Part Of The Pack

Sunday

The next day, Mia drove the extra 30 minutes to Cronulla Beach in order to get her daily surf in, something she was not too happy to have to do. Bra Boys did not generally leave Maroubra, their home turf, to go surf elsewhere in Sydney, and certainly did not go anywhere near Cronulla. There was some deep seated rivalry and tensions that existed between the surf tribe of Cronulla and the Bra Boys, and all Mia hoped was that she wouldn’t be recognized, otherwise she’d be in some deep, deep shit.

As she was pulling into the parking lot, her phone started ringing in the cup holder. Seeing the ID number, she squeezed her eyes shut and contemplated letting it ring through to voice mail. As the phone kept ringing, her resolve crumbled and she reluctantly picked up, “Hello?”

“Mia!” Came Jesse’s relieved voice from the other end, “Where are you?”

“Out.” She replied curtly, climbing out of her car, trying not to slam the door too loudly.

“Out where? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Mia sighed in irritation, undoing the knots that were holding her surfboard to the roof of her car with one hand, “Why? What do you need me for that requires my immediate presence? And since when do you keep tabs on me, anyways? What does is matter where I am, I don’t believe my whereabouts is any of you business, Polock.”

“Calm your tits, Fletch, Jesus. I was just making sure you haven’t run off on us, what with Rex, you know…”

“Wow.” Mia stated gob smacked. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She heard Jesse huff on the other end of the line, “No, but seriously, you need to get your ass back here and start sorting things out. Koby’s got his feelers out, and so far it seems like none of the boys know yet, but I don’t know how long he can keep this under wraps for. Somebody’s going to find out sooner or later, and then everyone’s going to know, so it’s best if you just come out and tell everyone.”

“I don’t really think it’s any –“

“Oh don’t give me any of that “it’s none of anyone’s business” crap, because you know it’s not true. It is everyone’s business unfortunately, however much I wish it wasn’t, it is. And you’ve got to face it.”

“Ugh, just let me surf for a few hours alright? It may well be the last bit of peace and quiet I’m going to ever get again.”

“You’re out surfing? Where are you?” Jesse asked, audibly confused.

Mia almost clobbered herself against the side of the car for her idiocy. Now, of course, Jesse would get suspicious. No doubt he had made absolutely certain she wasn’t anywhere to be found in Maroubra or the surrounding areas. “Once again, none of your business. Bye –“

“Don’t you dare hang up on me! At least tell me where you’re at, just so I know in case shit starts going down.”

“I can’t tell you.” Mia said, with a hitch in her voice as she pulled the surfboard off the roof, careful not to smash the end of it against the asphalt. It was, after all, a brand new board and she didn’t want it to get dinged five days in.

“You’re at Cronulla aren’t you?”

“How-?” Shit, Mia thought. Shit, shit, shit.

“What! You’re actually at Cronulla, Mia! What the hell, I was just messing! Are you fucking serious? You can’t be serious. What the fuck are you doing down there?”

“Surfing.”

“You can’t surf there! It’s Cronulla for fuck’s sake. Jesus, that’s…that’s blasphemy, Fletch! And really fucking stupid, you know what the guys down there are like! And when they find out you’re a Bra Boy then God help you, you’d better get those legs pumping because they’ll be after you.”