Sunkissed - H.S

Chapter 2

The next day Catarina followed with her promise. She was at the beach by 1:25. Even the teachers weren't there yet, so she decided to do some drawing in the sketchbook she made sure to bring. Maybe the ocean and little seashells could help her bring out the art inside of her.

Cauã was also very happy because that meant time to play in the sand and build sandcastles. Catarina made sure to draw Cauã having fun, playing with little seashells.

The parents all began to show up. The first one was Miranda, Clara's mom, a little girl with beautiful curls and tanned skin, who went to play with Cauã while her mom talked to Catarina. Cauã decided that she was the warrior and he was the king of the sandcastle.

When it was 2 pm, everybody was ready to start the lessons. The parents were sitting at their usual spot and the two teachers had all the surfboards ready to go.

"Hi, little people. As we said yesterday, we are paddling," said Harry, with a smile on his face as usual. "I'm gonna form 3 groups, 2 of you in each one, so this way Mrs. Mila and I can assist you guys better."

"There won't be any sharks there, right?" asked Penny, a red head two years older than Cauã. "I watched Jaws. They are big and eat people."

All the kids looked up at Harry with a terrified face, waiting for what the teacher had to say.

"No kids, you don't have to worry about that. We are only going on the shallow part." The next part he said was in a lower tone, so Mrs. Mila, who was waxing the surfboards, wouldn't hear it. "And all the sharks would be scared if they saw Mrs. Mila. She's quite scary, isn't she?"

The kids only laughed, after each one pinky promising they wouldn't say anything to the other teacher.

"Alright, let me make the groups. When I say your name, go and stand next to your mate. Group 1 is Penny and Nick, group 2 Jack and Malcolm, and last but not least group 3 with Clara and Cauã."

The little surfers were all organized. Catarina made sure to notice the boyish smile on her son's face when he was teamed up with Clara.

"Group 1, let's go. Grab your surfboard and go with Mrs. Mila." Harry took his surfboard, guiding the children. "Nick, you are with me. Penny, you go with her."

And with that they started their lessons, training how to swim while on the surfboard, how to stand up on it and safety rules they must learn while at the sea. The other kids were at the sand playing, waiting for their turn.

All the groups were making rounds of 15 minutes each, the first 4 kids were getting the hang of it, but when it was Cauã and Clara's turn, the two of them were a bit... bad.

Catarina would never say that to Cauã, but that boy seemed like he had no control over any of his balance. Damn, she should have put him on sports sooner.

Every time he would stand up on the surfboard he would fall, Harry was quick to catch him, putting him back again, encouraging Cauã to try again. She could sense the boy was becoming frustrated.

That became clear when the lessons were over and Cauã and Harry got off the sea. Harry was saying something to the boy who had teary eyes. Catarina could only understand it once she got closer to them, feeling worried about the boy.

"That's completely normal, Cauã. When I started surfing I didn't even know how to swim! But I learned and today I'm even competing in championships!" Catarina heard the teacher saying. He was kneeling on the sand to be the same height as Cauã.

"Hey, what happened?" asked Catarina, popping down on her knees next to Harry, looking at her son. "Why are you upset, baby?"

"I couldn't stand up, mommy." A pout was on his face. "And everybody else did it. I'm not good at it. I don't wanna surf anymore."