Author's Note: Hey everyone! I've recently been getting a lot more views and reads on this story, so... thank you! I really appreciate it. Let's keep it going, eh? Okay, in this chapter Grom Initiation will end. What will happen? Will they find The Office? ...Probably... Anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter Five

End of Initiation

"I love the seniors?" I asked Reef, somewhat amused. "Really?" Reef's face was slightly red.

"Let me see your chest," he said. I'd already told him about Kelly's punishment for me. I sighed, and pulled open my shirt. Barely any of the paint had come off, so you could easily make out the image. Reef pulled out his phone, snapped a pic, and put it away, laughing. "Nice!"

"That better not end up on MyFace," I warned.

The two of us were walking through the woods, following the trail the seniors had left Reef earlier that day, when he had searched at first. He told me about sending Ripper and Lance after their boards, and having them paddle against the current.

"Dude," I said. "Groms do rule." We bumped fists. As we continued moving, I thought of something. "Hey, didn't you text Broseph?"

"Yeah, but he didn't get back to me," Reef explained. "Yo, Johnny must be really giving it to him, eh?"

"Wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now," I agreed.

We walked further, following a trail of garbage one would expect from a group of teen guys. We were totally on the right track. I glanced at my phone, and realized our shifts were almost over.

"Dude," I said, tapping Reef's shoulder. "There's less than half an hour before our shift ends. The seniors are gonna be off then too, and they'll come looking for us."

"Doesn't matter," Reef assured me. "Once we find The Office, there's nothing they can do. Unless they have one of those mind wipe things from 'Dudes in Black.'" I chuckled, and was about to put my phone away, when it buzzed silently. It was Jackson calling.

"Dude, I gotta take this," I said, holding up my cell. "Go ahead without me, I'll catch up." He nodded, gave me a thumbs up, and continued on. I hit the answer button on my phone, and pressed it to my ear. "Now's not the best time, J."

"Why, you working?" he asked. The connection wasn't great, because of all the trees, but I could still hear him alright.

"Kind of…" I said, not sure if I should tell him. "Ah, what the heck. No dude, I blew off the rest of my shift. Reef and me—uh, Reef's the red headed guy—are looking for The Office."

"Pssh, yeah right," he said. "How would you find it, if it even exists?"

"The seniors know where it is," I explained. "They're putting us through some kind of initiation, and if we make it through, they'll let us surf there."

"So go through initiation," he said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I had to chug a gallon of OJ," I said. "Then they painted a Canadian Flag on my chest, and I had to sing 'O Canada' in front of the whole DR." He laughed hysterically.

"Oh man, that's harsh," he said. "Any pics?" I sighed.

"Reef has a few," I said. "I'll send 'em to you. Just don't—" But I was interrupted as the sound of Reef screaming filled the forest. Birds flew out of the trees, and I dove into some bushes. "Call you back, bro." I said, then hung up. From the bushes I watched as Ripper and Lance, sopping wet, carried Reef by the shoulders out of the forest. I winced, but realized how lucky I was that Jackson had called me.

When the seniors were far enough away from me, I quickly began jogging back to the DR, as there was still about twenty minutes left in my shift. I pulled out my phone, and sent out a mass text to Emma, Broseph and Fin.

They got Reef, I texted. Ripper and Lance found him. I got away. Coming back to the DR now. If you see Ripper, Lance, or any senior, watch out. I hit send, and continued running.

I arrived back at the pirate ship with only ten minutes of my shift left. I quickly found Emma. "Did Kelly notice I was gone?"

"Yeah," she said. "But she was too busy with Lo to care." Just then, Kelly walked into the kitchen, with Lo in tow.

"Okay groms," she said. "We've got… seven minutes before the end of the shift. That means there's time for one more dose of humiliation before we kick it into high gear." Emma, Lo and I gulped collectively. Once all our shifts were over, and the seniors had no other responsibilities, the tasks and trials would become increasingly harsh. Kelly pulled out three jars of mayonnaise.

