Frontier - 18. FR Chapter 18

“That is good to hear. I expect to hear about it later on” Gramps said as he looked at Jedd and smiled.

“Jedd all of your stuff from the Trimaran, plus all your stuff from the farm is on board the catamaran, which will be your home along with your brother, Mum and Gramps,” Jasper said to Jedd, and I saw a shocked and scared look on Jedd’s face.

“Don’t worry, Little Bro, I will stay with you until Mum and Neale get back. Go and get changed into some other clothes, and we will whip up some afternoon tea,” I said to Jedd to reassure him, and his scared look instantly changed to a big smile.

“All meals will be on the trimaran, until your Mum and Neal return. Makes it a bit easier for our only cook,” Jasper said as he looked at Simon, who smiled back and chuckled.

“Sim, we need to organise some shopping for tomorrow night and Saturday lunch,” I said to Simon as we boarded the Trimaran.

“I’m already doing that in my head as we speak. I just got to put it down on paper,” Simon replied as he headed over to his cabin.

During dinner, Simon and I worked out that our four school mates, could be accommodated in the three twin, and the one queen, guest cabins for tomorrow night, and I asked Kirk and Leon to make sure the cabins are ready for them, by the time we got back from school the next day.

After dinner was over, I took Jedd over to the catamaran, and had him have a shower and get ready for bed, and I read him a story, before he went to sleep, knowing I would be close by, in the double crew cabin next door, which would be Mum’s cabin, when she returned.

The next morning, we headed off to school at the same time - 7.45am. While Simon went straight to senior school, I walked Jedd to the locker area of the Junior school, before I made my way to the administration, and asked to speak to Ms Links.

“Hello, Anton, how are you today?” she said to me cheerfully.

“Good morning, Ma’am. I came to see you, and hope that you had nothing special planned this weekend,” I said to her cautiously.

“Are you asking me on a date? Because I already have a partner,” Ms Links replied, and I blushed a little before giving a little chuckle.

“Not exactly a date, Ma’am. As I said yesterday, the senior leadership team needs to meet during the weekend, and if all goes to plan, that will happen tonight. What we have decided is to have the whole leadership team come over to my place for a BBQ lunch on Saturday, and I was wondering if you could come, as the staff liaison?” I asked.

“I think that is a wonderful idea, and I will gladly alter my plans to fit that in. What time and what’s the address?” Ms Links said. It was the receptionist who started to laugh, that caught both of us by surprise.

“Haven’t you heard, Anne? Mr Hamilton here is part owner of that impressive trimaran, moored at the marina,” the receptionist said as she continued to laugh. The shocked look on the deputy principal’s face made me start to laugh also.

“Well, I’m not going to miss the opportunity to check out this trimaran yacht, I have heard about, so I will definitely be coming. What are you going to do about getting the other team members to come to the BBQ?” Ms Links said to me.

“Well, I was hoping for your assistance with that. Would you be able to be signatory to a letter to the parents of the team members?” I asked and I handed her a draft copy that I had written and printed the previous night.

“Dear Parent,

Your child is a willing participant in a student initiative, known as the Student Leadership Team. The executive of the school, are fully supportive of this initiative, and we encourage your support in your child’s participation. The SLT – Student Leadership team is having a social event this Saturday lunch time, with a BBQ lunch to be held on board the luxury trimaran yacht, Last Frontier, currently moored at the marina.

The yacht will remain moored during this event, with all food and soft drinks kindly supplied by the owners. I will be attending this event as the school’s liaison representative. Please have your child at the marina by 12.15 pm at the latest, and collect them at 3.30pm.

Kind regards

Ms Anne Links,

Junior School Deputy Principal, Jurien Bay District High School”.

Ms Links smiled as she pulled out a pen from a pocket, and signed the letter that I had printed. “It’s perfect as it is, I will have it photocopied. How many do I need?” she said to me.

About ten minutes later, I had a handful of letters, as I made my way back to the Senior school, where I found the senior leadership team gathered just outside the main building.

“Hey, guys, here is the letter for the parents of our SLT members. Can you make sure each team member gets one before the end of lunch time today? Is everyone coming for the overnight stay tonight?” I said, as I handed out a handful of letters to each of the senior leadership team members, just as the first bell sounded.

All the senior team members said they would be coming, so I suggested that they all arrive by 5pm, and we headed to our classes. I had English and Physics, as my first two subjects for the day, and I headed to class, arriving just before the second bell sounded.

At the morning break, Mike, Sam, Finn and Toby joined Simon and me at the lockers, where I was informed that all team members had received a letter, and most of them were keen to attend but not sure if their parents would let them.

I thanked everyone for getting the letters distributed so quickly, and I said I would see them all at lunch time, as Simon and I headed to the administration office. As soon as we arrived, the receptionist went to get the deputy principal.

“Good morning, Gentlemen,” Mr Langton said as he arrived at the counter.

