School was a struggle over the next few days, but Aria pushed through and showed up early for her first shift at the diner. After a long conversation with Brax and a promise that it wouldn't interfere with her school work, he'd agreed to let her take the job.

"Hey," Leah greeted with a smile, handing her an order pad and pen, "I'm going to throw you in at the deep end since I assume you know the basics from Angelos."

"Sounds good to me," Aria replied, seating her first customers and taking their orders.

By the end of the night, Aria had settled into the flow of the small establishment and had earned a decent amount of tips.

"That's what I call a good first impression on the job," Leah stated as she locked the door, "You did really well."

"Thanks."

It was late by the time she arrived home and she was exhausted, so she went straight to bed. Morning came around too quickly and Aria groaned, forcing herself to get up. The Summer Bay Talent Festival was exactly two weeks away and despite the practicing she'd done, she didn't feel prepared.

Sat on the living room floor, she ran her fingers over the keys and took a bite of the sandwich she'd made.

"How'd your shift go last night?" Brax asked as he walked in from his morning surf.

"Really well, although I'm pretty sure you already knew that," Aria replied.

"You caught me."

Aria chuckled and shook her head, returning her attention to what she'd been doing. It was nearly three in the afternoon, when someone knocked on the door and Aria went to open it.

"Hey," Andy greeted as she opened it, smiling and walking in as she stepped aside to let him in.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to check in on you and see if you wanted to grab some food."

"We could go to Angelo's," Aria suggested, earning a nod from Andy and getting her jacket from her room.

It didn't take them long to reach Angelo's, heading inside and approaching the bar where Liam was stood. He smiled when he spotted Aria, finishing the order he was dealing with and making his way over.

"Are you looking for Brax or are you here to eat?"

"We're here to eat," Aria told him.

"Your usual?"

"Pizza?" Aria inquired, glancing back at Andy who nodded, "Yes please with two cokes."

"Go take a seat and I'll have someone bring it over."

With a nod, Aria led Andy over to an empty booth and took a seat. They were talking about the talent show, when Liam brought over their drinks and placed them on the table.

"I need to tell you something," Andy said a while later as they ate.

"Okay?"

"Pirovic approached my dad about some business," Andy admitted, "My dad's in, but I've made it clear that I want nothing to do with it... I just wanted to tell you myself."

"Thank you for telling me, do you know what kind of business?"

"Something about drug running..."

"Drug running?" came Brax's voice from behind them, low enough that no one else could hear and yet, full of anger.

"Not us," Aria reassured quickly, "Johnny's doing business with Jake, which means that he plans on sticking around and starting up where he left off."

"That makes sense," Brax added as he joined them, "A few of the boys over at Mangrove River have reported a rise in drug activity, plus I didn't expect Pirovic to leave..."

"Not when he has unfinished business with Danny."

Brax nodded in agreement and Aria took a deep breath, knowing that her brother was right. People like Pirovic, or even Danny didn't let things go easily and money made matters even worse. Greed was a bottomless pit that made any man blind and foolish, especially when they had a reputation to uphold.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading!