Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and its creators.
A/N: In this story, it will be some men that will express that they don't like woman surfing. But I just want to let you know that is only a part of the story and is not my personal thinking or of the people from the places I put in this story. Remember this is just a fantasy story and even though I'm using replaces that does not mean that the things that move in the story are in real life. I give my sincere apology to any person that will get offended by this, that is not my intention. I just need to put it on the story for plot reasons that you will read in the story. Also, I don't know anything about serving, just a few things that I saw in movies, so any mistakes in the description or any surfing things I will apologize in advance for that. Again thank you all for reading this.
Chapter 3: Getting ready for an Adventure
A red jeep was driving on a long ground road that was closer to the coast. There were two men on it and one of them was getting impatient to get to their destination.
"Are you sure he is going to be there?" asked the younger man in the passenger seat.
"Where else could he be? He didn't show up at the bar last night. So he has to be here… don't worry I will talk to him." answered the one that was driving.
"I don't know why you even bother with this guy… it's not like I can find a new man for the job as soon as my father buys the restaurant," said the young man with an irritated tone.
"Well… your father is not going to buy the restaurant, just half of it. Besides he is a friend and he deserves a work chance. He is not only a good bowser he also is a good cook and he speaks Spanish too and that is good for business."
"Ha… like I can't bring someone from the USA that can do that."
After 10 more minutes of driving, they arrived at an old house beach that was closer to a part of the west coast that not many people visited. They stopped the jeep close to the house where another old jeep was parked.
"See, he is here…" said the driver before turning off the engine and opening the door.
The surrender area where the house is has a lot of broken things and garbage. After a few minutes, both men start moving away from their vehicle and the young man looks around with disgusting eyes. But they continue walking toward the front door.
"I can't believe this guy… how can he live like this? Or even so, why do you still want him working in the restaurant?"
"I already told you… and he was not like this when I hired him… But as I can see now, he almost started to drink a lot again…" he said after seeing a lot of beer cans on the sand closer to the entrance.
"Then why do you want him in the bar? Is it better to find someone else now?"
"Because he is a tough guy… and knows the locals better than you and I… I know that you and your father want to change a few things at the restaurant, but l will have the power to hire the personnel that works there." The man stopped as soon as they got to the front door and the older one was the one that knocked. "Hey, Joel!... Are you there?" yell, the older man before he knocks again. He waited a few minutes before knocking again, but harder. "HEY JOEL!.. IS ME… MATT!" the man yelled louder this time.
"Hold… your horses… I hear you the first time… Jesus christ…" a voice answered from inside. After a few minutes, the door got half opened and a man showed up his head through the open part of the door. He was shirtless and short. He looks like he just woke up. "What the hell… are you doing… here man?" he asked with a rasping voice.
"What am I doing here?… what I'm-" the man moved his hands to his waist and just shook his head in a disappointing manner. "What the hell were you last night? You're supposed to be in the bar helping me out… remember?" the man said, raising his tone.
"What… are you talking about? It was Juan's turn to help you out last night… because it was my free day… remember?" He looked at the other men whom he didn't recognize.
"Yesterday? How long you've been drinking… Joel? Because your free day was two days ago. You were supposed to be in the restaurant yesterday."
"Really?" He said it was nothing bad. "Shit… it's been two days already? Look, sorry about that, but can you tell Juan if he can cover me today too? I have a rough night… and I need to get more sleep… so if you don't mind I want to go back to that," he was going to close the door when the younger man stopped him and opened his mouth.
"Are you fucking serious? Do you think that you can talk to your boss like that?" said the young man. "For I can see… You just… are a drunken man… that is good for nothing…" he said while looking at Joel with disgusting eyes. "I don't even know why Matt is bothering himself with a scumback like you. If it was for me you would be fired right now… oh yeah, that is something I can arrange soon enough," he said while pointing his finger at Joel.
Joel opened the door wider and looked at the young man checking him out. "Who the fuck are you? And What did you just call me?" Joel started walking toward the young man, who was now walking backward and away from him. "I don't know who you think you're… but coming here and calling me names was a big mistake," Joel said while walking closer to the young man. He was going to grab him by his shirt, but Matt moved faster and stopped him.
"Take it easy… Joel. He did not mean anything he said." said his boss while putting himself in front of Joel to stop him. "He is with me."
Joel tries to move around but the man doesn't let him. "I don't care if he is with you… if he talks to me like that again… I swear to God that I will kick his fucking ass… back to the USA… you little prick."
