81 Australia

"Sometimes, one must travel halfway across the globe to get the clearest view of home", Alex spoke into her phone. 

"I'm starting to regret giving you that phone now", Zephyr muttered as he walked alongside her. 

"Yes", Haley butted in, "Which is why you should've given it to me instead". 

"What are you on about?", Mitchell questioned. 

"Zephyr, being the genius he is, decided he didn't like the phones on the market", Matt explained. 

"I still don't get it", Mitchell muttered. 

"A normal person would just suck it up, but Zephyr thought otherwise", Matt narrated, "Being a billionaire, he decided to start up his own tech company and use that to make a phone that's 10 years ahead of the time. Production is going to start soon but being him, Zephyr decided to be special and made 5 phones which are even more advanced. He gave one to me, one to Desiree, one to Phil, one to Alex and kept the last one for himself". 

"That seems excessive just for a phone", Mitchell expressed his opinion. 

"That's exactly what I thought", Matt chimed in. 

"You have to admit though", Desiree interrupted, "The phones are really good". 

Matt sighed but agreed nonetheless, "You're right". 

"You should've given me a phone!", Haley complained, "It's being wasted with Alex of all people". 

"All you'd use it for is calling and texting your friends", Alex argued, "And besides, the 5 phones he made were each handmade by Zephyr. If he doesn't want to give them to you, then he doesn't have to". 

"Woah", Mitchell muttered, "Since when is she so defensive about Zephyr?".

"Ever since Zephyr's 17th birthday party", Haley answered. 

"You don't think they ...", Mitchell whispered to Cam. 

"I'm pretty sure they did", Cam whispered back.

"You know we can hear you, right?", Zephyr interrupted. 

"Argh", Cam released a girly scream upon seeing Zephyr suddenly appear from behind them. 

Coughing onto the back of his hand, Cam attempted to divert attention from himself and asked, "What were you doing Alex?". 

"It's part of my college application essay", Alex easily answered, "They want students who are worldly". 

"Why don't you talk about the time when you went to Hawaii and drank straight from a coconut?", Mitchell inquired. 

"Due to the close proximity of Hawaii to the US and its status as a popular holiday destination, it's likely that several Harvard applicants will include that in their essay so she's trying to avoid that", Zephyr responded. 

"That sounds ... smart", Mitchell commented, unsure of how to reply to the statement. 

"You seriously made your own tech company because you didn't like the phone you had?", Cam questioned, still fixated on what Matt had said. 

"I mean, yeah", Zephyr off-handedly shrugged, "It's not a big deal. I knew I could make a better phone, so I was like, why not?". 

"It's not a big deal he says!", Cam yelled/whispered into Mitchell's ear. 

"Please don't do that!", Mitchell exclaimed, extremely unnerved by Cam's actions, "We've got to visit Fergus and I'm just mentally preparing myself". 

"Ugh", Cam groaned, "Whatever. I'm sure Fergus isn't as bad as he was before". 

[Time Skip]

"Watching the natives take nourishment from their land", Alex began, "Has made me acutely aware of the fact that ... I'm just saying words now. Ugh. What's wrong with me? I'm blocked". 

"So am I", Haley complained, "So scooch over". 

"Fine", Alex muttered, taking a seat and reclining on her sunbed. 

"Hi", an Australian surfer greeted as he walked past their group, "How's it going?". 

"Hi", Haley plainly replied, causing the surfer to awkwardly walk away. 

"Why aren't you all over him? Aren't you desperate?", Alex exclaimed. "He's good-looking as well". 

"This country's number one export is hot surfers", Haley explained, "I'm not going to buy the first one I see. I'm still browsing". 

Hearing what she said, Alex was a little surprised and turned her attention to the distance. On the sun-kissed beach, a black-haired boy could be seen floating at the edge of the pristine azure rolling water. His slender figure, clad in swimming trunks, contrasted sharply against the vibrant backdrop of the ocean.

The boy gazed out at the towering wave approaching, its frothy crest glistening in the fading light. With a confident smile, he paddled out on his surfboard, his lean frame slicing through the cool, salty water.

