That North Carolina Summer (clean)

The Wars

After lunch we head out the door and down to the grass, stopping as Jeremy addresses the group.

"Surfing doesn't start until two, which means we've got a little over an hour. I say we use that hour wisely." He tells us with a big smile. Everyone else seems to catch on as the smiles grow on their faces. I turn to Rylie with a questioning look. She laughs at what I assume is my visible confusion, and says three words.

"Boogie Board Wars."

Everyone breaks apart, running towards their cabins. Rylie grabs my hand and we take off, laughing. We race up the steps, bursting through our door, and nearly run into our roommates. They walk past us with obvious glares, and we bust up laughing as the door closes behind them.

Only then do I realize Rylie is still clutching my hand. She glances down, seeming to realize the same thing. A second later she drops my hand, clearing her throat.

"Okay, Boogie Board Wars are a thing here. Camp leaders frown upon them, but they usually end up participating by the end of the summer. We'll explain the rules once we're out there, but we gotta change quickly and meet the group!"

She pulls her suit from a drawer and starts getting changed, and I do the same. We grab water bottles and towels, and race back down to the group.

"We're just waiting on Austin and the twins." Someone, I think Derek, says to me. As he finishes, Austin runs up to us with the twins hot on his heels.

"Okay! Everyone is here. Aspen, you know your way around a boogie board I assume?" Jeremy asks me. I nod, and he continues. "Great, it's simple really, and we'll demonstrate when we get down to the water. Basically you and another person run head first towards waves, you each get two chances, and whoever rides their wave the longest wins that round and gets a new opponent, until there is a final winner. Winner gets a free dinner at Cookout on the next Freeday. Make sense?" I nod even though I only partially understand. "Great! Let's go!"

I follow everyone under the far left building and behind the surfboards to a pile of boogie boards. We each grab one and jog across the road and up the small boardwalk to the beach, setting our towels and water bottles down on the sand.

Jeremy tells us that he and Austin will give us a quick refresher. He motions to Austin to go first, and he walks up to the water. I assume he is waiting for a good wave, when he takes off running. Right as he reaches the water, he drops the board and jumps on, sort of like skim boarding. The wave starts cresting, and he hits it just right, riding it until it ends. Everyone claps, and Jeremy stops his stopwatch.

How convenient that their 'boogie board wars' is one of the things my cousins spent years teaching me.

"Nice! A solid 7 seconds." Jeremy says as Austin runs back over to us. "What do you think, Aspen? Does that seem do-able?"

They all think I've never done this before! Perfect, they'll never see this coming.

"Um... I think so. But can I be near the end just so I can watch a little more?" I make sure to sound unsure of myself, but begin forming a plan in my head. Jeremy nods, and I can see the triumph in his eyes, thinking he's got this in the bag. He probably thinks Austin and Rylie are his biggest competition.

I'll have to remember to thank Sawyer and Jensen. I guess being forced to play this over and over, gets you really good, really fast. I doubt any of them can even do tricks.

"Okay! Let's start with... Josh and Alyssa! Time starts when you hit the water!" Jeremy shouts to the group. Josh walks forward first and watches the water. Someone moves close to my side, and I see Rylie. She's standing so close that our arms are touching and I fight a shiver, working to keep a concerned/confused look on my face. She sees my face and gives me a sympathetic smile.