CHAPTER 6 - THE FAMILY TREE
Fin reveals her family's history in this chapter while talking with Lo, including why she feels Lo's mother is cooler than her own (a nod to "Slumber Party Animals" from Season One). Some of the dialogue later in this chapter, during the STOKE tournament final, also comes from S2's "Surf Surf Revolution".
Emperor of the Animal Kingdom - like most other Stoked fans, I also didn't like the OOC characterization the show's writers gave Lo during some Season Two episodes, which was why I chose to stay true to her original personality from S1 and expand on it in some of my more recent fanfics. The OOC depiction of Lo on the show this season seems more suited to my other Stoked OC, Rebekka Drake, anyway. And if you thought Bummer was bad in Chapter Five, wait 'til you see what's coming in Chapters Seven and Eight...
Back at the staff house, Fin, whose emotional well-being had slowly improved over the last while thanks to Lo's intervention, was still cuddling with Lo in the girls' room. To help keep Fin's mind off of the frightened feelings she had been overwhelmed by earlier in connection with her father's death, Lo talked with her about anything that was on the blonde tomboy's mind, from surfing to boys (including Reef) to what Halifax was like.
"So what's your family like?" Lo asked, broaching a subject Fin had not talked much about during her time at Surfer's Paradise. "Besides your grandma, all we really know about them from you is that you have a sister and four brothers, but you haven't said much else about them."
"There's not much to say about them," Fin said, preferring to change the subject.
"Aww, c'mon," Lo begged Fin in a friendly manner. "There must be something about your family you could tell me."
Fin thought about it a moment. "Well," she began, "you know when I told you at grom initiation about my three older brothers, the ones who made me eat worms when I was five? Well, they're really just my half-brothers."
"Ooohh, I can see a story coming," a grinning Lo said.
"It started back in 1986, when my mom was taking Office Assistant courses at a community college back home," Fin explained. "During her freshman year, she met a guy named Randy, who was taking one of the trades programs at the college. She and Randy clicked pretty quickly and they started dating not long after. Mom liked him, but for some reason, Grandma and Grandpa weren't crazy about him.
"Then some time after they started dating and moved in together, Mom got pregnant," Fin continued. "Then just before she was to start her second year of her college program, she gave birth to my oldest brother, Terry. It wasn't easy for Mom that year, juggling school with raising a baby, but she made it work and Grandma and Grandpa helped out a bit. It also helped that Randy got a job as a freelance carpenter to help support Mom and Terry."
"Not bad," Lo said. "So did they ever get married?"
"They were planning to, but it never happened," Fin said. "Just after Mom got her Office Assistant certificate and got an office job as a secretary, she became pregnant again, this time with twins. But right then, Randy's attitude changed. He only wanted one kid and he wasn't willing to have more. He and Mom started having arguments about her pregnancy and what to do about it.
"Then one morning during her fourth month, Mom woke up and found a note on the pillow beside her on her and Randy's bed," Fin went on. "She read it and found out that Randy was leaving her because she stuck to her guns on her pregnancy and wouldn't budge. Randy never said where he was going, and that was the last she ever saw or heard of him. She was really hurt at first about him leaving, but Grandma helped her through it and she got over him quick."
"Ohh, what a pig!" a displeased Lo said about Randy. "How could he do that to your mom, leaving her alone with one child and two more on the way?"
"I think that's one of the reasons Grandma never approved of Randy," Fin said. "Then a while after Randy took off, Mom met someone new, a dock worker at the Port of Halifax, named Mike. He's the one who's my dad. He and Mom started seeing each other and it didn't bother him in the least that she already had a son and two more kids coming. He was there for her when she had twin boys, my other two older brothers Marty and Dan. About a year later, Mom and Dad got married, though Mom chose to keep her maiden name McCloud, just like Grandma did before her.
"Even before they got married, Dad helped Mom to raise Terry, Marty and Dan," Fin added. "As far as they're concerned, Dad's the only father my big brothers had ever known and he was a father to them in every way that counted. Then a few years later, I came along, the first child Mom had with Dad."
"Aww, that sounds sweet," Lo gushed. "Good thing, too. If Randy had had his way, your mom wouldn't have met your dad and you wouldn't be here now to tell the story."
"True that," Fin agreed. Feeling her throat get a bit dry from telling her story, she then asked Lo, "Could you pass me that water, please?"
"Sure," said Lo, who reached behind Fin to get the water bottle on the near corner of the nightstand, then opened it and passed it to her. While Fin took a sip from the bottle, Lo said, "Then your sister Sam came next, right?"
