Sunrise in Bali - Across the Pond Trilogy (Book 1) (8 page)

Jenny
knew Sarah all too well, and she'd seen this many times. Her habit
was to find a cute guy, fall madly in love when them within a few
days, and then blurt it all out after a few drinks. I guess guys
didn't wanna hear that so early, but the way she spoke made Mark
sound like a total douche. “I guess those guys aren't as nice as we
thought they were,” Jenny said consolingly.

“
I
guess not.”

The
next morning was a bit of a rush. Having been alerted to the need to
use earplugs by the previous mornings prayer, several of the group
missed their alarms.

“
Wake
up, wake up,” Andy had proclaimed while banging on each hut door,
“we've got 15 minutes until we need to be on the road.”

A
flurry of activity ensued, everyone hastily packing their bags and
getting whatever morsels of food they could down their necks for
breakfast. Soon enough, though, they were back in the van, navigating
their way down to Bangsal Harbor on the eastern coast where they'd
catch a small public boat over to Gili Meno, the central of the three
small islands.

After
about 90 minutes of jungle tracks and rocky roads, their route opened
onto the coast, and they ambled their way down towards the harbor. It
was simple: a series of basic wooden boats lining the shore, and
Jenny noticed a few more westerners loitering about with their bags,
preparing to make the short journey out to the islands. They all
hoped onto the boat, Miley a little tentative as she went, and sat
down on long benches facing each other. To Jenny, it looked as though
it could seat about twenty or so people, ten on each side.

Within
no time the boat was chopping its way smoothly through the waves. The
atmosphere among the group was subdued, but with an underlying
current of excitement, especially among the boys. The idea of more
snorkeling and water based activities seemed to liven Henry up
significantly.

After
about 30 minutes on the water the boat began to approach Gili Meno,
slowly cruising up to the shoreline where a few other boats were
moored. Jenny could see a cluster of sunbathers enjoying the
mid-morning sun along the white sandy beach, a couple of whom were
savoring the authoritative press of a local masseuse to their skin.
The island was small, only about a mile long and half a mile wide,
and was framed by a beautiful beach that encircled the flat expanse
within. According to Andy, about 500 people lived on the island,
making their money from tourism and fishing, and most were situated
right in the center. Dotted along the beach, however, were dozens of
huts and cabins, each looking out eastwards towards Lombok, the
towering Mt Rinjani visible in the distance, and Gili Air settled in
between, a stones throw from the surf.

The
group disembarked and soon found themselves being led to a series of
basic huts along the beach. Jenny and Sarah dropped off their bags
and tested out their beds, as had become their custom on the trip.
They were reasonably comfortable, they thought, and surrounded by
mosquito nets for extra protection against the critters that had
recently been causing some members of the group a few problems. Eno,
unfortunately, appeared to be their juiciest target. Sarah seemed to
be in better spirits this morning, the change of scenery doing her
some good, and the girls soon made their way off down to the beach to
explore. There were no structured activities planned for the day, so
everyone was given a free pass to enjoy the island at their leisure.

While
setting down her towel on the hot white sand, Jenny noticed Henry
already bounding towards the water. He was wearing long board shorts
that hung down around his hips, elongating his ripped torso, and was
carrying a snorkel, mask, and flippers in his hands. He plunged
straight into the sea, put on his equipment, and disappeared under
the surface. According to Andy, there was a beautiful reef barely 50
meters off the beach, so it was no surprise that Henry wanted to be
the first to explore it. Not far behind were Mark and Todd, who both
paddled in more sedately before joining Henry under the gentle waves.

Jenny
and Sarah were soon joined by Andrew, who split his time between the
sand and the surf, periodically joining the boys in the water. Eno,
meanwhile, had found himself a nice spot nearby, nestled tightly into
a hammock strung up between two palm trees with a book, like
something out of a classic postcard. Miley and Emily continued to
bond, choosing to start the day with a relaxing massage on the beach,
while Andy had apparently gone off to catch up with a couple of
friends who lived on the other side of the island.

