Chapter Two: Welcome to Blue Water High

By the time the van pulled in the school parking lot it was quarter past nine. They were fifteen minutes late. Getting seven teenagers up and ready to go wasn't an easy task.

"Get going kids!" Simmo was yelling leaning out the window "you'll be walking home Mike will show you the way, won't you Mike?"

"Yeah sure" Mike called distractedly as he pulled his school bag over his shoulder and tried to check the time on his phone at the same time. It was quite amusing to see.

"Mike!" Simmo yelled again noticing the fact that he'd barely been listening, Mike spun around to face him, startled "make sure you get them all home on time and in one piece okay?"

"Will do" Mike yelled back ushering them all past the school gates and into Blue Water High. Mike paused as they reached the first building and turned to them.

"It's Monday, everyone's going to be around the back at assembly by now" he told them and for the first time since they arrived the complete lack of other people was very obvious. The school yard was a ghost town.

"Follow me" Mike said ducking between two buildings "I'm pretty sure it's just through here"

"We better hurry up" Jordan said quickening his pace to catch up with Mike "Mr Exeter is not going to be happy"

….

Blue Water High was a rambling an affair. It was perched high on the headland overlooking the coast, with lots of low buildings spread across the grassy grounds. Before it was a high school, it had been a naval base.

Mike ending up being right. The morning assembly was held on what used to be a parade ground. It was large square of gravel which had been dug a couple of meters lower than the rest of the grounds. Jordan supposed it was so the naval bigwigs could look down on the cadets while they marched around in funny formations pretending to be serious about the whole thing.

The school principal, Mr Exeter, had clearly tapped into his inner bigwig, because he stood above the quadrangle of students with his chest puffed out wielding that microphone like a light sabre.

The assembly had obviously been going on for quite some time when they arrived. They'd been hoping on sneaking in up the back and going unnoticed but things didn't go to plan. Jordan tripped on his own shoe-lace and went spiralling into the girl in front of him knocking her over, she inturn feel into another girl, who accidently tripped the boy next to her.

Luckily that was where the domino effect ended but now the whole school was looking at them.

"Sorry" Jordan muttered from the ground. Charlotte reached forward, holding out a hand to help him up. He took it, smiling up at her. The girl he'd fallen into first glared at him and the boy was helping the other girl up. Jordan had obviously not gotten off to a good start at Blue Water High.

"Ah the Solar Blue gang have finally decided to grace us with their presence" Mr Exeter called from his podium at the front of the assembly and everyone who wasn't looking at them now was.

"Sorry Mr Exeter!" Jordan called cupping his hands in front of his face in an attempt to increase the volume "won't happen again"

He nodded in acceptance "see that it doesn't"

"He's a pushover" Jordan whispered to his fellow 'Solar Blue kids' "he'll want us to compete in the inter school surf comps so he has to be nice to us, if it was anyone else it'd be an immediate detention"

Jordan was proven right as Mr Exeter came up to them after the assembly, all smiles.

"Sorry about that, have to make an example you know" he said "it's nice to see you back again Mr Kruz" he added with a nod in Mike's direction.

"Nice to be back" Mike smiled.

"Well you better head off to your first class, don't want to be late for the second time in one day" he said laughing in a way that it was obvious that it was meant to be a joke.

…

Gabby's first class just happened to be maths, her worst subject. She'd never been good with numbers, they were two rigid, a wrong and right. No room at all for interpretation. That's why she loved English; you could do anything you wanted with English. A good story could take you anyway.

"I love maths" Luke said with a grin as he sat down beside her after throwing his things onto the table "it's always been my best subject"

"Mine too" the blonde girl on Luke's other side answered before Gabby could even think of a reply "I'm Erin" she continued "Erin Anderson"

'Anderson, Anderson' Gabby repeated over and over in her head as she tapped her pen against her exercise book. The name seemed so familiar.

"I'm Luke John..."

"Luke Johnson I know, you're one of the new Solar Blue surfers" she said with a small chuckle, pushing some of her hair behind her ear "I was there on the day of the last trial, you bet out my brother for the final place actually"

Something snapped in Gabby's brain 'Anderson! As in Mark Anderson, as in the guy that almost got the finale place at Solar Blue, the guy that absolutely hated Luke for winning the place'

"How…how is you brother?" he asked hesitantly wringing his hands together.

"Still angry" she said "I'd avoid him if I were you"

At this point the teacher, a short, grey haired woman called Mrs Yvonne, walked in so the conversation abruptly ended. Erin scribbled something in her exercise book, ripped out the page and passed it to Luke.

Gabby craned her neck to see the message but because of the angle Luke was sitting at it was impossible to see. Whatever it was it made Luke grin.

…..

Gabby and Luke were sitting on their boards, just enjoying the cool ocean water lapping at their legs. Training had finished less than an hour ago and the others were out there with them preferring to actually catch the waves though.

"So...Erin seems nice" Gabby said running her hand through the water. It was her not exactly subtle way of bringing up Erin so she could ask about what was going on with Luke and her. Luke gave her a strange look but nodded anyway.

"Yeah she's nice I guess" he shrugged more focused on watching the others then listening to Gabby "she gave me a number, says she's going to invite me to some party she's going to"

"I didn't think you were the party type" she told him.

"I'm not really" he said after a moment board "but if I can convince you guys to come with me then it might be a bit of fun"

She followed his line of sight only to realise he was watching Charlie. The blonde was cheering and whistling as Jordan pulled off the stunt he'd been working on for the last half hour.

"You mean if you can convince Charlie to come?" she teased splashing some water his way. He snapped out of his daze and splashed back. It very soon turned into a full on splash fight full of laughter.

Charlie was still standing on the beach when they finally dragged themselves out of the water, still laughing. She'd already put her board away and was standing with her towel draped around her shoulders.

"We've been rostered on for cooking duty tonight" she told Luke running a hand through her wet hair in an attempt to dry it "got any ideas?"

….

That night's dinner turned out to be sausages that were slightly burnt and a salad that was just right. Everyone piled in at the table ready to eat when there was a knock at the door. Mike who was at the end of the table and closest to the door announced that he would answer it and left the table, Simmo who was at the other end of the tabled just smiled knowingly.

Corey Petri was standing on the other side of the door, several bags in hand.

"Well, are you going to invite me in?"

…..

"So what are you doing here?" Mike asked as he helped Corey dump his bags in one of the upstairs bedrooms. There was three bedrooms upstairs, one was for the three female recruits, another for the three male and the finale one was the one Mike had been using. There were two spare beds in the room so Corey would be sleeping in there. Neither of them minded, they'd shared a room for a year after all.

"Simmo offered me a job actually" he explained "Jilly's not coming back…"

"What so you're taking her job?" Mike asked sceptically "I didn't think housework was really your thing"

"It's not" he admitted "but I'm starting a board design company and this is the perfect place to work of my designs" he threw his backpack onto the bottom bunk "helping look after six sixteen year olds is a small price to pay" he added.

"Are you going back to school?" Mike asked sitting on his own bed "because the first day was today"

"Yeah" Corey nodded sitting down next to him "I'll be back there tomorrow, it's always been part of my plan to pass year twelve"

"So you're staying for the rest of the year?"

"Yes" Corey replied with a smile. Mike smiled back.