All I Am (Wattys2015) (ON HOLD)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Blue's alarm went off at 10 past 5 the next morning. She rolled over and turned it off, then remembered why she had set it so early. She pulled the covers back and got out of bed.

In the bathroom she pulled on a black bikini and then grabbed the wetsuit. She discovered it was much harder to pull a damp wetsuit on rather than when it was dry.

Ten minutes later Blue was ready. She washed her face and ran her fingers through her hair. Her heart rate was quickening; was it because of the prospect of seeing Maddy or going surfing. She hoped it was the latter as she snuck out of her room barefoot.

Blue got out the front door silently and walked down the driveway. She watched the surf excitedly while walking in the middle of the road.

Blue noticed Maddy wasn't outside as she neared his house. His shortboard wasn't anywhere in the front, either. She bravely walked up the very short driveway and knocked lightly on the door. Hopefully she wasn't waking anyone up. Hopefully he wasn't standing her up. But it wasn't a date, was it?

An average-height woman with dark blonde hair opened the door. She was wearing a pair of old jeans and a light blue sweater. "Hello?" she asked, looking Blue in the eyes.

"Hi. I'm Blue - Maddy and I were going surfing this morning?" she said tentatively.

The woman smiled and stepped back, holding the door open for her. "Ah, of course. He's in his room - awake, I think," she added hastily. "I'm Bethany, Maddy's mom. Won't you come in while you wait for him, dear?"

Blue immediately liked Bethany. She stepped inside carefully, wiping her feet on the mat. "Thank you. I hope I'm not disturbing anyone," she said timidly as Bethany shut the door behind her.

"No, of course not! Maddy's usually always up at this time, especially on the weekends. And I'm up sometimes too, as you can see. We're just moving here from Muriwai, so it's a bit of a change living in Piha." She led Blue through the short hallway and right into the kitchen. A living room was across the hallway from the kitchen.

"Maddy mentioned you lived in Muriwai before. He seems really excited to be here, which is great. It seems like not many people are excited when their parents move the family," she jabbered, trying to make conversation as Bethany pulled a barstool out for her to sit on.

Bethany pulled two coffee cups out of the cabinet and started filling them. She then turned to Blue and looked her in the eye. "We moved here because of Maddy," she said seriously.

"Why?" Blue couldn't help but ask. She immediately winced at how pushy that sounded, wishing she hadn't just blurted that out.

"Maddy's a pro-junior surfer - I'm not sure if he told you or not; he's modest about his experience. He's got a lot going for him, and he wants to make the Junior Surf Team."

Wow, Blue thought. She couldn't imagine knowing what she wanted to do with her life. And here he was, at 16, moving across the country in order to achieve this goal. "That's impressive. And wonderful you and Mr. Wells did that for him," she finally responded.

Bethany poured some milk into the coffees before handing one to Blue. She shrugged. "We love him - he's our only son. And he's been, as Ripcurl puts it, 'blowing up out there' this season. This is his life. He'd rather die than live without it."

He'd rather die than live without it. The words echoed in Blue's head. "That's so impressive. I'm amazed."

Bethany gave a small smile. "We'll do anything for him, and right now that includes moving here to Piha. Anyways, let me go tell him you're here. He'll want to get into the lineup before everyone else starts heading out." She set her coffee down and walked down the rest of the hallway.

Blue sipped her coffee slowly, processing what Mrs. Wells had just said. He'd rather die than live without it. If only she knew that those words would eventually be someone else's mantra, too.