Welcome to Sydney

There was already a lot to get used to here.

The Land Down Under, Mark thought to himself as they walked down the streets of Sydney, Australia.

Jess and Mark were meeting with Macca who was going to be driving them out further west, to where the camping grounds of the festival will be. Macca was the Australian exchange student, who had invited Jess to come down here for one of the biggest festivals in Australia.

Mark wasn’t sure how well Jess and Macca actually got along, from his knowledge, they weren’t overly that close. However, because of how curious he was with Jess, he decided to see if he was right.

“So Macca knows we’re coming?” he asked her, as they made their way down one of the city streets.

“Yep, sent him a message before we left the airport to confirm,” she responded, checking her phone again, hoping she’d randomly re-connect to someone’s wifi or hotspot.

“So uhh you guys knew each other well on campus?” he asked.

She twisted her face up a bit, as if she was trying to recall her experiences with him. “Hmm not really, you know, he flirted with me, I flirted back, I teased him, we did it once... he wanted more and I just went back to teasing without rewarding.”

So it was true, Jess had slept with Macca before, meaning he had gone further with her than he had, only having oral sex.

“Ohhh okay gotcha,” he said, a little bummed out.

She looked at him to her side while they walked, “You’re not jealous again are you?” she asked him.

“Nah nah nah, I was just curious that’s all,” he replied.

“Well you don’t have to worry, he’s chasing some Australian girl that he’s known forever and never been able to sleep with,” she explained, calming his stress down a little.

He nodded, feeling a little more relieved. The attention soon changed back to how they were going to find Macca. He was at some bar, having a day drink. Once they arrived, he would be taking Jess and Mark back to his place before they drove out to the camping grounds.

The problem was, they seemed to be a little lost. “Smith street? He said it was on Smith street but I have no idea where it is,” she said, wondering around the streets, looking at the message Macca had sent earlier.

“I think we’re just going to have to ask someone,” Mark said, aware that neither of them had mobile data for maps.

“Fucking Australia,” she muttered before walking up to the first guy she saw on the street.

It was some sort of worker, he had a fluro vest on, a white work helmet and was chowing down on a meat pie. Jess politely approached, “Hi there, sorry to disturb you.”

“No dramas, how ya garn?” he replied.

Both Mark and Jess looked puzzled, unsure what he had just told them. “Sorry uhh what did you just say?” Jess asked.

“Just asked how ya going,” he responded again, finishing the last bite of his pie.

“Ohhh we’re good, just wondering if you know where Smith street is?”

He looked behind then and started to point in that direction, “Gotta go back two blocks, turn right where that bottle-o is on the corner and then up that street and it will be there on the next right,” he explained.

“Thank you so much,” Jess said, relieved they now had instructions.

“No worries, have a good one,” he said as they left.

The only problem was, they had no idea what a bottle-o was. Mark asked Jess if she had any idea but both were clueless. “No idea Mark, I don’t speak much Australian.”