Surf School

by Laurine Croasdale

  ‘Hi, Shane.’ Tilly called to the instructor lathering his face in sunscreen. ‘Busy today?’

  ‘You could say that,’ Shane said dryly, reaching for his wetsuit. ‘Not only has Donald Trump here just ordered all new equipment but he’s put an ad in every surf magazine he can spell the name of.’ He winked at Tilly. ‘Next he’ll be working out a way to make the waves come in faster.’

  Tilly grinned. Phil had talked about expanding the school so many times that she figured he’d never really do it. As he finished the call, Tilly read his notes – new boards and rashies were on order, there was a website to set up and computer lessons to take. Tilly drew a star at the top of the page.

  ‘You’re really going to do it, Dad!’

  Phil hung up. ‘Sure am,’ he said proudly, giving her a hug. ‘I’m taking the plunge big time, Til. Everything’s lined up to arrive next week ready for the new season. Just gotta set up the web page and … guess what?’ He waggled his mobile at her. ‘Just quit the day job.’

  ‘Er, don’t you mean, night job?’

  ‘That’s the one. It’s official. I’m no longer a waiter.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for years. It feels so good!’ He swung Tilly around, dancing in the small open space near the board racks. ‘By the end of the summer, this school’s going to be the biggest on the coast.’

  ‘Sounds good.’ Tilly spotted the camera peeping out of Phil’s bag. ‘Hey, Dad, can I borrow the camera?’

  Phil looked protectively at his brand new Nikon. ‘Welllll, it’s s’posed to be just for school use.’

  ‘Oh come on, Dad. I’ll look after it. Anyway, I can take some pics for the website.’

  The phone rang, and as Phil turned to pick it up Tilly seized the camera.

  ‘Thanks, Dad, I’ll have it back soon. Promise,’ she called back to him.

  ‘Hey, Tilly,’ he yelled. ‘I …’

  ‘I love you too.’ She blew him a kiss and kept moving, sticking two fingers in her mouth and giving a loud shrill whistle. When the girls turned, she snapped her first photo.

  ‘Unreal!’ Marlee smiled. ‘You finally talked your dad into it!’

  They stuck their feet inwards creating a circle and Tilly took some photos, then scanned the beach. Perfect. She pointed the camera at the three boys walking towards her. Her brother Sam with Kyle, Jamie and Marnie, the surfing wonder dog, were walking back from the surf. ‘Smile!’ she called out putting them in the frame.

  Sam smiled and flashed a peace sign, Kyle scowled and gave her the finger and Jamie was too busy looking at Pink to notice. Tilly shook her head. That boy’s got it bad, she thought.

  She turned back to her friends. ‘My present is recording all the things that happen this summer so we remember it forever.’

  3 DECEMBER

  I just tried to walk down our front steps to the garden and my legs nearly gave way! They are sooooo tight and sore I can’t believe it AND I could eat everything in sight. Just a shame no-one in my family is really into cooking because, much as I hate to agree with you, the takeaway has to go, otherwise I’ll never shake the love handles.

  Got a new bag of clothes from Island Breeze today. There’s more stuff here than I’m ever going to wear so how about you come over and grab some stuff and check out our webpage?

  Tilly

  Boardies and tops are great – thanks. I just picked off all the Island Breeze tags so that I’m not sullying (like that word? Some poet in English today) their wonderful name with the likes of me. HEY! Before you start the ‘Don’t think like that’ lecture, I’m jokin’! Seriously. I’m glad they sponsor you but if they won’t sponsor me I sure ain’t promoting them.

  Wave from the Surf Gods: it’s just after sun up. The waves are rolling in nice and steady, the light is streaking across the water. Everyone’s wrestling in the lineup but just as I paddle out, a wave comes right at me, nice and hollow, a green-blue that changes as the sun catches it and before anyone can get near I’m on it, paddling fast, jumping up and charging the face as it curls over until I’m wrapped in green and blue, a tiny peephole of beach out the end. And when it feels like it’s gone on forever I’m spat out the end, heart pumping.

  Marlee

  CHAPTER TWO

  It took a while for Tilly to pull herself out of the fogginess of sleep but the persistent knocking on the door didn’t stop.

  ‘I’m sick of you guys. It’s the middle of the night. You can’t go surfing yet. Go home.’

