Caught Inside

Chapter Seventeen

"For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light." – Luke 8:17

By the time he retrieved his books from his locker, Cole felt as if he was walking on air. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. Not only had he just surfed some extremely fun waves at C Street with the team, but Coach Kerr had finally seen Trevor's video. He'd been very impressed and asked Alana to email the file to him right away.

"I might have to ask this friend of yours to film our entire surf team," he added, which made the gang even more excited than they already were.

On top of Coach Kerr's reaction, Cole was also thrilled about the surf competition going down tomorrow at Emma Wood State Beach. Usually the spot offered small, gutless waves, but with a big swell peaking over the weekend, Cole knew they were in for some huge sets. His dad said that when the swell direction and period were right, Emma Wood became a whole different surf break. One time, he told Cole, waves had been barreling up and down the entire stretch of beach.

Though bigger waves were often scarier and harder to ride, Cole hoped and prayed that the forecast was right—even if it meant the surf competition would be cancelled due to dangerous conditions.

But it wasn't the anticipation of huge surf that put the smile on Cole's face. His mind was stuck replaying his conversation with Alana over and over again. It seemed like every time they talked—even if it was a quick two-minute conversation before first period, like today—they grew a little closer and learned to appreciate the other person a little more. Cole felt like the luckiest guy on earth. He had developed the biggest crush on Alana over the course of their surfing safari, and it had stunned him to find out that she had a bit of a crush on him too. Their agreement was to take things slow, kind of "feel out" their relationship, and not rush into anything too quickly. While it frustrated Cole to see Maya and Jake so enthralled with each other as a couple, he knew his relationship with Alana had to be seen differently. She wasn't a "romantic" sort of girl.

Cole's thoughts suddenly backtracked to Maya and Jake. His smile slowly dissolved as he realized that they had been acting sort of awkward around each other lately. In fact, though they still sat next to each other during lunch, they hadn't talked or whispered together like they usually did. Cole figured they had gone through their first major fight, and it would be no time before they were back to normal. He made a mental note to ask Jake about it anyway.

Suddenly, a kid rushing down the breezeway accidentally knocked shoulders with Cole. "Sorry!" he exclaimed sheepishly.

Cole was on his guard at once, but when he realized it was some freshman he hadn't seen before, he relaxed and gave the kid a brief smile. He hitched his backpack higher on his shoulders and tried to shake off the memory of what Logan and his pals had done. So far, there hadn't been any other incidents since then, and Cole hoped it would stay that way for the rest of the school year.

As he rounded the corner of the breezeway, he suddenly caught sight of Koa, who was forcing his way through the crowd up ahead. Cole darted between two groups of girls, both of which immediately smiled and giggled when he raced by. Out of habit, he inclined his head and acknowledged, "Ladies," which elicited a chorus of "Hi, Cole!" in reply.

"Koa!" he said once he reached his friend. He squeezed between two guys and tapped Koa on the shoulder. "Hey!"

Koa glanced over at him. "You heading this way?" he called above the noise of the crowd.