V. Alexandra Street

Tyler helped load the last of the speakers onto the back of the van. The beach party pack-out had been a success, with ravers teaming up to clean up after themselves. The ‘Leave No Trace’ philosophy was well instilled all around Fremantle and its surroundings. Not a speck of glitter could be picked out across the sparse sands of Port Beach, and it was hard to believe that more than a hundred people had come across there just a few hours before. Tyler watched the calm waves coming ashore with a sense of inner peace, picking out the lighthouse of Rottnest Island in the distance, feeling good about himself. It was now well past seven AM and another glorious summer day was in full motion. He was urged back to reality.

‘Kid!’ Loz yelled as the GTS-R came to a halt beside him. ‘Ya’ coming?’

Alice was riding shotgun, immersed in rolling a cigarette. Two blokes and some three or four girls crammed the back of the car.

‘Where are we going?’

‘Kicking on at Alexandra. Unless ya’ wanna’ go home and sleep.’

‘Who is Alexandra?’ Tyler asked with a smile.

One of the windows in the back rolled down and Feral passed a half bottle of Sailor Jerry’s to the girl on his lap.

‘Let’s get the fuck outta’ here!’ he yelled, lighting a cigarette. His eyes behind the mirrored Oakley sunglasses were taking off.

‘Grab a lift with some of the crew, kid. Roscoe!’ Loz yelled. ‘Give Tyler a lift, will ya’?

The bloke Tyler had been helping load the speakers closed the trunk to the van and gave Loz the nod. They drove off in the HSV and the caravan shockies squealed over the corrugated access road; an orchestra of glass bottles rattled in the back, clinking and rolling in unison. Tyler approached this Roscoe dude.

‘Hey mate, I’m Tyler,’ he muttered.

‘I know.’ Roscoe replied. ‘My missus is passed out in the front seat. Reckon ya’ can squeeze in the back?’

‘Sure thing.’ Tyler said, settling himself on a milk crate full of wires and decorative sheets.

Roscoe turned the old van into life and the sound system blared some Tech House from the get-go. They set off and headed back into Fremantle. Roscoe concentrated on the task ahead with a half-lit rollie in the corner of his mouth.

‘How do you know this lot, then?’ Tyler asked from the back through the blaring speakers.

‘I’m a DJ.’

Tyler took the hint and simply let the music do its thing. He shuffled himself amongst the milk crates and took in the view. They were now crossing Stirling Bridge and the morning sun was glistening across the bright blue waters of the Swan River. The salty breeze flowed through the open windows of the old van; boats and jet skis were already in full motion to make the most of another good day in the drink. Roscoe turned left after the bridge, and then left again. Shortly after that Tyler saw the caravan, along with several cars crowding the narrow East Freo street; Roscoe pulled the handbrake on his old Chamonix and the music came to an abrupt end.

‘That was quick’. Tyler muttered, as the DJ opened the sliding door for him.

‘Never been here before, have ya’?

‘No, sir.’

They walked up a narrow path alongside the house and Roscoe opened the door before them.

‘I hope you brought your bathers.’ The DJ said with a tired attempt at a smile.

They walked into a covered alfresco area with a large wooden table and a ping pong one, both littered with wetsuits, wine bottles, beers, spearguns and a serious selection of silly hats, necklaces and other forgotten party attire sacrificed in lieu of the warm daylight. A tamer sort of techno played in the background at a mostly civilised volume; several people gathered around, partying on, drink in hand, most of whom Tyler recognised from the beach. This outdoor area was decked with several monsteras and a panoply of other weird-looking plants that gave it a cool, exotic touch. A flight of stairs led up to a small patio, which in turn led to another level where people hung out around the pool. Tyler could do nothing but walk around with a smile slapped across his face, happy to be amongst it. Loz sat at the head of the table with a pair of scissors in hand, immersed in chopping up. Alice sat on his right knee, absorbed in conversation with another young woman beside her. The old man looked up from the small bowl in front of him.

‘Kid, ya’ made it! Come on in.’

‘Fuck yeah, this your place, Loz?’ Tyler replied with a beaming smile.

‘Nah, my mate’s. Have you never been?’

‘No sir, first time. Thanks for having us, mate.’

Loz was now loading up the bong piece of his beloved Gatorade bottle that followed him seemingly everywhere.

‘All good, mate. D’ya’ want a drink?’ Loz offered.

‘If you have some, I wouldn’t say no.’

Loz grabbed the bong and flicked his lighter in an automated motion. He gave Tyler a nod of the head complemented by a self-indulgent grin.

‘Grab us a couple from the fridge, will ya’?

VI. Alice

They took a left outside of Loz’s complex and Tyler saw the red of his run-down hatchback shrink in the distance of the HSV’s rear-view mirror.  He allowed himself a glance at Alice as they glided past the bushland, both windows down, taking it all in. The seat belt split her bosom in two as her breasts protruded from the light flowery dress of her summer youth; she put her feet up against the dashboard and her long, slightly tanned legs seemed to glow; her varnished toenails glistened under the sun and Tyler noticed how wonderful and peculiarly her toes arranged themselves inside the sandals. The young man struggled to keep his eyes off her as he eyed the road, but Alice was unfazed, taking in the scenery of the local bushland through her stylish wide-and-flat sunglasses most young women wore those days.

‘Look at this place. Can you believe they were going to bulldoze all of this to build that stupid freeway?’ Alice said.

‘Was this part of ROE 8, was it?

A bright yellow sign stating CAUTION / BANDICOOTS CROSSING was chained to the fence line.

‘Yeah, just so that the trucks coming into Freo could shave a few minutes off their run.’ she fired.

