Young and Hungry - For Life - 28. A Day at the Beach

After what he estimated was finale time at the circus, James called Francesco.

“Hello, this is Francesco”

“It’s me, why so formal?”

“Isn’t that what people say when they answer the phone?”

“In an office maybe, but you know it’s me”

“Oh, I forgot to check, anyway I’m glad you called, I’ve missed you this week”

“That’s nice of you to say so, I miss you too. Wish we weren’t so far apart so I could see you everyday”

“That would be great, but we may be even further apart soon when the circus moves on”

“What! When’s that happening?”

“I don’t know the date, but Jack has sent his site booker ahead to find lots for us”

“Oh no, what will we do then?”

“You’ll have to call me every night”

“I will, but I’m not looking forward to you going away”

“Me neither”

“Hey, the main reason I called was to ask you if you’ve ever been to the beach”

“No, isn’t that dangerous? I could get eaten by a shark”

“Where did you get that idea?”

“I see it all the time on the TV”

“Well if you only go in to standing depth, the chances are pretty miniscule and if you stay on the sand, I can guarantee you won’t be eaten by a shark”

“If you say so”

“So, do you want to go this weekend?”

“With you?”

“Of course, who else?”

“OK, I trust you. Will you meet me at the circus?”

“It’s about time you started learning how to travel on your own. Mum bought you an Opal card for the train”

“But I don’t know where the beach is”

“OK, if Alex is going to see Wanda, I’ll hitch a ride with him, then we’ll get the train to Bondi”

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Not being sure what Francesco would wear, James took the precaution of bringing an extra pair of swim shorts.

“I don’t suppose you have any shorts for swimming?”

“No”

“Thought not, so I brought these for you. Try them on now”

Francesco removed his tights and slipped into the board shorts.

“Look good on you”

“What about you?”

“I’ve already got my speedos under my shorts”

“Speedos?”

“You’ll see later”

“Can I see now?”

“No, I know where you’re going with this, we don’t have time, I want to get to the beach”

Francesco pouted, but James ignored him. As he reached into his backpack, he said “Oh, I almost forgot, I have this for you. Well actually it’s from Alex, he got one for each of us from the chicken shop”

James gave Francesco a cap the same as his, then Francesco asked “Who’s Barney?”

“We actually don’t know. It’s not the owners name, but the shop has always been called, Barney’s Barbecue Chicken”

“Thanks, now we are twins”

James laughed then added “Let’s get going now”

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The boys changed trains twice to get to Bondi Junction, then a bus to the beach. During the trip, James ascertained that Francesco could not swim and in fact had never even been to a swimming pool. When they arrived at the beach, James said “Let’s just sit on the sand for a while and watch the surf to see how strong it is today”

“What does that mean?”

“Since you can’t swim, I’ll only take you in, probably up to your waste today, so I need to be sure the waves won’t knock you over as you could panic from the shock. So just watch the other people in the surf”

While they were chatting, Francesco asked “What’s it like to go to a school?”

“It’s OK, I suppose. Some of the teachers are friendly and others are just too demanding, always pushing you to the limit”

“I don’t think I’d like that”

“But you push yourself to the limit all the time with your exercising and practice”

“I have to, if I want to be the best”

“But the difference is you do it yourself? It’s your decision”

“I just want to do it”

“That’s interesting, I suppose that’s what they call self-motivation”

This analysis did not interest Francesco, so he asked “Do you have friends at school?”

“Of course, that’s probably the best part about school, you meet people your own age”

“Do you suck them off?”

“No, they’re not that sort of friends”

“So how did you learn to do it so well?”

“You think I do, thank you. I used to practice on Alex”

“Is he gay too?”

“No, he’s going out with Wanda, remember”

“Then how come he let you suck him?”

“Well, he’s my brother, so we share and talk about stuff. Besides, what boy doesn’t want to have his dick sucked?”

“Good point, it must be nice to have a brother”

“Sometimes; so did you always suck yourself, or where there others before me?”

