CHAPTER 3 - SE HABLA SURF
I gave this chapter a Spanish title because there's a bit of Spanish spoken in it, seen further into the first part of the chapter (I don't actually speak Spanish myself, so hopefully it turned out okay here). Also, the first major change to my Stoked fanon comes just before that, as Ripper explains in an e-mail he got just before the summer staff's arrival.
The returning seniors (now including Reef, Fin, Broseph, Lo and Emma) and most of the new groms (except for Sabrina, who was still washing seagull poop out of her hair in the women's washroom off the lobby) had ventured inside to show the groms around the hotel when Fin spoke up. "So Ripper, who else among last year's summer staff is coming back this year?" she asked after the group went through the main entrance.
"Well, there's a few folks from last year, both summer staff and permanent, who aren't coming back this time around," Ripper explained. "Most of those who quit did so because of Bummer, in part 'cause of how he treated them in general, but mostly on principle 'cause of how he treated you after you lost your dad."
"Wow," Fin said, surprised at how much overall support she had from the staff beyond her friends regarding her father's death and its aftermath. "They were that willing to walk out on Bummer because of me?"
"Pretty much," Ripper said. "Out of the rest who quit, two babysitters, a waitress at the DR, a bellhop and two housekeepers left because of the Marvin family and those snot-nosed brats of theirs. Zack quit the DR because he said Bummer was 'mean to him' one time while on duty. Then there's Snack Shack - he didn't quit because of anything Bummer did to him, in fact he was loyal to him. Snack Shack quit 'cause he was worried Mr. Ridgemount would fire him because of his loyalty to Bummer and 'cause Mr. R saw him as a rep of Bummer's old regime."
"Remember last year when Daddy tried to set me up on a date with Snack Shack for that art show here?" Lo recalled. "Look, Snack Shack's a nice guy, but he just wasn't my type. Costume role-playing and Lord of the Rings are his thing, not mine."
"Um, you know I like Lord of the Rings, right?" Fin, who liked science fiction and fantasy, reminded Lo.
"Sure, I know," Lo said. "But you also told me it's the role-playing sci-fi and fantasy fans who creep you out, and that's Snack Shack to a T."
"Ah, right," Fin said with a nod. Turning to Ripper, she then asked, "Back on topic, what about Lance? Is he back here with the rest of us?"
"Well, uhh... That's what I was gonna tell you next," Ripper said as he took a folded piece of paper from his shorts pocket and unfolded it. "Lance sent me an e-mail a few days before I came back here and he wanted me to read it to you guys." The gang then gathered around Ripper to check out the printed e-mail message from Lance:
Hey Ripper,
Whazzup, dude? You must be real stoked to be returning to Surfer's Paradise this summer and I can't say I blame you, man. I wish I could say the same, but I got a bit of bad news I want you to share with the rest of the returning staff when you see them.
I won't be returning to the hotel this year for a couple of reasons. First reason is because of that jerkweed Bummer. We both know how loyal we were to him on the job up to a point, but we had our times when we disagreed with what he did too. Well, the way he treated Fin after her dad was killed was one of those times and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I stayed in touch with some of the other staff and they told me they're not coming back for the same reason as me, because of what Bummer did to Fin. Can't say I blame them, dude. She didn't deserve being treated like a liar or having her dad's memory dishonored by him and Bummer got what he deserved. Me and the other guys all agreed that we're not going to work with a guy who would treat a fellow staffer like that, so we're not returning to the hotel as long as Bummer continues to work there.
Brace yourself for the second reason, dude. I just got accepted into the Faculty of Medicine program at the University of Manitoba back home in Winnipeg. Now I know what you're probably thinking right now. "No way! No Pants studying to be a doctor? Who'da thunk it?" It's true, man. I'll be starting in prerequisite courses this September before I can enroll in the undergrad program, but it's a first step toward me becoming a general practitioner.
Surfer's Paradise has been great and so have the friends I've made since I started there as a grom two years ago. It'll probably be a few years before I make it back to Sunset Beach after I finish post-grad and get my degree. I'll get back to town eventually, just not to work at the hotel, but to set up my new practice in town, either at the hospital or at one of the clinics. But when I do get back to Sunset Beach, I'll be ripping up the waves again on my days off.
Read this e-mail to the gang after you get it and let everyone know I'll be thinking about them. Give my regards to Ty, Kelly, David, Johnny, Kahuna, Lo, Emma, Broseph and Reef. And most of all, send my best wishes to Fin and let her know I hope she's doing better.