The young man was lucky that Matt moved between them before Joel had the chance to grab him or he probably ended up in the hospital.
"You don't scare me… Motherfucker. And you-" he started but ran a little back when Joel tried to pass Matt.
"Just go back to the car… and stop being a stupid brat…" said Matt while looking at the young man with his hand on Joel's chest trying to stop him to go after him.
The young man started to walk back to the jeep as soon he saw Joel's face and almost got away from Matt. "This is not over… asshole. My dad will know about all this," he said while continuing to move backward. Soon he was closer to the jeep, the man opened the door and went in. "So start looking for a new job."
Joel looks in his direction with a mad expression on his face. "Who the hell was that punk? I've never seen him around here before and why is he with you?" he asked Matt.
"Don't need to worry about him… he is all mouth I can tell you that."
"Yeah, I can see that… Why did you stop me? I should teach him a lesson so he stops talking like that to people he doesn't know."
"Well, he is the son of my new associate… the one that is going to invest in the bar… the one I told you remember? I know that he can be a real pain in the ass, but he is here as a representative of his father, so I have to deal with him."
Joel looks toward the jeep and looks at the young man with mad eyes. "Well, I don't care who he is… if he talks to me like that again," Joel said while turning his head and looking at Matt. "So you're continuing with that? I thought you changed your mind… I don't understand why you need an associate, especially one with money that thinks that they own everything and anyone." Joel turns around and starts to walk back inside, but Matt grabs his arm to stop him.
"Joel… I need you there today… so get sober and go to work. I feel better when you're there… so I need you…"
Joel turns his head and looks at him. "What about Juan… and Marcus? They can help you tonight… I'm not really in…"
Matt lets go of his arm. "Juan has one of his kids sick, so he can cover you… and Marcus is busy with the bar, he can attend to the kitchen or the entrance. And Rodrigo, I found him stealing from the cash register last week, so I fired him."
"Then find someone new… I'm starting to get tired of all the crap there… I need to find a new job. Especially if that punk is going to be there," he turns again and starts to go in when he hears Matt talk again.
"C'mon, man… I need you there-" he started, but was cut out when Joel closed his door in his face.
"Sorry, Matt, find someone else… and get out of here… I need to sleep," said Joel from the inside.
"You own me… Joel… remember that… so I expect you to be there in a few hours." he waited a few minutes for Joel's answer, but that never came. "And if you want to get some extra money. There are a lot of people coming this weekend to the island… tourists most of them… they pay good tips to remember that," he said while walking toward the jeep. Think about it… because I don't think that you will find any client to show them around the island… and you teaching surfing is out of the question… right?"
"Just get the fuck out of here and let me sleep…" Joel said but sounded more distant.
"I see you tonight… Joel… don't be late… again," said his boss before getting back into his jeep. Soon he was inside, he looked at the young man. "Look… I don't care if your dad is going to invest some money in my bar… but if you talk to him like that again!... I will let him kick your ass… did you get that?"
"I'm not scared of that old drunk ass…" he said with a firm voice.
Matt just shook his head, before he started his jeep. "Well, you should be… he can take your head off with only his hand," he said before starting to drive away.
Joel walks slowly toward his kitchen before going back to his bedroom. The whole place was a mess, empty beer cans everywhere, a few empty bottles of Whisky, and plates with some half-eaten food still on them on the table. The sink was full of dirty plates and pots too. A few little bags of garbage still inside the house and a lot of his dirty clothes all around the place. Soon Joel goes inside the kitchen the smell kicks in and almost makes him sick. "Shit… what the hell is that smell?" After looking around for a few minutes he notes all the mess there. "Yeah… I forgot to take the garbage out yesterday." Joel grabbed the plate with the bad-smelling food, put it inside one of the bags, and walked toward the back door. Soon he opened it, Joel threw the gags closer to the garbage can and got back inside. Well, now that I take care of that… maybe the smell go away, he said before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and walking back to his room.
xXx
After Roger arranges the ferry tickets for him and Ellie, they both walk to the little pier and sit there to wait for the boat to arrive. Since Ellie's dad died, she doesn't talk much with new people, but so far she has been enjoying talking with the two locals on the mainland that help her, and now talking with Roger has been good too. Being an American has made it easy to talk to him since she doesn't know how to speak Spanish too well. As they waited, Roger told her about his business, and how he travels a lot between the main island and this one. He talks about his life here and in the US, but Ellie doesn't tell him much about hers except to talk a little about her mother and her life in college.