  She yanked open the door and then pushed at the screen door, noticing that her father had left the porch light on. It cast a feeble glow in the early dawn light. She flicked back her hair, expecting to see Jamie, but stared uncomprehendingly at the two police officers who stood there.

  ‘Sorry to wake you,’ the young policewoman said. ‘Do you mind if we come in?’

  Tilly stepped aside to let the officers walk into the living room. They sat on the lounge and Tilly perched on an armchair opposite.

  ‘Is your father Phil Hoye?’

  Tilly nodded, tears immediately filling her eyes, her lungs inflated until she thought they would burst. She braced herself for what was coming.

  ‘I’m afraid we have some bad news,’ the policewoman said gently.

  Tilly’s breath rushed out in one long word: ‘Nooooooooooooo.’

  And then Sam was there, scratching his stomach, squinting at the police. ‘What’s going on?’ He pulled on a sweatshirt, leaning against Tilly’s armchair.

  The faces of the officers were sympathetic. ‘Your father’s been in an accident. We don’t have many details at this stage, just that he was riding his bike and was struck by a car. He’s at North Shore Hospital.’

  ‘Is he okay?’ Tilly’s throat felt so tight she had to force the words out and even then the officer leaned closer to hear her.

  The policewoman took her time closing her notebook. ‘We don’t know much more, but we’ll take you there. Do you want to get dressed?’

  ‘No, we’re ready,’ said Sam, getting up. ‘Let’s go.’

  When they hit the highway the policeman flicked on the siren and as the car screamed towards the hospital the policewoman told them what she could. ‘Your father was riding a bicycle along Farrar Road at about 3 am when he was hit by a car at a roundabout. The car kept driving. We have several witnesses who heard the accident and came to help but no-one saw the vehicle.’

  Tilly laid her forehead against the front seat, its coolness calming her down.

  ‘What kind of person hits someone and drives away?’ Sam asked.

  The policeman turned the car into the emergency unit of the hospital. ‘We don’t know but we’ll find out. There’s always someone who knows something.’

  As soon as the auto doors hushed open a sickly cocktail of decay, floor polish and overcooked food curled over Tilly like smoke, carrying a fresh wave of memories of her mother. At first the smell had been background to laughter, and her mother’s determined humming through chemo, but as her mother had become trapped in her bed, the hospital smell gradually overpowered everything.

  Suck it in, Tilly told herself defiantly. The hospital was a twenty-four hour twilight zone of fluorescent lights, squeaking gurneys, shiny floors and subdued drama. She clicked her teeth together, focusing on the policewoman’s shoes in front, reading the signs to Intensive Care, until she couldn’t fight the smell anymore and ran for the toilets, hand across her mouth.

  The sour taste of vomit lingered on Tilly’s breath, her legs danced on springs, skittish, unsteady. Sam took her hand in his, firm and cool.

  ‘C’mon, Til, deep breaths.’

  She held on to her brother tightly as the plastic doors swept open, pushing them into the ward where a doctor and nurse walked towards them.

  Marlee rubbed zinc into her chapped lips, glancing along the beach to look one last time for Tilly. They hadn’t even been training for a week and already Tilly was turning up late. Annoyed, Marlee threw her board onto th
e water. It landed with a meaty thwack, her body three seconds behind it, then she was up and paddling, all business. After waiting around for Tilly she only had time for two waves or she’d be late for school. And no-one in their right mind was ever late for Crowley’s class.

  This early, the world looked freshly showered and the air shimmered, slightly hazy with salt. Waves curled into a good left-hander with only a few people dotting the break. A guy she didn’t know stood up unsteadily, barely hanging on as he dropped down the wave, a big dog grin on his face.

  Marlee’s body relaxed. Just being in the water made her bad mood ebb away. He’s hooked, she thought, smiling to herself. Encouraged, his mate paddled to the take-off zone, lining up for the next wave. Even before she saw him, Marlee could sense Kyle moving in. He was lightning fast and intense. Kyle eyeballed the learner, annoyed that he was about to catch the two footer lining up perfectly on the bank. The one with Kyle’s name on it. Kyle thought they all had his name on them.

  As the learner paddled into the little gem, Kyle dropped in, aiming his board straight at the boy, startling him so he wobbled and then fell heavily, munched under the white water while Kyle took over the wave, his face smug.

