RIDING AWAY

CHAPTER 44 - Because I'm happy...

"Do you have a plan B?" I asked Noah while we were queuing to get on our plane back to Cali the following day.

"You mean other than surfing for a living?" He asked and I nodded.

"Whenever I've asked myself that question, I've drawn a blank." He admitted. "It used to stress me a lot until one day I decided to put enough money to the side to be able to deal with it calmly whenever the situation presents itself..."

"Clever..." I commented.

"If there's one thing I'm not, it's clever..." He interjected with a frown. "I barely graduated at school..." He added and I could tell it was a painful memory.

"School results have nothing to do with being clever or not!" I exclaimed. "They just tell you whether you're academically gifted or not..." I added, surprised at how easily he self-deprecated himself. "You're already as moody as a polar bear, do you really think I'd have fallen for a dumb one on top of all the rest?" I then joked when he'd kept quiet after my initial outburst.

"It's nice of you to try and cheer me up, Baby, but it doesn't change the fact that school and I were never friends..."

I shrugged.

"Fair enough, but don't expect me to keep quiet when you say you're dumb, that's all..." I interjected. He opened his mouth as if to argue but decided not to in the end.

On the plane, the three of us got to sit together. I was in the middle with Noah next to the window on my left and Link on my right.

I opened my laptop and looked at the list of online courses I could choose from and tried to project myself in the future.

Being considered an athlete, I was expected either to get a degree in education, to study physical therapy or sports related law or business.

I wasn't too kin on medical studies and I hated anything where money governed, so business and law were out of the question.

Now I'd love teaching but not within the national education system.

I suddenly had a crazy idea.

"What's on your mind?" Noah asked me.

"I've just had the craziest idea and the more I think about it, the more I actually like it." I said almost giddy with excitement.

"Now you've piqued my curiosity..." Lincoln teased me.

"Laugh all you can, my friend, but you'll be happy when I ask you to be part of my amazing project..." I joked back.

"Too much suspense, Girl!" He went on. "Just fill our ears with all that awesomeness you came up with..." I couldn't help but laugh at his goofiness.

"Ok, ok..." I was getting anxious of their reaction, now. Maybe they'd think I was being unrealistic or something. "Well, I was thinking of maybe opening a sort of riding academy where students would be trained by former professional riders while getting a normal education..." I said with a grimace.

"I suppose you're not talking about horse-riding, there..." Link commented.

"No but it would be open to surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders, maybe kite-surfers and windsurfers, too..." It suddenly seemed all too complicated. "I don't know... It sounded like a good idea in my head..." I grimaced again.

"It is actually a good idea, Blake..." Lincoln said.

"A f*cking good one, you mean!" Noah yell-whispered. "Open a new document so we can start jotting down ideas of what we're going to need..."