Once Upon A Surf

Chapter Eight

Night surfing.

I never thought I'd actually have the chance to do it, but Donna was feeling pretty lenient tonight and was allowing me to go. I had been practicing hard for the semi final competitions over the past couple of weeks, and after hours of begging she finally agreed to give me this break. As long as I was home by midnight-under strict "no surfing if you're late" orders.

"Ready?" Abbi stood at my doorway and I whirled around.

"I don't know you were here," I said, turning back to my dresser. "You scared the shit out of me."

Abbi glanced at her watch, ignoring me. "They're going to start without us."
I looked outside. It was dark, the only sparks of light coming from the stars.

"Alright," I said, pulling a t-shirt on over my swimsuit top. "Let's go."

I shooed her out the doorway and we jogged to her car, laughing and joking. I had looked forward to this night all week, and it was the only thing that got me through the torturous extra hours at the Shack.

"Here," Abbi reached in the back seat and tossed me some packages of cheap glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces. I slipped a couple bracelets on, picking only the white ones.

"Do I look cool?"

Abbi snorted, rolling her eyes. "Always, Fish."

"Sweet," I smiled as we pulled into West Cove beach. People were already there; bonfires led down the beach, and you could see the glowing bracelets of people out surfing. I jumped out of the car, barely able to contain my excitement.

"We're here," I breathed, grabbing my surfboard and jogging down to the beach with Abbi. We met up with Jenna and Jake, sitting down next to a fire.

"Glad you could make it, Fish," Jenna winked at me, pulling a marshmallow off a stick and popping it in her mouth. "These things are a ton of fun."

"So I've been told," I said, my knee bouncing anxiously as I glanced over at Abbi. "Can we surf?"

"I literally just sat down."

"Please?"

Abbi let out a dramatic sigh, tossing down her burnt marshmallow. "Fine. Ignore the rest of the fun."

I glanced out at the waves. "All the fun's out there."

"So deep."

I ignored Abbi, grabbing my board and jogging out into the crashing surf. The water was warm against my legs, familiar even in the dark conditions.

The scene was magical. The lights of the neon bracelets reflected off the waves as we surfed, and it was awesome to see the faint glow that shone through the water of a tube ride.

I dove under another wave and paddled out further, searching for the perfect wave to get up and ride on. And then I saw it; a mountain of water flying towards me. I quickly turned my board and started paddling, building up momentum as the wave pushed me forward. Just when it was at its peak, I placed my hands on the edge of the board and just like that I was up.

Time seemed to slow down as the water splashed around me and I flew along the wave, pulling some swift cuts. This wave was perfect, and an idea crossed my mind-I had practiced a new spin move for weeks now, and this was the perfect wave to do it on.

Without another thought I launched into a full 360 spin move, feeling like I was flying, feeling time seem to stop as I spun through the air.

I landed the move perfectly.

A grin erupted on my face as I bailed, diving into the water and coming up gasping for breath.

"What the hell was that?" Abbi paddled up to me as I hefted myself onto the board. I frowned.

"What?"

Abbi shoved my shoulder roughly, almost knocking me off my board.
"That 360! Since when can you land a 360?"

"Oh," I grinned. "I've been working on it."

"Damnit, Fish," Abbi grumbled. "That's gonna win you the semi finals."

"I hope," I barely whispered, squinting at the edge of the dark water, which was thousands of miles away. "I have to win, Abbi."

"I know," Abbi nodded. "But you know I'm not going down easy."

"Yeah," I said, glancing at her. "We can't let this-let this ruin our friendship. You and me and Jenna, we have to stick together."

Abbi was silent for a moment, and I glanced at her, for a moment letting worry wash over my eyes. "I need you guys."

Abbi nodded. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, Fish."

I smiled, absentmindedly fingering the design on my board, until Abbi gasped.

"Look!" She pointed at the sky and I looked up, seeing a shower of fireworks rain down over the ocean. It was beautiful, amazing, a sight that would be in my mind forever. I laid back on my board, watching the fireworks explode in shattering arrays of neon colors.

This was the greatest night of my life.

The show ended and we paddled towards shore. I shook out my wet hair and flipped it back over my head, almost hitting someone in the face.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I let out a nervous laugh as the boy danced away from me, holding his hands up.

"It's okay," he laughed, his voice familiar. "I was just coming over to talk to you."

I frowned, unable to see his face in the dark night. "Me?"

"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair. "You-you were amazing out there."

"Oh. Thanks?" I said warily.

"Your kick flip was phenomenal. And that layback move...you got sick air on that flip! How is that even possible?"

"It was the perfect wave, I'll admit," I said with a smile.

"You make it sound so easy."

I hadn't realized we were walking, but soon we were away from the fire and walking toward the piers, side by side.

"So...how long have you been surfing?"

"Um, a long time, I guess."

"I can tell. I've been surfing for a while, too. I used to in California, then I moved here. It's nice, but I haven't really found my group yet, you know?"

Boy, do I.

"Yeah."

"And I mean, there's this one girl who I like talking to, but she's...I don't even know.

"That's how it is with most girls, unfortunately," I said with a laugh, then pointed to the camera hanging around his neck. "What's that for?"

"I'm into photography," he said. "I got some awesome shots of you. I just need a name to finish them off."

I laughed. "Shots of me? What are you going to do with them?"

"There's this surfing magazine searching for some photos of everyday surfers. I saw you, and, well-"

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I nabbed it, glancing at the time. 11:50.

"Damnit," I snapped the phone shut. "I'm going to be late."

"Late for what?"

"I really have to-" I caught this eye as a firework exploded, lighting up his face. "Drew?"

"Wait-" Drew reached for my arm, but I was already stumbling away. "What's your name?" I shook my head, turning and sprinting toward the beach. I grabbed my surfboard, catching Abbi's arm.

"We've got to go," I said. She nodded and picked up her board.

"Wait!" I heard Drew and winced, running towards the car. Abbi shoved our surfboards in the back and sped out of the beach, away from my heaven to a living nightmare.