02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (7 page)

“Great, let’s go!” I grinned, eager to get
into the water. We got out of the car and changed into our wetsuits
in the lot. A couple of guys sitting in a smoke filled van started
whistling and hooting at us.

Shayla smiled at me, “See what I mean?” I
just rolled my eyes. There was another pack of surfers we had to
pass by to get down to the beach.

A voice called out, “You babes should go find
some little girly waves to ride. We wouldn’t wanna see you hurt
your fine selves.” They all laughed but we just kept going.

Shayla turned to look at me, surprised that I
didn’t seem rattled at all. This was just like high school for me.
I’d become an expert at ignoring rude stares and whispered gossip.
I was used to being an outsider, and the natives weren’t always
friendly when you were a foreigner.

We got down to the waterline, and I was
delighted to see big waves crashing in hard.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shayla
asked. I was surprised to see that she looked a little scared.

“Oh yeah!” I ran into the surf, duck diving
through the foamy brine. I smelled and tasted the salty water and
sighed with relief. It felt like I was in my element, and ancient
forces surged through my body. Shayla paddled beside me and we sat
up on our boards, rising and falling on the incoming swells. There
was a group of about five or six guys nearby and they were checking
us out, talking and laughing.

I blocked them out of my mind and focused on
what the sea was doing. There was a truly big wave forming, I could
see the shape it would take as I laid down on my board,
concentrating.

“I gotta go on this one,” I called to Shayla
as I paddled out furiously. It was the biggest wave I had ever
surfed, which paradoxically, made it easier for me to ride. There
was plenty of room to cut back and forth across it, jumping off the
lip and turning to slide down the face. I narrowly missed slamming
into some rocks at the base of the cliff, but I made the adjustment
and turned in, paddling back over to Shayla.

“This place is great!” I cried, ecstatic,
“Does Ethan ever go here?”

Shayla was looking at me with an expression
somewhere between shock and amazement.

“What?” I asked.

“That was a sick ride Marina,” she said
solemnly.

“Is that good or bad?” I was confused at her
change of tone.

“You were surfing like– like a dude...”

“No, I was surfing like a girl!” I laughed at
her, for I knew that the most powerful creatures in the sea were
all female.

We watched a couple of other surfers take
waves and they were really good. I studied their maneuvers and
planned on trying them all. One of them paddled over to us and sat
up on his board, studying me curiously. He was a big guy, tall and
dark, heavily muscled under his wetsuit, with a thick neck and a
square jaw.

“Where’d
you
come from?” he asked, his
black eyes piercing into mine. He was older than us, probably not
much, but there was something about the directness of his gaze you
didn’t find very often in high school boys.

“Everywhere,” I may have sounded flippant,
but I spoke the truth.

“I’m Kimo,” he said, holding out his
hand.

I shook it politely, “I’m Marina, and this is
Shayla,” I gestured to Shayla, who was looking at him with an open
mouth.

“You girls locals?” he asked. His voice was
velvety, rich and deep like black coffee.

“We came here from down the coast,” I said
pointedly, “To surf.” On that note I turned my attention back to
the sea, waiting for another great wave to form. I could hear
Shayla and Kimo talking, but it was the humming of insects,
insignificant compared to the vibration from the water. I could
feel a massive one forming, seeing it take shape before it even
started. I moved into position, taking the perfect spot.

I started paddling, and was lifted by a
fierce power as I stood up on a wall of water more tremendous than
anything I had ever known before. I was scared and exhilarated at
the same time as I dug into the wall of flowing energy with my
board. It was the closest thing I could experience to swimming with
the mermaids; I rejoiced in the memory. I was dancing with the
ocean and it felt amazing. I pulled out at precisely the right
moment to avoid being smashed against the rocks. I paddled back to
Shayla, sublimely happy.

Now two faces looked at me, dumbstruck.

“Aren’t you going to surf, Shayla?” I
asked.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

“What?”

