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The sun is a welcomed warmth on his skin after having spent all night in Chris’ rather drafty apartment– and though he cant complain because he isnt exactly paying her for housing, its definitely refreshing to be back by the ocean, under the sun. The wind brushes against him, pushing his hair in several different directions, and he laughs. Axel had missed this place terribly, and the adrenaline rush he gets from being back is enough to set him into motion, a spring in his step.
He walks the short distance down the beach to a little truck selling popsicles and buys one before finding a nice spot to survey the line up while waiting for Chris. She’d set out earlier this afternoon to run some errands and had told Axel to just meet her on the beach at around 4:30, to meet the kids they'd be mentoring under the surfing program she'd drug Axel into joining.
He waits for about fifteen minutes before spotting Chris and waving her down. Behind her trail two teenagers, and Axel studies them. A girl and a boy, which Chris talks animatedly to. The way they walk in line with her reminds Axel of the way penguins follow each other, or baby ducks with their mother.
Chris gestures to him, looking over her shoulder at the two, and Axel smiles a little, hoping that maybe it would make him appear more friendly.
There are short introductions. Axel had been told that the kids initially acted pretty reserved, but had been slowly opening up. Chris mentioned that she thought his flippant manner would help to aid the progression, and it seems she’s right. He makes jokes, the kids laugh, and it isn’t so terrible.
They’d been making considerable progress in the shallows, so today, they wade out a little deeper and try to catch some waves. Axel spends most of his time resting his upper body on his board and shouting feedback at Leland. Christine takes to coaching Elaina, and from what he glimpses, she’s making good progress.
Leland is paddling his way back from a wave he’d missed because he didn’t pop up quick enough, all too aware of the straining of his muscles, when he starts looking for distractions.
“Uh.. Chris said you’re like, a crazy good surfer. Is that true?” He asks, breaking off every several words to take in a gulp of salty air.
Axel looks at him, faltering momentarily as a wave washes over the both of them. “Well, I think that’s a subjective kind of thing. Buuut I mean, I would hope so.” He shrugs, glancing over at the others. Elaina manages to pop up, and Chris cheers. It’s going well until she loses her balance and crashes down into the ocean, arms flailing in a futile attempt to balance.
“When you pop up, try positioning yourself further back on your board. Like, when you stand, your feet should be further back. Its probably the reason you keep pearling.”
“Ah.” Leland says, letting his head thump down onto his board for a moment. Axel is about to ask him if he’s alright when he draws himself back up and begins wading parallel to Axel, searching for a wave to catch.
The kid is exhausted, Axel guesses, which would make sense. Based on what Chris has told him, they’ve only been surfing for about a week— or, technically, three or four days so far. Axel isn’t sure when the program started, but he knows it only formally meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Leland presumably hasn’t built up the proper endurance or stamina yet.
Axel ponders this for a while, recalling the exhaustion put on his body the first week he’d ever started surfing as a young boy, when Chris wades over to him. He spots Elaina not far behind.
“Hows it going?” Christine starts with a small smile, and Axel is so busy responding he doesn’t notice Leland wipe out behind him. He’s only cued in when she laughs, looking past him, and he throws a look over his shoulder to find only Leland’s board above the water.
They both wait for Leland to resurface.
After a moment, Chris hums, moving to investigate because Leland is taking too long.
And then he finally comes up.
He coughs a few times, throwing his arms over his board and hoisting himself up onto it. Axel isn’t worried until he sees the gash in the kids forehead. Really, it looks like more of a scratch, but Axel frowns all the same.
“Jesus, Leland, are you okay? Looks like you might’ve hit your head.” Chris slides off her board and takes it under her arm as she paddles closer. “Come on. Let’s go back to the beach.”
“Ow..” Leland winces, touching at his forehead with a finger. Elaina says something, though it’s drowned out by the waves. Axel thinks maybe he caught an oh no.
“Do you think you can make it to the shore without passing out?” Chris prompts, squinting up at him.
“I think so,” Leland offers, continuing to rub the area around the injury. The blood mixes with some of the water, rubbing off on some of his blond hair. ”It doesn’t hurt too bad.. just stings.”