  Marlee noticed with surprise his widening chest, the strength in his arms. He looked capable of catching as many waves as he wanted. So why take one off a little kid?

  The boy resurfaced spluttering, and Marlee picked up the next wave, angling her board straight at Kyle, flicking it away at the last moment, enjoying his momentary flash of surprise when he thought her board was going to connect. It was only then that she caught sight of Evelyn, Fran’s mother, paddling by and felt ashamed she’d let her anger get the better of her. Evelyn shook her head and smiled, and Marlee flicked off, joining her for one more wave.

  Pink burst through her bedroom door trailing socks, shoes, hat, bag and hairbrush. ‘Bye, Dad. Tell Mum to call me tonight. I haven’t spoken to her since she got to Hawaii.’

  Her father, Mitch, looked her up and down and kissed her cheek. ‘I’m sure that expensive ladies college we send you to would be thrilled to know you get dressed at the local bus stop.’

  ‘Ha ha,’ Pink grunted through the bread roll in her mouth. She backed out the front door and dived across the road in front of a car then ran to the beach. Maybe if she’d left a little earlier, or if her hat hadn’t slipped over her eyes slightly, she might’ve seen the dog trotting behind its owner, or the lead attaching one to the other. But she didn’t and Pink’s last-minute leap to avoid the dog and leash failed miserably. She was soon sprawled on the grass, bag, clothes and breakfast scattered all around her.

  Perched cross-legged on the seat she was almost lying under was a guy, about twenty with wild brown dreadlocks held at bay with a wide aqua band. An acoustic guitar rested on his lap.

  ‘Nice of you to drop by,’ he said.

  Pink frantically pulled the hem of her uniform down and sat up.

  ‘Very athletic, that jump.’ His eyes were faintly mocking and Pink decided he was teasing. She blushed on top of the last blush, wincing as she put weight on her leg.

  ‘You’re hurt?’ he said, concerned, and Pink, thrilled to be distracted from going to school, gave him a wide-eyed, pathetic look. ‘Sit down.’ He helped her to the bench then knelt down, his hands squeezing her calf. ‘Does this hurt?’

  Pink nodded, wincing for real. ‘Are you a doctor?’

  He shook his head, his dreadlocks shifting like faded brown felt. He smelt of incense and clove cigarettes. ‘Nah, I’m a healer.’

  ‘Cool.’ Pink was impressed. Did that make him super smart? ‘Do you have, like, a clinic here, or something?’ she asked, noticing a jagged scar running down from the corner of his left eye. ‘I’ve never seen you around the beach before.’

  He squinted, assessing her. ‘Know everyone at Diamond Beach, do you?’

  ‘Pretty much,’ Pink said. ‘I’ve lived here all my life, my parents too. Not many people here I don’t know.’

  The guy rocked back on his heels, arms around his legs. He had a dazzling smile, Pink decided, a dazzling smile and blue eyes that went on forever. ‘Well, Miss Know Everyone, I travel a fair bit, chase the summer – Bali, Thailand. I lived in the Maldives for a couple of summers in a hut on the beach, caught fish for dinner and cooked it in a fire on the sand. It was pretty idyllic.’

  He smiled wistfully at Pink, who imagined herself following the summer, living on a beach with someone like him, no parents making decisions for her, no school. ‘So, why would you leave that to come back here?’ she asked.

  ‘My mother’s sick, I came to see her.’ He nodded at Pink’s leg. ‘It’s just bruised. You’ll be fine.’

  Pink dived quickly to gather her phone, shoes and socks. ‘Well, thanks. Um, see you down the beach maybe,’ she said hopefully.

  His sharp blue eyes were still appraising her. ‘You look like the kind of girl who’d like a bit of adventure. Am I right?’

  Pink met his gaze. ‘Yeah, I’m up for most things.’

  He nodded. ‘Want to take a ride? Have some fun? Got my kombi right here.’

  Pink hung on his deep voice, the slow drawl of his words, tempted to say yes, take the fork in the road towards adventure, skip another day off school. She glanced homewards and saw her dad on the deck having his breakfast, like he did everyday at this time.

  ‘Er, maybe another day. Great kombi. Did you paint it?’

  Along one side a blue mountain peak broke through pink cloud. A striped wave with a fluffy lip rolled across the front door leading to an undersea world filled with octopuses, stars and bananas. ‘I’ve never seen a van like this ever. It’s like it’s telling a story.’