"Yep, about two years after me," Fin said after she finished taking her drink from the water bottle. "Then my youngest brother, Josh, was the last one. Being in a family with six kids wasn't always easy, but we did all right for ourselves."
"Does everyone else in your family surf like you do?" Lo asked.
"Besides Grandma, there's just me, Sam and Terry who surf," Fin said. "Marty and Dan both don't like surfing. Josh wants to take it up, but Mom won't let him. Dad didn't surf, but he was supportive of me, Sam and Terry all taking up surfing to follow in Grandma's footsteps. Mom doesn't surf either and she doesn't approve of us surfing - in fact, she and I've had quite a few arguments about it in the past when she tried to forbid me to surf and she took it as me being rebellious when I said I was gonna do it anyway."
"Wow, no wonder you said my mom was cooler than your own when we had that slumber party in the penthouse back in June," Lo commented.
"And I still stick by it," said Fin, who considered Mrs. Ridgemount to be what she wished her own mother would be more like. "I'm just glad Dad stood by me and convinced Mom to let me take up surfing. He and Grandma were also in my corner when I wanted to come here to work for the summer instead of working at the Tastie Freezie back home, like Mom wanted. She wasn't happy at first about me coming here 'cause I wanted to surf here too, but she gave in when she realized I'm growing up and I can make my own decisions."
"Good," Lo said with a grin. "I'm glad your dad and your grandma were able to convince your mom to have enough faith in you to let you come here."
"Yeah, me too," Fin said. After a pause, she added, "But I'm worried that with Dad gone, I may have lost the clout I needed with Mom over the whole surfing thing. I'm also worried about how the family's going to handle Dad being gone and how we're going to get by with only Mom raising me, Sam and Josh while doing it on a secretary's salary. And what if Mom meets someone new and the new guy turns out to be a real..."
"Easy, Fin," Lo said. "You can't let yourself get worked up like this. If you obsess needlessly over things that may or may not happen, it'll just end up crippling you. I don't want to see you ending up like I found you when I came back from the hotel earlier."
"I know," Fin said with a nod. "I just had them all on my mind when you came back."
"Don't worry," Lo said reassuringly. "I know you well enough by now to know that whatever comes your way after what you've been through, I know you'll face it head-on and with confidence."
"Thanks, Lo," Fin replied with a smile, feeling grateful to her friend for going out of her way to help her. "I'm glad you could be here for me to do what you could when I needed someone. You're a sweetheart to be willing to do it." Regardless of how she had originally felt about Lo when she first met her that first week at the hotel, Fin, like the rest of the gang, had come to appreciate Lo for the kindness, selflessness, generosity and inner beauty she had displayed several times since then, the latest example of which she had shown to Fin over the last hour and a half. Because of that, Fin now came to regard Lo, not just as a friend, but like an extra sister to her.
"I'm happy to help," Lo said with her own smile. "And if you want me to stay here with you as long as you need me to, I will."
"Sure," Fin said. "I'd appreciate that." After another pause, she then raised her head from Lo's shoulder to look at her friend. "Lo?"
"Yeah, Fin?" Lo responded.
"I love you," Fin said in a heartfelt manner. It was the first time she had ever said those three words to anyone aside from her parents or her grandmother, and she had said them to Lo in deep appreciation for all she said and did for her since she told Lo of her father's passing.
To Lo, hearing Fin tell her she loved her was like music to her ears, just as much as if she had heard her mother or her father say it to her. "Awww, thank you so much, Fin," a deeply touched Lo said softly. "I love you too." To emphasize that sentiment, she then gave Fin a gentle kiss on her cheek. With that, an appreciative Fin lay her head down on Lo's left shoulder again and closed her eyes, and a caring Lo leaned her cheek against the top of Fin's head while she continued to hold her in her arms and cuddle with her, happy that she was able to relieve some of her friend's emotional suffering.
After a few moments of not saying anything, but just sitting together with Fin on her bed while comforting her, a thought crossed Lo's mind. "Fin, were Broseph and the others expecting you at the Office?" she asked.
"Yeah, they were," Fin answered. "I told Broseph, Emma and Johnny I'd be there to join them. They must be wondering by now why I pulled a no-show."
"Well, I think they deserve to know why," Lo said, taking out her iPhone. "I got to call them and the others."
"What?" a surprised Fin said. "No-no-no-no-no!" She grabbed Lo's hand, the one holding her phone, to keep her from dialing it. "Please, Lo. Don't tell anyone else about what happened," she said, imploring Lo not to call the rest of the gang. "I don't want everyone knowing about my dad and what happened to him last night." By "everyone", Fin also referred in particular to Reef, who she worried might try to tease her about her situation.