"So, you come here alone on vacation from Arizona?" the man asked her.
"Something like that… I just come to do and see different things…" she said while looking around the place where they were sitting.
"Well, if you want to enjoy the beaches I recommend the northern parts of the coast town… those are more for swimming, the others are better for surfers."
"Really?!" she said, a little excited. "Well, that is good to know," she said with a calmer voice.
Soon the ship arrived, and both of them went aboard. They sat on the top part, to have a better view. The other part of the island was close, so they could see the land in the distance. The trip was only a 10-minute ride, so there was not much time to do anything or talk too much. Soon the ship arrives on the other side, Roger and Ellie go down the boat and get into the pier.
"Are you sure you will be alright?" asked Roger as soon he saw the man that was waiting for him in the distance.
"Yeah… I have the address and name of the place I will stay… So I can call a taxi to take me there."
The man smiled at her for a moment. "There is no taxi here, well at least not like the one on the mainland. But there are a lot of people that use their own car to transport tourists or locals around. Also, some of the hotels have their own transportation, but you need to be careful around here, not all people are good. Some of them will try to take advantage of tourists like you."
"Oh… thanks for the advice and for the company. I will try to find decent ones for the ride," she said with a smile.
The man looks at her for a moment. "I can give you a ride if you want… if you are going to Puerto Ayora, the town is on the south of the island, which is like one hour drive from here. I can see that you're a strong girl, but you need to keep your eyes open… even if this is a nice place for a vacation, not all people are nice."
The man that was waiting for him came closer to them. "Todo esta bien… Mr. Roger?" he asked as soon as he got closer to the old man.
Roger looks at him and introduces Ellie to him. "Si todo está bien Alejandro… Ella es Ellie…" he said before turning his head to look at Ellie. "Ellie, this is Alejandro, we work together on the island."
Ellie looked at the man and smiled. "Nice to-I mean… Mucho gusto en conocerlo…"
The man extends his hand toward her. "El gusto es mío señorita…" he was younger than Roger, probably in his 30s. Ellie shakes his hand before moving a little back so the two men can talk.
Roger turned his attention to the man for a moment. "La señorita estará aquí de vacaciones unas semanas… ¿Crees que podamos llevarla hasta puerto Ayora antes de ir al almacén?"
The man looks at his wristwatch and looks at the time. "Si… la carga que estamos esperando no llegará hasta tres hora." he said while looking at the old man.
"Splendid… so we have a little time free," he said while clapping his hands together. Then he turns to look at the girl. "It seems that we have a little time to spare, so we can give you a ride to the town."
Ellie looked at him and was curious about why this man wanted to help her so much. But all the help she can get could be welcome. "Really… but I don't want to bother you more than I already have… so you don't need to do that, you already help me too much and-"
"Nonsense… It was my pleasure to help a nice young lady like you on her vacation, and make sure that she enjoys her stay here… the island needs tourist's money to keep this place running… so it is good to give them a good expression they can get," he said with a smile.
"Okay… thank you…"
"Now, c'mon… I will show you a little around while we're on the way.'' He put his arm on her shoulder and guided her away. "Did I tell you the time I was almost eaten by a shark?" he started talking while the three of them started walking away from the pier.
Roger told her a few things about the island and his people on the way. He told her about the places she can visit and the ones to avoid. He told her that most of the people there were nice, but some others just try to take advantage of the tourists or don't like them much. He told her that most of the tourists that come here were young men and teenagers that come for the beaches and told her to be careful with those because they like to cause trouble especially when they drink too much. Soon they get to the front of the guest house where Ellie has her reservation, she gets out of the truck and grabs her things.
"Thank you for all your help… Mister-" she started but the man raised his hand to stop her.
"Oh… please just call me Roger… and the pleasure was all mine." he suddenly moved his hand into his pocket and got out a card. "Here…" he passed it to her. Ellie grabs it and looks at it. "His name is Tomas… he transports people in town like a taxi and he is a friend of mine, so call him if you need a ride… he will help you. Just tell him that I recommend him to you… okay?"
"Go it… thanks."
"Okay… Ellie, have a nice vacation here… and maybe I will see you around… again before you go," he said before his associate started to drive away.
After that Ellie entered the building's lobby and moved toward the front desk where an old woman was standing.
