Angels

Surf's up

We all stood in a row along the beach. The whole surfing group. I generally had private sessions but Josh roped me into the younger sessions to help and paid me £2.50 a lesson, I knew it really helped him out with some of the younger ones and first timers. Plus I quite enjoyed it. The lessons weren't co-ed when you got to my stage, but they were when you were younger. So I didn't have girls in my regular class. This was the 5-6 year old group I was helping with that day. So they weren't on the water yet, Josh didn't want that responsibility, and the children's parents sat watching on the beach. They practiced skills like balance on the simulator and arm and leg positioning on the sand. The class started after one young girl arrived. She stood by my side and tapped on my leg. "Who are you?" She asked politely. I bent down to her level, although it was only the 5-6 year olds. She was still very dinky. "My name's Beau." I said, zipping her wetsuit right up to the top. It was quite baggy on her, even when it was the smallest size. She frowned. "That's an odd name. I've never heard it before." She said, tipping her head to one side. "Just because you haven't heard it before doesn't mean to say it's weird." I smiled, but she frowned again. I stood up straight and picked up her surf board for her, which she was dragging along behind with much difficulty. I pointed towards the other kids. "Why don't you go and join the others over there, and I'll bring your board along." I pushed her slightly on her back and she ran along. I stood leaning on her board, looking out to see. Josh came up to me. "Y-alright?" He grabbed a towel and started washing some used boards. "Yep." He put the towel back on the shelf in the hut and looked at me urgently. "While I have you I need to ask a favour of my favourite student." He smiled at me in a way he thought was sweetly. "Anything for you Josh, so long as I can count on you to train me up properly for regionals." I smiled back in a way I thought was sweetly. But probably looked a little creepy, I guessed this as he reeled back slightly when I did. "I need to reschedule the session till Saturday afternoons. I have a new girls class starting for ages 12-14 in the morning and I can't take it to any other day as I've already moved it three times and the parents are getting angry and threatening to ask for refunds." I laughed,  he really seemed panicked at the thought of giving back a small amount of money. "Tell you what." I said "I'm gonna be down at the beach anyway, because the weather's good at the moment and I don't wanna miss a minute of those waves. So why don't I help out with the girls?" I knew that was what Josh was getting at anyway so I thought it seemed more polite when I suggested it. Josh's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! That's why your my star! But no making moves on the girls. You hear me?" I laughed again, like I would ever, I knew almost all the girls from classes when we were younger anyway. "Never! Now I think we should start because that Mum's looking a little angry." I looked over at a woman behind Josh who was staring at us in the most unintent mannor of all mannors. Josh laughed and waved mockingly at her. She stood up and went over to where the children were standing, she took her son's hand and walked off. Josh laughed again. "What's funny about a student leaving your class?" I frowned and followed the woman with my eyes. "I still have her money." Only Josh could find humour in the most ironic of situations. We walked over to the kids and Josh shouted. "Okay, junior surfers. Who knows what that is?" He pointed out to the sea, where waves were crashing on the sand rapidly. A very small boy with thin-rimmed glasses on looked up to me and squinted in the sunlight. "That's the ocean." He smiled, proud of his knowledge. "Very good! And those are?" I said pointing to an incoming wave, he looked at it carefully, studying the foam lining the edge of it. "Well that's a wave." He said slowly. Josh smiled and bent down to his level. "Awesome little dude!" He ruffled his hair. I looked over to the parade of deckchairs where the nervous mothers were sitting. Several of them constantly asking if their children were going to be safe. I was regularly reassuring them. Josh smiled. "For those amazing answers, you get to go in the sim first!" Let me explain. The sim is a different, larger hut to the equipment hut. The beach own it and when surf lessons aren't happening anybody can pay to go in it. It's a simulator, it has a moving surfboard in with a screen with incoming waved and surround sound. It pretty cool for practice when the waves aren't very good. It tests your balance well, that's why Josh generally used it for first timers, to see their potential.