It seemed that the Summer Bay gym had become busier than ever now that Hayley had quit. Endless people were signing up, reporting lost items, moaning about the lack of towels and trying to glimpse at the man who'd put a halt to the diner celebrations. It was all a bit claustrophobic.
"Kane, what shall I do about that Marie woman?" asked Jesse, looking rushed off his feet. "She seems to think she has a training session booked every week, but I've never seen her before in my life."
"I really don't know, can't you just book her in sometime?" Kane wasn't used to being surrounded by so many busy people. He liked to work at his own pace; he used to work to the rhythm of the sea at his old job because it didn't matter. It wasn't him who had to worry about people cancelling contracts and making sure people were satisfied. Now he was the boss, and didn't quite enjoy having all the power.
"I wish I could, " began Jesse. "But I'm booked solid all week. I think we may need to employ someone else, or at least get Hayley back."
"Do you think you can persuade her?"
"I doubt it. She wants to stick by Dani."
Kane didn't let his uneasiness show. "I'll send out an ad then."
***
Another school day finished, and Kirsty rushed over to the gym to see Kane, using the back way, not drawing too much attention to herself. She hadn't really seen him much, and it felt a bit silly defending his character, when he hadn't even spoken to her. Also, they were supposed to be engaged, and Kirsty wanted to start acting like it.
"Guess who?" Kirsty crept up behind Kane, placing her hands over his eyes.
"Hmmmm, I wonder. Could it be Kirsty Sutherland?"
"Soon to be Kirsty Phillips? I think so."
Kane turned around, but wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to kiss her at work, but hell to that — he was the boss.
They shared a quick kiss, both feeling instantly uplifted. In those short seconds nothing else mattered; there was no family, no work stress, no school worries. It was almost like being on the wharf all those months ago.
Almost.
They broke apart. Kane looked around to see if anyone had noticed, especially the Sutherlands at the nearby kiosk. Jesse gave him a strange look.
"It's great to see you babe, but I need to get back to work. We're short-staffed."
"Well, I could help you, " said Kirsty dumping her school bag on the floor. "I didn't get a lot of homework."
"Don't they need your help more?" asked Kane, gesturing towards the kiosk.
"They won't know I'm here, plus we need to spend some time together. We haven't met up for ages."
"And we will. I'll take you out Friday night, " he opened up the nearby till, and took a couple of notes out. "Here, buy yourself something nice to wear."
"Thanks, " said a slightly disheartened Kirsty. Money seemed to be Kane's answer to everything nowadays.
***
Brooke kept trying to tell herself that she wasn't nervous about the impending day ahead, but she was in denial. She didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the mornings, and when she woke, it felt like she hadn't slept at all and the reality was beginning to dawn on her. Her freedom had gone. Now it was back to the life she used to hate, albeit in a different area, but elements of it would still be there.
Sighing, she got up and put on her new school dress, and couldn't help thinking that she looked slightly tent-like. At least at her old school she was able to wear trousers, and not a degrading, ridiculously short dress. "I'll sort this out, " she thought and she searched in her rucksack for her silver chain belt. Draping it around her waist reduced the tent effect, and complete with a purple headscarf and bracelets, she looked like herself again.
"That's better, " she thought. "Summer Bay High, here I come."
***
Kit was also nervous about the day ahead, but tried not to show it. The reason why she was worried however, was not her uniform. She had decided to come in the boy's uniform, a shirt, tie and jeans. Dresses were not her thing. After being squeezed to death by her excited mother, she left the caravan park to meet Brooke.
"Not walking with the terrible twins then?" asked Brooke as they began to walk.
"They're hardly like twins anymore, " said Kit. "Kirsty leaves at the crack of dawn, and Jade is probably still asleep."
"I suppose that's a good thing."
As they approached the school, they began to get some strange looks from other students. A group of girls sniggered behind them.
"Nice to see school hasn't changed, " said Kit, rolling her eyes. "I bet they all wear tons of make-up and stuff their bras."
