Chapter 4
By the time they reached the group, the argument was full blown. Abby and Sara stood on the beach, surfboards under their arms.
Two guys and another girl stood in front of them. All of them were dripping wet. One surfboard lay in the sand.
“We did not steal your wave!” Abby said to a guy in long, colorful swim trunks. “You were just too slow.”
Jill recognized the guy. His name was Wes, and he didn’t go to surf camp. He was a local. He was a few years older than they were. Jill had seen him the summers before. They’d talked a few times.
“The two of you cut me off,” Wes said. His brown hair dripped into his eyes.
“We didn’t cut you off,” Sara said.
Abby nodded. “Yeah,” she said.
“Yes, you did,” Jill said, stepping up to the group.
All their heads turned to her. Abby squinted and said, “What do you know about it? You weren’t even here.”
“I saw you from down the beach,” Jill explained. “You broke surfing rule number one.”
“Surfing doesn’t have rules,” Sara said.
“Not officially,” Jill said. “But everyone knows that you give respect to the more experienced surfers. You never steal another surfer’s wave.”
“We’re experienced!” Abby said angrily.
“And we did not steal this guy’s wave!” Sara added.
Jill shrugged. “That’s not how I saw it,” she said. “And I bet that’s not how they saw it. Right?” She looked at the girl and the guy standing next to Wes. All three of them nodded.
“See?” Jill said, turning back to Abby and Sara.
“What are you, the surfing police?” Abby asked.
Jill smiled and said, “Hardly! But we don’t want to give the surfing camp a bad name.”
Abby and Sara had run out of words. They stared at Jill a moment longer, then quickly walked off with their surfboards under their arms.
“That was awesome!” Meg said, standing behind Jill. “Did you really see them cut this guy off?”
Jill nodded. “Sorry about Abby and Sara,” she said to Wes and his friends. “We’re not all like that at surf camp.”
“Usually not,” Wes said. “You’re Jill, right? Didn’t we meet last summer?”
“That’s right,” Jill said. “Good memory!”
“Don’t apologize for your friends,” Wes said.
“They’re not our friends,” Meg said.
“They still should show respect,” Jill said. “Those two are always trying to make other people look stupid.”
“That’s why we’re going to beat them in the camp competition,” Meg said.
Wes laughed. “Really? I saw you guys down the beach. You can’t even stand up!”
Meg frowned. “I know. Jill’s a pro. And she’s really patient. I’m not a bad swimmer. I’m on my swim team at my neighborhood pool. I just can’t get the hang of surfing.”
“There’s nothing to it!” Wes said. “You just have to feel the ocean. Pretend the ocean is your friend.”
“I think that’s the problem,” Jill said. “Meg thinks the ocean is full of things out to get her, like sharks.”
“And jellyfish! And stingrays!” Meg shouted.
Wes and his friends burst out laughing.
“See what I mean?” Jill said.
“I’ve got the perfect solution,” Wes said. “We’ll have you up on a surfboard in no time.”