‘I remember driving past here and seeing a few hippies climbing trees and chaining themselves to bulldozers and shit.’

‘I was one of them.’ she replied, turning her head towards him for a reaction.

‘Oh really?’ he muttered, caught off guard. ‘I respect that.’

The grunt of the V8 filled the ensuing silence as they slowed down next to the pepper trees and eucalypts. Two wagtails chased a struggling crow in a flurry, trying to pester it away.

‘So where are we going today, miss?’

‘Do you know where Bull Creek station is? I can catch a bus to uni from there.’

‘Sure do.’ He put the HSV into gear. ‘I would drive you to uni, but got a bit on at the moment.’

‘No worries.’

‘So, what are you studying?’

‘Creative writing.’

‘Hm. Interesting.’

She analysed him for a reaction again; Tyler turned his face and smiled uncomfortably as she tried to read it.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘Nothing. People usually ask me what do I plan to do with that, or what job can I get with that, along those lines.’

‘Is that your thing? I mean, is writing your passion?’

‘It is, ever since I can remember.’

‘Well,’ he replied, lighting himself a skinny rollie. ‘If that’s what you love doing, I reckon you shouldn’t give two fucks about what people think or say, and just go ahead and do it, you know.’

‘I see.’ she replied. ‘Loz doesn’t like it when I smoke in this car. He loves it more than me.’

‘Well, Loz’s not here right now, is he?’

She smiled and stole his cigarette for a few tokes. They drove around in a newfound comforting silence. She handed him his cigarette back.

‘You know that I’m aware that I’m not gonna’ spend the rest of my life with him, don’t you?’

Tyler tried to hide his reaction by having another toke. Somehow, all of the stress he had endured before, all the pain to cop again, even the thought of the big bag of gear stuffed under his seat dissipated in her presence.

‘I know,’ he replied, keeping his cool. ‘I can see you are a smart, independent woman. Are you working on anything exciting at the moment?’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘Your writing.’

‘Oh. Sorry. Yeah, well, I’m aware that in order to write, writers need to live their lives, and that our age is the time to experiment and explore, which kinda’ explains the older drug-dealing boyfriend, I guess. I’m working on a story for uni right now about a guy who goes to a writer’s retreat but gets involved in too deep with psychedelics and kinda’ loses the plot. You know, the old vice and virtue, good and bad, etc.’

‘Is that your thing?’ he asked.

‘What?’

 ‘Psychedelics? Or do you follow Loz all the way?’

‘I’d like to think you think me smarter than that.’

‘I dunno’, you seemed pretty out of it when I first met you the other morning.’

‘It was just Molly and a heap of cocktails; I don’t get involved in that other shit. Loz has offered many times, but I got enough voices in my head already.’

They stopped at a red light and Tyler looked at her with a glow in his eye. She blushed.

‘What?’

‘Smart and beautiful. A deadly combination.’

She laughed shyly and slapped him across the shoulder.

‘Just drive, you, will ya’?’

‘Sure thing, ma’am.’ Tyler said with a glowing smile.

The hum of the V8 took over again as their take on one another sank in.

‘What’s the deal with you, then?’ Alice asked.

‘Me? Nothing anywhere near as exciting as you. I work at a cold store down near Freo, closed in a freezer for ten-plus hours a day with a bunch of the boys, loading and unloading containers full of meat and lamb carcasses.’

‘Hm, okay.’ She replied, looking out the window.

‘What?’ He challenged. ‘Now you’re the one judging me.’

Tyler put his foot down as they merged into Kwinana Freeway. Several cars cruised along towards the Perth skyscrapers in the distance, each to their own lane, driving along at similar pace in their respective perception of reality. Most of the high-rises belonged to mining giants with big stakes in WA, towering high into the sky thanks to the billions unearthed from the underground riches the land has to offer.

‘Sounds like an interesting way to make a living, that’s all.’ Alice replied.

‘Unlike you, I was never sure of what I wanted to do.’

Tyler looked over to his passenger in her boyfriend’s car. Alice had a comforting smile across her lips, leaning her elbow against the door and fiddling with the end curl of her ponytail, listening.

‘I guess I am trying to find out who I am.’ Tyler said. ‘One thing I do know is that, like you said, I am fully aware that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life workin’ in that shithole, that’s for sure. But we all gotta’ make a buck somehow.’

Tyler brought the sedan to a halt outside the station. She smiled and slid her sunnies down her nose, looking him in the eye.

‘Like you said, “I respect that.”’ Alice replied with a smile showcasing the pearl white of her teeth; the green in her eyes glistened and Alice laughed out loud.

 Tyler experienced there and then a rush akin to the moment he had shared with Loz inside the caravan that morning, except that this time around, the rush felt less fleeting, and invited a further crescendo. The seamless layer of fat on her cheek morphed into a little dimple, complimenting her grin as she opened the door to get out. Tyler grabbed the back of her smooth elbow and she turned towards him; their eyes met and he was unable to stop himself from tasting the smooth pale pink of her smiling lips.

‘Easy there, cowboy.’ Alice challenged as she stopped his lunge with a finger on his chin, bringing him back down to earth. She turned his stupefied gaze sideways and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Remember whose car you are in.’

Alice closed the door and thanked him for the lift. As she walked away, Tyler was entranced by the sway of her dress as her hips moved further and further away from him; the void inside of him gaped wider and wider with every step she took. He remained stationary in the car until Alice’s mirage eventually disappeared through a stairwell. Once she did, Tyler grabbed the stuff from under the seat and proceeded to patch that gaping abyss with a quick bump off the huge bag; he put the car into gear and drove off.