“Good morning, Sir. I’m not sure if Ms Links has briefed you yet. She is a signatory to a letter that was distributed to all the leadership team members, for a BBQ lunch to be held at my place tomorrow,” I said to Mr Langton.

“Yes, I have been informed that you have asked her to be the Schools Liaison for the team, which I approve of. Is there anything else?” Mr Langton stated.

“Yes, Sir. We would like to invite you to the BBQ lunch as well, at 12.15pm tomorrow,” Simon said to the deputy principal.

“Thankyou. I would like that. What is the address?” Mr Langton said. Immediately the receptionist started laughing, and Simon and I chuckled.

“Not again,” Simon said, as Mr Langton looked confused and turned to the receptionist.

“I’m sorry for laughing, Sir, but it is fairly well known around town, that Mr Hamilton is part owner along with his grandfather, of that trimaran yacht berthed at the marina,” the receptionist said with a big smile. Mr Langton looked a little shocked.

“It’s alright, Sir, the same thing happened to Ms Links yesterday, with the receptionist also laughing and giving the same response, and she too had the same shocked look on her face,” I said to Mr Langton with a smile, and he chuckled.

“Well, this sounds like an agreeable event then. I will see you tomorrow,” Mr Langton said, and Simon and I headed for our lockers to prepare for our next classes. For me that was Specialist Maths and Biology. Just at the end of my second class, a message arrived, and Mr Langton, who was being the relief teacher, signalled for me to come up to the desk. He handed me a note.

“Anton Hamilton - please call your mother urgently.”

Looking at the teacher I saw he nodded his head and I raced out of the classroom, and turned on my mobile.

When the phone finally came on, it signalled two missed calls. I dialled mum’s number quickly.

“Hello, Son, thanks for the prompt call back. I just wanted to let you know that Neale had to go into surgery again, but he is out now, and it appears that everything went well. I just wanted to let you know,” Mum said to me.

“Ok, thanks for letting me know. Give him my love. Have you told gramps?” I replied.

“Yes, I told him. I will keep you in touch with what is happening. Bye for now,” Mum said.

After taking a few breaths, I stepped back into the classroom, just as the bell sounded, and I went to retrieve my books, before heading to the locker. Not feeling up to hanging out with the others, I headed outside, and went over to the Junior school reception.

“Can I see my brother please? I have some news I need to tell him about,” I asked.

The receptionist used the PA system to call Jedd to the office, and when Jedd saw me he rushed up to me and gave me a hug.

“Hey, Little Bro. How has school been for you today?” I asked him, returning the hug.

“It’s been good. I have made some friends, and I find the teachers are good,” Jedd said to me happily.

“That is good to hear, Buddy. I just need to let you know that Neale became sick again, and he had to have some more surgery, but he is out of that now and doing ok, so try not to worry too much. We will see him home again soon,” I said to Jedd, who I could see was tearing. I gave him another hug. I suggested that we should go and eat some lunch together. So we went to the Junior cafeteria, and I bought us both some food and drinks, and we sat down together.

While eating with Jedd, two older boys approached us.

“Hi, are you Anton?” one of the boys asked. I stood up so I was facing them.

“Yes, I am Anton Hamilton. How can I help you boys,” I replied.

“I am Giles and this is Vern. We just wanted to thank you for what you are doing with the leadership team,” one of the boys said to me.

“Thanks, Guys. I hope you can come to the BBQ lunch tomorrow. If so we will see you there,” I responded, and the boys nodded and smiled before they returned to their table. I sat down beside Jedd again, and we happily chatted, until it was time for me to return to the senior school.

When I walked into the art class Simon immediately asked, “Where were you for lunch?”

I sat down beside him. “I needed to spend some time with Jedd. He seems to be settling into a routine at junior school, and he has made some friends,” I replied, just as the teacher arrived.

When the last class for the day and week, finally ended, Simon and I headed over to collect Jedd, before we headed over to the sports store, where we checked out the selection of bikes. Once Jedd had made his selection, I completed the purchase, and we rode back to the marina together. We locked up the bikes near the jetty.

I suggested to Jedd to go and get changed, and come over to the trimaran for some afternoon tea, while I chatted to the crew. I went to the office and bridge, and using the PA, I called all crew from both yachts to the trimaran saloon.

Once everyone was gathered, I sat down and I asked how preparations were going for the overnight visitors for that night, then asked about preparations for the BBQ lunch the following day.

“Grandson, we may have a slight problem. We have a storm front coming in from the north east, due to arrive mid-afternoon tomorrow, with high swells at the time of high tide,” Gramps said to me.

“Ok, contact the charter clients, see if we can defer or cancel the charter due to weather conditions. I was thinking that we sneak over to Boulanger Island, so our guests get a surprise when they wake up in the morning, and I think we will be ok for the BBQ, if the weather holds up,” I announced.

