The Number 8 (2 page)

“Because you will be late.”

“Yup,” he said almost boasting.

“Jump on, guys. It’s a while before you leave so you have some time to get some snacks or take a nap before the rest arrive.”

They thanked him for his help and climbed the stairs to see their home for the next three weeks. Inside it was a lot roomier than it looked from the outside. The chairs were red and thankfully not leather. In this heat, sitting on leather would’ve been unpleasant to say the least. Instead it was a high wool content moquette fabric and it was soft.

Dante crumpled into a corner seat right at the back. Asmir had decided to try every seat to determine which was the most comfortable.

“I can deal with this,” Dante said as he tried to find a comfortable position.

Asmir didn’t speak until he had tried every seat and was sat in the seat next to Dante.

“It’s between that one, that one and that one,” he said pointing to three chairs further forward.

“You’re gonna end up sitting in the seat right next to me and you know it, save yourself some time.”

Asmir shrugged. He knew Dante was right so he got comfortable.

But minutes later, the other passengers began to board. As he always did, Asmir threw himself into the crowd and began to get everyone talking.

“D, get in here,” he said beckoning Dante over.

Reluctantly Dante unwound himself from his comfortable corner and slowly made it towards the group who were congregating on the seats near the front.

“Marco, this is Dante. Dante, Marco,” Asmir smiled as he moved aside to reveal a small, pale, bespectacled guy that looked like he was having a nervous breakdown just being in this group.

“Hey, how you doing?” Dante asked politely.

“Good, thank you. You?” he replied, his voice deeper than Dante had imagined.

They chatted politely for a little while. Mainly small talk, nothing too personal or deep. Marco was also from the UK. He was in his third year at Cambridge University studying Physics and he was only twenty. A real wunderkind. It seemed Marco hadn’t come with anyone, his reason for the trip was purely academic. He wanted to see and experience New Zealand, the sights, the culture and on top of that, he was a huge
Lord of the Rings
fan.

Asmir walked over to him, his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a smaller guy. Small, but quite menacing looking. Tattoos all down his right arm and an eyelid piercing. He had minute, beady eyes that were fixed on Dante. A shaved head with the pattern of a triangle shaved into the left hand side, but it was poorly done. It ended up looking like more of a circle. On top of that he had a thick untamed mat of facial hair like someone you would cross the street through heavy traffic to avoid.

“Dante, this is Viktor. He’s from near us,” Asmir explained.

“Oh yeah. Where?” Dante asked.

His voice came through a lot higher than expected for such a big guy. Dante had to hold back a laugh. “Favingham, just moved there recently.”

Asmir looked at him meaningfully as if to say, “I know, right?” Instead, he said, “Isn’t that weird, D? He’s from right down the road!”

“Yeah, bit of a hole, right?” he chuckled turning towards another guy.

“Right,” boomed a voice through the crowd. A large figure brushed Marco aside and joined their circle. He was colossal but Dante was more focused on the fact that he looked like Viktor if Viktor was stretched about twelve inches. He was about 6’5, same horrendous hairstyle and matching eye piercing. His arms were much bigger, like the thickest part of a python. He seemed older, but by how much, Dante had no idea. He was basically Viktor’s sidekick and for whatever reason, James also known as “Diesel”, was fine with that.

By this point, almost everyone had arrived. The last two on the bus were the most interesting to Dante. He didn’t need Asmir to introduce him to these two.

“You know I’ve got a hat just like that, but it looks a hell of a lot better on you. I’m Dante by the way,” he said in an attempt to break the ice.

They both laughed. “Oh really?” the dark-haired one said. “It’s good to meet you, Dante. I’m Annie and this is my friend Becki.”

Her friend was shorter than her with long, blonde hair. She had a crooked smile and her nose crinkled when she laughed. But Annie was more his type. Fairly tall, chestnut brown hair that just touched her shoulders. She had a kind smile and a sort of innocence which for some reason he found endearing. Both were naturally tanned because they had been there for two weeks already and the weather had been kind to them.

“So you guys are from England?”

