Saving Wishes

Saving Wishes Part 6

12. Translation

Some days, surfing was more important than breakfast. Unless I got at least an hour in at the beach before school, those days seemed doomed from the start.

Alex sat at the table, reading the newspaper while he ate. "Quarter past six, Charli," he announced, reminding me that I was late.

I rushed past him, swiping a piece of his toast along the way. "I'm not waiting for you," I told him, annoyed that he wasn't ready. I swung the front door open with the zest of someone making a prison break... to be met by a startled – but still impossibly beautiful – French woman, hand raised to knock.

"Alex is inside," I told her, waving my toast.

I wasn't surprised to see her. I'd seen so much of her in the past week that I wondered how on earth he'd managed to keep her a secret for as long as he had. Stepping aside, I ushered her through the door.

The excitement of stealing a few minutes with the one she loved was obvious. She practically skipped into the kitchen, into the arms of my brother, who pulled her in close the minute she was within reach. I left them to it.

My mood wasn't great. The minute I got out of the car I could tell the waves would be nonexistent by the direction the wind blew my hair. The early morning rush to get there had been for nothing.

Onshore winds are the worst for surfing. The wind blows in from the ocean making the waves crumbly and shapeless. I cursed Alex. He didn't bail on me because Gabrielle was coming over. He knew the swell was useless but letting me trek down here anyway was a great way to get me out of the house early.

The frigid water lapped at my feet but that was as far as I was prepared to go – until I caught sight of the Beautifuls. Jasmine and Lily walked their revolting dog most mornings so seeing them wasn't a surprise, but I was usually better at avoiding them.

"Charli," purred Jasmine as soon as I was within earshot.

"What?" I snapped, focusing my attention on the ridiculous dog. Mitchell had presented his sisters with a cute designer puppy – bizarrely named Nancy – a few years earlier. The Beautifuls thought she was the ultimate fashion statement, carrying her around in a handbag and dressing her up. Unfortunately, Nancy developed a bad case of eczema, which made big patches of her fur fall out. The designer puppy soon became the most hideous dog in the southern hemisphere. Two years on she was still half bald, but at least she no longer had to wear a plastic cone around her neck to stop her biting herself. I laughed every time I saw her.

"No surf today. Whatever will you do?" Jasmine asked condescendingly.

She was definitely the brain of the operation. Nothing Lily ever did or said seemed to be as caustic as her sister. I was certain that somewhere underneath the grey velour tracksuit was a fairly decent person. But I wasn't going to see it today.

"You look like a little baby seal," said Lily, scrunching up her nose as if I smelled like one too. Jasmine threw back her head and cackled, giving Lily the approval she needed to continue. "I hope no one comes along and clubs you."

The wetsuit I wore wasn't designed to be pretty. The thick neoprene was necessary to protect against the twelve degree water. If someone came up with a suit that protected against the Tate sisters, I would have worn that.

"What do you want?" I asked, still focusing on their aesthetically challenged mutt.

"We don't want anything. We're just out walking Nancy." Jasmine tugged on the small dog's lead. The pooch gave a meaty little growl and stumbled into line.