"Why not?" Lo said. "Fin, it's okay. You have a lot of friends here and they'll understand about your dad. If you don't tell them, they'll start wondering over the next few days why you're not your usual chipper self and they'll start asking questions. What're you going to tell them, you're fine?" Lo put her left arm over Fin's shoulders, trying to ease her friend's concerns. "Trust me, Fin," she said reassuringly with a smile. "Everyone will be supportive of you and they'll help you through this. Broseph, Emma, Johnny, Kelly, Ripper...the whole gang. They'll all be there for you, like I am now. Okay?"
Fin let out a sigh of resignation. "Okay, go ahead and call," she said with a nod.
"And don't worry about Reef," Lo said, seemingly figuring out what Fin was worried about. "I don't think he'll tease you about it, but if he does, I'll kick his butt for you. Deal?" Lo's last comment got a chuckle out of Fin, which made the rich girl smile as she began searching her friends' stored numbers to speed-dial.
Back at the hotel pool, Kelly and David were relaxing in a hammock not far from the Snack Shack kiosk, just after returning from their walk on the beach. "Mmm, that walk was worth the hard work at the DR earlier," a contented Kelly said while snuggling near David. "My feet are thanking me already for walking on the sand while the water washed ashore around our feet."
"You and me both," David agreed. "That walk gave me a chance to check out parts of Sunset Island that I haven't seen from the beach before. If I had my iPod with me with summer songs on it to listen to, it would've made the perfect soundtrack to our walk and the sights we saw along the way."
"Yeah, like the stars we're starting to see since the sun set," Kelly said, looking up at the sky.
"Too bad for all the lights here at the hotel," David pointed out. "If the power went out here right this minute, it'd give us the chance to see a lot more of them, maybe even a shooting star or two."
"Last time I had that chance before I started working here was two summers ago," Kelly said. "I went out of town with a few friends to this lake one night after sunset, just a few kilometres southwest of Nanaimo. We went to hang out there and some of us went swimming in the lake, but the best thing about that night was checking out the night sky and all the stars we could see at the lake without all the light pollution coming from town to dim them. We even saw a few shooting stars go by while we were there. David, I wish I could've known you back then so you could be there...the sky just looked awesome that night."
"I've done that a few times too, checking out the stars with friends on trips up in the Lake Cowichan area," David said. "On nights like those when you see all those stars there, it just makes you chill out and forget all your troubles - like the one you had with Bummer earlier."
"Bummer who?" Kelly said with a giggle, showing she would not let the hotel manager, or the later problems she had with the Marvin boys at the Pirate Ship, bother her.
"Exactly," David said with a grin. "We got the night to ourselves, so let's enjoy it."
"Agreed," Kelly said before giving David a small kiss. "So, what do you feel like doing tomorrow night?"
"Haven't thought that far ahead," David said. "Right now, I'm just enjoying this moment."
"Yeah, me too," Kelly said, letting out a blissful sigh.
"I think we could go see a movie tomorrow," David suggested. "What's playing over at the Big Wave Theatre right now?"
"Nothing really worth seeing," Kelly said flatly. "Remember when I said all the Kahuna shows there most of the time is surfing movies? If I had my car here, I could drive out to Campbell River or Courtenay to catch a show."
"Not a problem," David said. "I can check what's playing where on my iPhone, and my rental car's parked near the hotel, so we can drive over to whichever show you want to see. We can make a night of it by going out for dinner near whichever theatre you pick before the show, too."
"Sounds good to me," Kelly said wistfully, then she turned to look at David. The couple gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments, then Kelly tilted her head slightly and inched slowly toward David, indicating that she wanted to kiss him again, this time a longer and more meaningful kiss. Catching on to Kelly's subtle signal, David also began moving toward Kelly, looking forward to kissing her full lips again.
As Kelly and David were half an inch away from their lips meeting, however, their would-be kiss was interrupted when David's phone began ringing in his right jeans pocket. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," David groaned as he reached for his phone, not really appreciating the interruption. "I hope it's not anyone from work back home calling. I told them only to call me if it was a 911 situation."
"Who'd be calling you at this time of night?" Kelly wondered.
"Let's find out," David said as he pulled out the phone and checked the call display. "Lo?" he remarked upon recognizing her number. "I wonder what she wants?"
"How come you have her number, anyway?" a curious Kelly asked.