Well, that's it for now, dude. Stay in touch and I'll see you sometime down the road.
Peace out,
No Pants Lance
"Awww," Lo gushed when she read the parts about Fin in the letter. "It's so nice that Lance wished you well, Fin. Too bad about him not coming back, but I'm glad he's got a chance to accomplish something."
"Yeah, me too," Fin said. "And I'll say what Lance said in that letter too. Him, studying to become a doctor? Who knew?"
"I bet you're glad about Lance sayin' how much of the staff here supported you against Bummer," Broseph said. "So much so that some of them quit on principle because of what Bummer did to you."
"It surprised me," Fin admitted, "but yeah, I'm glad for the support. But now it got me thinking - with so many staff from last year gone now, that means this summer's a rebuilding year for the staff, right?"
"Right you are," Johnny said. "We've got newcomers coming in for both permanent staff and the summer staff, and that includes the new groms who came in with you guys. We're going to be tested this summer with such a large amount of new staff, but with my cousin Carter on board as the new day manager, I think we'll do all right." Just then, Johnny overheard a conversation going on at the front desk between a tourist family and Bummer, who was trying to check the family in but was having a misunderstanding with them. "And here comes one of those tests," Johnny said as he and some of the gang went to see what the commotion was.
"Look, I'm trying to get your registration straightened out," a flustered Bummer told the head of the family while searching for information on the front desk computer. "But I don't know what you're saying!"
"Señor, por favor," the man spoke in Spanish, which Bummer did not speak or understand. "Debo saber que manera Cuarto 607 están en su hotel."
"Uh-oh, language barrier," Johnny said as he watched the exchange. "Bummer's got himself in over his head here."
"Hey Johnny, you mind if I give it a shot?" Greg asked. "Maybe I can help with this one."
"Sure, go ahead," Johnny said with a shrug. Greg then walked over to the family to speak with them and see what the problem was. "¿Hola allí, hay algo que debe ayudar con?" Greg asked the man, his wife and their young son and two daughters.
"Ah, sí, gracias," the man said gratefully as he turned to Greg. "Debo saber que manera Cuarto 607 están en su hotel," he repeated his question.
"What'd he say?" Bummer asked.
"He wants to know where Room 607 is in the hotel," Greg translated. "I guess that's the room he booked for his family."
"Let him know it's over in the West Wing on the third floor, past the Pirate Ship restaurant there," Johnny said, indicating the way.
Greg then turned to the man and translated, "Su cuarto está en la Zona del oeste en el tercer piso, por delante de ese restaurante que se parece a un buque de pirata."
"Bueno, gracias," the man thanked Greg. "¿Lo que otros servicios hacen el hotel tiene aparte del restaurante?"
"What else does the hotel have besides the restaurant?" Greg then asked Johnny.
"We also have room service, a spa, an outdoor swimming pool behind the hotel, a golf course nearby and surfing lessons at our beach," Johnny explained to Greg, who then translated to the family. "Nosotros también tenemos servicio a las habitaciones, un balneario, una alberca al aire libre detrás del hotel, un campo de golf cerca y las clases de surf en nuestra playa."
"Excelente, que suena muy bueno," the man said. "¿Trabaja aquí?" he then asked Greg, wondering if he worked at the hotel.
"Seré. Comienzo aquí mañana," Greg said. "Vine aquí de Hawái por el verano a trabajar y hacer surf."
"In English, please?" a perplexed Bummer demanded. "I'm having a hard enough time keeping up."
"I told them I start here tomorrow and I'm here from Hawaii to work and surf here this summer," Greg explained. He then turned back to the family and said, "¿Debe ser de México, derecho es que?"
"Sí, de Cabo San Lucas," the man confirmed. "Esto es nuestro primer tiempo pasando las vacaciones en Canadá y nosotros querríamos aprender a hablar algún inglés."
"It's their first time up here in Canada and they'd like to learn some English while they're here," Greg told Johnny.
"Great, let them know they've come to the right place," Johnny said. After Greg spoke to the family again, Johnny then told him, "I've got an idea. I'm going to talk with the manager and see if he can have you do some Spanish translation on the job when we need it. Sound good?"
"Cool, man," Greg agreed. "Count me in."
"Hey Broseph, think you can help our guests out with their luggage?" Johnny asked, throwing Broseph a Surfer's Paradise uniform golf shirt to put on. "I know you don't start officially until tomorrow, but..."
