I'd Rather Be Surfing

1| Introduction

"It's insane," I trailed off into the phone resting on my bed. Dragging the web page down, I exposed a list of primal surfing locations. "Bali, Ecuador, Maui, even New South Wales." I dropped my hands into my criss-crossed lap. "I'm sold."

Now I just have to sell them on me. This will be a fun comp to get into.

Carly puts her hand over mine on the mouse, scrolling through the list of destinations. "Yes! Thailand is booked. I'm totally coming to visit you for that one, sis."

She ruffles my hair, her reflection gleaming behind me on the computer screen. A boyish grin creeps its way onto my face.

"Now you just have to make it in." My brother's skeptic voice echoes through the speaker phone resting on my bed sheets.

"If I could smack you right now, I would." Carly picks up my phone. "Ending call in three, two—"

"Wait, c'mon. I'm sorry. You'll make it, CoCo. Hands down."

"Thanks, Coop." I move the cursor to the top of the page and read over the description once more as Carly talks to our older  brother. 

BILLABONG, YOUNG ATHLETES JOURNEY TRIP

*Acceptance into our international training and competing program grants:

• a summer of traveling around the world to compete and train in top-surfing locations

• all paid expenses

• one-on-one help from surf legends, Mick Fanning and Sage Erickson

"Dude, we wish you were here. The swells are massive 'cause of the earthquake." Carly paces around the cardboard boxes in my room. She dodges one labeled 'colette's trophies'.

"Right, you guys all okay?"

"We're good, minus a vase or two."

Cooper pauses, almost like the phone connection is lagging. "I bet Mom's thrilled."

Carly rolls her eyes, thinking about how out-of-character— and annoying— our mother has been. "She spent half and hour yelling at the moving guys over her 1978 Mickey Mouse snow globe. I think it's the stress. She's happier, though. I can tell." I turn to Carly after closing out the webpage, motioning that we should head out soon. It's late in the afternoon, and I want to have plenty of time to scope out my new favorite spot—the beach. "Aight. We're going to hit the waves. Suck it, big brother."

"See ya, losers."

"Later, Coop." I know what you're thinking. The 'C' names. All able to be shortened to one syllable. Yeah, my parents were kind of crazy. But it was cute. Psycho, but cute.

They didn't seriously expect everyone to call my brother Arthur, did they? Don't get me wrong, my great grandfather's name is a hell of a one, but maybe not for the type of guy Cooper is. 

When he started playing lacrosse in the fourth grade, the last-name-as-first-name kind of just stuck.

Carly tosses my phone back on my bed, heading to the box labeled 'colette's swim suits'.

"Car, you know can't fit in my skimpy things," I say, referring to the A-cup bikini top she's holding to her double D chest.

"Ugh. Why can't you have bigger boobs?" She tosses it back in the box, tripping over another one as she heads out.

"You're telling me."

"Dammit!" Carly kicks the cardboard box, avenging her stubbed toe.

I suppress a laugh and end up sighing instead. I've never felt such a desire to be out on the water. With everything going on— the big move, the anticipation of a new school, and the absence of my friends being nearly three thousand miles away from me— I need to experience something that feels like home again. Because right now, I'm feeling as far away from normalcy as I've ever been.