"One of you could have told me about Wren, by the way." Summer says later in the changing room as you and Bodhi prepare for your heat.
"Excuse me? We've barely heard from you in months." Bodhi says, and Summer smiles guiltily.
"And we do have our own lives." Poppy adds.
Summer shrugs. "Okay, fair. Anyway, what's been going on with you guys? Spill."
"Err, the usual. Comps, training," Poppy says monotonously. "But Bodhi's got someone on the go!" she exclaims, giving Bodhi a playful push.
"Get it Bodhi!" Summer smiles genuinely. "Tell me everything."
"Err, can we talk about how you're apparently a surfer now?" Bodhi deflects.
"And if you wanted to try out, why'd you leave it so late?" Poppy adds.
"I had no choice. I had exams. Plus you have no idea what it took to convince my mum to take time off. She's in the parking lot right now sending emails."
"I thought all the surf beaches near you sucked." you say, and Summer nods.
"Yeah, they do, but I just kept going back. And at first it was to feel closer to you guys. But...after a while it turned into something else," she pauses, finding the words. "I love it. I don't know how else to say it."
"Oh, that's so beautiful, Sum-Sum!" Poppy exclaims, and you laugh along with the others, wondering how good exactly Summer has become. You're glad she's found a new love for surfing, of course, but another contestant means another competitor fighting to get on the State Team.
"Heat 1 competitors, please head to the pool." an announcement calls out across the grounds.
You zip up the back of your wetsuit.
"Kill it guys!" Summer yells after you.
You and Bodhi head down to the wave pool, the long and tedious walk to the starting area making your nerves finally kick in as you feel your board go shaky under your grip.
After throwing your board down into the water and jumping in after it, you sit on the back of the board with your red rash vest somehow glaringly bright under your eyes. Maybe it's the sun, too. But everything just seems too bright. You can't see two metres in front of you, and all of a sudden you feel too overwhelmed to think. Was it Bodhi, you, Tran, then the other girl? Was that the order? Or was it you first?
You get your answer in the form of Bodhi paddling furiously in front of you to get the next wave, her pink board flashing in and out of the white water, and you quickly move out of her way. You must be next, then. You remember you were either first or second.
You try to calm yourself, putting your hand on your forehead to shield your eyes from the sun. You can see Bodhi riding her first wave into shore, which means it's your turn next. You begin paddling, lining yourself up for the next bump of water which will become a wave. You feel yourself being pushed forward and you pop up, letting yourself surf how you know, the muscle memory taking over.
You complete the wave and jump off into the shallows, hearing a muffled array of noises, both from the wave and the people watching, cheering, although you can't distinguish who out of the group are. Probably not Wren, although maybe she is because she's in front of Ari. She's trying to act supportive. Who knows how she thinks.
You hop up on the side to run around for your next wave, not waiting to hear the score of your first. It's better to wait until the end, so you don't think about the mistakes on the first one.
You don't know how the other girls have done either, and before you know it you're back on another wave, this time feeling much more confident and skillful as you manage to just about pull off a pop-shuvit at the end of the wave. After landing it (just about), you ride it into the shallows.
"Let's go Y/n! That was insane!" Poppy and Summer bound up to you.
"Hey, good job." you say to Bodhi as she comes up behind you, and she nods, returning the compliment, but she seems a little quiet. From what you can gather, she didn't mess up in her heat, but she seems irritated at something.
"You too." she mumbles, and you smile awkwardly in response as you head into the changing rooms to dry off. You can't help the elation you feel after that last wave as you pull off your wetsuit inside and dry your hair with a towel. It takes you a while to realise you're not alone.
You turn your head in the direction of the sound of shuffling, and take in the appearance of the boy who just spoke, the boy standing to the side of you. He has pale pink hair arranged messily on the top of his head, and a single silver ring pegged in his nose. He looks familiar, yet you can't quite place him.
"Hi." he says when he sees you looking, and you look down again at your bag, busying yourself by shuffling your clothes and belongings around.
"Hey." you say, although your voice doesn't seem to come out clearly. The changing room is practically silent save for the drip of a tap in the bathroom next door. Each time you make a noise, the sound resonates throughout the room.
"I'm guessing you surfed well." he says casually.
"Why'd you say that?" you ask, assuming that he hasn't been outside the changing room or saw your heat.
"'Cos you were just smiling at a wall." he says, his own face void of any smile. You almost feel like you're being scrutinised under his gaze.
"Oh, yeah." you reply, feeling your cheeks go hot.
"Hey, Y/n I need your help." Summer pokes her head round the door, and you immediately put down the bundle of towels and clothes you were holding, turning your back on Baxter. You can't look at him anymore.
"What's up?" you say, grateful for the distraction.
"The stupid officials won't let me surf because they think I'm not up to standard." she groans.
"So...what do you want me to do?" you ask, a little sceptical and reluctant especially. You don't want to mess up your chances by breaking any rules.
"Just distract them so I can sneak in the pool." she says simply, as if it's an everyday task she's asking you to complete.
"And crash Poppy and Wren's heat? Did you think this through?" you ask.
"If they can just see me surf one wave, they'll realise they've made a mistake and I'll actually be in with a chance! Please Y/n!" she begs with her hands clasped together. "You won't even be breaking any rules, you'll just be having an interesting chat with one of the staff." she says sarcastically.
You sigh, irritated at yourself for letting Summer convince you to get involved in one of her schemes again, but she's done it all the same. "Okay, but there's only one of me, and at least like...three officials, so I don't even know if this is going to work." you say, but Summer grins widely anyway. Suddenly, you hear a voice from the other end of the changing room.
"I'll help."