"Say no more, guy, I'm on it," Broseph said, catching the shirt and putting it on. As he was about to help the Mexican family take their luggage up to their room, he was distracted by a female voice calling "Hey!" Broseph turned to find Sabrina, whose hair was still wet from washing and rinsing seagull poop out of it, standing nearby with her hands on her hips and a displeased look on her face.
"What about me?" Sabrina told Broseph. "If it's your job to handle luggage, then why don't you take mine?"
"You a guest here?" Greg said, turning to the snobby blonde.
"No, what do you think?" Sabrina said curtly.
"Okay, then stick your spoiled butt in the freezer and chill, Princess," Greg remarked before he went with Broseph to take the family to their guest room.
"Whoa, major burn!" Fin quipped with a grin while everyone else laughed. A fuming Sabrina glared at Greg as he walked off, then at the rest of the gang, before she stalked off to get her suitcases herself.
"Wow, even I was never that bad back in my party days," Lo commented as she watched Sabrina storm away.
"Sure feel sorry for the guy who has to be her boyfriend," Reef said while also watching Sabrina.
"Never mind her boyfriend, I feel sorry for her parents," Emma added. "They must've spoiled her rotten when she was growing up and now they're reaping what they sowed."
"Boy, I'll say," Lo agreed. While looking around the lobby, she then spotted two familiar figures who were themselves on their way to the front desk, along with their mother. Gasping with surprise, Lo then called the two girls she recognized by name. "Erica? Brianna? Is that you?"
The two sisters, who remembered Lo from when she babysat them last year, also recognized her. "Lo!" Erica and Brianna said together as they ran over to her.
"Come gimme a hug, you two," a smiling Lo said, kneeling down and catching Erica and Brianna in her arms for a group hug. "How've you two been since I saw you last?" she asked.
"I don't eat as much junk food as I did last year," Erica said.
"It shows, too," Lo said, noticing that Erica was less chubby than she had been last summer. "Good for you, Erica."
"And I've learned to save my money for when I really need it," Brianna added. "Like for half-off sales at my favorite stores."
"You've learned well, Brianna," Lo said with a giggle.
"Are you gonna babysit for us again, Lo?" Erica said.
"That's up to your mother," Lo said, "but if she asks for me, I sure will. Of course, if you got her to ask for me..." she added with a wink and a grin.
"Yay!" Erica and Brianna both cheered, then they hugged Lo again. "Let's go ask Mom about Lo," Brianna said as she and Erica went to their mother at the front desk.
"Hey, aren't those two of the kids you used to sit for last year?" Emma asked Lo as she walked up to her afterward.
"They sure are," Lo confirmed.
"I don't get it," Emma said. "I thought you didn't like kids and you hated babysitting."
"That was last year," Lo said. "I learned through experience that it was only the Marvin boys I hated sitting for and hated in general. I thought I felt the same way about Erica and Brianna, but I found out they were a lot more agreeable when they weren't around the Marvins and their influence."
"Ohhh, now that makes sense," Emma said. "Let's hope you have better luck with babysitting this year, then," she continued, giving Lo a pat on the back.
"I'll keep my fingers crossed for that," Lo said, then she and Emma giggled.
After the guided tour for the new groms around the hotel, Lo led the gang to the brand-new staff house, which had been completed three weeks earlier after construction crews pulled double shifts to get the building ready for the summer staff's arrival. The new staff house, which was located closer to the hotel than the now-demolished old staff house, looked nothing like the run-down and decrepit old staff house, but was more like a modern, three-story low-rise apartment block, even including balconies for each room and what appeared to be a rooftop garden area.
"So guys, what do you think?" Lo asked the gang as they entered the common area of the new staff house, which had new sofas arranged around the widescreen TV which Lo had bought last year, along with a pool table near the TV and kitchen facilities to the side of the common area. "Daddy showed me around here just after they finished building this place."
"It's a major improvement over the old Roach Motel, that's for sure," Fin commented as she checked out the white-painted walls with framed pictures hanging on them around the room. To relieve the whiteness of the room's walls, one wall was covered over with wallpaper depicting a beach scene.
"There's even more room in each of the rooms than the old staff house had," Lo explained. "That's why the new staff house is bigger."
"Hey, that works for us," Reef said. Turning to Broseph and Johnny, he asked, "You guys want to do like we did last year and bunk together?"