"Who's first?" she asked. We looked at each other, not sure what to do or say. Kelly sighed, and pulled Emma forward. Uncapping the mayo, we could all instantly smell like it expired.

"Aw man!" I said. "That smells like Ripper's shorts!" Kelly, fiendishly slow, took Emma's neck, and slowly pushed her hair further into the expired mayo. Emma whimpered in protest as her hair was drenched in the stuff. Kelly finally pulled it out, dripping with the expired white gunk. Emma ran off to find a sink.

"I'm not doing that," Lo said. "Nate, take one for the team."

"Why me?" I asked.

"You both have to do it," Kelly said menacingly. And with that she grabbed Lo and me by the wrists, and pulled us over to the mayonnaise. "Get in there." I looked at Lo, who was making a pouty face.

"Ugh, fine," I groaned. With a deep breath, I plunged my head into the mayo. It was sticky, greasy, and rank. I held it in for a moment, then pulled it out. Kelly looked me over, and with a nod that she was satisfied, I ran off after Emma to rinse out my hair.

I found her wringing her hair out. The sink was still on, and I quickly removed my shirt and shoved my whole head under the strong stream. After a few minutes I pulled it out. The white gunk was gone, but the smell and the greasy feeling stuck with it.

"So nast," I said distastefully. Lo came in, shrieking as her hair dripped mayo. Emma and I sighed, and helped her get the stuff out of her hair. A whistle from the kitchen blew, signifying our shifts were over. "Great, now we only have another three hours before the end of initiation."

XxXxX

The three of us arrived back at the staff house, as per Kelly's request. There we found Fin wearing a pair of green alien ears, and Broseph, who looked… not too bad actually.

"Dude, you look like you just woke up," I said to him. "What'd Johnny do to you?" He held up his hands.

"Dude, I'll tell you, it was rough," he said. "Johnny is one mean dude." Just then, Kelly, Johnny and Ty came up, and set trays down in front of each of us, with a little silver platter on each.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Fin said.

"Wow," said Broseph. "I hope it's not worms and grasshoppers. Those are the two things I'm deathly allergic to." He pulled off the lid, revealing it was, in fact, worms and grasshoppers. How did he know? "Oh no, worms and grasshoppers. I've got a doctor's note right here." He handed it to Kelly, who peered at it, then at Johnny.

"What's the big deal?" asked Fin, removing her own lid. "My brothers made me eat worms when I was five." Then, without further ado, she lifted a worm above her mouth, and dropped it in. The rest o0f us just about gagged.

"Okay," I said with a deep breath. I opened my own lid, and found, just as the others had, two worms and two grasshoppers. "I love Fear Factor. Let's do it." I put a grasshopper to my lips, and took a bite. It was crunchy, and a liquid squirted out. I nearly gagged, but swallowed it with a disgusted gulp.

"So nasty," said Lo, as Fin and I continued to eat. Once we were done, we pushed the trays away, and bumped our knuckles together.

"Okay you two," Kelly said. "Get changed into your surf gear, and meet us at the beach. You two Broseph. Oh ladies…" she gestured to Emma and Lo's plates. They removed the lids, revealing not two of each insect, but heaping piles of them. Lo screamed.

"Yo, that is harsh," Broseph said, as he, Fin and I went to get changed.

XxXxX

"Alright groms," said Johnny, as we stood on the beach. There was a large, industrial style barrel, full of some sort of goop. "Your next task is one that has been a tradition for fifteen years of initiations. You'll be surfing covered in petroleum jelly!"

"We'll slide right off our boards!" exclaimed Broseph.

"Sound's easy enough," said Fin. "At least it's surfing, right?" The rest of us nodded slowly, and Fin was the first to submerge herself in the large tub of grease. Broseph went next, and then myself. Emma came after, and we practically had to push Lo into, what she called, "the nastiest looking gunk on the beach."

