here at the hotel?" said Rebekka, still pushing to have her way. Kelly assumed she was talking about getting Carter, the current day manager, but Rebekka thought that Bummer, who she had spoken to at the front desk during check-in yesterday, was the one in charge, even though she did not know of Bummer being demoted from the day manager's position last year. "Now then, I'll have that chicken caesar wrap and the soup of the day with lemon sparkling water," Rebekka again demanded. "Now."
Not wishing for Rebekka to cause a scene in the restaurant, Kelly had no choice but to give in. "Fine, I'll see what I can do," she said with a sigh as she headed over to the kitchen. Rather than deal with Chef directly, Kelly went to Bonnie and asked her about obtaining the ingredients for the items Rebekka wanted, then prepping and cooking them. When Chef asked what was going on, Kelly simply told him about Rebekka and the order she made. Meanwhile, Rebekka overheard what sounded like a brief argument going on in the kitchen between Kelly and Chef over the issue of a customer ordering a non-breakfast menu item for breakfast, and she delighted in the discord she had sown at that moment.
A while later, Kelly arrived back in the dining area with Rebekka's order. "Well now, about time you brought out my order," Rebekka remarked snidely as Kelly set down the tray. "I didn't think you'd ever get here with it."
"Enjoy," a resentful Kelly muttered before she went back to work, preferring to avoid dealing with her as much as possible while she was there. After Rebekka finished her meal, Kelly brought her bill to her and took back her tray. "So, enjoy your meal?" Kelly asked, wary of what the answer would be.
"The chicken was a bit dry and the soup arrived kind of lukewarm, but otherwise...it was passable," Rebekka said of the meal, even though, in fact, the chicken was cooked right and the soup was hot on arrival - she had simply chosen to hassle Kelly about the food for kicks. Right after that, as Rebekka paid her bill at the cash register, she asked, "Do the waitresses here accept tips?"
"They do," Kelly replied.
"Okay, here's a tip for you - next time, do a better job with your service here," Rebekka quipped, then she walked away with a laugh while Kelly glared at her, not happy about Rebekka's unfair criticism of her waitressing skills and the food at the dining lounge.
After Rebekka left, Emma walked up beside Kelly. "You okay, Kelly?" the redhead asked. "I saw the way she acted with you while you had to serve her."
"I survived," Kelly admitted, glad that Rebekka had gone off to do whatever she had planned. "But I hate to think how it's gonna be around the hotel as long as she's here."
A while later, Reef had just finished up a surfing lesson with one of the guests at the hotel beach when he checked his clipboard to see who was scheduled next for a lesson. "Okay, who's next?" he called while still looking at the clipboard.
"That'd be me," a female voice replied, then Reef looked up from the clipboard - and was stunned to see who his next student was. Reef checked out the girl in question, who had long, waist-length sandy-blonde hair, a slim-yet-curvy figure and was wearing a red bikini. "I'm Rebekka," she identified herself.
Holy mackerel, what a babe! Reef thought to himself as he continued to look over Rebekka. She's easily gotta be a D-cup, he also thought as he took a moment to look at her breasts while looking her up and down. Knowing that Reef was looking her over, and enjoying his attention, Rebekka turned around slowly to let him check her out, front and back. And man, she's got a bubble butt too! Reef continued thinking while noticing Rebekka's rounded, perfectly-shaped butt.
Reef was still checking Rebekka out and letting her capture his imagination when she then cleared her throat to get his attention. "Hey, if you're done mentally undressing me with your eyes, you think we can start the surfing lesson now?" Rebekka said, figuring that Reef was trying to imagine her without her bikini on in his mind.
"What? Oh, yeah, of course," Reef said after snapping out of his daydream. "Okay then, Rebekka, grab your board and let's get started." Reef then started off his lesson with Rebekka by teaching her about the Surf Code, including what to do and what not to do while out on the waves. After that, Reef showed Rebekka basic surfing techniques, including how to move into standing position on her surfboard by doing so on the sand first, before he had her give it a try on the water.
Once on the water, Rebekka tried several times to pop into standing position on her board, only to fall off and into the water each time, but Reef encouraged her to keep trying until, at one point, she finally succeeded in staying on her board. "Right on, Rebekka," Reef praised the blonde girl after her success. "Now let's see if you can go catch a wave." Doing as instructed, Rebekka started paddling out to a forming wave, but when she jumped into standing position, she slipped on her board and fell into the water. Seeing that Rebekka did not come up right away, a concerned Reef quickly swam out to where she fell in the water, then went under, retrieved her and swam back to shore before carrying her out to the sand.
"Ohh, that was close," Rebekka said as Reef carried her back to dry land. "I guess I still have a lot to learn before I can surf like the pros, huh?"
"Don't worry about it," Reef replied. "No one gets it down pat the first time they learn how to surf. Take me for example, even I had to learn from scratch, and I'm one of the best wave-shredders in Sunset Beach today."
"Hmm, I wouldn't doubt it one bit," an impressed Rebekka said. "Maybe even one of the best in Canada?"