They make it back to the beach fairly quick, and Axel urges Chris to go back out with Elaina while he takes Leland back to the main building himself, to receive some medical attention. He stops only to throw his shirt on, and then they are back treading the beach.
Axel glances at the kid several times as they walk, offering to carry him when he notices the other shaking. Leland refuses.
“If you say so. Just don’t like… fall over or anything.” Axel says, not unkindly, and continues walking. He has to alter his pace to match Leland’s.
They manage to walk the stretch back to the little building that the surfing program had made its headquarters. Axel guesses it used to be a restaurant, based on the outside sitting area and general shape of the interior, and the tacky, tiled floor.
The lady at the counter sees them and immediately gestures them over, ducking her head into one of the backrooms and calling for someone by the name of Doug. Her glasses remind Axel distantly of the girl from Scooby-Doo, and her haircut only worsens the resemblance, though her hair is much darker.
She takes them behind the counter and through two thin hallways before they end up in a room with a small cot against one wall and a few chairs against the other. She instructs for Leland to sit before digging into a cabinet next to him.
Axel is standing in the doorway when someone brushes his arm, shouldering their way past him with a muttered “excuse me”. He wants to comment on it, but the guy doesn’t so much as look back. He heads straight for the cabinet, and the desk lady steps out of the way with a small grin.
“Hey, kid, how are you feeling?” The man asks, glancing over at Leland. He holds up a cup. “Liz, could you get some water?”
“Right-o.” Liz responds, uncrossing her arms and taking the cup. She moves towards the door, and Axel straightens, moving out of the way.
She moves past him, entering into a different little room adjacent to this one. Axel, standing opposite the door, leans against the wall. He spots the sink she’s using to fill the cup and guesses it’s a bathroom.
She returns to the pale room Leland is shivering in, handing the cup off to the man Axel can only guess is the aforementioned ‘Doug’ before retreating out of the room and into the one Axel is residing in.
Liz stands next to the door, diagonal to Axel. She fixes her glasses with a hand. Axel begins to wonder if all residential employees are required to wear a pair of glasses, but he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he remains looking at Leland, watching Doug.
Liz clears her throat. “You’re one of the coaches, right? One of the new ones?”
“…Yeah.” Axel glances at her before looking back into the room, squinting a little. “I’m with Chris.”
“Mmm. I see.” Her hum is just a little too long for comfort, Axel doesn’t like it. She gestures vaguely to the inside of the room. “How’d that happen?”
“The kid fell off his board and hit his head on a rock, I believe.” He shrugs, shifting his weight with a small, brisk sigh.
“That’s not gonna look good on your resume, coach.” Her tone made it sound like she personally was going to oversee that this incident be added to Axel’s rap sheet. He frowns. “Kidding! You should’ve seen your face.. Stuff like this happens all the time. No big deal.”
“I’m sure.” Axel had gotten several injuries throughout his career, it was just kind of something you excepted when you started the hobby. Still, Leland looked pretty frazzled, and he can’t help but feel a little apprehensive about the whole thing. Especially considering this was his first time training one of the kids.
With a small sigh, Axel regrets not having sent Chris up here. She’s pretty well known among the program staff, and he has no doubt she would’ve been the better pick to deal with this whole thing. Or maybe it would’ve looked worse, like he's refusing to come up here himself— since he was technically in charge of looking after Leland when they were out on the waves.
After another few minutes of waiting, Doug comes to stand in the doorway. Leland remains on the cot, though the blood had been cleaned off of him and he has a heavy bandage taking up most of his forehead.
“The injury doesn’t look too serious, but he still needs to go to the hospital.” His cool eyes turn to Axel. “Will you come with us? I assume you were there when the injury happened. I think that kind of thing is important, and I don’t exactly have time to take your story. Never know what kinds of questions they’ll ask.”
“Sure,” Axel responds, with a shrug. “Id hate for you to miss out on my company.”
