by Emma Moss
Jessie checked the tent pegs and glanced at the roof. ‘We’re fine and, most importantly, no leaks. Have a fizzy worm,’ she ordered, patting Hermione’s feet reassuringly.
Everyone grabbed a handful of sweets and huddled up together. It was quite crowded with Sassy there now too, but eventually they got back to sleep.
In the morning, there were puddles on the ground, but it was sunny.
‘Hurry up, girls,’ said Lucy’s mum over breakfast. ‘We’re off to the seaside today.’
‘Is today surfing?’ gasped Jessie. Finally!
‘Yes,’ confirmed Mrs Lockwood. ‘I’ve got to check out the seal sanctuary at Princeton Point, and I’ll drop you off at the watersports school in Maxwell’s Bay. Maggie and Dad will stay here and go fishing.’
‘I’m gonna find Nemo!’ said Maggie, her eyes wide with excitement.
Jessie laughed. ‘Good luck with that, Mags.’ As she finished another pancake, she joined in with Lucy’s dad who had starting singing ‘Surfing USA’ by the Beach Boys . . . She was hyped!
*
The drive to the seaside was fun. The music was on loud, and they all continued singing loudly. Abby was filming them the whole time. Since Sassy had arrived, Jessie had noticed Abby dragging her away every time they got the opportunity to talk, but . . . whatever! Jessie was determined to enjoy today’s adventure.
The approach to Maxwell’s Bay was along a winding cliff road, and the sea was shimmering turquoise way down below. When they finally reached the fishing village, with its picturesque white houses and tiny lanes, everyone gasped. There was a small harbour with cafes and shops and swooping seagulls.
‘It’s so cute!’ exclaimed Hermione. ‘Just like an old-fashioned postcard. I bet there’s a wonderful bakery, and a dusty old bookshop with a resident cat. Maybe I should stay here while you all go surfing.’
‘No, H, you are c-coming with us!’ Lucy laughed. ‘But, speaking of postcards, I should send one to Sam. I m-miss him loads.’
‘Nah, we’ll be home by the time he gets it,’ said Abby. ‘I’m not bothering for Charlie.’
‘There’s the watersports school!’ cried Jessie, pointing at a bright orange sign. Her brothers Leon and Jake were going to be so jealous! She led the way, and they all hurried into the office to sign up.
‘Bad news, girls,’ said Mrs Lockwood, once she’d spoken to the manager. ‘The surfboards have all been rented out today.’
‘Oh well, bookshops and bakeries it is,’ said Hermione happily.
Jessie’s heart sank, and it must have shown on her face.
‘Don’t despair, Jess!’ said Mrs Lockwood. ‘The manager is suggesting that you try SUP lessons instead. They have plenty of equipment for that. Are you up for it?’
‘Totally!’ said Jessie, perking up again. ‘I’ve seen SUP on YouTube. It’s really popular in America.’
‘Yeah, Morgan’s sent me videos of her d-doing it,’ agreed Lucy. ‘It looks great.’
‘What’s SUP?’ asked Hermione reluctantly.
‘Good one, H,’ Jessie quipped, and they all laughed.
‘No, I mean it,’ said Hermione, sounding slightly embarrassed. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Stand-up paddleboarding,’ Jessie explained.
‘I think it’s actually easier to l-learn than getting up on a surfboard,’ added Lucy.
Hermione started to look less anxious.
‘Let’s do it, guys!’ said Sassy, looking at the photos in the office.
‘Will your dad be OK with you doing this, Sassy, or do you want me to call him?’ asked Mrs Lockwood. ‘I told him you’d be trying surfing, but not this, and he wanted to be kept posted of every activity.’
Jessie hummed impatiently while they decided to text Sassy’s father and await his reply. Then, FINALLY, it was time to hit the waves!
Their teacher was a really cool Australian woman with dreadlocks called Razzy. Jessie mentally added ‘watersports instructor’ to her list of dream jobs. (The list also included gymnast, professional prankster and video-game designer.)
‘The sea’s quite warm here in the harbour cos it’s shallow and sheltered, so I don’t think you need wet suits. You should be fine in board shorts over your swimsuits.’ She handed out the short, and Jessie grabbed a grey-and-turquoise pair. ‘And life vests, of course. Don’t forget to put some sunscreen on. I’ll be back in a moment.’