"That's what I'm planning on," Reef said confidently. "I'm entering the Canadian Surfing Championships when they come here later this summer and I'm going for the gold when I get in." Realizing that he was still carrying Rebekka in his arms, he then said, "Here, let me put you down and we'll get on with the lesson."
"Hold on, Reef, what's the rush?" Rebekka said as Reef set her down, then she entwined her left arm around his right arm. "Maybe you could tell me more about your plans for that tournament," she added in a seductive voice as she began feeling the bicep in Reef's upper arm with her right hand. "You've sure got the build to be a successful surfer, so why not put it to good use, right?"
Seeing how attractive Rebekka was physically, Reef was feeling tempted by her come-on to him as she now took her turn to check him out. Had he met her the year before if she had come to the hotel then, Reef figured he may well have given in to her play toward him and hooked up with her instead of with Fin. At that moment, he was feeling the urge to give in to temptation and let the blonde seductress get with him...
But that urge vanished the moment Reef looked to the waves and saw Fin out on the water, shooting the green room as she surfed her way through. Coming back to his senses, he pulled his arm away from Rebekka. "Sorry Rebekka, I can't do this," he told her plainly.
"What? Why not?" Rebekka said, surprised by Reef's sudden response to her advances.
"I've...already got someone," Reef explained. "She and I've been together for a while now."
"Who?" Rebekka asked. When Reef pointed toward the water, she looked in that direction - and recognized Fin right away, realizing the girl in the one-piece yellow swimsuit was the same girl she met yesterday in the lobby, the one who said something about dogs being good judges of character after the dog who was with her and her friends had growled at Rebekka. Recognizing Fin as one of Kelly's friends, Rebekka immediately glared at the blonde tomboy as she executed a trick after launching off another wave.
"Hey, look at the time," Reef then said while checking his waterproof watch. "I think there's someone else waiting for a lesson right now. Excuse me," he finished before leaving the scene to grab his board and go out to join Fin on the water.
Offended at having her advances shot down by Reef when he turned her down in favor of Fin, Rebekka scowled as she watched Reef and Fin surf a wave together. Reject me, will you? she thought resentfully while watching Reef with Fin. If you think you can do that to me, you've, like, got another thing coming! We'll see who has the last laugh!
Upon returning to the hotel lobby after changing outfits, Rebekka started scanning around the lobby when she spotted Bummer at the front desk. Ah, perfect, she thought to herself after seeing the ex-day manager checking a guest in. Remembering that Bummer had told her to ask for him if she needed anything, she then thought with a diabolical grin, That's just the pigeon I need to help me teach that surf leech a lesson.
Starting on the first part of her plot to get revenge against Reef for turning her down (and in doing so, seeing her plot as a way of getting to Kelly through both Reef and Fin), Rebekka grabbed the left strap on the sleeveless red dress she wore and ripped it, then put her acting skills to use as she ran to the front desk while pretending to cry. "Help! Andrew, help!" she yelled as she arrived at the front desk, holding on to the broken left strap of her dress to hold it up. "I need your help!"
Seeing Rebekka hanging onto her dress strap and instantly conned into believing her act, Bummer ran over to her right away. "Miss Drake, what happened?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Someone tried to get fresh with me a few minutes ago," Rebekka lied while playing Bummer's sympathies by using crocodile tears. "He ripped my dress, but I got away before he could get further."
"But you got away safely, that's good," Bummer said. "Okay, tell me who he is so we can deal with him."
"It was...it was..." Rebekka mock-sobbed, building up to her reveal for Bummer. "...your surfing teacher!"
As soon as he heard Rebekka make her accusation, Bummer's face twisted into a grimace. "Reef!" he snarled as he hammered his fist onto the front desk, his ingrained hatred of the cocky surfer boy kicking in right then. "I should've known!" Taking Rebekka's word at face value, he then composed himself and said to her, "Don't worry, Miss Drake. He'll be dealt with right away and I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him."
"Good," Rebekka said while using a Kleenex to wipe her crocodile tears away. "I hope you do."
After that, not realizing that Rebekka was simply using him and playing him for a fool in her attempt to get back at Reef, Bummer put on an evil grin. Now I've got you, slacker, Bummer thought as the ill will he harbored toward Reef due to the events of last year crossed his mind. I've finally got the excuse I need to get you out of here for good, and there's not a thing you can do about it! You've slipped up for the last time, and I'll finally be rid of you!
A few minutes later, Reef and Fin walked into the lobby from the pool area while talking with each other. "Listen, I'm sorry again for pulling that prank on you and the girls yesterday," Reef apologized.
"It wasn't too funny to make us think you took Brianna's dog to drink out of a toilet at the public washrooms, Reef," Fin said. "I know now you didn't really do it, but it still wasn't funny. Dogs drinking from a toilet also isn't sanitary either."
"I'll keep that in mind," Reef remarked. "Tell you what, you want to go catch a show tonight at the Paramount after work? It's offering All-In Tuesdays over there - admission, popcorn and pop, all for one price," he then offered to Fin.
