Surf School by Laurine Croasdale

they’re the next Kelly Slater.’
    â€˜Well, let’s go and round them up. Dad can sort the others out. Race you.’ He spun his board around as the older boy caught a wave. The boy was naturally athletic and jumped up straight away.
    â€˜Keep your eyes up,’ Marlee yelled encouragingly.
    The boy wobbled, finding his balance, then rode past her, a big smile across his face. The other two cheered him on and encouraged, kept paddling out.
    â€˜They’re okay. Let’s wait for the next set and catch a wave in with them,’ Kyle said. His father was always holding students back. He’d done the same to Kyle when he was a grommet.
    In the lull between sets Kyle fidgeted with unused energy. ‘Bet you can’t do this,’ he shouted to Marlee. He leaped upwards, doubled over and dived gracefully into the water.
    Marlee took off her leg rope and did an equally graceful backflip off her board, turning 360 degrees to resurface near Kyle.
    Kyle was back on his board now. He wiped the water out of his eyes, watching Marlee surface. ‘Is that it?’ he teased, diving higher this time.
    When Kyle surfaced, Marlee was standing on his board. Hers had been washed into shore. ‘That was totally lame,’ she yelled and dived again, high over Kyle’s head, then down deep as the first wave of the set powered above. Bubbles exploded around her and she swam leisurely under the wave, the large shadow of a boy’s learner board passing overhead.
    When she surfaced, Kyle was hidden behind the wave and the two younger boys were clutching onto a board, screaming as a rip quickly sucked them out to sea.
    Marlee waved sideways, screaming frantically, ‘Swim across. Swim across the rip.’
    But panic had already set in and they flailed their arms, trying to paddle towards her, floundering, wasting precious energy, swallowing water. There wasn’t much time.
    Marlee swam like she never had before, pushing herself to reach them as soon as she could, hoping Kyle was followingwith his board. But as fast as she moved, the rip moved faster and every time she glanced up they’d bobbed further out, their faces pale, arms unable to paddle. She put on a spurt, exhaustion creeping through her own body, and managed to close the gap.
    â€˜Paddle,’ she yelled. ‘Paddle towards me.’
    Marlee swam again as they inched across the rip towards her, until she lurched at the board, clinging to it. The two boys shivered uncontrollably and Marlee made them lie on the board, all the time watching the waves and talking, catching her breath, talking some more to calm them down.
    â€˜Okay,’ she rasped. ‘When I yell “paddle”, you paddle. Got it?’ They nodded, silent, knuckles white as they clung tightly to the board. ‘I’ll swim in behind you but don’t let go of the board, no matter what.’
    She faced the board towards shore, watching for the next set. As a wave moved towards them Marlee swam hard, using up her dwindling energy, pushing the board towards the wave. ‘Okay, go, go, go, paddle. Paddle harder.’
    They picked up speed.
    â€˜Harder. Paddle,’ she screamed, giving them one final shove.
    â€˜Go!’
    The wave was upon them.
    â€˜NOW!’ Her yell disappeared into the spray as the wave lifted the board up. Marlee’s energy faded and, exhausted, she paddled until the next wave came, floating on her back and sucking in ragged breaths, her eyes closed. She didn’t hear the wave until it dropped on her, folding her in two. Marleebuckled with the force of the water, the air pushed out of her lungs, arms turning windmills as she struggled back to the surface.
    As her head broke the water she saw two things: Kyle paddling towards her and another wave, bigger than the last one, about to crash with its full force on her head. This wave nailed her deeper under the surface and this time Marlee didn’t fight. That