Paddling out was a challenge by itself, and things only got harder when the waves came. I could barely popup, and when I finally managed to, I slid off immediately. I came up, and witnessed Emma pearl off the front of her board. Fin bailed out soon after, and Broseph got barreled. I sighed, got back on my board, and went for another one. I executed the popup, but almost immediately got thrown off and fell into the water.

This went on four at least twenty minutes, and when we finally dragged ourselves onto shore, the five of us had been worked to the bone. "What's it called when you face plant off the front of the board?" Emma asked.

"Pearling," I informed her. "Saw that one, by the way." We approached the seniors, panting and tired. Broseph fell to his knees.

"No more, dudes," he pleaded. "It's too much…" Kelly smirked.

"But we have so much more for you to do," she said excitedly. "Now come along groms."

XxXxX

First came a physical task. The seniors rounded us up, and had us carry four watermelons each up one of the steepest hills in the woods. Broseph, Reef and I brought up the back, letting the girls go in front. This proved to be a mistake, as Emma and Lo both lost their grips and came tumbling down the hill. I had barely enough time to drop my watermelons before Emma came barreling into me, still holding two melons. I fell into Reef, who fell on Broseph. We were all lying in a big dog pile, covered in smashed watermelon. The seniors brought us more, and we continued up the hill.

Next, we were buried in the sand. This doesn't sound too bad, until you take into account the dozens of crabs that scattered around our heads and necks. The snapped their claws menacingly close to our faces, and one pinched my nose. "Ah!" I hollered in pain, prompting laughs from the seniors.

Finally, Ripper and Lance took Broseph, Reef and I to the staff changing room.

"Where're the girls at?" Reef asked.

"Kelly and Johnny are making 'em fight with spray paint," Ripper said. "But we're gonna have the real fun." The three of us gave a collective gulp. Lance reached into a locker, and pulled out three binkies, bonnets, and large diapers.

"Put these on, groms," he said. He shoved them in our hands, and pointed to the changing rooms. We all exchanged looks of embarrassment, and shamefully walked into the changing rooms.

We all walked out, and were too ashamed to make eye contact. Ripper and Lance were rolling on the floor.

"Aww…" said Ripper mockingly. "Don't you boys look cute? Come on now, into the stroller." Lance wheeled a large, three seat baby stroller out from behind a locker. Ripper pointed to the seats. The three of us sighed, and sat, albeit begrudgingly.

The seniors wheeled us out of the locker room, and took us a few times around the lobby. We got stares, we got laughs, and a few gasps of astonishment.

"Dude," I whispered to Broseph, who was in between Reef and me. "The Office better be worth this caca."

After a few more goes around the lobby, the seniors took us to one of the bathrooms, and unclipped our seat belts.

"We done now, guys?" Reef asked. The two seniors exchanged looks.

"Almost," said Lance. Then, without warning, the seniors reached forward, grabbed our large diapers, and pulled them down. We quickly covered our business with our hands.

"Perfect ending to Initiation, wouldn't you say No-Pants?" Ripper asked. Lance chuckled, and the two ran off. "See you at the staff house!" Ripper called over his shoulder. The three of us stood, naked, in a public bathroom.

"You had to bring up the groms running naked, didn't you?" I asked Broseph. He winced apologetically. "Alright, how're we supposed to get to the staff house with no one noticing?"

"We can't bro," Reef said. "We just need to run for it." I looked to Broseph, who shrugged. "For The Office?" Reef asked.

"For The Office!" Broseph and I exclaimed, and the three of us ran out of the bathroom door. There was a long hallway, which was empty (thank god) but we soon entered the lobby. We made it about five steps before someone caught sight of us.

"They're naked!" came someone's voice. It was a child in the gift shop, with Bummer standing nearby. He saw us, and his mouth dropped to the floor.

"Reef! Broseph! Nate!" he shouted. "What d'you think you're doing?!" We didn't stop, for fear he'd administer strikes. So we kept running, out the door and down the street. The Kahuna walked past.