"Sure thing, guy," Broseph said.
"The Three Musketeers, together again," Johnny said as he, Reef and Broseph did a triple fist-bump.
"And you two'll be rooming with me again, right?" Lo said to Fin and Emma.
"You bet we will," Emma said with a grin.
"For sure," Fin agreed. "Just like last year, but with better surroundings and no roaches to gross us out."
The gang then started up a stairwell for the second floor, where the guys split off from the rest of the group as it was designated as the guys' floor, while the girls continued up to their designated floor, the third floor. On the second floor, Ripper stopped in front of one room, marked 202 on the door. "Okay Greg, Trevor, you guys'll be bunking with me," he explained to the new guys as he opened the door. "Each room can sleep up to three people with a bunk bed setup and a single bed."
"Cool, man," Greg said. "I'll take the single bed."
"I call the top bunk then," Trevor said.
"Fine with me," Ripper said, not really caring which bed he got.
Up on the third floor, Sabrina was the first to arrive at a room door, marked 311, and expressed disappointment upon seeing the accommodations inside. "I was expecting something better than this," she complained when she saw the bunk bed and single bed setup in the room. "Is this, like, a dormitory setup or something?"
"That's the idea, brainiac," Ash quipped to Sabrina when she also looked inside. "What did you expect, Buckingham Palace?"
"Oh, go cut your hair with a chainsaw!" Sabrina lipped off at Ash.
Ash, who was proud of her dreadlocks, did not take kindly to the insult by Sabrina. "Hey, are you trying to diss my dreads?" she said as she walked right up to the blonde girl. "You did not just say that to me just now!"
"Well, someone has to say it," Sabrina replied. "Besides, a chainsaw's about the only thing strong enough to cut those nasty locks of yours."
"I think you need to back off the dreads, blondie!" Ash said.
"Yeah, says who?" Sabrina retorted.
"Says me, you spoiled little Daddy's girl!" Ash said, getting right in Sabrina's face.
"Step off, you purple-haired Rastafari wannabe!" Sabrina spat.
"Mall-shopping, hair-bleaching, Teen Scene-reading, peaking-in-high-school cheerleader!" Ash snapped back.
After overhearing the argument between Ash and Sabrina, Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly all ran in to see what the fuss was. "Hey, what's going on here?" Fin said as she came in, followed by the other girls.
"Good thing you came in when you did," Ash said. "I was about to smack down her royal highness here for trashing my dreads."
"Only 'cause she called me 'brainiac'," Sabrina said.
"And I called you that 'cause you were expecting the staff house to have five-star rooms like the hotel does!" Ash responded. "You should be grateful you got a good room to stay in in the first place!"
"Alright, cool it, you two," Fin said as she intervened between the arguing girls. "Last thing we need in here is a civil war."
"Okay, we were gonna put Ash, Bonnie and Sabrina together in this room at first," Kelly said next. "But on account of Sabrina since she first got here, she can have her own room and I'll move in with Ash and Bonnie so there's a little more peace at least."
"Fine by me," Sabrina said with a self-satisfied grin as she walked toward the door. "At least I'll have a room all to myself."
"And that works for the rest of us," Ash commented after Sabrina left. "Who'd wanna have her for a roommate, anyway?" The rest of the girls were in agreement, making it clear that none of them wanted Sabrina bunking with them because of her attitude and her disruptive behavior.
Fin, Lo and Emma then stepped out of Room 311 and headed across the hall toward the room they chose, 310. "Well, here we are," Fin declared as she and her friends stepped inside. "Our home for the summer."
"And like you said, big improvement over the dump we had to stay in last year," Lo said, checking out the surroundings.
"Is it just me, or does this room seem bigger than the other rooms on this floor?" Emma asked, noticing that, instead of the bunk bed-single bed setup the other rooms had, there were three single beds in a larger room, much like the arrangement the girls had in their room last year.
"It's not just you, Emma," Lo said. "I think Daddy had the three of us in mind when he had this room designed for the new staff house. I'll bet he was counting on you two coming back."
"Well, whether he was or not, I think it's all gonna work out great here this year," Fin said before taking in a deep breath and letting out a relieved sigh, happy to know that she and her friends would not have to go through the same problem with their accommodations as they had last summer.
After these messages - Fin is happy to get a new position at the hotel while one of the new groms objects to getting Fin's old job, another newcomer is discovered to have family ties to a senior's significant other, and the seniors debate about grom initiation.