"Hola jovencita… Bienvenida a la CASA DEL LAGO LODGING HOUSE puedo ayudarte en algo?" she said in Spanish making Ellie up her brow.
Ellie goes closer and starts looking at her bag for her reservation papers. "I… have a… reservation!" she said while still looking.
"Oh… otro Americano…" she turns her head and yells. "HEY CARLOS… ven acá por favor… mijo."
A minute later, a man walks from the back room and goes close to the older woman. "Si mama… que pasa?" he asked her.
"Tenemos otro Americano aquí… atiendela… yo iré a ver como va todo en la cocina…" she said to him before walking away.
The man takes her place and looks at Ellie. "Hi… My name is Carlos… How can I help you?"
Finally, Ellie found the reservation papers and showed them to him. "Hi… My name is Ellie and I have a reservation here…" she said while passing him the paper.
The man takes it and looks at it. "Okay… let me check…" he turned around and opened a big book and started checking the pages. Ellie notices that they don't have any computers on the desk, so she can't imagine how their system works there.
"You don't have a computer here to make the reservations?"
The man looked at her for a moment. "We have one in the office, but we put the people that come in this booklist," he said before continuing to check. After a few minutes, the man looked at Ellie again. "Yes… we have your name here at the end of the list… you're lucky to get our last room…" he said while giving Ellie back her papers.
"Really!... Well lucky me. Your English is good… where do you learn it?" she said as soon as she grabbed the paper.
"Thanks… I learning it on the mainland, so I have to study a lot. Since we have a lot of tourists here, some of us that work in hotels and guest houses need to learn how to speak English."
"Oh.. that is great," she answered him.
"Okay… you're in room 12, it's at the back of the building on the second floor. You're lucky because that part is facing the ocean," he said while passing her the key. "We don't have room service here, but you can order food from your room menu, and will call you when it is ready so you can get down to the dining lounge that is on the side of the building. Or you can get outside and visit one of our closer restaurants. We have breakfast from 7:30 to 10:00. We have a pool, but it is closed for maintenance, but we're closer to the bay plaza and there you can get some transportation to one of the beaches closer from here. Your room has all you need… but if you need something that is not there you can call us." He finishes with his explanation.
"Okay… Thank you so much…" The man looked at her for a few minutes but changed his sight to the entrance as two more people got inside. Ellie quickly grabs her suitcase and walks toward the outside corridor that leads to the rooms.
The building looked like a big house with a lot of rooms. The place looks very nice and it was built in a traditional style with a lot of things made of stone and wood. Soon Ellie turned on the corner of the building, she saw the stairs that go up to the second floor, and started to climb up. Getting to the second floor and finding her room was easy, so soon she found it, Ellie used the key to open the door and go inside.
The room was big for a place like this and was more than she expected. It was clean and had a big bed and that was good because she likes to sleep in a big bed when she is on vacation. Also has a few tables and a mini kitchen. On the other side of the wall, it has a big drawer with a few things in it including a phone and a tv. Ellie closes the door and throws her suitcase on top of the bed and takes her backpack off. She quickly opened the bathroom door to check it out and it was big too and clean. After checking the room for a few minutes, she went to the sliding glass door that takes the balcony and opened it. The balcony has a small table, two chairs, and a few small plants. Soon she got outside, she saw part of the town below as the place was on top of a small hill. Even though the place was a little far from the beaches, she can see the ocean and bay in the distance.
Ellie also sees a lot of people there and boots, but what she really wants is to go to one of the beaches and enjoy the water. The information she gets on the internet says that the beaches here are one of the best for surfing in the world and she can't wait to go to one of them, rent a surfboard, and taste the waves.
Ellie looked at the bay, getting excited to go there and have a good time. It was still early, so after unpacking, Ellie was planning to go down there and start looking for a shop to buy what she needed for surfing. She also needs to find a surfing shop that can tell her where she can find someone that can teach her how to surf. There have to be a lot of people there, who will be able to teach her since a lot of people came here for that. Surfing was one of the things she wanted to do most, but there are a lot of other things she wants to do here as well, so it was better for her to get started.
xXx
It was past midday when Joel opened his eyes again. He was in his room but he can hear some of the seagulls that landed close to his house and they don't let him sleep much. After a few minutes, he makes a frustrated gesture, before sitting on the bed and straightening his limbs. After he finishes, Joel looks around his room and sees all the dirty clothes laying on the floor and other places in the room. He has been having a rough week and works out most of the time, so he does not have much time to clean or wash his clothes.