"Same reason you each have the other's number on your speed dial, in case you need to reach the other," David said. He then hit the talk button on his iPhone and raised it to his ear. "Hey Lo, what's up?" he greeted her.
"Hi, David," Lo replied. "Is Kelly with you right now?"
"She sure is," David said. "Did you want to talk to her?"
"I tried calling her on her phone, but it kept going to voice mail, so she must've turned her phone off," Lo explained. "Can you put your phone on speaker? I actually need to talk to both of you, it's urgent."
"Sure thing," said David, who then engaged speaker mode on his phone. "Okay Lo, go ahead,"
"Fin's not feeling good right now," Lo said. "She just found out her dad was in a car accident last night involving a drunk driver. Her dad died of his injuries some time this morning and she only found out about two and a half hours ago."
"Oh, no," said a concerned Kelly, whose friendship with Fin had developed since she began getting surfing lessons with David from her several weeks earlier. "Sorry to hear that, Lo. Where's Fin now?"
"She's with me back at the staff house," Lo said. "She was crying when I found her in our room earlier and she's feeling sad and angry about what happened. She could really use someone to be there for her right now."
As Lo spoke on the phone, Kelly and David looked at each other a moment, then Kelly nodded and silently mouthed the words "It's okay", stating that going to see Fin in her hour of need would be all right. "Say no more, Lo," David said before hanging up. "We'll be there in a bit."
While they began getting out of the hammock, Kelly looked to David. "Thanks for understanding, David," she said with a small smile.
"No worries," David responded, taking Kelly's hand. "Fin's your friend, and she's mine too. If one of us were in the same situation, she'd be there for us, no question."
Meanwhile at the Office, Broseph, Emma and Johnny glided to shore on their surfboards after finishing off riding another set of waves. "Dudes, those waves tonight were boss!" Broseph declared. "Did you see the height I got off that last one?"
"Sure did," Johnny said as he picked his board up from the water. "If you did that move at Gromfest, that'd get you into the top ten for sure."
"It would if I were gonna be in Gromfest - which I'm not," Broseph reminded Johnny. "Remember what I said 'bout me and surfing for trophies?"
"This would've been more fun if Fin was here," Emma said, noting the blonde tomboy's conspicuous absence. "She said she'd be here, so why wouldn't she show?"
"Good point," Johnny said. "It's not like Fin to miss out on a surf sesh. She and surfing are like a duck and water."
As Johnny finished speaking, he and the two groms heard the sound of a cell phone ringing close by. Emma recognized the ring right away and sprinted toward her pink jean shorts, which she had worn over her bikini bottom while heading to the Office and left on a log before going surfing, then took her iPhone from the right pocket. "I think we'll find out about Fin soon enough, it's Lo calling," the ponytailed redhead said when she saw Lo's number on her call display, then she answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, Emma," Lo replied at the other end. "How's your session at the Office with Broseph and Johnny?"
"Good, awesome ten-footers out here tonight," Emma said. "Oh, and have you seen Fin around? She was supposed to join us here and she never showed."
"That's why I called," Lo said. "Put your phone on speaker so you can all hear me." When Emma put her phone in speaker mode, she gathered Broseph and Johnny around her to listen. "Fin's with me in the staff house right now," Lo continued, explaining to her friends about Fin's father and his fatal car accident.
Emma gasped when Lo gave her the news. "How's Fin feeling?" she asked.
"Not very good," Lo said. "She was feeling in a bad way when I found her in our room. She really needs someone to be there for her now."
"Tell her to hang in there," Broseph said with a sense of urgency. "We'll be up in a minute." Broseph, Emma and Johnny then grabbed their boards and hit the trail leading back toward the staff house.
During the time Lo had been consoling Fin, the STOKE tournament continued downstairs in the staff house living room. After Reef advanced to the final in the first game by narrowly edging out Lance, Ripper and Ty faced off in the second game, with Ripper claiming the win. The final showdown now came down to Reef and Ripper, who had kept the contest a close one for the last 45 minutes while Lance and Ty watched from the living room couch.
Over the game's course, Reef and Ripper had made their way up to its 13th level, snaring bonus points and getting extra lives with each 50,000 points scored. With each new level though, the game course became more challenging and the two finalists were now each down to their last man, but they rose to the occasion and forced each other to compete harder and to up their game to the next level.
"How come you're not getting tossed off your board, mate?" Ripper said, trying to taunt Reef.
"Guess I'm just better than you, dude," Reef retorted.
"Ha! We'll see 'bout that," Ripper said.