“Marcus, have you been able to get all that shopping done, that I asked,” Simon asked my gramps.

“Yes, Chef, the lads and I got everything on your list, and it is all put away. The lads have started doing the prep for tonight’s dinner,” Gramps replied, and Simon smiled and nodded his head in approval.

“Finn, Toby, Mike and Sam will be arriving at 5pm, so let’s get ready,” I announced.

When our school friends arrived on time, I was on the fly deck. I watched them come on board with their overnight bags.

“Welcome on board, Guys,” I said with a smile and I made my way downstairs, where I grabbed three tooth picks from the bar. Snapping one in half, and another one I snapped a small bit off the end, I placed them in one hand, with the top end of each one being level.

“This is to determine who gets which guest cabin. There is a queen cabin, two double cabins and twin cabin,” I said as I held out my hand for our friends to choose a tooth pick. Toby pulled out the longest one, Sam pulled out the medium size one, while Finn and Mike pulled out the shortest picks. When I announced, what the results were, all but Sam were happy, but he accepted the decision, as I lead the way downstairs to the guest cabins.

“I will let you settle in. Dinner will be served in the formal dining room at 6.30pm,” I said and headed to the crew area, to see what Jedd was doing. I found him sitting in the crew mess, chatting to Simon as he was cooking dinner. Kirk and Leon were busy setting up the dining room for dinner, and I sat down next to Jedd.

“How about you get some of your belongings, and bring them over to the forward crew cabins on the trimaran, so you can be close to me,” I said to him. Jedd was pleased with this idea and he set off to the catamaran, to do as I suggested.

Once dinner was over, we left Jasper and the lads to clean up, and Jedd headed down to his cabin, while our school friends, Simon and I made our way to the lounge saloon, where we began our meeting. I explained to the team about the events that took place over in the junior school, with the bully and Jedd, and how that matter was resolved. I also mentioned the meeting that was held with the schools three senior administrations staff, and what was recommended for good governance for the school.

I mentioned that we would be meeting with Ms Links, to put together the required documentation, plus a layout for a report document, for keeping track of all incidences that the team deal with. Simon announced that Ms Links and Mr Langton had both been invited to attend the BBQ lunch with all the team members the next day, with Ms Links agreeing to be the staff liaison officer between the school and the leadership team.

We discussed how the BBQ lunch and team meeting should proceed, and once everything had been covered, I called an end to the meeting. I invited our friends to make themselves at home, and enjoy the facilities on board.

Simon and I headed to the crew area downstairs, where the crew had just finished cleaning up after dinner. We sat down in the crew mess area, to discuss all that needed to be done the next day, leading up to the arrival of the rest of the leadership team members.

I went to find Jedd, who was lying on his bed reading a book, and I sat down, and read the story to him, which he said he always enjoyed. When the story was over, I suggested that he get ready for bed, as we had a busy day ahead of us the next day. I went to the galley to get a cup of tea, while he was doing this.

Once Jedd was settled into bed, I said goodnight to him and I made my way up to the main deck, where it was un-expectedly quiet, until I heard some laughing coming from the fly bridge. So, I headed up that direction. When I reached the top of the stairs to the fly bridge, I saw that Jasper was seated at the helm, looking at the navigation display. Turning around I found all four team members stark naked in the Jacuzzi, with Simon seated nearby.

Walking over to them, I too sat down near the Jacuzzi, and chatted with my friends for about half an hour, before I wished everyone a good night, before heading downstairs to my cabin. About an hour later, there was a soft knock on my cabin door.

“Come in, Skipper,” I said to Jasper, who chuckled as he opened the door.

“How did you know it was me, and not Simon?” Jasper asked.

“Because I knew that you would want to ask when I wanted us to set sail for the islands,” I replied with a big smile, which made Jasper chuckle.

“You’re a smart man, for a young boss,” Jasper said to me.

“How about we head off just before dawn, so we are anchored at the islands before everyone gets up,” I suggested.

“Very well, Boss, I will let the lads know. Good night,” Jasper said and he left.

I got up and checked on Jedd, to see if he was sleeping ok, before I went to bed, setting my alarm for just before dawn, before falling asleep.

When the alarm sounded, I had a quick shower and changed into a fresh company uniform, and made my way upstairs, passing Simon, who was also awake and preparing breakfast for everyone.

“Good morning, Skipper,” I said to Jasper as I entered the main bridge.

“Good morning, Boss. It’s a little drizzly outside, so I decided to stay warm and dry,” Jasper said with a smile, just as he was starting up the engines.

A few minutes later, Kirk and Leon appeared.

“Will we be motoring or sailing to the islands?” Leon asked.

“I think sails, so the guests can sleep in for a bit longer,” I replied, and the lads headed outside to set the mainsail, and also to get the dining table set up for breakfast.

When we arrived at the island just over twenty minutes later, we beached on the east side of the island, and the lads set the anchors, to keep the yacht in place.