Joel gets up from the bed and goes to his drawer to grab some clean clothes and take a bath. He has to move carefully so he doesn't trip on all the things he has on the floor. Shit! he said as soon as he stepped on something. Fuck!... that hurt. He looked down and saw a part of his diver gear. He has been doing all kinds of jobs around here to survive and pay the bills. He goes sometimes with an old friend diving close to the west coast to catch rare fish and lobster that they sell to some of the local restaurants. Joel bent down, grabbed the mask and breathing tube from the floor, and tossed them to the bed. He continued walking toward the drawer and opened it.
Soon it was open, he saw that he didn't have many cleaning clothes, so he grabbed one of the few there to use today, but knew that he needed to do something about the rest. Okay… I think that it is time to call Rosita… I need her to wash my clothes and clean up this place a little. He said while looking at the mess in the room. But that can wait for later because I'm not want to get late… for the driving job. He really started to hate the bouser job and try to find something new to do, but it is the only solid one he has for now. Joel quickly walks toward the bathroom and goes inside. He starts to get off his dirty clothes while opening the shower water to take a bath.
One hour later, Joel opens the front door of his house and closes it behind him. His house was located in an isolated part of the island not too far from the coast town, but it was in a place where there are no other people closer in miles. Also, Joel's house was close to a beach, just some feet away and that was good for him because he really likes the ocean and sometimes he goes for a swim. After closing the door, Joel walked toward his old jeep and got in. He ignited the engine and started driving away.
Joel had to earn some money today since he had been spending too much cash in the last few days, so he drove to Puerto Ayora, the closest town to his house and where Matt's restaurant is. Puerto Ayola is the bigger town on the island and the most populated, it is also where the Island's main bay is and all the major boats are stationed including the ferry. So most of the tourists go there and that is where most of the jobs are. Joel always went to the bay or the plaza and tried to get some clients to drive around. That is another job he does when he does not have to work at the restaurant or have a few hours free. Also, there is where most of the hotels, restaurants, and stores are. Soon Joel arrives in town, he drives directed to the small port and gets close to the ferry dock. He can see a few private boats and yachts, which means a lot of tourists have a drive to the island.
Soon Joel parked close to the main pier, he looked at the ferry that looked like it arrived sometime back. Joel gets out of his jeep and looks around searching for someone. After a few minutes, he saw the man he was looking for walking toward him.
"You're late… What the hell happened? You're supposed to be here by 10:00…" said the man as soon as he got close to him.
"Sorry… I had a rough night and I overslept." Joel answers him with an innocent tone.
"Well, that was too bad for you… because all the tourists that came on the ferry have already found a ride to their hotel, so I don't have any job for you today," he said to him before turning around and starting to walk away.
"C'mon man…" said Joel while walking after him and grabbing him by the arm to stop him. "It has to be someone left… that I can give a ride or take somewhere…" he let go of him and moved in front of the man. "I can see a lot of boots out there, so it has to be someone… C'mon, I need the money," he said with a pleading tone.
"Sorry… Joel, but you know how things work here… you need to be here on time if you want me to arrange something," he said but stayed put. "But… since you're so desperate, I have a few teenagers that just arrived that want some surf lessons… so maybe you can help them with that. I bet you can get some good money."
"You know that I don't do that anymore…" he said with a sad tone.
"I don't know why you are still holding yourself back on that… what happened wasn't your fault… and you were so good at it… that some people still remember you around here."
"Sorry… but that boat sailed a long time ago… and I will never forget what happened, no matter what some people say or think."
The man shakes his head while putting one hand on his shoulder. "You should think about that all the time man… you can earn good money with your talent." The man said before walking away from Joel and going toward the pier.
Joel looks at him for a few minutes before turning around and looking at the port. He watches the people there walk around. Shit! Back to the bar, I guess… Fuck! I really wanted to do something else today… Then he turned around and walked back to his jeep. His job in the bar is not so bad, especially in the kitchen part where he sometimes has the chance to cook. But dealing with drunk people all the time is really starting to get to him after two years of working there. His tour guide project is not working well, but he was hoping to find some people today and offer his job as a tourist guide. He wants that to work well so that in the future he can quit his former job. But since that did not go well today, he needs to try tomorrow and see how it goes. So in the meantime, he needs the money so going to the bar is his only option.