a poppy at the base of the cenotaph.
After the formalities the students and their chaperones made their way to the gunfire breakfast hosted by the people of Villers-Bretonneux. Each year the villagers prepare a traditional ANZAC day breakfast of eggs and bacon with coffee and rum. Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jennings allowed the students a nip of rum in their coffee; after all it was ANZAC Day.
Diggers Gunfire Breakfast
The school group began their return journey with the train to Paris and several hours later boarded the plane to Melbourne.
Opinion was again unanimous; the trip had lived up to all expectations. Their belief in the ANZAC spirit had been strengthened for all time.
Reality soon hit them; ahead was Year 12, their final and most important school year.
Sun Surf & Sex
Chapter 4
November 2015
Joshua and Cameron were seventeen, recently graduated and looking forward to a bright future. They had both scored very well in exams and been accepted into their preferred university courses. Cameron would undertake a Degree in Information Technology while Joshua, joining the School of Engineering, would graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering.
The university term would commence late January and meanwhile the two boys were looking forward to ‘schoolies week’ in Queensland. Each year, after graduation, thousands of school-leavers from around Australia would descend on the Gold Coast for a week of drinking, drug taking, sex and body surfing. It was renowned as a wild week with police always making many arrests for drunk and disorderly behaviour, not to mention drug possession. In general, most of the kids were well-behaved and just letting off steam after twelve years at school.
Cameron and Joshua, along with four other Haileybury boys, arrived in Surfers Paradise having booked a three-bedroom apartment at the Chevron Apartments.
They threw their bags in the apartment and headed straight for the beach. The weather was magnificent, not a cloud in the sky.
After claiming a spot on the sand they all ran down to the water and dived under the waves, engaging in a bit of bodysurfing. Returning to their towels the Haileybury boys sat and checked out the girls. None of them had seen so many bikini-clad chicks in their lives. Joshua was talking to his good mate Dave about their plans for the night when a stunning girl walked up to him.
‘Hey Josh, fancy seeing you here.’
‘Oh hi. Sarah. I thought you’d be somewhere on the coast.’
‘Of course, I wasn’t going to miss out on schoolies.’
‘So, where are you staying?’
‘At the Chevron Apartments. I’m sharing a place with five school friends.’
You’re kidding? That’s where we’re all staying.’
‘No way. What floor?’
‘The sixth.’
‘That’s amazing we’re on the seventh. Well, you never know, we might bump into you in the lift sometime.’
‘You never know.’
‘OK well I better get going. Good to see you Josh.’
‘You too Sarah.’
‘Jesus mate!’ exclaimed Daniel ‘Who was that?’
‘One of my sisters friends from netball.’
‘Well I’d like to bump into her in the lift, or anywhere else for that matter. She’s drop-dead gorgeous.’
Two nights later the doorbell rang on the seventh floor. Daniel opened the door. It was Sarah. Daniel was again awestruck. She looked fantastic in a sun frock, just enough cleavage to make him salivate.
‘Hi my name’s Sarah. I’m a friend of Joshua’s. Is he around?’
‘Yeah sure. Oh, JOSHUA. Sarah wants to see you mate.’
Joshua was on the balcony sipping a Bundaberg Rum and Coke. He placed the drink on the outside table and came over.
‘Hey Sarah, what’s up?’
‘The girls and I wondered if you boys would like to come over for a drink tonight?’
‘Sounds great, what time?’
‘In an hour or so, does that suit you?’
‘Yeah, sounds fine.’
‘Don’t you want to check with the other guys first?’
‘No need I speak for all of them.’
‘OK we’ll see you a bit later.’
‘Done, I’m looking forward to it.’
‘Me too, bye.’
The boys were excited. All the girls were stunners, not just Sarah. It became a race for first shower and stealing the best aftershave, which happened to belong to Joshua. By the time Joshua came to use the bottle it was half-empty.
Dressed in their best boardshorts and t-shirts, all wearing healthy amounts of Calvin Klein ‘Obsession Night’, they caught the lift up to the seventh floor and found apartment 72. Joshua rang the bell. Emma, who had been on the beach with Sarah, answered the door. She looked awesome.
‘Hi guys come on in.’
Entering the apartment and waving to the other girls preparing drinks and food in the kitchen, the boys all suddenly felt quite shy, not the confident young men of fifteen minutes ago.
Once they all had a drink in their hands their trepidation quickly eased. Conversation flowed and well before midnight everyone seemed to have paired up. Joshua and Sarah were the first to slip away into one of the bedrooms. Other couples took their lead and before long the bedrooms of both apartments were occupied.
The rest of schoolies week was taken up by sun, surf, and sex.
Feeling a Little Piste
Chapter 5
2015 - Winter
Cameron and Joshua had settled into university life; enjoying both their courses and their social life.
The two friends had decided to rent a unit close to Melbourne University; they found suitable digs in the nearby suburb of Flemington. To help pay the rent they both found part time jobs, Joshua in a bottle shop, Cameron in a call centre.
Both students were keen snowboarders, travelling to the snow at
every opportunity.