As
the day wore on, Jenny chose to participate in a couple of slightly
more adventurous activities, largely on the back of Andrews teasing.
“I can't see you getting up there Jen,” he'd taunted jokingly,
gesturing to a man parasailing along the skyline. An hour later it
was her being given the thrill of a lifetime, gliding through the air
about 50 meters above the waves, incredible views of the neighboring
Gili Islands and the imposing body of Lombok in the distance. With
that done, the thought of jetskiing, something she'd never tried
before, felt far less scary. She jumped on with Sarah and bounced
along the flat surface of the water all around the island, each of
them taking their turn behind the wheel.

By
the end of the afternoon some of the group had retreated to a small
local beach bar near their huts for some well earned refreshment.
Jenny could see Todd gesticulating excitedly to Mark and Henry, Andy
looking on smiling and sipping on a bottle of beer. Sarah, who had
gone over to fetch a couple of cocktails for the two of them, relayed
why Todd has been in such an animated state:

“
Apparently
they're going over to Gili Trawangan for the night. It's that one
that's known for its nightlife and beach parties.”

“
Oh,
really. I thought that wasn't possible from here?” Jenny queried,
trying to sound disinterested.

“
Well,
it looks like you can get taxi's, like boat taxi's, that will take
you over to the island for the night. Andy says he doesn't mind
people going over there because tomorrow's another chilled day on the
island, so no early morning traveling or anything like that.” She
sounded hopeful, trying to inject some excitement into the idea.
“What do you think....shall we go as well?”

“
Ummm,
I don't know Sarah...I didn't really enjoy the last time we all went
out together. Who else is going then? I assume Mark, Todd, and Henry
are dead certs?”

“
Yep,
all the boys are going, I don't know about Andrew, he's back in his
room, but I reckon he'll be up for it. Oh, and Emily wants to go
again...”

Jenny
felt a wave of jealousy. “Yeah, I'm sure she wants to go again, had
fun the last time.” She couldn't prevent the bitterness in her
voice.

“
Come
on babe, it'll be fun...better than last time, I promise. You can't
come here and not try a beach party, can you?”

Jenny
could sense that Sarah was still interested in trying it on with
Mark, despite what had happened a couple of nights ago. “Oh
fine...but let's make sure Andrew goes as well.” Andrew had become
like an older brother to the two of them, especially Jenny, and she
felt much more comfortable when he was around.

“
Sure,
I'll bet he wants to go anyway, but if not we'll persuade him.”

A
few minutes later Jenny and Sarah emerged from Andrews hut, Sarah
with a beaming smile on her face. “Great...I'll go find out what
time we're leaving from the guys and then we can get ready.” She
bolted off towards the bar down the beach where Todd, Mark and Henry
were laughing and joking around over a few drinks. Jenny watched from
the front of her hut as Sarah relayed the news. Todd, always a 'the
more the merrier' type of guy, gave her a high five, while Mark
smiled and downed his drink. Jenny sensed this wasn't the result he
wanted, although Sarah seemed oblivious to it. Henry, meanwhile,
smiled quietly, passing his gaze towards Jenny in the distance. They
locked eyes for a couple of moments before he turned back to the
action.

Sarah
came bouncing back down the beach towards Jenny a minute later, two
colorful cocktails in hand. “Just to warm us up while we get
ready!” she said, passing Jenny a drink. Over the next 45 minutes
they got showered, put on the best outfits they had stuffed in their
travel bags, and listened to Rihanna over Jenny's phone. When they
emerged the sun was beginning to set on the other side of the island,
casting a warm orange glow on the skyline. They stepped out and onto
the top of the beach, noticing that the boys were still busily joking
away as they approached. The table was littered with empty beer
bottles and shot glasses, and Todd, in particular, already seemed a
bit tipsy.