"Sounds good to me," Fin agreed, "as long as I get to pick the movie. I heard Battle: New York is playing there this week."
"Ah, that's that alien invasion sci-fi flick, huh?" Reef said.
"You bet," Fin said. "At least it'll tide us over until Big Steel 2 finally arrives next week, and that won't be soon enough for me."
"Great," Reef said. Pulling Fin into an embrace, he then said to her, "You know what would also tide me over until the movie tonight?"
"Hmm, I'll bet I can guess," Fin said wryly, knowing what Reef had in mind. The surfer babe and the kook looked at each other for a moment, then they began moving in close for a kiss, when suddenly...
"There he is! Hold it right there!" Reef and Fin recognized the familiar voice of Bummer, whose unwelcome intrusion on their romantic moment was not appreciated by either of the seniors. "I knew I'd find you eventually! Carter, I want him fired! Now!" the ex-day manager said to his successor, current manager Carter, who had arrived with Bummer near the Lobbyquarium where Reef and Fin were standing.
"What, you want me fired because I'm having a moment with Fin?" Reef quipped. "Pretty lame, dude, considerin' all the rules you broke last year."
"You know what I'm talking about, mouth-breather!" Bummer snapped at Reef. Turning to Carter, he then said demandingly, "You know what to do, Carter. Give him his walking papers!"
"Bummer, you forgetting who's the bossman here?" Carter reminded him. "Put a cork in it and let me deal." Turning to Reef, he then said, "Sorry to interrupt you and Fin, Reef, but you mind if we talk in my office in private for a few?"
"Why, what's going on, dude?" Reef asked, wanting to know why Bummer was prodding Carter to fire him.
"It's...about a customer complaint involving you," a hesitant Carter said. "But I'd still rather discuss it in private."
"Why do that?" Bummer then cut in. "Get it out in the open and let him know what he's being fired for!"
"Bummer, I'm not firing anyone without due cause," Carter pointed out. "Now stay out of it."
"Dude, why do we need to talk in your office?" Reef wondered.
"I'd rather not discuss it publicly..." Carter began.
"Why not?" Bummer interrupted. "His girlfriend should hear what kind of guy he really is!" When Carter turned and glared at him, Bummer backed off, saying, "Okay, shutting up now."
"Alright, now I'm getting curious," Fin said next, not about to take what Bummer was saying seriously. "What's this complaint about?"
"All I can say is," Carter then said with reluctance, "I have to place Reef on suspension for now, pending the outcome of an investigation about the complaint. The complainant made an accusation against him."
"Accusation?" Reef said. "Dude, is this some sort of joke?"
"I wish it was, man," Carter said, looking serious.
"Okay, Carter - really, what am I being suspended for?" Reef asked, now becoming concerned. "I want to know, now."
"It's for violation of Section 4.6 of the hotel regulations," Carter stated.
"Which is?" Fin then asked, impatient to know.
Carter hesitated to say anything, but he had to be upfront with Reef. "Sexual harassment of a guest," he told the surfer boy.
"What?!" a stunned Reef snapped. At the same time, Fin, who had been holding hands with Reef, suddenly jerked her hand out of his when she heard Carter tell Reef what the accusation against him was.
"You can forget about the movie tonight, the date's off!" Fin snapped at Reef before storming off, her old pre-relationship animosity toward him now reignited.
"Fin, wait! Come back, Fin!" Reef pleaded as he took off in pursuit of his girlfriend. "I didn't do what Bummer claimed I did! You gotta believe me!"
After watching Reef follow Fin out of the lobby, Bummer put on a smug grin. "Well now, looks like trouble in paradise between those two lovebirds," he crowed. "And that's just the prelude to what that slacker's got coming to him real soon."
"Bummer, shut up, okay? Just shut up," an annoyed Carter, who was not happy about having to suspend Reef, turned and told his employee. "As in close your mouth and stop talking. It's bad enough that I had to suspend Reef without you coming along to gloat about it and make things worse."
When Carter walked off to return to his office (Bummer's old office before his demotion), Bummer grumbled, "Sheesh, what's his problem?", not getting Carter's point about the trouble he caused for Reef and Fin, before he returned to the front desk.
Meanwhile, Rebekka, who had kept a low profile in the lobby by reading a newspaper on the lobby couch while discreetly eavesdropping on what had just happened, got up from the couch and headed toward the exit to the hotel pool area, then grabbed her cell phone to make a call. "Hello?" Sabrina's voice answered at the other end.
"Hey Sabrina, guess what happened a couple of minutes ago," Rebekka said before telling her sister about what she had done to make trouble for Reef.
When Rebekka finished her story, Sabrina was laughing about what she heard. "That's sooo cool, sis," Sabrina commented. "That oughta serve him right for turning you down."
"True," Rebekka agreed while she checked on the strap that she broke on her dress as part of her ruse. "I'll get back to you later, okay? I have to head into town to shop for a new dress and I want to see if there's any good stores around here."
Up next, Emma goes shopping for bargains in town - but what happens while she's there won't be any kind of a bargain for her.