Doug wastes no time ushering them out to his car once he’s sure Leland’s relatively stable. Leland puts himself in the backseat, so Axel takes the front. He thinks to text Chris an update, letting her know he probably won’t be back until late, when he realizes he hadn’t brought anything but the clothes on his back. He sighs dismally, studying the interior of the car as Doug starts the vehicle.
It springs to life easily. Axels eyes skim over the little tree air freshener that looks like it’s been sitting in there for a couple of years, his elbow sliding onto the center console to rest.
“You’re with Chris, aren’t you?” Doug asks offhandedly, backing out of the parking lot with janky speed. Axel wonders if he drives like this all the time, or if it’s just something caused by Lelands condition.
“I mean, not in a relationship, if that’s what you mean. But yeah, she’s the one that got me into this program.” Axel says, looking over at Doug. He seems momentarily flustered at the start of Axels statement, meaning either Axel was right and that wasn’t what he meant, or he was shocked by the truth.
“I’d ask you what you think so far, but you know..” he laughs a little, using his rear view mirror to glance back at Leland.
Axel hums, smiling a little. Leland’s got a grimace on his face, which wouldn’t be so worrying if Doug’s driving wasn’t causing them to be thrown around every few seconds.
They make it to the hospital with thankfully only relative injury. Doug pulls Leland out of the car, keeping an arm around him as they make for the hospital entrance.
Axel keeps near Leland as Doug talks to the man at the counter, and once they’re instructed to sit and wait, he goes to check out a vending machine.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t stopped to grab his wallet, or really any of his personal belongings… which means he also doesn’t have his ID.
Axel taps on the glass a few times before prancing his way to a seat beside Leland. With a dismal sigh, he ponders what Chris is up to. Probably more surfing.
It takes a while for Leland to get called back. Really, it only takes about ten minutes, but it feels like much longer since Axel is left with nothing to entertain him but a small TV showing cartoons in the ceiling corner, and Doug.
Doug spends a few minutes talking with the doctor at the door before he moves to sit back down. Leland had already been whisked away. Axel kind of misses him, mostly because he was the only somewhat familiar face.
Axel looks up at Doug’s aloof expression as he returns to his seat, tilting his head. “What’d they ask?”
“Well.. they wanted to know what happened, who we are in relation to him, if he has any allergies, the usual. They also asked me to get in contact with his guardians, if I could.” His hands rest palm-down on his knees.
“Can you?” Axel prompts. “From what I hear, his folks are.. pretty busy people.”
Doug grabs his phone from his pocket, leaning back in his seat. “I’m asking Liz to handle that. I don’t have the number saved. And it really doesn’t matter whether or not they respond, it’s common courtesy to try and reach them anyway.”
“Mmm.” Axel leans on the arm of his chair, surveying the rest of the room. There’s a plethora of people with injuries varying in severity. He drums his fingers against the wooden arm rest and tries not to stare. The room has a very sullen atmosphere, its crushing.
Once Doug puts his phone back down, Axel looks over at him. Doug meets his eyes and raises a brow questioningly. Axel settles into his seat with a small huff, looking up at the TV.
After a while, Axel leans closer to Doug. His arm rests on the chair arm between them, and he cranes himself a bit to lean over it. “Psst. Hey. You.”
“You don’t have to get so close, you know. My hearing is just fine.” Doug mutters this, fixing his glasses. “What do you want?”
“Have you got any cash? I was gonna try the vending machine, but I left my wallet back on the beach.” Axel tilts his head. After a few seconds, he adds, “I’ll pay you back.”
Doug stares at him for a moment before relenting, grabbing his wallet out from his back pocket with a slight scowl. He holds up two five dollar bills. “Here. And don’t bother.”
“Thanks.” Axel pushes to his feet with a smile, wincing at the sharp pain that sends through his skull. The shitty fluorescent lighting and bright tiled floor had given him a headache. “What do you want?”
Doug looks up at him, and then over at the vending machine. “Whatever. I’ve got no preferences.”
“You don’t?” Axel asks, raising a brow.
Doug shakes his head, bringing a hand up to fix his glasses.
