New Kid in Town

Sasha wanted nothing more than to have a shower and sleep for at least 24 hours when the plane landed at Perth Airport that evening, but he knew they had to wait. He smiled in relief when he saw Nicklas waiting for them, embracing his friend as the Swedish man looked embarrassed. "Nej Sasha, everyone is going to stare", he teased. Nicklas was dressed casually in jeans and a blue polo shirt with his long blond hair covered in a red Washington Nationals cap, shaking Jordan and Jared's hands.

"Let's get the bags and I'll drive you to the building. It's in Thornlie which is east of the city, some of the players from the Perth Heat live there too, that is the baseball team", said Nicklas.

"Wow ,they got everything here", laughed Jordan.

"Ja, it feels like California here. And I'm sure as Canadians you two will like it here", he teased.

They got their bags and Nicklas led them outside to the parking lot. "The team has a sponsorship deal with a local Toyota car dealership, the guys on the team get a discount", he explained as he clicked on the key to open the doors of a black Toyota pickup truck.

"Sweet", said Jared approvingly.

Nicklas just laughed as he got in the driver's seat and turned on the engine, the radio tuned to a local rock station that was playing Guns 'N Roses. "There is a lot of country stations here and a few station with rock and a pop station", he said, clicking one of the presets as it played some Jason Aldean.

"This is getting better and better, dude. They got McDonald's too?", asked Jordan.

"Ja, I said it was like California. Training camp starts next week, but you can meet some of the guys later. And some of the guys on the Heat are our neighbors, the flat next to ours is where Dallas Brady and his daughter live, he is a pitcher on the heat", said Nicklas as he backed out of the space.

"And what is there to do around here?", asked Sasha.

"The beaches are great, and it's hot year-round so you can go any time. Perth looks like LA but cleaner and with no smog, it's a beautiful city. When we get settled in, perhaps we can show you around", replied Nicklas.

He made a turn to get on the freeway that went towards the eastern suburbs of Perth, the scenery not unlike that of suburban Orange County in California. Tidy suburbs of modest ranch homes on lawns and shopping malls were just like the ones in the US, except for the numerous palm trees and the showy jacaranda trees with their lovely pinkish-purple flowers in bloom and the the cars driven on the left. Nicklas made a turn at the exit for Thornlie as he drove on towards an apartment building complex nearby, parking the truck in his space. The complex took almost a whole block, three-storeys high made of warm tan brick with planted grass and shrubs along the perimeter and with a swimming pool in the courtyard.

"This is your flat, all of them are furnished", he said, handing Jordan a key as the brothers led themselves inside.

"And this is our flat, you can rest and I can order takeout later", said Nicklas as he opened the door and led them inside. The apartment consisted of a large parlor with a plain brown carpet and black vinyl couch facing a TV and a wooden coffee table, a small dining room with a table and four chairs, a modest kitchen with fairly new appliances, a bathroom and two bedrooms. Sasha barely had time to look around as he went straight to the bed and quickly stripped down to his boxers, falling asleep almost immediately.

Nicklas left a note on the coffee table and left the apartment, walking two doors down and knocking. "Hola, Signore Backstrom. Mom and Dad are out shopping", said Leo Scangelo as his little sister Veteema looked on curiously. He was thirteen years old and average height and thin, his dark brown hair a little long and his greenish-gray eyes calm while his little sister was fair-skinned and redhaired with bright turquoise eyes, neither child looking like the other as they had different fathers.

"Hallo, Leo and Veteema. My friends here have just arrived and Sasha is taking a nap, I don't want to disturb him", said Nicklas.

"Hey Nicky, you want a beer, me and Dallas are watching the game", said Josie Brady. She was tall for her age with unruly red curls and bright green eyes, wearing denim shorts and a Dropkick Murphys tour t-shirt from their last show in Perth a few months back.

"Hi, Miss Brady. My roommate is taking a nap, they all just got here. See you kids later", he said as he followed Josie.

"Call me Josie, I'm not old yet. Dallas said I can drink when I turn eighteen, Aussies are so cool", said Josie.

"Ja, I know", he agreed.

Nicklas followed Josie further down the hall and into her apartment. Her father Dallas Brady was sitting on the couch watching a game on the MLB package for satellite, the Oakland A's playing against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. "Hey Nicky, I was just catching my bro Trevor pitching", he said, referring to the A's pitcher on the mound. He was tall and skinny with the same red hair and green eyes as his daughter, wearing gray sweatpants and a black Perth Heat t-shirt, which was the team he pitched for.

"Hallo, Dallas. Don't you watch enough baseball during the season?", he teased.

"No, and I bet you watch hockey games on the package too, bro. I take busman's holidays", he laughed before going into the kitchen and returning with two cans of Emu Bitter beer and handing one to him.

Nicklas nodded in thanks as he opened the can. "Ja, I know. The guys have just arrived and they are exhausted, they started in North Carolina and ended up here. I wouldn't expect them to do much for at least a few days", he said.

"Are they from Sweden too?", asked Josie as she sat on the couch and saw Trevor walk Josh Hamilton.

"Nej, Sasha is from Russia and Jordan and Jared are Canadian. I think they are going to adjust better than Sasha, Russia is nothing like Australia", said Nicklas.

"Isn't Sasha a girl's name, one of Obama's kids is named Sasha. Ah shit, asshole!", she yelled at the screen when Trevor gave up a home run to Nelson Cruz to make the score 2-0 Rangers.

"Josie, it's just a game", he chided.

"That's my godfather pitching, Nicky. He's the coolest guy, he's really smart and he took me to the All-Star Game in St. Louis", said Josie proudly.

"Really, did you meet anyone famous?", he teased.

"Yeah, Trevor and I went to a bar with some of the guys on the Red Sox. Papelbon was doing tequila slammers and Josh Beckett drank a lot beer", said Josie in awe.

"Josie, I don't want you to do tequila slammers or drink a lot of beer. I don't want my ass in jail", he joked.

"I can't wait to be a grownup, this sucks", she pouted, changing her attention back to the game.