SoCal Summer

Chapter 1: Freedom!

    Ever hear the saying 'A watched pot doesn't boil'? Well, I think that applies to clocks, too. I had exactly two minutes left until summer vacation, but I felt like the clock hand hadn't budged a centimeter in the last hour. I'd been staring at it so intensely, trying to will it to move with some undiscovered telekinetic brainpower, that my eyes were beginning to cross.

    In south California, we lived for the summertime. It was the magical time of year where it felt  like the sun never set. According to the surfing nation, summer was the peak season for the most killer waves. It had something to do with the way the earth was positioned and how the moon pulled on the tide. Or it could just be that staying out in the sun too long was making them exaggerate their surfing tales. Either way, surfers from miles around and countries away came to our region just to see if the stories they'd heard for so long were really true.

    Even to the non-surfing population, summer still held a special place in our hearts. It meant long, warm days spent on the beach tanning and having bonfires in the sand. No school, no homework, no tests. Anything could happen and you could be anyone you wanted, even if it was just for a couple of months. 

    Finally, I heard the sound that was sweet music to my ears. The bell let out its shrill ring, signaling our long awaited freedom. It was a mad stampede toward the door. Everyone was itching to get to the beach and finally bask in the warm sun that had been kept from us in the holding confinement they called' school'.

    "Freedom!" my best friend Mya shouted as soon as we stepped outside, throwing her arms up in the air and shaking her fists at the sky. I shook my head at her overdramatic gesture.

    "So, Emmy. Got any plans tonight?" Before I could respond she continued, "Of course you don't. Cause I'm taking you to a party." 

    "Is that the Nikko Vance party I've been hearing about all week?"

    "Who else would be crazy enough to invite our entire grade?" she laughed. Nikko was known as the ring master for all of the the wildest parties this town had to offer. Rumor has it that someone brought a giraffe to his last rager.

    "It starts at 9:00, so that gives us plenty of time to look super hot. Who knows? We might even meet our summer flings tonight!" I rolled my eyes and let out a slight laugh, pulling her along to my Jeep Wrangler.

******

    As we rolled up to the beach fashionably late, the party was already in full swing. Nikko had to have invited more than just our school because all I could see was a mass of teenagers moving to the beat of the song. The music was cranked up to full volume and I could feel the bass shaking the ground as we made our way to the sand. The smell of alcohol penetrated the air and which meant this party was only going to get wilder from here.

    I was not a big fan of alcohol, but it was hilarious to watch from a distance as other people stumbled around drunkenly. You could never get to close to them because all drunks were either violent, touchy, emotional, or a combination of any of those three. Mya and I were going to have to leave before it got too crazy. The cops always ended up being called on us.

    "Let's go get something to drink," Mya shouted above the blaring music. I nodded in agreement, and we pushed through the sweaty crowd to the makeshift bar.

    As Mya started to flirt with the guy behind the bar, I glanced out at the ocean. At the shore line the water seemed calm, but I could make out a few larger waves in the distance. My jaw dropped as I spotted a figure expertly navigating the surge. I squinted my eyes trying to see them better.

    I'd always wanted to learn how to surf. Growing up this close to the ocean, I watched the local surfers and envied their talent. They looked so carefree and cool. My mother was one of them, and she had the exact same attitude. But my father would never allow me to follow in her footsteps, especially not after what happened to her.

    "Hey, who's the surfer?" I interrupted whatever pick-up line Mya was throwing on the bartender. She gave me a look as her item of affection turned his attention to me.

    "Oh him? That's Reid Sawyer. He walked past about ten minutes ago with his surfboard under his arm. He didn't even stop to talk to anyone. Just went to the water and disappeared."

    Reid Sawyer was the residential reclusive bad boy of of our high school. Whether it was his messy black hair or his intimidating stature, he was not to be messed with. He had been a walking mystery since he moved to town nearly five years ago, and no one knew very much about him. Yet, it was this exact aurora that drew girls to him like flies. With his devilishly handsome looks, he was secretly lusted after by any teenage girl that laid their eyes on him. And just went I thought he couldn't be any more attractive to the female population, he had to be a surfer, too?

    "Reid Sawyer? Damn, he's incredible!" I commented as I watched him continue to skillfully ride the wall of water, catching air off the edge of the break and  doing a 180 before landing back down with ease.

    "He's kind of weird if you ask me. Who turns down a rave like this to go surfing?" He turned back to Mya so they could continue their previous conversation.

    I couldn't tear my eyes away from Reid. Suddenly, a crazy plan formulated in my head. Maybe he could teach me to surf. It wasn't possible for me to take lessons from a surfing school because my dad would find out in a snap and I'd be in a huge amount of trouble. But Reid as my teacher would be perfect. Reid kept to himself and no one would dare talk to him because they were terrified of his cold demeanor. I could learn on a hidden beach, and no one--especially my father--would ever find out. If I could just keep my secret from my dad until the end of senior year, I'd be golden.

    This was going to be a great summer. Now all I had to do is convince the social recluse that is Reid Sawyer...