“Uh, pick the epic waves and ride them like–
like–”

“Like a pro!” Kimo burst in.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just... good at
it,” I said, uneasy with the way they were looking at me. I turned
my focus back to the ocean and waited for another one. I was lined
up with some of the guys who seemed to be watching me expectantly.
I blocked them out and closed my eyes, waiting. They took some of
the other waves but I waited, and then I felt it, and as I moved
out they melted back, watching.

I ignored their stupid stares and took off.
This one was huge as the last, but it told me it was going to break
differently. I listened carefully to what it was going to do, and
adjusted my plan accordingly. Feeling as agile as a cat, I tried
out a few new things, turning the board in a circle in the air and
gliding back down the face. I ran my palm across the wall of water
and watched the patterns it made. Everything seemed to be going in
slow motion, and all I could hear was the sound of flowing water
like a million mermaids singing.

I looked up to see the rocks rushing towards
me and I cut back away from them at the last possible second,
barely making it. As I snapped back to reality I realized just how
foolish I was behaving. I was being lulled into a false sense of
security by the water, acting like an immortal mermaid when I was
in fact an extremely mortal human. I shuddered to think what those
rocks could do to me if I allowed myself to be swept away and lost
in a daydream. I remembered Ethan’s surfing accident; he wouldn’t
be too happy if he could see what I was up to.

I paddled out to Shayla to find a couple more
guys sitting up around her.

“You got some serious air!”

“That was epic!”

“Um, thanks,” I turned to Shayla, “I need to
go now.”

“OK,” she said numbly, looking at me like I
was from outer space.

“Did you see that chick boost off the lip?” I
could hear them talking as we paddled in. Obviously my reckless
display had impressed them. I hoped that Shayla would keep it to
herself. We climbed up the steep path to the parking lot to see a
group of guys hanging around the Mercedes, leaning on it and
looking in it. I felt a surge of anger– how dare they touch Evie’s
car! There was something cocky and arrogant about the way they
stood there. I knew they’d be trouble.

“Hey Shayla,” one of them called out, “Who’s
the rich girl that can really tear it up?”

“She’s a friend from school,” she said,
looking down nervously. They moved between us and the car, blocking
our path.

“Excuse me,” I said as I tried to walk past.
They didn’t budge, and I came within inches of the biggest one with
my board. I had a powerful urge to slam it into his face, and when
I looked up into his eyes he could see it in mine.

“Check it out!” he laughed, “Little surfer
girl has a temper!”

“I said
excuse me
,” I repeated through
gritted teeth.

Shayla turned towards the one who had called
her by name, “Um, we need to go... can you guys just let us hit the
road?”

“Say please,” the big one said to me, his
arms folded across his chest. He had the attitude of someone who
was rarely challenged. Looking into his cruel eyes I knew I could
never do it.

I pushed my surfboard into his chest, “Move
it!” I hissed. One of the others grabbed my board, pulling it out
of my grip and tossing it aside. I lunged for it, and the big one
grabbed my arm, yanking me to him with malevolence in his eyes.

“Ho brah! What’s goin’ on?” Kimo and a few of
his large friends were walking up. My arm was released, and I went
to pick up my board, shooting daggers with my eyes at the big oaf
who had dared to grab my arm. The other guys all backed off as I
loaded my board in, shaking a little. Kimo got between us and them
and they slunk away, walking to the other side of the lot.

“Are you honeys alright?” he asked.

“Um, yeah, thanks,” I said with a grateful
smile. “Let’s go Shayla.”

We stripped our wetsuits off and got dressed
in a hurry, tossing our things in the back and peeling out of the
lot with a screech. We drove a ways down the road, and after a bit
I turned to look at Shayla, a smile playing around my lips. We
burst into laughter simultaneously, and I started cracking up so
hard I had to pull over to compose myself.

“That was a trip!” Shayla said, wiping her
eyes, “Man, you are freakin’ nuts!”

“I guess I do have a temper,” I said,
remembering fighting with Shayla not so long ago. We started in on
another round of hysterical laughter. After a few minutes I
gathered myself together for the drive home.

“So, your parents are rich,” Shayla said,
looking around the car.

“No, my dad’s a scientist,” I said, “and this
car belongs to my Aunt Evie.”

“Yeah, but he’s rich... right?”

