Surfers Paradise

Chapter 1: A Surfer's Life

Dear Reader, 

I wrote this story years ago when I was a freshman in high school. Things have obviously changed a lot since then, but this was something I really loved to do and am proud of for finishing for the pure love of writing. For me, it was something I found relaxing, sometimes frustrating, and ultimately rewarding. Writing these stories improved my writing and narrative skills in ways that I cannot describe, so if there are people out there contemplating about writing a story — go for it.

I thought about completely re-doing this story many times. However, I felt I would be doing the story and its characters injustice by gutting it and bringing it to the present. Consequently, I decided to edit it for grammar, spelling, and clarity instead and kept the original plot. I've gotten some comments about Hannah and her actions, but try to remember that she's a 16-year-old girl. Who's really mature at that age? I know I wasn't, so keep that in mind. I hope you enjoy the story, I'm truly grateful that you took the time out of your day to read it, and I'm sorry for some really 2012 references.

Sincerely the author, 

Nikki

~

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock beeping, which read six a.m. I turned it off and jumped out of bed. Why would anyone be so excited to get up at this ridiculously early time of day on the first day of summer? Either they're crazy or a surfer.

It was that time of year again. My life in the summer to sum it up was: surfing, surfing, and more surfing. I was in the water from the moment I woke up until the sun dipped below the horizon. There were also a couple of night surfing trips thrown in there, too. I wasn't necessarily a morning person but I was a surfing person, and I endured the worst; sunburns, reef cuts, rashes, sore muscles, you name it.

Most parents wouldn't advise this "way of life" for their kids or anyone else for that matter but my parents were both die-hard surfers back in the day, so how could I not have that laid-back spirit or salt water practically running through my veins? By the time we could stand on our own, my best friend Ryan and I were put on boards and since then I knew I loved surfing.

I didn't surf year-round because I had school, but whenever I had spare time, I was on my board. When I was 10 years old and school continued to stay the same boring thing, I begged and begged my parents to let me quit school and get homeschooled like lots of famous surfers and my aunt. They eventually convinced me it was a bad idea. My aunt was a professional surfer and had been homeschooled so she could surf all day and achieve her dream. It seemed awesome, right? She said that she always wished she could have done normal school stuff like having lots of friends and going to class despite becoming a professional surfer.

I realized, or my parents made me realize through a detailed PowerPoint, that the odds of becoming a professional surfer these days were slim unless you got a big break with a sponsor, so I decided to stay in school and find something to fall back on as my "Plan B." I also realized I would miss Ryan during the day while he was at school and then we could no longer hang out when he got back because he would have homework.

I had placed in a couple of junior competitions over the past years, but there was always room to improve and my two older brothers mentioned this to me many times. I had never been old enough to enter the North Shore's annual amateur surf competition and I just awed at them from the beach, but this year I was finally 16 and could enter for the first time. The North Shore was and still is one of the best places in the world to surf and people come from all over to surf the waves. The North Shore was one of those places where people get noticed and then sponsored.

I got my bikini on in under a minute, slapped on some sunscreen, and grabbed my board. I ran across our porch through the gate and sprinted to the water. I jumped onto my board and started paddling. This routine took under five minutes and had been perfected over many years.