"Hey! Wait up!" Kirsty ran towards them, oblivious of students staring. "I see you've both interpreted the uniform in different ways."
"Someone had to, "stated Brooke.
The three misfits walked together connected by their lack of conformity; Kit for her 'problems', Brooke for her attitude and Kirsty for her relationship, but somehow they didn't care. Brooke was used to standing out.
"Ah, Brooke and Kit, " said Mr Burnet greeting them inside, and handing them each a sheet of paper. "I have your timetables for today. You'll notice you both have some free periods, and I hope you use them wisely."
The girls thanked him, and began to compare timetables.
"I can meet up with you after Chemistry Kit, " exclaimed Brooke. "I have two hours free before lunch."
"Man, you're lucky, " said Kirsty. "I have double Chemistry, double English and then double Maths. We'd better get to class Brooke; Mrs Taylor hates it when we're late. See you later Kit."
Kit said goodbye and went to her lesson, leaving Kirsty and Brooke in the corridor full of students.
"I suppose I'd better introduce you to some of the people in our class, " began Kirsty. "That's Seb." She gestured towards a lanky boy with a mop of curly hair. "We used to go out, but he dumped me for another man."
"Right, " said Brooke.
"And that's Simone, she's a bit of a dag. You know Jade, who doesn't like to talk to me at the moment, and Nick who cheated on her. The rest of the people are stuck up."
"Cool." They entered the full classroom, getting even more strange looks. A girl with blonde hair scowled at them. "Nice to know these people are acting their age, " muttered Brooke under her breath.
"Here, " said Kirsty. "Sit next to me. I doubt Jade will."
Brooke sat down, and dumped her bag on the floor. Chemistry. The last time she'd looked at a book was about six months ago. She wasn't sure how much she'd remember.
"Good Morning class, " said the slightly frazzled looking teacher as she entered the room. "I hope you remember what we did last lesson."
"Yes Mrs Taylor, " replied all except Brooke.
"Right." The teacher pushed her glasses up. "Who can tell me two facts about isotopes? Anyone?"
Two hands shot up, belonging to Jade and Brooke. Mrs Taylor, who hadn't noticed Brooke before, decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Oh yes, I forgot about you. Yes Brooke?"
"Well, each isotope has the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and a different mass."
"That's right, " said Mrs Taylor, pushing her glasses up again. Jade looked put out, not quite seeing how someone who had been away from school so long could remember anything. "Could you give me some examples?"
"Certainly. Carbon has two isotopes, Hydrogen has three and Chlorine has two."
"Excellent. If you can remember that much Brooke, then I'm sure you can do very well here." Kirsty gave Brooke a surprised smile. Most of this science stuff just went in one ear and out the other.
The rest of the lesson was a breeze; Brooke found the work surprisingly easy to get back into. She almost enjoyed it, and Chemistry had never been that way before. Now, all she had to do was stick at it and the world of criminology would be hers for the taking.
***
The pace at the gym slowed down in the early evening, and Kane was ready to hand the responsibility over to Jesse. He was going to take Kirsty out on a date, their first date to be precise, to a new Chinese restaurant in Yabbie Creek. It wouldn't be too pretentious, which was good for him; he wasn't exactly swanky-boyfriend material. That would change soon. He'd be her husband. At least the money he'd inherited could be put to some use in about a year and a half.
"Jesse, I'm off now, " he said, picking up some rubbish bags. "I'm just going to dump these outside."
"Fine."
Kane went through the back door to where the bins were kept, and began to whistle. He only came this late to avoid the Sutherlands, who also deposited their rubbish there. It wasn't the best place for a fight.
Little did he know, that someone was lurking in the shadows. Someone very familiar. Scott had finally found Kane's whereabouts, by asking his old 'mates' at work. Now he could get what he deserved.
"So this is where you're hiding?" said a voice from the shadows.
Kane's cheery whistling stopped, and he quickly spun around looking for the voice. It sounded familiar to him, a little rougher, but still familiar. "Scott?"
"That's right bro, " said Scott showing his face. "I'm back Kane, back for good."