“
Girls,
might I say that you are looking scrumptious this evening,” he
offered in his cockney accent.

Mark,
slightly lubricated by alcohol, voiced his agreement, giving Sarah a
kiss on the cheek as he did. The show of affection, while clearly
eased by beer, was well received. “OK guys, i've got a taxi waiting
just down there on the water to take us over,” he said. “We're
just waiting for Em and then we'll be off.”

After
a couple more minutes Emily appeared, looking annoyingly pretty. Her
tan had been building over the last few days and her blonde hair was
beginning to get even brighter under the sun. Jenny could easily see
why Henry might find her more attractive than herself.

“
Right
team....lets get back on it!” announced Mark to the group, before
leading them off down the beach towards the water taxi. Within
moments it was speeding around the side of the island, steering its
course towards the backpacking mecca of Gili Trawangan. As they
approached, the sun was on its last legs, dipping down below the
island and silhouetting the palm trees and beach bars against the
darkening sky. The noise became immediately apparent the closer they
got: the sound of dance music and drunken chatter echoing through the
air. Bright multi-colored lights exploded from the beach like
sparkles in the night sky, showing intermittent flashes of partygoers
sprawled across the sand. Jenny looked over the scene with an element
of trepidation, but was determined to enjoy the night more than she
had the last.

When
they reached the shore it became even harder to believe that the two
islands were so close together. Gili Meno had been so relaxed and
chilled, a wonderful place to watch the world go by. Here, however,
it was manic: groups of young revelers were darting this way and
that, loud music shot out from all along the coast, and bright
flashing lights illuminated the night sky. “Now THIS is what I'm
talking about!” shouted Todd as he turned to the group. “Where to
first Marky Mark?”

Mark
seemed to be leading the party, and so started plotting a course down
along the beachfront to what was apparently the most active part of
the island. He'd been the one taking instruction from Andy on where
to go, so everyone left it to him to lead them to the source of the
action. What Jenny didn't realize at this point, however, was that
Gili Trawangan was also known for its drugs, and magic mushrooms were
a common appetizer for those seeking an eventful night out.

It
didn't take them long to reach what appeared to be a very popular bar
down on the edge of the beach. It was large and circular, surrounded
on all sides by decking with chairs and tables. The crowds spilled
out down onto the beach, some chatting away in large groups playing
games, others dancing together or alone. There were people with fire
sticks creating magnificent red and orange patterns against the black
sky, while others could be seen covered in face paint and glitter. It
was a wild scene, full of color, music, and movement, and something
that Jenny had never experienced before. She turned to Sarah, “this
is crazy!”

“
I
know,” Sarah shouted back in her ear... “I love it!”

By
this stage Mark had made the decision to stick it out there for a
while, at least to 'warm up', as he'd said. They found a table large
enough to accommodate them all and Mark went to get drinks with Todd.
Jenny could see them at the bar, thick as thieves, plotting
something. She looked over at Andrew, who was entertaining Emily with
this Irish wit, and Sarah, who was chatting away happily with Henry,
perhaps trying to extract some information about Mark.

Soon
enough Mark and Todd were back, passing around a shot each and
putting two large cocktail jugs onto the center of the table. “Right,
here are your glasses,” Mark passed out a glass each, “it's time
to play a little drinking game!”

The
next hour passed by in a flurry of downed drinks and unexpected
confessions, both owing to the drinking game 'never have I ever'.
Sarah was forced to tell the story of her run in with the athletic
coach at high school, while Todd dished the dirt on some wild times
he'd had on drugs back in London. The most revealing story, however,
for Jenny at least, came from Henry, when Mark got him to talk about
his experiences with his ex girlfriend, who'd he'd only recently
broken up with. He didn't seem happy talking about it, but was bound
by the rules of the game to 'spill', according to Mark, Todd, and
Andrew. After his reveal he quickly absented himself to the bar to
fetch another batch of cocktails.