“Yeah, just outside London actually. But I don’t want to think about home right now. Work was getting crazy before we came here. We’re here to cut lose for a few weeks,” Annie said sliding her bag under her seat.

“You mean Uni?” Dante asked.

“No, we own our own fashion line. We had a gap in our schedule so we left our CFO in charge. You at Uni then?”

“Yeah, Canwell. But that’s not as impressive as owning my own fashion line. How old are you guys?” Before he’d even finished the sentence he knew he’d made a faux pas. His Mum had always told him to never ask a woman her age. If she wants you to know, she’ll volunteer it.

Mortified he quickly tried to repair the damage. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”

But Becki interrupted him. “Relax, Dante. I’m nineteen and she’s twenty-one.” She had a husky, gravelly voice like she’d been smoking for twenty years. He liked it.

But before Dante could say another word a stumpy, hazel-haired woman popped up at the front and coughed into the loudspeaker.

“Hey guys. My name is Mel Brown and I will be your guide for the duration of your trip.” A cheer went up. She smiled and blushed a little. “Welcome to the Pleasant Pheasant, everyone. I will do my best to make your trip with us three weeks of awesome.” There were a few giggles. She was obviously nervous and her Kiwi accent made the phrase sound even funnier.

“It will be a few hours until we get to our next destination so make yourself comfortable and enjoy the ride.”

Someone from the back shouted out, “Where are we going first?”

She smiled grudgingly as if to say, “You should have read the program,” but she had to be on this bus with a mob of youngsters for the next few weeks. She had to make a good impression or the rest of the trip would be torture for her. She simply replied, “Hot Water Beach.”

Dante shuffled sideways back to his seat and squeezed past Asmir to the safety of his corner.

“Az, what the hell is a ‘Pleasant Pheasant’?”

Chapter 3

“Oh, so you’re a convict then, are ya?” This line and the commotion that came after it was what threw Dante out of his peaceful sleep.

“Shut your face, Viktor!” screamed a guy who he hadn’t met yet. He had dirty blond hair and a slightly darker beard. Dante could tell by his accent that he was Australian.

“What’s Carl saying?” Viktor mocked, turning towards James for a reaction. James obliged him.

“Something about shrimps and barbecues, I reckon,” James chuckled.

“Ignorant idiots!” Carl flew at Viktor and landed a couple of blows to the side of his head before anybody could intervene. James then threw out a huge tattooed arm and grabbed Carl tightly by the shoulder.

“I don’t like hurting people, but I will hurt you if you make another move,” he said menacingly, his eyes fixed on Carl.

Dante could see Carl weighing up his options and realizing pretty quickly that James had size and reach on him so he backed down, still glaring at Viktor who was grinning smugly from behind James’ gigantic left shoulder.

Mel had seen this and decided to stamp this kind of behavior out early. She called them both up to the front and spoke quietly enough that she wouldn’t be embarrassing them, but sternly enough to ensure it never happened again. Dante only heard one sentence of the lecture, but one sentence was enough in this circumstance.

“If this happens again, pack your bags, your tour’s over. Understood?”

They both nodded.

An eventful morning
, Dante thought to himself.

Dante looked out the window and was hit by the bright sunlight. He raised his hand to block it as best he could. It was obvious they were coming close to the coast. Seagulls circled above and the salty scent of the ocean drifted in through the open window. Dante loved the ocean. He had lived there for years in his childhood. His cousins had been close by. Every day after school they would head over to the dunes just around the headland and roll down them, run down them, whatever they felt like on the day. He remembered how he had just sat there, after they had all gone home and stared at the sea. Rain or shine, he cherished that moment. But he could safely assume that he wouldn’t get that kind of time to himself for a while. Especially with Asmir around.

He turned to Asmir, “Hey. Thanks again man for getting me to come on this trip. I needed this.”

Asmir beamed at him and slapped him on his back. “We’re gonna have a good time. I’ll make sure of that.”

Dante laughed. If there was one thing that Asmir was good at, it was ensuring he had a good time. He couldn’t finish an assignment on time but he could take you on the night of your life.

Mel stood up at the front as he knew she would and announced, “Wipe your eyes and stretch those thighs, we’re here!”

