Above the waves

1

I drag my surfboard through the sand.

"Skylar! Sierra! Wait!" I call out to my older siblings.

My older sister Sierra smiles and waits for me where the waves rush to her and the water reaches her ankles.

"Hurry up, Sav. Skylar's already paddling." She says as I catch up with her.

She looks as someone calls out our names.

"And Nate is here too." She adds, urging me to move faster.

She helps me walk into the water then leaves me to paddle on my own. I may be eight, but I'm a pretty good surfer for my age.

"I'm glad you're here Nate." I say through breaths.

Nate smiles. "Me too. Come on!"

Next thing I know, we're up and surfing.

I laugh and inhale the salty smell of the ocean. I smile as the water sprays my face.

"How you doin' Sav?" Skylar asks with a big smile on his face.

I match his smile. "I'm good!"

Sierra and Nate laugh along till a certain someone ruins our family fun.

"Roger. What are you doing here?" Skylar asks, his wide smile gone.

We're sitting on our surfboards now, wading our feet in the water.

Nate and Skylar move in front of Sierra and me.

"Is it bad to go surfing? This isn't just your beach you know." Roger replies with a smirk.

Roger is the biggest bully I know. He's been picking on me ever since I can remember and he never stops.

Roger continues to paddle and soon he's riding the wave.

"Don't mind him." Sierra says. "Let's go home. We've been surfing for hours anyway and it's almost sunset. We should watch it with our families at the bonfire."

Skylar, Nate, and I follow her and lie on our stomachs, paddling or way to shore.

Nate sits up and digs around the pocket of his surf shorts.

"I forgot to give this to you." He says, reaching his hand out to me.

Skylar and Sierra stop some feet away from us and watch us with soft smiles.

Nate opens his hand and I see a surfer necklace with a small, pretty seashell on a surfboard as the pendant.

I gasp. "Thank you!"

Nate smiles shyly. He paddles nearer to me and helps me put on the necklace.

"It's so pretty." I say.

He shrugs. "I made it. And if you want to collect more seashells, maybe we can make a matching bracelet and start a seashell collection!"

I laugh. "Thanks Nate."

Before I can lie back down on my stomach to paddle back to shore, a loud 'bump' makes Nate, Skylar, and Sierra look back at me with wide eyes.

I, on the other hand, fall forward.

We were all too late to realize what Roger was planning to do.

My head spins and my back aches. No, it hurts. A lot.

"I can't believe they let you surf and represent us. You suck, Savannah. You're as bad at surfing as you are at everything you do. You deserve all the bad things coming." Roger whispers, chuckling as he paddles off to surf another wave.

I can still feel the impact of the tip of his surfboard crash into my backbone. I can still hear the sound too.

I hear people say my name but I can't hear it at the same time.

I black out.

***

I wake up and see my mom's worried face.

"Oh, Sav. You're awake!" She exclaims.

She backs away and I see my family and Nate's family here in a hospital room.

"How're you feeling?" Skylar asks with no smile. He tries to smile though. But it doesn't fool me.

"I-" I try to sit up but when I do, I fall back down. My back hurts and I can't feel-

I gasp.

"I can't move my right arm." I say.

Mom's relieved smile changes into a sad one. Dad looks sad too. His smile says it all. I look at Sierra and Skylar but they don't meet my eyes. Nate's parents look at me sadly too.

Only Nate catches my attention and gives me a reassuring smile.

The door opens and a doctor comes in. She smiles at me.

Why is she smiling? Isn't there something wrong?

"Hello, Savannah. I'm Doctor Beth. I'm here to give you a report about your injury." She says softly.

Injury?

"Your back was hit- harshly, or shall I say intensely, by a normal sized surfboard. Not only was that heavy but quite a big size for you and your petite body. Also, it was the point of the surfboard that hit the part of your backbone that caused you to have this- physical ailment." She explains.

I don't really understand though. "What's a physical ailment?"

"Sweetie, you're not going to be able to use the right part of your body anymore. Miraculously though, it's just from your arm down to your foot. Your neck isn't affected." She says, her smile now turning down.

I look at my parents and see my mom buried in my dead's embrace. Sierra and Skylar look at me apologetically.

No, it's not their fault.

Nate's parents, who're like my second parents, move toward me to give me a hug. They whisper encouraging things to me as I focus on the boy who's trying to smile and make me feel better.

But he can't. I'm paralyzed.