Not long after, Reef completed the course and netted a bonus for being the first to finish, taking the game up to Level 14. Ripper, determined not to lose to Reef, kept up with the cocky surfer while battling from behind. "Did you see my virtual 360, bro?" Reef bragged. "Best one yet!"
"Yeah," Ripper replied. "But I've been workin' on my virtual air, so get ready to eat virtual sand, mate!"
"Then bring it," Reef said, "'cause I am the King of STOKE!"
As the level advanced, Ripper caught up with Reef and, thanks to a couple of lucky breaks, finished the course first and got his bonus, moving the game to Level 15 and putting the players neck-and-neck scorewise. "You sure you wanna do that, mate?" Ripper taunted Reef again as he watched his opponent pull off a daring move with his game sprite. "Looks tricky! Maybe make like you're on a real board - oh wait, that'd mean eating surf!" he said with a laugh.
"I'll leave the 'eating surf' part to you, dude," Reef said. "You look like you're good at it!" Reef's counter-taunt earned him a glare from Ripper as the two players continued their virtual surf battle.
Reef soon held a slight edge over Ripper in points, but the Australian surfer held his ground and kept up, refusing to allow Reef to get the better of him. Seeing an opportunity to get another point surge and get enough to earn another life in the game, Reef was about to make a big move when Lo, accompanied by Fin, came into the living room from upstairs. "Hey guys, there's something I have to tell you," Lo said.
"What?" Reef said, distracted by Lo's words. When he saw Fin standing beside Lo, Reef lost his concentration and, with it, his balance, falling off his board with a yelp and leading to his surfboard sprite straying into the path of a shark on the TV screen. The virtual shark bit the surfboard sprite in two, ending his last turn and, ultimately, the game.
"YES! WOO-HOOOO!" a triumphant Ripper yelled, jabbing his fist in the air as he jumped victoriously off his board. At the same time, Lance and Ty leaped up cheering from the couch and hoisted Ripper up on their shoulders, chanting "Ripper! Ripper! Ripper!" while celebrating his win in the STOKE tournament.
"Who's the King of STOKE now, mate?" Ripper called down gleefully to Reef, who did not look happy to lose a close tournament final thanks to the distraction moments earlier as he glared at a jubilant Ripper while still on the floor.
Lo and Fin, meanwhile, glanced at each other with puzzled looks, wondering what the big deal was over the guys' celebration before Lo turned her attention back to them. "Hey, GUYS!" Lo repeated herself, yelling to get their attention.
Reef, Ripper, Lance and Ty turned to look at Lo and Fin when they heard the rich girl yell. "What?" they all said in unison.
"I got some bad news to tell you," Lo told the guys. "Fin's dad was in a car accident last night involving a drunk driver," she said while indicating Fin, who had a sad look on her face, on her left. "Her dad died of his injuries this morning and she's been devastated about it since she found out around suppertime earlier."
"What?" Ripper said, getting down from Lance and Ty's shoulders to sprint over to Fin. "Is that true, love?" he asked while putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Afraid so," Fin said with a sniffle, nodding her head.
Just then, Kelly and David came through the staff house's front door, followed moments later by Broseph, Emma and Johnny, all of them having Fin on their minds. "Lo told us what happened, Fin," Kelly said as she walked up to Fin, then walked her over to the couch and sat down beside her. "I'm really sorry," the Pirate Ship manager added as she began rubbing Fin's back with her left hand. "Is there anything we can do or get for you?"
"Not right now, but thanks," Fin said, giving Kelly a small smile as she shed a tear.
"You want to talk about it, chiquita?" Broseph, who had also sat down beside Fin on her left, asked.
A hesitant Fin paused a moment before she answered. "Sure," she said quietly.
Lo then sat down on the coffee table in front of Fin and most of the rest of the gang gathered around the couch while Fin talked about what she learned of her father's accident and what she went through afterward. While everyone else present offered their sympathies and support to Fin, Reef, however, kept his distance as he stood apart from the rest of the group and simply watched from the sidelines. He wanted to approach Fin, to offer his condolences and to be there for her as well, but he seemed unsure of doing so, wary of how Fin would react to his attempt to console her.
Reef's reaction to the news of the death of Fin's father, and how he initially dealt with it, seems pretty telling, doesn't it? He wants to help Fin, but his concern that she'll take it the wrong way and make assumptions about his motives (given their history) is so far keeping him from doing it. How will he approach handling the subject with Fin? Check it out next chapter.
Also, trouble erupts when Bummer clashes with Fin over her situation.