“Not really... He’s a professor,” I said,
“and right now he’s living in a mud hut in Afghanistan with no
electricity and no running water. He eats with the villagers on the
floor, using his hands, and get this– the women have to eat
after
the men! Can you believe that?”

“That’s messed up, man.”

“Yeah, and to think I was mad when he
wouldn’t bring me along,” I laughed again, shaking my head at how
wrong I had been.

“I couldn’t see you putting up with that
crap.”

“When in Rome...”

“When what?”

“Nothing– I mean, sometimes you just need to
go along to get along.” I glanced out towards the water, “It’s
weird, I never used to get mad about anything until I moved
here.”

Shayla sighed, “I can’t believe we met Kimo
Wakita. He was totally asking about you.”

“Who?”

She looked at me incredulously, “Jeeze! He’s
like only one of the top ranked surfers in the world!”

“Yeah, he was good,” I said, thinking about
the spinning move I had copied from him.

“Good?! He was on the cover of all the
magazines last month. He killed it in Waimea! That dude can
terrorize!”

“What did he ask about me? What did he want
to know?”

“He asked where you lived, he wanted to know
where you learned to surf.”

I was alarmed, “What did you tell him?”

“I just said Aptos.”

“Oh.”

We drove along in silence for a minute.

“Marina, I’m sorry about those dudes. I
didn’t know they’d be all like that.”

I smiled ruefully at her, “People can be...
disappointing.”

She looked down and her voice was small, “I
thought you’d be afraid to surf there. I didn’t expect you to go
through with it.”

“That surf was amazing! I’d go back there in
a heartbeat if it wasn’t for all those jerks.” I felt a wave of
sorrow wash over me, and my voice was quiet, “I wish Ethan would
take me to places like that. I don’t think he wants me to
surf.”

She looked up, surprised, “Why not? You’re a
killer shredder!”

“He’s paranoid,” I said with a frown.

“About the sea lions, right?”

“Yeah, I guess...” I felt the last bit of
euphoria from surfing drain out of me. “Hey, Shayla- could we not
mention today to him? I don’t want him freaking out on me.” I
sighed heavily as I pulled up at Shayla’s place.

Shayla paused for a moment before getting
out, “I wouldn’t be so bummed if I were you. He’s only like that
cuz he cares.”

I smiled sadly at her, “I know.” She took her
board and I handed over her bag, “Bye Shayla, see you at
school.”

“Later on.”

I barely got a foot in the door when Cruz ran
up to me, eyes glowing, breathless with excitement.

“Marina! I talked to Evie! She’s having a
Christmas party next Saturday! She wants Ethan and Megan to come!
It’s gonna be great! Can we spend the night at your apartment? Oh
my God, what should I wear? What should
you
wear? I should
dress you and Megan– all the San Francisco fashionistas will be
there!”

I laughed at Cruz’s over the top enthusiasm,
“Slow down!”

Cruz was right to be so excited. Evie’s
parties were always lavish affairs, attended by the wealthiest and
most fashionable San Francisco socialites. She liked an eclectic
crowd, and always peppered her guest list with artists and
performers. Her parties routinely ended up in the society section
of the paper; I knew Cruz would have the time of his life. I smiled
just thinking about it, and started wondering if Ethan would want
to go. What would he make of Evie?

Cruz dragged me into his room by the arm and
started to flip through his wardrobe, looking for a dress for me
that would be suitably impressive for Evie’s party.

“What about the mermaid dress?” I asked,
fingering the beautiful gown he had fashioned for me in the
fall.

“No way! Evie’s already seen it!”

We went to my room and I watched as he
doggedly rummaged through my clothes and delved into my stack of my
shoes. He pulled out a pair of killer knee high boots he hadn’t
seen before.

“Nice!” he said, “You should wear these
tomorrow.”

He forgot about the party for a moment and
started to lay out an outfit for school, picking out one of my new
cashmere sweater dresses, pairing it with a woven leather belt.
Cruz had a real genius for combining pieces from my wardrobe to
come up with new and sophisticated looks. When he dressed me I was
sometimes mistaken for a teacher by a freshman or two.