The girls slathered on the sunscreen, and Razzy returned with the life vests.
‘OK,’ she began, ‘so we’ll just practise on the beach for a few minutes before we get in the water. You can carry the board by the handle in the middle. Although the water here is very calm, it’s still a good idea to use the leash round your ankle so that the board can’t float away from you. You just fasten it with the Velcro.’ Razzy demonstrated on her own board. ‘Then you start off on your knees in the middle of the board on either side of the handle. When you’re comfortable and ready to stand up, you pop your paddle across the board in front of you, tuck your toes under and bring your legs up to standing, one at a time. Then start paddling straight away as it will help you keep your balance.’
The girls carried their boards down to the beach and practised getting up from a kneeling position to standing.
‘This is easy!’ pronounced Jessie, once she’d done it a couple of times. She looked around eagerly. ‘Let’s hit the waves!’
‘Shall we give it a go, then?’ asked Razzy. ‘Is everyone else ready?’
‘I think so,’ said Abby uncertainly.
‘Whoop, whoop!’ cried Sassy.
They waded out into the water. It was a bit chilly at first, but Jessie soon got used to it.
‘OK, up on your knees, then just start paddling,’ called Razzy. ‘I want you to feel really comfortable doing that before you stand up.’
But Jessie had already jumped up to standing position, and she was filming using the GoPro attached to her head. It felt so natural to her.
‘How are you doing that, Jess?’ Sassy asked admiringly.
‘Raw talent!’ said Jessie with a grin. ‘And, OK, maybe my gymnastics training has something to do with it . . . It’s all about finding your balance.’
The others were just getting used to moving around, and Abby kept crashing into them and giggling.
Jessie forged ahead, the water calm on either side of her. ‘By the way, how do I stop?’ she called as the others became smaller and smaller behind her.
‘Jump in the water!’ Razzy laughed. ‘No, just use your paddle as a brake.’
‘Looking amazing out there!’ called Sassy.
Jessie paddled around while the others knelt in the distance, she could hear Abby swearing under her breath as her knees slid off the board.
After a few minutes, Razzy said, ‘OK, let’s try standing up, everyone else. Put your paddle in front of you, tuck your toes under and stand up! Good, Lucy, and you too, Sassy. Look in front of you and start paddling. Abby, you’re standing too far forward, you’re going to—’
SPLASH!
‘N-not again, Abs!’ Lucy laughed.
Abby spat out a mouthful of water and tried to clamber back on to the board.
Jessie opened her mouth to make a joke about wannabe mermaids and stopped herself, seeing the slightly frustrated expression on Abby’s face. Maybe it was better to keep quiet.
‘OK, Abby, the worst has already happened,’ said Razzy, ‘and it wasn’t so bad – was it? Take your time and try again. Watch Jessie’s technique.’
Soon everyone was up on their boards apart from Hermione, chatting as they paddled.
‘This is way better than surfing,’ said Jessie, ‘cos you can talk while you’re doing it.’
‘Well, we all know you can’t control yourself with that!’ remarked Abby.
Jessie looked over at her in shock – where had that come from? And since when was Jessie any more chatty than Abby?
She didn’t know what to say – and neither did anyone else. They
all paddled in silence for a few seconds.
Then Hermione said, ‘Jess, can you come here? I wanna try standing up now. Can you help me?’
Relieved to have something to do other than be snapped at by Abby, Jessie paddled over and managed to get Hermione up on the board.
Razzy went back to the shore, and the girls continued mucking around on the SUPs, but the mood had changed, and Jessie ended up paddling around by herself for the final half hour.
Later, when their time was up and they were getting tired and cold – ‘Guaranteed I won’t be doing that again,’ said Abby as she wrapped herself in a towel – they headed off to the harbour and found a cafe with some outside seating.
Jessie was buzzing from her new favourite sport. She’d interviewed Razzy for the channel and was really proud of how it had gone. Now she was famished.
‘My idea of heaven,’ she said as she tucked into a large portion of chips.
