Bondi Diaries || Bondi Rescue

Chapter 14: Competition Blown

I ran down to the check in, and they obviously checked me in. I was up against other girls my age, and the competition was going to be fierce. 

The horn was blown and we ran into the water. I paddled out as hard as I could, getting in front of many of the girls, straight out of the impact zone. 

Because I knew Bondi so well, I'd let a rip take me out, so that's also why I was quite ahead. 

I saw a bomb of a wave coming in from the left side and started to paddle. Another girl was racing me for the wave, but I managed to drop in first. 

"That's a nice 8 there for Tomlinson!" I heard the commentator announce and I gave myself a pat on the back as I saw Inky and Taco cheering for me. 

"Go Koti!" they yelled. 

I grinned and paddled back out. 

I managed to get another 8, and I was sitting in second place, just behind Nicola Atherton. 

"That was a nice wave," she congratulated me. "You might just beat me." she winked and paddled off. I laughed. 

The beach had gone flat, no waves that came through were worth above an 8. I frowned as we listened to the commentator read out the placings. 

"In first place, we have Nicola Atherton with a score of 8.69, and following her closely is Koti Tomlinson, with a score of 8. All Koti needs is a wave that she can score over an 8.75 with." 

"AH!" I said, mentally hitting myself. What am I doing? I can't beat Atherton! She's one of the strongest surfers here!

"Come on girls," The commentator started speaking again. "We've only got 6 minutes left in this heat." 

I looked upon the horizon. No waves. 

Then suddenly, an amazing set came through with about four minutes to go. I paddled furiously. This better get me over an 8.75. 

I dropped in on the wave, and it began to barrel over. 

Okay, either I am going to get wiped out, or I am going to get a 9 for this beauty. 

I concentrated hard on the end of the barrel, and was about to swoop upwards to escape it, when another crazy wave came over the top of it, and crashed over me. 

I tumbled around in the water, panicking. 

I needed to get to the surface. 

I needed air. 

The dumping felt like an eternity, because when I felt I was out of the water, I'd been washed all the way to the shore. My board sat beside me, broken in half. 

It must have hit the rocks. 

Jesse and a first aid team ran towards me. His heat was about to start, but he came over anyway. Taco was holding back Louis, who was panicked about whether I was okay. 

"Koti, are you alright?" Jesse asked as the paramedics lifted me up. 

"I'm fine," I replied. "I didn't take in any water." I told them. 

"Just come and sit down so we can check your vitals," one said to me. "It's critical." 

I nodded, and went with them frustrated. I wanted to know how I went! 

Jesse left to attend his heat after making sure I was fine, and then Louis and Liam approached me. 

"Hey sis," Lou said, sitting next to me. "That looked like a painful few rolls." he said with a smile. 

"Fuck it was," I admitted. "And my board snapped!" I added frustrated. 

"That's a shame." 

"That was six months worth of work to buy!" I shot back angrily. 

"I can buy you a new one Koti!" Louis exclaimed, trying to calm me down. 

"Ugh," I buried my face in my hands. "That was terrible. Did I make it to the finals?" 

Neither Lou nor Li answered me. 

"Guys? Hello? Did I make it?" I pushed them to answer me. 

"No..." Liam finally said. 

My heart sank. It sank deeper than it ever had before. 

What the hell was I going to do with my life now? 

This was all Jesse's fault. He had tricked me into thinking we'd go on a date, when it was really this comp. He wanted to win, and he got under my skin. 

"Asshole," I muttered to myself. "That lying, cheating, fucking git!" I let my British accent shine through, and a loud snap followed my a flash blinded me.   

"Sorry!" A mans voice said before sprinting off. 

Oh no. He'd gotten a photo of Lou and I!!