As the wave reared up behind him, Zephyr skillfully positioned himself, arms outstretched for balance. The wave's immense power lifted him, and with a graceful agility, he rose to his feet. His jet-black hair flowed like a curtain behind him as he descended the liquid mountain.

With each turn and twist, he carved a path through the shifting wall of water. The salty spray and the exhilaration of the ride washed over him as he rode the wave with effortless grace. As the wave came crashing down, Zephyr too was swallowed by the engulfing mouth of the wave, emerging a few seconds later, his long black hair covering his face.

Having had enough surfing for a while, Zephyr swam towards the beach, his sleek frame carving a path through the cerulean waters. Walking up the sand, he shook his head to get rid of some of the water entrenched within his hair. Running his hand through his hair, Zephyr slicked his hair backwards, finally capable of seeing where he was going. His eyes flickered around the beach, settling on the collective forms of his family alongside Alex's. 

Unashamed, he strolled over to them, carrying his surfboard as he did so. Upon reaching the group, he stood in front of Alex and planted the surfboard into the sand, using it as a leaning pillar. "So how was it?", Zephyr asked, a smile on his face. 

"You were great", Desiree answered, "You looked like a pro". 

"You did good", Matt remarked. 

"You looked really cool", Bella added. 

"You looked hot", Alex brazenly announced. 

"Thanks", Zephyr complimented, "You look sexy in your swimsuit too". 

"Uhum", Claire coughed into the back of her hand. 

"Urgh", Alex rolled her eyes at her mother's inability to handle PDA. "I'm thirsty, I think I saw a shaved ice stand. Why don't we get some?", Alex asked as she stood up.

"Sure", Zephyr agreed, taking Alex's hand into his as they walked away. 

Once they were far enough, Haley turned to look at her mom and asked, "You do know that they've just gone to make out, right?".

"Of course I know!", Claire exclaimed, "I'm not an idiot".

"And you still let them go?", Gloria questioned. 

"Zephyr and Alex are far more responsible and mature than Haley was", Claire explained, "And besides, it's better they do that stuff there than anywhere near us". 

"It is", Desiree nodded. 

"Is it just me or are Zephyr and Alex spending a lot of time together?", Matt remarked. 

"Don't they always spend a lot of time together?", Jay questioned. 

"I mean, yeah", Matt agreed, "But they've been spending more time together than usual". 

"Now that you say it, you're right", Claire confirmed. 

Desiree thought about it for a second, "Oh My God, you're right!"

"What do you think happened?", Gloria inquired. 

"I'm not sure", Desiree murmured. 

"They've been like this ever since Alex's birthday", Haley stated. 

"Her birthday huh", Claire mumbled. The group of four thought about things for a while before Claire's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh My God!". 

"What's wrong?!", Desiree yelled. 

"What if Zephyr got Alex pregnant?!", Claire screamed. 

All of the girls' eyes widened upon hearing this. Desiree thought about it for a second, before saying, "That would explain her mood swings and why she constantly clings to Zephyr". 

"She's not pregnant", Haley interrupted. 

"How do you know?", Gloria asked, "Maybe she's hiding it from you guys because she knew we were going to react this way". 

"I know she's not pregnant because I've read through her diary", Haley answered. 

"You've read her diary?!", Gloria and Desiree exclaimed. 

"What was written in it?", Claire queried, totally unperturbed by the fact that Haley invaded Alex's privacy. 

"Most of it is boring nerdy stuff but she wrote in her diary that she's been really stressed because of her S.A.T.s so it must be something related to that", Haley explained. 

"If you knew all this, why'd you not stop your mom?", Desiree asked. 

"Because I'm on vacation", Haley answered, "Plus, it was kinda fun seeing Mom stress out". 

"You ... are an evil person, young lady", Claire announced, pointing her finger at Haley. 

(AN: Sorry for the slow update but I've had a high fever for the past few days, and still do, so I'll be updating slowly for this week. Hopefully, I'll be back in full health by the end of this week and return to my normal update schedule)