Waves

CHAPTER 15

NORA

Nora stepped out of the bathroom, her hair pulled out of her face by her turban. She was grateful for the leggings and hoodie, since the temperature had dropped dramatically after she'd last been out of the bathroom.

Mouse was sitting in front of the television, his eyes glued to the screen. Harrison stood behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and Maxi was sitting on one of the bar stools, packet of crackers forgotten as he stared at the reporter.

"What's going-"

"Shush," Mouse cut her off with a hand raised in the air.

Nora turned to the T.V., where a female reporter was talking about the storm that was supposed to hit them before noon. "...winds of up to one hundred miles an hour, and most likely several tornadoes touching down around the area New South Wales and Bondi Beach. Today is not a day to be hanging out on the sand, everybody. Be careful of the lightning strikes, and the hail as well," She was saying.

When the channel switched to a different story, Mouse turned to Nora and apologized, "Sorry, I just needed to hear that so I knew what was going on," He explained.

"That's alright," Nora wasn't perturbed. She understood.

"Should we take shelter?" Harrison asked.

"Nah," Mouse replied, "It's never as bad as the reports say. If we absolutely have to, we can go down to the car park, since it's underground," He glanced at Nora, "You okay with that, kiddo? We can go down now if you want to."

Nora shrugged. There were tornadoes and hail storms all the time in Nebraska and Iowa. She wasn't afraid. "I love big storms," She said.

"'Course you do," Mouse chuckled at her and then looked at her hoodie, "Have I seen that one before?"

"No, it was from my old job back in the states," Nora explained.

"You were a lifeguard?"

"Just for a pool, nothing like what you guys do," She shuddered to imagine the responsibility on the beach.

"Well did you ever do a rescue?" Maxi asked from the counter.

Nora glanced at him and shook her head, "I'm not old enough to rescue people, but I did two resuscitations and put a few people on a spinal board. I was like the first aid person."

"Oh, really?" Mouse looked surprised, "I learn more about you every day, Nora."

Nora giggled. She was about to reply, but a loud crack of thunder outside made her jump and she glanced out the patio door window. Large, pure black clouds were looming dangerously on the horizon. The seas were beginning to roil as pedestrians and tourists started to flee the beach. Nora watched as lightning struck the water a little farther away.

"This'll be fun," Nora remarked. And even as she watched, the storm was starting to come closer. Nora saw shadows beginning to spread over the cliffs and toward the sandy part of Bondi Beach.

Harrison and Mouse both chuckled at her, but Maxi was silent. He was busy staring at the storm.

Nora walked over to the couch and plopped down beside Mouse. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her half onto his lap in just the way she liked. She curled into his side and watched as he began to try and braid her wet hair.

Harrison sat down in the chair, watching the T.V. as the lady turned back to the weather, warning everybody again to 'take shelter immediately'.

Mouse's phone rang at the same time Maxi's and Harrison's did. He reached over to the end table and grabbed it, "It's Whippet," He said.