‘Mine too,’ echoed Sassy. Suddenly she shrieked. A huge gull had swooped down and snatched a chip right out of her hands.
‘OMG!’ exclaimed Hermione. ‘That came out of nowhere – it was like the Hungarian Horntail that Harry has to battle in the Triwizard Tournament!’
Jessie laughed. ‘Of course it was.’
‘Amazing!’ said Abby, who had been filming. ‘Oh, sorry, Sassy, are you OK?’
‘Yeah, it just took me by surprise,’ she replied.
Jessie watched the seagull pecking its reward, then noticed some boys jumping from the harbour wall into the sea. It was quite a long drop.
‘That looks cool,’ she said, her eyes lighting up. ‘I might give it a go.’
‘Oh, please d-don’t!’ cried Lucy. ‘It’s s-so d-dangerous.’
‘No, Jess, you mustn’t,’ said Hermione. ‘What if something happened? It wouldn’t be fair to Lucy’s parents . . .’
‘Exactly,’ said Abby curtly. ‘Maybe you should try thinking of someone else for a change.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Jessie. Why did Abby keep attacking her? ‘When do I . . . Abby, I don’t understand.’
‘Well, with all your pranks and making us eat weird stuff and go kayaking and extreme sports . . . sometimes maybe you should just chill out a bit. Be more normal.’
‘What, and spend my time like you, shopping and trying on outfits?’ snapped Jessie angrily. She could see from the expression on Abby’s face that she’d hit a nerve, but she didn’t care any more. She’d had enough of being on the receiving end of Abby’s weird comments. ‘Jeez, it’s not my fault you have a worse sense of balance than a drunk person walking the plank.’
‘Guys, please,’ said Hermione anxiously. ‘I think we’re all just super tired; let’s chill out and wait for Lucy’s mum to pick us up. Maybe an ice cream while we wait?’
‘Fine,’ said Abby, looking at her phone.
‘Fine,’ said Jessie. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be here any more.
After another barbecue dinner, Lucy and Abby did the washing-up while Lucy’s parents did bedtime with Maggie in the tent.
Jessie was dreading the GCV meeting they had planned for the evening. The tension between her and Abby was going to make things really difficult. It was OK when Lucy’s parents and Maggie were around, but when it was just the five of them, there was nowhere to hide.
‘Jess?’
Jessie looked up from her black, incinerated marshmallow at Abby who was coming over to her spot by the campfire.
‘Washing-up’s done. Can we . . . talk . . . before the meeting?’
Jessie shrugged. ‘OK.’
Abby looked uncomfortable. ‘Like, OK, so there’s obviously a problem between us, and I honestly don’t know where it’s come from. But Lucy was just saying that sometimes I can sound sharper than I really want to? And that it’s upsetting for you?’ She avoided Jessie’s eye.
Jessie swallowed. She hated confrontation, and this was so, so awkward. ‘Well – yeah. I guess I feel like you’ve been kind of harsh to me ever since the City Farm thing, and that video.’ She paused. ‘And . . . I know you really like Sassy, which we all do, but it’s like you don’t have much respect for me any more.’ There. She’d said it.
‘What?’ said Abby. ‘That’s crazy! Don’t be so dramatic.’
Jessie sighed, poking the fire with her skewer. Abby really didn’t take criticism well. ‘Fine, but you asked if you’d been upsetting me, and I’m just saying, yeah, I guess you have been. So now maybe I’m being a little harsh back, not that I’m trying to score points.’ She looked up. Abby was braiding her hair over one shoulder and looking into the distance. Jessie didn’t know what else to say.
Eventually Abby said, ‘OK, fine. Sorry if I offended you. I obviously think you’re great, but not always a hundred per cent interested in GCV . . . Like, sometimes you act a little bored with us.’
Jessie tried to protest, but Abby spoke over her.
‘Well, even if you’re not . . . you have a load of other interests.’
Jessie shrugged. So what if she did? Was Abby somehow jealous of her hobbies?
‘And because Sassy is a new member, she just seems a lot more . . . excited, I guess.’
‘OK,’ said Jessie slowly. ‘But you shouldn’t think I don’t love our group. Cos I do.’
