❝You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to face them.❞
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After wiping out on the waves and spending the last six months in a physical therapy centre recovering, pro-surfer Thalia Monroe, heads to the small coastal town of Sandy...
ओह! यह छवि हमारे सामग्री दिशानिर्देशों का पालन नहीं करती है। प्रकाशन जारी रखने के लिए, कृपया इसे हटा दें या कोई भिन्न छवि अपलोड करें।
"I CAN'T BELIEVE old man Jones is going to be a judge. Isn't he too—"
"—old?" I finish for Gabi, who is pacing around on the beach in front of me as I lean back against the outside of the surf shack.
She continues to pace, ranting about how he was the only person who could step in at the last minute to cover Thalia's position as a judge. My eyes stray from her and over her shoulder to where some locals are setting up the judge's tent, ready for the competition tomorrow.
A week and a half has passed since Thalia left. It feels like life has returned to the way it was before, but this time, there is a feeling that something is missing from life. Gabi and I have gone back to hanging out on the regular. I go myself to see June now. I come to work in the morning and go back to my apartment at night.
Thalia being here changed everything and now that she is gone, it doesn't feel right.
"He isn't even qualified. He knows nothing about surfing. Can you believe this?" Gabi asks, throwing her arms into the air.
"Can I believe that you've gone on a rant for—" I say and look at my watch. "—fifteen minutes now? Yes, yes, I can."
Gabi sighs and stops pacing before placing her hands on her hips. "I'm not even taking part. I just miss Thalia. She should be the one judging."
"That makes two of us," I tell her, resting my head back against the shack. "Have you spoken to her?"
Gabi looks my and seems hesitant before nodding. "A few times, yeah."
I gulp. "Does she seem happy?"
Gabi gives me a look. "I don't know. She talks about it all with enthusiasm, but it seems very over the top, like she's trying to convince herself more than me. She asks about you, wants to know if you're okay."
"What do you tell her?" I ask.
Gabi glares at me. "I tell her you're a moping lump of a human who drags himself along the beach with a sad face and then goes home to his place, refusing to do anything with us. What else am I gonna tell her? I lie and say you're fine."
I deadpan. "Hilarious, and I don't mope."
"Oh you mope," Gabi tells me, and I scoff. "But we all understand it and that's why we won't pester you to come out to the bar with us."
I sigh. "It's more than that. Everyone just gives me looks and asks me if I'm okay. They know Thalia left, and I can't deal with the pitying looks."
"You've also got all the elderly ladies in this town trying to set you up with their granddaughters already," Gabi says, laughing, and I nod my head.
"Another reason I'm avoiding going out," I say, chuckling. Sighing, I push off the wall. "Well, I need to get ready for my first snorkeling class."
Gabi smiles. "I'm sure it will be great. It's awesome you're venturing into different things."
