I woke up, and very elegantly fluttered my eyelashes open to the blinding sunlight that streamed through the gap in my curtains. The whole elegance idea soon went to pot though, as I stumbled out of bed and into my bathroom to shower ready for school.
School? What am I talking about, I’ve been suspended; so I don’t have to go to school until Thursday. So, I went back to bed to take a nap.
The second time I awoke this morning, it was from a loud knocking on my door, I assumed it was Dave back from Fiji.
“Coming!” I yelled, slowly I plodded to the door and flung it open, almost hitting myself in the face. Dave laughed at me, I was not amused.
“I like the new hair!” he exclaimed so loudly that I wanted to cringe away from his deep, booming voice and go back to bed. “Anyway, start and get ready, we’re going surfing!” he finished, looking like an excitable puppy dog. Clearly he could not wait to start and teach me.
I got dressed in slightly less girly clothes today, as I wouldn’t be seeing anyone from school, and left my hair down to cascade down my back in natural waves. I also packed a bag, containing a bikini which I would be needing, sunscreen and my mobile phone. I jogged down the corridor and down the stairs to find Dave munching on some granola at the breakfast bar. Smiling at him, I grabbed my coffee and downed it all in one gulp just as Dave finished his breakfast. We were ready to go, or so I thought.
“Okay, so the waves on our beach will be good this afternoon, so this morning, we’ll be doing theory on surfboard shapes and designs, the surf tour, the history of surfing, and how to get in and out of a wetsuit” Dave stated as we walked through the house and into the garden. I’d been nodding along with what he was saying, but when he said about getting in and out of a wetsuit, I laughed. “It’s actually really tricky, and there’s a knack to it, so don’t laugh!” he defended himself, I tried to contain my laughter, but ended up snorting like a seal. Dave stared at me in disbelief.
“Anyway, let’s get started” I said awkwardly, desperately trying to forget my snorting attack. Dave nodded and continued through the garden.
“Right, we’re going to go in the shed for a couple of minutes, but then we’ll be on the beach for the whole day, so you may want to change into a bikini so you can get a tan” he said this to me like a teacher.
“What is it with everyone obsessing over me getting a tan?” I asked him, it had really confused me, and so many people had mentioned it to me.
“Girl, you’re like, totes pale! You should be like amazeballs tanned in a few weeks, babe!” he squealed in a girly voice, sounding just like Chrissy, I couldn’t help but laugh at him. In saying he was a grown man, he acted like a child so much; you could see where his kids got it from.
“Fair point my friend, fair point” I retorted, he nodded at my acceptance of being pale. We suddenly stopped outside a wooden shed, I assumed this was ‘the shed’. “What’s in here?” I curiously asked him, but there was no need for an answer because he dramatically flung open the door to reveal a massive room, with a selection of plush chairs around a cable TV, and then all around the walls were surfboards and fins, and all of the surf paraphernalia you could ever need. I think my jaw almost hit the floor, it was amazing.
“this is my sanctuary, it’s my little place I come to chill and stuff” he muttered quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful surfboards in their slumber “changing room is just there” he pointed to a corner with a curtain hanging precariously off a rail, I nodded and quickly went to change.
After leaving the shed and spending four hours learning about the history of surfing, surfboards, and the world’s best surfers, Dave finally decided to begin practical work. Which basically meant ‘the pop up’. The pop up, I already knew, is the hardest part of surfing; in one swift manoeuvre you have to get from your stomach to your feet, whilst riding the wave, and maintaining balance. This also had to be done quickly so that there was time to get on the wave.
Dave pointed the long board beside him and spoke “pop up then”. Cautiously I walked over to the board and lay on my stomach.
“POP” he shouted, attempting to get onto my knees I fell into the sand.
This routine repeated until I could no longer feel my arms, but I could pop up.
“POP” Dave yelled again. Obeying his order, I popped up to my feet and stood in the correct position to surf.
“FASTER!” he scolded, so I did it again and again until I could get up onto the board quickly and smoothly. “I think it’s time to get in the water” he suggested, so he picked up his board, which was a short board, used by the really good surfers, and I did the same, except with my mini mal long board and we walked towards the sea.
A wave comes as part of a set of seven waves, and the last wave is usually the biggest, and the best, so as I stood at the water’s edge watching the turquoise waves rear their heads, and then cash down onto itself into a perfect barrel shape I tried to remember all of the information I had been taught. Dave chucked his board onto the water, and dived straight onto it, I mirrored his actions, and we began to paddle out to where the waves break.
After another two hours of hopelessly falling off the board, I was about ready to give up. I was tired, I could barely feel my limbs and I couldn’t find the motivation to keep going.
“Charl! This one’s yours!” Dave yelled, pointing to a wave that was preparing itself to break. Reluctantly I began to paddle for it, then I went through the motions of popping up, expecting to fall off like I always did, but instead I was still standing. I looked down to see the board zooming along the face of the wave and I felt free for the first time since the accident. The water was rushing under my feet and I could barely hear myself thinking ‘I’m surfing’ because of my heart rate speeding up in excitement, a grin spread across my face and I flung my arms out to my sides to keep my balance. The whole experience felt like hours, but in reality it was only seconds until I fell off the board and into the cool clear sea.
“OH MY GOODNESS! I DID IT!” I yelled to no one in particular when I surfaced from the water. Dave was smiling over at me and nodding from his board and I heard cheering coming from the beach. I turned my head and saw my friends from school there, all clapping and cheering my name. I couldn’t believe it, I had just surfed my first ever wave!
A/N: WOW GUYS I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH, THERE'S OVER 500 READS ON THIS STORY, AND LOADS OF VOTES TOO, YOU'RE ALL SO AWESOME!!!! THANKYOU!! x
YOU ARE READING
England's Finest Rebel
Teen FictionCharlotte's parents get sick and tired of her bad behaviour, so they ship her off to America to stay with her distant Uncle and four male cousins to try to save her from ruining her life by being rebellious, with eighteen expulsions, and a criminal...