Axel shrugs, strolling back over to the vending machine. He spends a moment thinking before forking over his money and purchasing a chocolate bar and a small bag of chips, along with two sodas. He shoves what he can in his pockets, opting to walk back with the sodas in hand.
He sits back down, sitting his own soda down on a side table and offering the other to Doug. Then he retrieves the bag of chips, passing it off before beginning to pick at the wrapper of his chocolate. “I hope you like what I got you. Figured the chips were a safe bet, since everyone likes those. But if you want some of this, let me know.” He waves the chocolate bar with a glance over at Doug.
“Thank you, what you got me is fine.” He sits the chips down in his lap, holding his drink in one hand and retrieving his phone with the other. Axel glances a few notifications, text messages.
“If you want, I could set those over here,” Axel prompts, referring to the chip bag. Doug hands it off to him, and he places it on the side table.
They wait for a while before they’re called back. The only thing remaining is the chip bag, which Axel keeps tucked under his arm as they traverse the maze of hallways.
Finally, they enter Leland’s room. He looks relatively fine, though the thick bandage wrapped around his head makes his hair stick out at odd angles. Axel can’t help but laugh, acting as if he was clearing his throat when Doug glares back at him.
The nurse informs them of what had been done, and instructs them to keep the wounded area clean… which means no surfing for at least a week. The injury wasn’t too serious, and Leland’s head seems fine, so they get the go ahead to leave.
Axel almost jumps from joy. He can’t wait to get home and change out of his swimwear. The hospital is terribly cold, and Axel had been shivering for the last 15 minutes, miserable. He also needs to decide on dinner.. though he imagines Chris has already begun throwing something together.
On their way out, Axel offers the chips to Leland, who takes them with animated excitement. They’re shuffled out of the hospital quite quickly, presumably because of the increasing influx of patients.
Axel resumes his spot in the passenger seat, rubbing his arms to continue to warm them up. The sun was doing a good enough job of that, but it wasn’t happening very quick. Like the cold had sunken into his bones.
Doug gets in and starts the car, checking his phone before depositing it in the center console. “We’ll stop back at the center to grab Leland’s belongings, and then I’ll take you both home. Chris mentioned grabbing your stuff, so I’ll take you to her place, Axel. Does that work?”
“Sure does,” Axel glances over his shoulder at Leland. “You alright?”
Leland straightens a little, eyes growing a fraction. “Um. Yeah.” His hands squeeze together nervously in his lap.
“Cool.” Axel settles back into his seat, rolling his window down. He tries to keep from glancing at Doug, because that would be weird.
The drive back to the center is fairly quiet. Axel is tired, and by the time they park, Leland has began to drift off with his head against the car window.
Doug gets out of the car and looks at his phone screen, while Axel turns around in his seat to poke Leland awake. He’s just about to shake the boys arm when he hears someone approaching the car and a small grumble from Doug. Axel turns his head around, met with the sight of a lady looking strikingly similar to Leland bolting towards their car with a hand over her mouth.
“Is he with you? Is he okay?” She asks, sounding more than a little distressed. Leland jolts awake, and Axel turns to look at him.
“I assume you’re his sister?"
Leland takes a moment to stare at Axel, who looks like he was preparing to pounce on Leland in his sleep. But his sisters presence takes precedent, and he gets out of the car.
“Yes— oh, Good God, Leland, don’t scare me like that!” She cries, marching over to his side of the car. She pulls him into a hug. Axel gets out of the car.
He retreats to Doug’s side of the car, sticking his hands in the pockets of his shorts. Doug glances at him before his eyes return to the other two. Isabella is switching quite viciously between hugging him and lecturing him with such a chiding tone that Doug shudders.
“How’s your head? It’s not bad, is it?” She asks, and before Leland can sputter a response, she begins to touch at the bandage with a small smile. “Your hair looks pretty dumb right now.” And then she frowns. “I don’t know why I agreed to let you do this- this program. It seems quite dangerous, you got hurt..”
Doug clears his throat, and Isabelle is broken from her reverie with a jolt. She turns to face them, and Leland gives up on responding, sighing quietly. He’s relieved to have her off his back, if only momentarily.