‘Fine,’ said Abby. ‘Speaking of which, shall we put this behind us and get on with the meeting? I have news!’
Jessie almost laughed. She loved the channel, but it was true nobody loved it as fiercely as Abby. And she guessed this was as close to an apology as she was going to get, although Abby still hadn’t apologized for the City Farm vlog. Be the bigger person, as her dad liked to say.
‘Yes, Abs, let’s get on with the meeting.’
‘Awesome,’ said Abby with obvious relief. ‘OK, guys, gather round . . . Let’s get this show on the road!’ she called.
The others came and joined them, and Lucy glanced questioningly at Jessie, who smiled, letting her know things were OK, for now at least.
‘First,’ said Abby gleefully. ‘I’ve been dying to tell you guys all evening . . . but thought I should wait for the meeting.’
‘Drama queen!’ said Lucy. ‘W-what is it?’
Abby spoke fast. ‘Tiffany texted me. She knows we’re going to Chesterbury and has arranged for us to do something cool there, through one of her contacts at this local radio station.’
Jessie gasped – for once, the news lived up to Abby’s drama!
‘Really?’ she asked. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a fashion segment for the radio station – interviewing people at the festival about their outfits.’ She looked around. ‘If it’s OK with you guys, I’d really like to be the one to do it.’
‘That d-does sound like it’s perfect for you, Abs,’ said Lucy.
‘Yeah, I wouldn’t know what to ask!’ said Hermione.
Sassy nodded, and Jessie had to admit she felt the same too, even though she was still a bit jealous at the same time. Now she understood why Abby had been in a better mood this evening.
‘Amazing. I’ll tell Tiffany,’ said Abby happily. ‘I’ll still need help rounding up people to interview and stuff, so it will be a group effort, and the main thing is I’ll get a chance to plug our channel.’ She glanced down at her notebook. ‘Moving on. Let’s talk about vlog content for the rest of this trip. I know Jessie’s taken some cool footage with the GoPro of the SUPing, plus the Razzy interview, but we still need to think of more to inspire us.’
Jessie chewed on a fresh marshmallow. She was tempted to suggest a complicated prank, but she was still sensitive about suggesting that after Abby’s comment earlier.
‘Well, the f-festival will be pretty amazing to film,’ said Lucy.
‘True,’ said Abby, ‘and we need to plan that carefully, but I meant something else as well . . . something completely different to anything we’ve ever done before.’
‘I know!’ exclaimed Sassy. ‘I have the perfect idea . . . let’s
make a scary movie.’
Jessie sat up.
‘Here in the forest,’ continued Sassy. ‘We can make it really creepy – film it in the woods at night and then edit it with music and special effects when we get home.’
Jessie grinned. This sounded AWESOME.
‘I like it . . . but we don’t want to make it too gruesome,’ said Abby, looking pensive. ‘We’ve got our younger viewers to think about.’
‘We could make it more mysterious than scary,’ suggested Hermione.
‘Yeah, and put some silly bits in, to lighten the tone,’ added Jessie, ideas already popping into her head. In some ways a scary movie was like an elaborate prank . . . on the audience.
Abby was nodding. ‘Well it’s definitely different . . . Lucy, are you in?’
Lucy grinned. ‘Completely.’
As Jessie got ready for bed, she felt unexpectedly happy that Sassy had joined them. This movie was going to be SERIOUSLY FUN, way more interesting than looking at people’s outfits! She went to sleep that night thinking of fake blood and blurry camera angles.
VLOG 5
FADE IN: THE BEACH,
JESSIE filming herself on her phone, standing on her SUP board on the beach.
JESSIE
Hi, guys! So today we’re having a day of watersports at Maxwell’s Bay, and I thought I’d try to catch a bit of the SUP vibe on film. I’ll be using my phone and a GoPro, so the quality might not be great, but at least it’s authentic!
MONTAGE: JESSIE, LUCY, ABBY, HERMIONE and SASSY all practising on the beach.
JESSIE
(voiceover)
First we practise a bit here on the beach – how to stand up and the best way to paddle – and then we’re out on the water.
Can’t wait!
JESSIE filming on GoPro so we see ABBY, LUCY, SASSY and HERMIONE on their paddleboards in the water.