Summer Down Under Read Online Free

They were about her age and it
turned out they were from a town only an hour from where she lived
back home. After they had finished breakfast, the couple invited
Sam to join them on their exploration of the local town. The young
backpacker politely declined their offer in favor of doing
absolutely nothing that day, but relax.
    Sam watched as the couple wandered off, hand
in hand towards the front entrance of the hotel and out onto the
road. A small sigh escaped as she picked up her book and started
reading. Before she knew it, it was lunchtime. Three hours had
passed while she enjoyed her book. She couldn’t remember ever doing
that before. No one was making demands on her time or making her
feel guilty for not doing anything productive. She put her book
down with a hint of reluctance and looked around.
    A fair-haired man was sunbathing; he had been
there when she came down at breakfast and he was still there
turning very pink. She frowned when she thought of how sore he was
going to be the next day, having been sunburned pretty badly
herself on a couple of occasions in the past. She shuddered at the
memory of the pain she had endured for several days.
    She promised herself that she would venture out
tomorrow. But for the rest of the day, she had no intention of
doing anything more strenuous than read her book.
     
    ***
    The taxi dropped her off in the center of
town. Sam had decided to explore alone, telling herself it was
because she was doing this whole adventure thing on her own and
didn’t need anyone else to help. If the truth were known, it was
because she didn’t yet possess the confidence to ask others if they
would like to join her. After convincing herself she was brave
enough, she had climbed in the taxi, asking herself what could
possibly go wrong in a public place anyway?
    She swallowed down a lump when the bustling little
town came into view through the cab window. After paying the driver
his fare, she stepped out of the car only to stumble backwards on
the uneven curb. She flapped her arms like a crazed parakeet in a
futile attempt to keep her balance, but to no avail. A second
later, the concrete sidewalk came up to slap her in the butt, and
she felt the heels of her hands being sandpapered off. The taxi
driver looked back at her, doing nothing to hide the smirk on his
face. Sam grimaced, more out of embarrassment than the pain that
was now shooting through her hands.
    Grace had never been her forte, but casting a
disgruntled glance down the uneven sidewalk she convinced herself
the credit for this extravagant topple was not all hers for the
taking. The paving slabs jutted hither and tither. She looked down
at the heels of her hands that were now scraped up and smarting.
Sam puffed out a hearty sigh and rolled her eyes at the tiny
pinpricks of blood that were starting to make their way to the
surface.
    “Well, that’s just bloody marvelous,” she
mumbled as she blew on her palms. People wandered by and stared
down at her, but none offered her any assistance. She took a deep
breath, pushed herself up off the floor and dusted herself down.
Admitting that her ego was probably more bruised than her butt, she
started wandering around the town.
    She’d only been meandering down the main
street for a few moments when a flock of locals, mostly men,
swooped down and surrounded her. Sam scrunched her face at the
incessant chatter, which grew to a deafening noise. Each vendor
tried to outdo the other by making themselves heard above the
growing din. At first she was a bit dazed, eyes widening, as she
tried and failed to fight back the nervous knot that was starting
in her stomach when she realized what they wanted.
    They were trying to sell her things, trying
to take her places, show her their ‘cousin’s’ art gallery, among a
whole host of other offerings that ranged from fake Rolexes to
having her hair braided.
    Sam started to feel overwhelmed; they hadn’t
taught her how to handle this kind of situation