Unlocked | 24 August 2024

“32 to the right…4 to the left…11 to the right…CLICK.”

BNR Response

“Bro, how did you even get this combination?” 

“Bro, I told you.  I found it when Bev asked me to get something out of her desk drawer.  It was just, like, written on a post-it in there.  Now let’s motor!”  Slater grabbed a stack of cash and the van keys and left the safe’s door ajar.

“Isn’t Bev gonna be pissed at you, bruh?”  Todd asked, closing the door to the office and squinting in an attempt to see in the dark.

“We’ll have the van back way before my shift, dude.  Bev prolly won’t even notice.”  Slater held the coffee shop door open for Todd before locking it and heading toward the van.

They slid open the door to the van, which Todd had parked his truck next to, and pushed aside carafes, sleeves of paper coffee cups, and the coffee cart he used when it was his shift at the office park in Ventura.  It was tight, but they were eventually able to transfer their surfboards from the Tacoma to The Habit’s van.

And then they were off.

It was hours even before the first staff members showed up at The Habit to prep for the day.

Slater and Todd headed up the coast at first with the windows up, heater on, headlights illuminating the PCH ahead of them.  They talked about waves they’d caught, speculated about who had scored with the hot girl at the café, and made plans for the rest of the Summer.  They stopped at San Onofre when they saw the swell, stayed for an hour until the sun was above the horizon, and then hopped back in the van, wetsuits at their waists.

They hit a McDonald’s drive through for breakfast in Oxnard, let the windows down, and turned up the volume when STP or the Chili Peppers came on the radio.  “California show your teeth!  Simultaneous release!  California rest in peace!  She’s my priestess, I’m her priest ye-yeah ye-yeah ye-yeah!” they belted along with Keidis, each thinking to themselves that he would actually really like hanging out with them if he ever met them, you know, off stage.

Their hair had dried, crispy with salt water, when they decided to skip Rincon and try Jalama.  Once they got there they hit a traffic jam at the beach gate, thanks to weekday campers trying to beat the rush for the holiday weekend, so they kept driving up the coast towards Pismo.

Four double doubles from In N Out later, they reveled in their luck that Bev hadn’t called yet.  Maybe they really would get away with it!  They did some bad math and figured they could hit Pismo for an hour and still make it back for Slater’s shift at 7PM and for Todd’s delivery job at the pizza parlor.

They got to Oso Flaco at the height of the afternoon, and Fridays at this break were busy.  They paddled out to join at least a dozen other surfers who were lined up waiting for their turn to attempt a wave, and enjoyed the mellow vibe as their boards rose and sank as the waves passed under them.  Word was that their had been dolphins, but Slater and Todd didn’t get to see any of them.  It was a half an hour before either of them got their chance at a wave, but they managed to catch a few good ones before the sun started sinking down and it dawned on them that they had no idea what time it was.  It was late.

They bombed back down the highway, didn’t even put towels under their butts or knock the sand off their feet and boards.  The van was a mess.  Slater missed his shift.  Todd got fired from Pizza Schmizza.  And yet, Bev still hadn’t called.  When Slater slunk into the café the next morning, put on his apron and quietly sidled up to the register.  Bev came in around 10, heading into the office first before coming behind the bar to chat with the team.

“You and Todd have fun yesterday, Slater?” she asked, writing the wrong name on someone’s cup and handing it to the barista.

“Ummmm…yeah?” Slater hesitated.

“I think you would have been golden if you hadn’t tried to hit Pismo,” a sideways grin crept across her face.

“Huh.”  Slater was so confused.

“But I appreciate you guys cleaning out the van before you returned it.”  She paused.  There was a customer trying to get Slater’s attention but he just stood blankly staring at the counter.

“Slater.  SLATER.  You think it’s just luck that with all the Gen Zs I have rotating through here that I’m able to keep my doors open?”

He was no less confused.

“I have this whole place surveilled.  Oh yeah!  Bugged, video, the whole deal.  I’ve had the van LoJacked for years but my best work was when I had the nanny cams installed last week.  Help Hank out now, will you?  Hank, the usual?”