Chapter 3
The next day, Jill and Meg waded into the ocean. Their surfboards floated in front of them.
“This is a total mistake,” Meg said. “I’m a disaster.”
“Tell me again why you signed up for surf camp?” Jill asked.
“I didn’t,” Meg explained. “My parents signed me up because I’m on my swim team at school.”
“So you like the water,” Jill said.
“I do! But I like it in a pool with chlorine and no rocks and no surprises,” Meg said, shaking her head.
“I’ve been swimming these beaches all my life,” Jill said. “You won’t find many surprises in North Carolina either.”
“What about riptides? And crabs in the sand? And huge waves?” Meg looked worried.
Jill laughed. “I wish we could catch a huge wave!” she exclaimed. “We’d win this competition for sure!”
The water lapped around their knees. “Seriously,” Jill said. “Surfing’s not all that hard. All you need is a double dose of C.”
“The sea?” Meg asked.
“No, the letter C,” Jill explained. “Confidence and courage.”
“I don’t think I have much of either of those,” Meg said.
“Don’t worry,” Jill told her. “We won’t go out as far as we did yesterday. We’ll only go out waist high. That should build your confidence.”
“What about the courage part?” Meg asked.
Jill smiled. “That part will come with practice,” she said.
Meg frowned. “Can’t we practice on shore, like we did before?” she asked.
“I don’t think sand surfing is a sport,” Jill said, smiling. “But if it was, you’d be an expert.”
Meg returned Jill’s smile, but it wasn’t a big one.
Jill pushed herself up onto her board and lay flat on her stomach. “Okay, start by getting on the board, like I just did,” she said.
Meg slid onto the board. “That’s easy,” she said. “That’s always the easy part.”
“Good. Now, push yourself up and swing your feet onto the board, like this.” Jill showed Meg how to land on the board with one foot slightly ahead of the other.
Meg tried to copy her. Instead of landing on her feet, she fell on her knees. The board wobbled, and then it toppled over, taking Meg with it.
Meg splashed back up to the surface. “What am I doing wrong?” she asked.
Jill straddled the board, her legs hanging over the sides. “You’re landing on your knees first, not your feet,” she explained. “That can throw your balance off.”
“Okay, let me try again,” Meg said.
The girls practiced for an hour. Krista came over a few times to offer advice. Jill didn’t even think of letting Meg try to catch a wave. She had to be able to stand on the board first.
They stayed in the shallow part of the beach. Farther down, Jill saw the more expert surfers doing their stuff.
She held back a sigh. She wanted to be there. She wanted to catch a wave. She wanted to feel the power of the water beneath her. But she wouldn’t leave her new partner.
Still studying the surfers, Jill narrowed her eyes. Something was off. She’d seen something that just wasn’t supposed to be done.
“Come on,” she said to Meg. She flipped onto her board and began paddling across the water.
“Jill, wait!” Meg called after her. “What’s wrong?”
“Abby and Sara!” Jill said over her shoulder. She paddled harder.