  ‘Me and a friend did it.’ He reached inside for a hat and Pink followed the drawings around the van, snapping photos with her phone. There were even sea creatures on the hubcaps. ‘Shame about this.’ She pointed her phone at the scraped hubcap where several creatures had once lived.

  ‘Hey, what’re you doing?’ His voice was suddenly sharp. In a couple of quick steps he was before her, eyes glittering, cold.

  Confused, Pink shrank back, quickly putting the phone behind her back. ‘Stress less,’ she laughed shakily, grabbing her bag. ‘It’s only a photo.’

  ‘Sorry.’ He backed off. ‘It’s just that my friend is trying to patent the design. He’s very touchy about the whole thing. Give me the phone,’ he coaxed, ‘and I’ll delete the photos.’

  Pink chewed her bottom lip stubbornly. ‘S’okay. I can do it myself.’ She shoved the phone down her bra. ‘See you round. Not,’ she muttered to herself as she turned away.

  ‘I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before.’ The guy darted towards Pink but she kept moving until he jumped in front of her, his arms following the outline of her body, eyes wide, disbelieving. ‘You have the most incredible aura.’

  ‘I do?’ Pink had no idea what an aura was but something incredible about her couldn’t be all bad. Wait till she told her mother.

  ‘It’s so rich, I’ve never seen such an intense colour.’

  ‘What colour is it?’ Pink didn’t dare move in case she pushed it away, but glanced sideways, trying to catch a glimpse of it. ‘And what’s it do?’

  ‘Nothing. It’s a reflection of your wisdom and spirituality. And yours is indigo, the deepest indigo I’ve ever seen. Do you dream a lot?’

  Pink gave a long, luxurious sigh of recognition. ‘All the time.’ At least now her friends might listen when she told them her dreams.

  ‘Write them down, won’t you?’ He put his hands into the prayer position and bowed slightly. ‘Namaste. I’m Kim.’

  ‘Jasmine, but my friends call me Pink,’ she said, charmed by his bow.

  ‘Well have a fun day, Pink, I’ll be thinking about you.’ He flashed his dazzling smile again, eyes warm. ‘Don’t forget to delete those photos. That’ll make me real happy.’ He pulled his straw hat down low and Pink became distracted by the whiteness of his teeth, t
he tantalising shadow of bristle where the cord of his hat followed the edge of his chin. Her heart beat a little faster.

  ‘Sure thing.’ The major surge of love that filled Pink on a regular basis powered through her. She’d never met anyone so cool, and so interested in her. The combination was intoxicating and filled her with a sense of power and possibility.

  There were at least fifteen minutes before the next school bus and Pink planned to spy on him for every one of them but by the time she’d crossed the road, Kim had thrown his guitar into the van and was driving fast along the beach front without even a backward glance. Pink stamped her foot, annoyed, wishing she’d accepted his offer of a lift. She shoved her school hat into her backpack and flagged down the first bus headed for the mall. Shopping was going to put her in a much better mood than double modern history.

  Marlee tapped her feet nervously, willing the bus to hurry up, while running through the day in her head: weights training first, double maths, English, sports psychology then media training. What self-respecting school had lessons in the last week of the year? If she’d stayed at the local high school with Tilly they’d be lying under the trees on the oval, planning out their summer. This school had seemed like such a great opportunity when the letter came but now she wasn’t so sure. She was surfing less and less and it made her edgy, as though her dream of hitting the pro circuit was bobbing away on the tide, forever out of reach.

  She flagged down the bus, hoping the early one would still have a few seats. Bargain, she thought, glancing up the aisle, a whole seat and an open window. The bus was hot inside, with an unmistakeable smell of liniment mingled with pimple cream and deodorant. Marlee swung into the seat, ripping the window back further to watch the surf before the bus turned off the beach road.

  ‘You weren’t out for long this morning.’ Kyle rested his pencil on top of his crossword.

  She hadn’t recognised him sitting across the aisle. Glasses and crosswords were two things she wouldn’t have associated with Kyle. She shifted uneasily, wishing she’d remembered her iPod. She often saw Kyle, but unless she was with Tilly, she pretended, not to. Since she had been at the new school, she saw him a lot. Good surfer, bad sport. Marlee looked at him coolly.