"Move Kahuna!" shouted Reef, and the older man jumped to avoid us.

As we continued to run, we passed by several resort goers, who whistled or gave cat calls mockingly. Our faces turned red as Reef's board, and we finally arrived at the staff house. The girls were already there, and they giggled uncontrollably as we bolted up the stairs, and flung on our boardshorts.

We returned to the porch, and slumped down next to the others. The seniors walked over, Ripper in the lead.

"I've got to give it to you," said the Australian surfer. "You groms are pretty hardcore! I am pleased to report that you—"

"Wait!" called Kelly. The seniors and groms alike looked to her, confused. "We still have seventeen minutes until the end of initiation. There's time for one more test."

XxXxX

"Somewhere in this bin is a keychain, with a surfboard on it," Kelly said, emptying a small bucket into a large dumpster. "Find the surfboard in the next fifteen minutes, or you're all out!"

"Nast!" I said.

"I'm done-zo," said Reef.

"That is just nasty!" said Fin.

"SO ripe!" exclaimed Broseph. It was unanimous; diving in garbage was way too much. We weren't even sure if the seniors actually found The Office, or were just holding it over our heads. We were ready to give in, until…

"You guys are quitting now?" Emma asked. "After everything we've gone through? We have a chance to be locals at a legendary break! A break that's only been ridden by a few people… ever! Perfect, uncrowded waves. And we get to surf there." She walked over to the garbage bin, and lifted the lid. "Are you really going to let a little stinky garbage get in the way of the best waves in the country?" She climbed in the bin. "Because I'm not!"

"Me neither!" yelled Reef. He ran forward, and jumped on a rather large cardboard box. It propelled him upwards. "Yeehaw!" he shouted. I shrugged.

"Might as well," I said. I ran forward, jumped on the box, and flew towards the trash. "For The Office!" I crashed into the trash, and sent it flying everywhere. Fin followed me, and Broseph after her. Eventually Lo sighed, and walked up.

"Scoot over," she said. Emma and I helped her into the bin, and she gave Emma a big hug. "Anyone who loves surfing that much deserves to see The Office. Plus," she whispered. "It'll totally tick Kelly off if we find it. Now dig people! Dig!" We all stuck our hands and faces into the reeking trash. Oh man, it was so rank! But, in only a few minutes, Lo popped her head out, something small in her hands. "I found it! I found it!" The rest of us emerged, shrieking with joy. Reef, Broseph and I lifted Lo into the air into a sort of victory carry, but set her back down in a bit in order to pump our fists in the air.

Ty walked over, clapping his hands together. "Congratulations, you've all officially passed initiation!" The rest of us cheered and screamed.

"Well what are we waiting for?" asked Reef. "Let's get worked!"

XxXxX

The seniors led us through the woods. Reef and I realized he had actually been getting pretty close earlier today, but the seniors clued us in on some key landmarks to know we were on the right track.

"First, there's the taco rock," he said, gesturing to a large rock that was, in fact, shaped like a giant taco. "It might not taste great, but it's still useful for finding The Office." We walked a bit further, and found the second landmark.

"The next is the shaka sign," Lance explained, nodding to a large wooden sign that was shaped like a shaka hand. "The pinky finger points in the right direction. Remember that." We nodded, and continued walking. Then we came to the last landmark.

"This is the totem pole," explained Ty, gesturing to the large totem pole sticking out of the ground. "Whoever put it here first probably had some kind of special name for it. We call him Bob. Take a left at Bob, and then…" He led us past the totem, and all our breaths were taken away.

The Office was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. White sand, tall trees, and even a waterfall leading into a small pool area. There was a fire pit in the center of the beach, with logs arranged as seating. The sand under our feet was soft and warm, and the sun shone directly onto our faces.

And the waves. Oh my god, the waves. Perfect, almost every one of them. Huge, at least nine feet at the smallest. No kooks, no tourists, no one besides the locals. And now we were counted among those locals.

