A New Beginning

Chapter 4 Beach

The next morning, Izzy and I walked downstairs. We saw three colorful boards stacked up by the door.

"They're boogie boards. They're extremely awesome," Emma said, coming down the stairs. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely!" I said. Izzy and I were both wearing the new swimsuits we had found outside our bedroom doors this morning. Her runes looked dark against the bright yellow bikini. The few runes I had looked pretty cool with my red bikini.

Isabelle said, "Thanks for the bikinis by the way!"

"Oh, it's no problem! Julian's sister is about your size and she has five different bikini sets. And the beach is glamoured, so we don't have to worry about our runes," Emma explained, picking up the blue boogie board. Izzy grabbed the pink one, so I took the yellow one. Emma grabbed a bag of three towels and we walked across the street.

She led us to a set of stairs that went between the edge of the cliff and the beach below. As we walked down the stairs, Izzy and I took in the beautiful beach. Blue-green water dotted with brown seaweed reflected the heat of the sun. The air smelled salty. We stepped onto the hot sand, and felt the warmth between our toes. We kicked off our shoes and carried them the rest of the way.

"This is good," Emma said, dropping her sandals and bag of towels. She started wrapping the cord connected to the boogie board around her wrist. She helped me and Izzy, too.

"So how do you do this?" Izzy asked. I was thinking the same thing.

"So first you lay on your board like this," Emma said. "Then, once you have your balance, you kick your legs and paddle with your arms. It's hard to keep balance at first so if it's easier, just kick while holding on to your board. I'll tell you when to start kicking as fast as you can. The wave will come and pick you up and then carry you to the shore."

She made it sound so simple. After my fifth failure, Emma shouted, "Hey I want to try something! Paddle in!"

I nodded and slowly kicked until I could stand in the water. I walked through the water until I collapsed on the sand, waves lapping my legs.

Emma laughed, "Tired?"

I could only nod and hyperventilate. Izzy, who had given up a while ago and went to sunbathe, came over and sat next to me. "This weather is perfect," she said. "I love California."

Emma sat down, too. "So you ready to go back in? I have an idea."

Still catching my breath, I answered, "Yeah, give me a minute."

After a few minutes, Emma and I headed back into the waves. This time Emma left her board on the beach. "Okay, so I'm going to stand here and push you as the wave comes. But you still need to kick, okay?"

"Sounds good!" I said, lying on the boogie board, facing the shore.

"Now!" I heard Emma shout. I kicked my legs hard. I gasped as the wave picked me up in the crest.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed with my eyes closed, feeling the wave roll beneath me. When I opened my eyes I was on the edge of the water, waves washing over me.

Laughing, I turned around to see Emma swimming in. A huge wave was forming behind her. "Emma!" I yelled, pointing at the wave. She turned to look as the wave crashed down on top of her.