“I’m sorry. Thank you for taking him to the hospital. I’ve got him from here.” She smiles curtly, squinting against the light of the setting sun.
“Yes, of course. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us.” Doug smiles back, and Axel frowns.
She gives a small laugh and nod before all but dragging Leland away. He mumbles something and they careen towards the building fast enough that Leland stumbles.
“Yikes.” Axel mutters, watching them for a moment before looking at Doug. “You don’t think she’s suing, do you?”
Doug sighs heavily before reaching to pull his car door open again. “Well, if she goes after anyone, it’d be you.”
“What?” Axel huffs, leaning a hand on the hood of the car. “This is your business, isn’t it?”
“No, not exactly. And you’re the one coaching him, are you not?” Doug rests a hand on the roof of a car, turning to look at Axel.
Axel hums. “Guess I’ll have to skip town. You wouldn’t give her my name, would you?”
“I’m sure if I didn’t, Leland would.” Doug says, with a bemused expression.
“I’ll have to kidnap him before I skip town, then…”
“I think that would just make it way worse.” He doesn’t bother mentioning the contract people have to sign when joining the program, specifically the bit about the organization not being responsible for any injuries sustained while surfing. He’s more concerned about how unbothered Axel seems at the mention of kidnapping. He frowns.
“You’re right, it would be a total scandal. Hopefully she sues you and not me, right?” He grins, prancing around to the passenger seat of the car and sliding in. Doug scoffs.
The drive is quiet in the beginning, until Axel starts.
“The lady at the counter said this thing happens all the time,” he remarks, leaning closer to the center console.
“I don’t know about all the time… not when it comes to hospital visits. Scrapes and cuts, maybe. But it’s rarely bad enough for a kid to need stitches.”
Axel smiles. “I think it’s almost like an initiation. Have you ever gotten stitches? Because of a surfing incident.”
“No. Have you?” Doug asks, glancing at Axel with the slightest hint of disbelief in his voice. He really is beginning to worry about Christine’s choice of referral.
“Yeah. It sucks. Gave me one hell of a scar though.” Axel shrugs. Doug hums. It’s quiet for another moment.
“If I may ask, how’d you get to know Chris? She sure was generous in your recommendation.”
Axel hesitates. “Ah.. you know. Just chance, I guess. We bonded over surfing pretty quick. It’s why she got me into this uh… program.” He decides not to mention he’d only agreed to it because he felt bad for having to crash at her apartment.
“Have you been surfing a long time?” Doug prompts. “Looks like it.”
“Yeah, since I was a kid.” Axel smiles slightly.
They lapse back into silence, only a few minutes from Christine’s apartment by then.
Axel gets out of the car with a small smile, shutting the door and lowering his head to peer through the window. “Hey, thanks for driving me.”
“No problem. Just don’t kidnap anybody.”
“No promises.” Axel straightens, hands going to his pockets as he makes his way towards the apartment door, whistling.
He has to be let in since he’d left his key in his bag, and Chris welcomes him in with a quick smile. “How was it?”
“I think I’ve just made the most wonderful first impression. I mean, could it have gone any better?” Axel responds with an air of sarcasm, sliding his flip flops off and moving to the living room.
“Oh, relax. There’s still time to redeem yourself. You’ve got the rest of the summer.” She makes her towards the kitchen, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail.
“I worry you overestimate me.” He smiles a little, moving past the couch and towards a duffle bag settled in the corner. He pulls some clothes from it, spotting his phone plugged up next to it and grabbing that too.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll manage, you always do. You’re resilient, like a rat.” Axel makes a noise. “Also— do you want the rest of this soup? I think it’s about to go bad, and I don’t want to waste it.” There is the sound of a refrigerator opening and closing, along with the clattering of dishes.
“Sure. I’m gonna shower.”
“Alright. I’ll leave it out for you.”
They pass each other as Axel moves back towards the entrance to get to the bathroom. Christine makes her way to the couch, turning on the TV. Axel is comforted by the distant chatter as he shuts the bathroom door, taking a moment to think before he begins pulling his clothes off.