"Well…" asked Ripper suddenly, snapping us all out of the trance this amazing place had put us in. "Get in there, groms!" We cheered, and ran for the breaking waves.

Reef caught the first ride. He rode along the face of the wave, moved to the peak, and executed a perfect aerial. He followed it off with a sick cutback, then exited the wave. Next was Broseph, who flew into the air and did a 360 with ease. Fin followed suit, hanging ten for at least half a minute. I was next.

I quickly paddled out for the nearest swell. It was a beauty; double overhead at least. I popped up, and rode it along for a while. The most perfect barrel formed, and I rode into it. Just before it crashed down around me, I shout out of the front like a rocket. I slowly rode the momentum back to the lineup, where the others were waiting.

"Man that was awesome!" I exclaimed. "Make up for this morning, Bro?" I asked Broseph, referencing how I'd gotten worked earlier the same day. He nodded.

"Guys, there goes Emma," said Fin, pointing. We turned our attention to the small speck of red we saw riding on a steadily growing wave.

"What d'you think she'll do?" asked Reef. None of us had an answer, but it didn't matter. She'd only been up a few moments when the wave over took her, and she fell into the water. We all winced.

"Chiquita got worked!" exclaimed Broseph.

The rest of the afternoon, bleeding into the night, continued on like this. The Office was, without a doubt, the most amazing surf spot any of us had ever experienced. Despite the threat of getting worked (hard, might I add) the waves were just so perfect and natural, they were easy to ride. As we paddled in, laughing and joking with each other, the seniors (minus Kelly, who did not surf) walked over.

"Nice sesh, guys," said Ripper. "And there's plenty more where that came from. But only if you keep the 'Office Code of Secrecy'." We all exchanged glances.

"The what?" asked Reef.

"It's pretty simple, guys," Lance says. "Basically, don't tell anyone about The Office. That means no bringing betties here, guys." Reef, Broseph and I all sighed. "This spot is just for us, 'kay? No tourists, no staff that we didn't give the okay to. And especially no kooks." Ty and Ripper nodded in agreement.

"If you break this code," Ripper said. "There will be shunning, and there will be punishments. Are we clear?" The six of us exchanged some glances, and then nodded. The seniors smiled.

"Good," said Lance. "Now, who wants a bonfire, huh?"

XxXxX

About twenty minutes later, the sun was sinking below the horizon, and we were sitting on the logs around the fire pit, along with Lance, Ty and Ripper, who was strumming his guitar. Should've brought my guitar from home.

"Oh my gosh, this place is amazing!" Fin exclaimed.

"This totally makes it all worth it," said Emma. "Even if we do smell like old fish guts."

"Yeah and it wasn't even that bad," said Broseph, who was seated next to me on my left (Emma being on my right). I made a pssh sound.

"Yeah, right," I said. "We all know Johnny front-desk-guy went way too easy on you." Reef looked around.

"Uh, where is Johnny front-desk-guy?" he asked. The seniors snickered.

"He's paying for letting Broseph off easy," Ty said, and bumped fists with Lance. "Broseph, he showed you the whale suit, right?" We looked to Broseph, who nodded.

"Man, that thing was rank," he said. "Why, did you… Oh dude! So sick." We exchanged confused looks, but the seniors and Broseph were too busy laughing to explain.

"Anyone bring 'mallows?" asked Reef. Emma leaned behind our log, pulled out a bag, and tossed them to Reef. He nodded a thanks, his mouth too full to say anything. I sighed heavily.

"Sucks we still have to go tom work tomorrow," I said. "I'd rather just live here all the time." A few others nodded.

"But at least we know there's a place to go after work each day," offered Fin. "Something to make it all worth it." I nodded, and put a marshmallow on a twig, roasting it over the fire.

"One thing's for sure," Lance said. "I'm sure glad I'm not Johnny right now." We all laughed. The night went on, with talking, chatting, and laughing, until we all had to bid The Office farewell. Until tomorrow, anyway.