“There were lots of guys wanting to suck me and have me suck them”

“Did you suck them?”

“They told me I had to, or their dicks would explode”

“Some boys will try anything to get a blow job. You know that’s not true, right?”

“I do now”

“Then I won’t try that trick”

“You don’t need any tricks, you know I’m always yours”

James blushed and changed the conversation “Are you thirsty, let’s get some drinks”

“Maybe a bit later, I’ll do a bit of stretching first”

Francesco did a full back bend, putting his head through his legs, then lowered his chest to the towel and lie there in the folded position watching the handsome men walking by. As he did this his cap fell off, so James picked it up and put it beside Francesco.

“Don’t suppose you need the cap, now your head’s in the shade of your body”

While the boys chatted about James’ beach experiences and the need for Francesco to learn to swim, there were some strange looks from passers-by and a few complimentary remarks.

“You seem to be popular, lying in that position. Certainly not what is usually seen on the beach”

“Do people like it?”

“They sure do, haven’t you noticed how they slow down when walking past us?”

“I guess so”

“I know so, they’re enjoying a free show”

After a while, James asked “Wanna come and get some drinks now?”

“Can I stay here, I want to keep this position for a bit longer?”

“OK, I’ll get them”

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James returned five minutes later and found Francesco still in his folded position and said “Are you going to sit up and have your drink?”

“OK”

As James handed Francesco his drink, he noticed some coins in his cap. “Where did this money come from?”

“A few people dropped it in there. Why would they do that?”

“Shit, they think you’re busking, lying there like that”

“Is that bad, busking?”

“No, it means providing some sort of entertainment, basically for free, but people can pay you if they appreciate your performance”

“So that’s good?”

“That’s very good. You’ve already made nearly ten dollars in change. Now drink up, I’ve got an idea”

When they finished their drinks, James said ”Bring your towel and come with me, we’re going up to the kiosk area”

“Why, I like it here”

“I think you’ll like it even more up on the grass, where people have money in their hands”

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“Now spread out your towel and do a few positions, like a mini performance. I’ll leave your cap on the ground beside you and I’ll wait to the side. If people put money in your cap, just smile and say, thanks”

Francesco did as asked, but was still not certain why. After fifteen minutes, James checked the cap and said “Looks like nearly twenty dollars this time, including a five dollar note. That’s excellent, but I think we could do better. Come with me”

They went into the change room and James said “We’re going to swap clothes”

“Why?”

“This is why” replied James as he removed his shorts to reveal his speedos. “Wow you look hot in those” said Francesco.

“That’s the idea. When you are wearing these during your performance, I’ll bet your cap will fill up in no time”

Francesco slipped into the speedos, then James returned the ‘hot’ compliment.

“Thanks, but I don’t have a protector. They’ll be able to see my dick. What if I get hard?”

“Even better, especially when you do the back bend”

“Are you sure it’s OK?”

“You’ve been lying on the beach all morning and what’s the first thing you look at when some hunk wearing speedos walks by?”

“Oh, I see”

“And so will your audience”

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Francesco did another fifteen minute performance in front of the kiosks. At one point so many people gathered around, James could not even see him. Eventually he pushed through the crowd and found Francesco sitting crossed legged, in a lotus pose and answering questions about yoga positions that anyone could try. Figuring, he was now Francesco’s manager, he announced “Thanks folks, Flexible Frankie now needs his rest. Thank you for your contributions. There will be another show this afternoon”

As the crowd dispersed, James counted the takings and said to Francesco “With what we got earlier, you’ve now made yourself...two...four...and three is seven. That’s a total of $107. Not bad for half an hour’s work, and it’s all yours. I won’t take my usual ten percent commission today”

“You mean it’s mine to keep?”

“Or spend, anyway you like”

“What can I spend it on?... I know, can I buy you lunch James?”

“I thought you’d never ask”

“Why?”

“Sorry, that’s my silly way of saying, yes please”

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After lunch, James said “We’ve come all this way to the beach and haven’t even gotten wet yet. Do you want to try the surf?”