There was a collective cheer which ended up more like a collective groan. Half the bus had been asleep and had not taken kindly to Mel on the loudspeaker.

This was it then. The start of the trip of a lifetime. It would be unforgettable.

Chapter 4

“Do you need help down there, mate?” came a voice from behind him.

“Erm… No… No thanks, I’m fine,” Dante mumbled as he tried to get himself together.

They were at Hot Water Beach and Dante had been the last to disembark. In his haste to catch up with the rest of the group he had rushed down the stairs, tripped and fallen flat on his face. He felt the sand beneath him, hot on his skin from a full day of sun. He must’ve been on the ground a second or two before instinct kicked in and he thrust himself to his feet with ease. As he brushed the sand off his face and clothes he turned towards the kind soul that had offered his help. It was the bus driver.

“Kid. Watch your step next time. Lucky it was only me that was here to see that. I’ve seen the same happen to other kids and they were legends for the rest of the trip,” then, just to rub it in he added, “in a bad kinda way.”

His physique was not what Dante had come to expect of bus drivers. Muscular, but not tall. He was sat on the edge of his seat facing the doorway so Dante couldn’t be sure but his height must’ve been around 5’10. His salt and pepper hair was neat and combed to the right. He was clean shaven and seemed fairly upbeat. He must have been in his late forties and he had something about him that drew Dante in.

“Thanks for the warning, Mr…” Dante said, walking back towards the driver.

“Mr nothing. Call me Ben.”

“OK, Ben. How long have you been driving these tour buses then?”

“A few years now. Mostly this route. It never gets old.”

“So I guess you aren’t from here originally?”

“No, lived in England for most of my life but…I much prefer it here.”

Dante was sure he heard his voice crack a little but didn’t push it any further.

“Where do you live now then?” Dante asked.

“Here and there. Most of the year I’m driving these tours so I don’t really get a chance to settle down.”

“Did your family move out here with you?”

“What is this, twenty questions?” He smiled, then quickly changed the subject. “I wouldn’t miss out on the beach if I were you. Some pretty amazing views down there and after your little…accident,” he smirked, “you need a swim to clean yourself up.”

Then, before Dante had a chance to respond, he used a lever by his foot to close the doors.

Rude
, Dante thought.

Dante got the hint and made his way down the sandy path. He had a strange feeling about this driver. He wasn’t your average bus driver and he clearly hadn’t taken this job to make any friends. But then again, Dante had gotten a little personal pretty quickly. If someone had asked him certain questions he would be taken aback. He wasn’t in the habit of telling strangers his personal business.

Everyone has secrets, Dante
, he thought.

But Dante was here to do, not to think, so he wandered off.

Chapter 5

He felt the sun caressing his skin as he edged along the path. New Zealand had had a warm winter and Dante was lucky enough to be there for the start of spring. A magical time of year. But while the days may be warm, the nights would not. About halfway down to the beach, it got too sandy for his shoes to be effective, so he took them off and carried them under his arm. The sand was a comfortable temperature but he had to skip the first few steps so his feet could adjust. He could abide dry sand but loathed it wet. It had no business getting into the cracks and crevices it found its way into.

He rounded the last corner and was met with a view that he had been hoping for since he left England. People playing volleyball, others swimming and catching the waves. Asmir was with a group who were relaxing in what looked like holes in the sand that they had dug with spades. The sea, the sand, the sun. It was perfect. He hoped there would be more of this to come.

Asmir was lying on his back with his shades on in a hole that was way too small for him.

“Typical. Look at everyone else’s hole. Deep and long enough to fit them in comfortably. Look at yours, shallow and half your size. You may as well be sitting on the sand.”

Asmir cooly pushed his shades down his rather large nose and said, “Wanna come in?”

Dante sighed and grabbed a spade that someone no longer needed and began to dig his hole. Deeper and longer than anyone else’s. It took him a while but it was worth it. He sank into the deep pool of warm water and exhaled loudly.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Annie asked from just over his left shoulder.

Dante was so relaxed that he couldn’t even verbalize a reply. He just paired a grunt with a thumbs-up gesture.