“Is it safe?”

“We’ll only go in a little way and see how you feel. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing”

“OK, show me what to do”

Fortunately the waves were very small on the day. After being dumped three times and recovering quickly, with James’ assistance, Francesco began to enjoy the new experience.

They dried off and sat on the beach again for a while, to recover. Francesco asked “Am I now a surfer?”

“Not quite, but on your way. We need to get you some swimming lessons first. It’s dangerous to surf if you can’t swim and save yourself if you get dumped or sucked out”

“Are we talking about sex again?”

“No, I mean being sucked out by a rip. That’s an underwater current that takes you away from the beach. So if you can’t swim you could drown. Which reminds me, I should have told you about the lifesaver’s system. See the guys in the red and yellow gear, they’re lifesavers and will help you if you get into difficulty in the surf. What you have to do is put one arm up as high as you can, that’s the signal that you need help. While you’re waiting for them, try not to panic and just tread water”

“What’s that mean?”

“Of course, you don’t know how to do that. Next week, we’ll go to a pool and I’ll show you how to tread water”

The boys lie side by side on their towels and passed air kisses between them.

James asked “You know how you said men you used to get you to suck them and vice versa, did you ever fuck?”

“Yes, they used to come into my van late at night”

“Wow, how old were you when you started?”

“I don’t want to talk about it now, just stop asking questions like that”

“Sorry” then realising he may have touched a nerve, James sought to change the conversation by way of asking “Wanna make some more money before we leave?”

“Yes, I like this, being paid for my performance”

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The crowd loved his performance once again, but just as he finished and James took possession of the cash they were approached by a council inspector, who demanded to see Francesco’s busking permit. He did not understand what was being asked of him so James stepped in.

“I’m sorry Sir, we didn’t know we needed a permit”

“How old and you and your friend?”

“I’m sixteen and he is seventeen”

“Well, you do need a permit, which you can apply for at council offices or you can get an application form online. But since you are both under eighteen years, you will need your parent’s or guardian’s permission”

“Thank you Sir, we’ll look into that”

As James put his arm around Francesco to urge him to leave, the inspector said “Not so fast young man”

“Is there something else Sir?”

“Yes, busking without a permit is an offence under section s68 of the Local Government Act. I could issue you a notice of infringement”

“You said could, does that mean....”

“You’re a smart young man, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry Sir, there was no offence intended”

“I know, what I meant is you are a clever young man to pick up on what I said. So this is what’s going to happen today. Given your age and I assume this is the first time your friend has done this in our area...”

“Of course, but it started by accident. When Francesco was exercising on the beach, people dropped money in his cap, so I thought, why not do a proper show”

“Yes, all very well, but no need for excuses. I’m not going to take any action today, other than to tell you to be on your way and don’t let me catch you again”

“Thank you Sir, can we go now”

“Yes, be gone!”

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They sat in the park while James counted the takings for the day. Francesco had made in excess of $200, so on the way back to the station they stopped at a discount store and he purchased a $10 wallet. The first he had ever owned.

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Later in the week, James did some online research and discovered that in Bondi area, buskers under eighteen years required their parent’s permission. He thought it unlikely Jack would agree to that so he looked at other council areas. The very next he checked was City of Sydney and was pleasantly surprised to find that parental permission was only needed if under sixteen years, so he downloaded an application for Francesco.

For contact details he used his address and email and Francesco’s phone number. Description of the act was easy, even the fees were acceptable. Given that Francesco may be on the move soon he ticked, Quarterly Permit at $13. He skipped over the parental permission section and went straight to proof of identity. After reading though the acceptable forms of identity he concluded that Francesco would certainly not have a passport or drivers licence, but could apply for a Proof of Age Photo Card. He then went looking for the appropriate application form.

The form stated, A NSW Photo Card may be used as photo identification if you don't have a NSW Driver Licence. Great, thought James. Then he got to the catch 22 part, to apply for the photo card you needed, To provide acceptable proof of identity.

At this point, James surrendered to bureaucracy.

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