Surf School by Laurine Croasdale Page B

another class?’
    â€˜Not any more. My old man just told me to go back to babysitting.’ His voice caught slightly and Marlee looked away, uncomfortable. That’d mean the same for her too.
    She said nothing until they were nearly at the School then stopped to massage her leg. ‘Your dad is totally wrong. I hate that. My father’s the same. They get it all wrong and then it’s your fault. ’
    A small group milled at the School entrance and Marlee watched distractedly, her head numb with fatigue. Tilly waved impatiently for them to come over but Marlee slowly gathered her gear, too tired to walk over to Tilly and explain.
    â€˜Wait,’ Kyle pushed the nose of his board into the sand. ‘I’ll walk you home.’
    Marlee smiled gratefully, handing her gear to Kyle.

    â€˜Hey!’ Tilly called. ‘Marlee!’
    But Marlee was smiling at Kyle, ignoring Tilly completely. She either didn’t hear or didn’t want to.
    â€˜Don’t mind me,’ Tilly muttered sourly. ‘Dad’s condition has taken a dive. I need to get to the hospital and the pair of you are just walking away. And take your arm off my friend,’ she added crossly, watching them leave.
    Then Shane stormed into the School dragging two boards with him. He threw them into the stacker then went back and dipped the rashies into the water trough, wringing each one out with such force they were nearly dry by the time they reached the hanger.
    â€˜What’s wrong?’ asked Tilly.
    â€˜ Two kids nearly drowned. Unbelievable! I’ve just been calming down the parents but if one of them happens to be a lawyer, we’re stuffed.’
    â€˜But what happened?’
    Shane tipped the water out of the trough and tossed the heavy plastic bin into the School. ‘Right – I check out the surf. It looks safe enough but it’s a bit gnarly, too unpredictable forbeginners, so I tell Kyle and Marlee to round up the kids who’d raced out the back and bring them in to shore.’ His voice got louder. ‘Kyle and Marlee paddle out and instead of doing what I ask them, they start playing games. I look over and there’s Marlee on Kyle’s board, fooling around. Meanwhile,’ his voice went up another notch, ‘a massive set comes in, one of the kids loses their board and then they get caught in a rip!’
    Shane grabbed his head, as though the waves were coming through his forehead.
    â€˜I can’t see them but I can hear them screaming and panicking. So I get my guys out of the water so I don’t have to watch them and race up there. Luckily the kids had the good sense to get on a board together and come in. But what really finishes me off is what happens next. The boys are on shore crying and carrying on, the parents round on me and I look up to see Kyle and Marlee riding in together on Kyle’s board.’ His speech became more pronounced as he got angrier. ‘Well, as long as they’re having fun!’ He flung a rashie across the shed. ‘It’s my fault. If I’d got another professional in, none of this would have happened.’
    He thrust his towel into his bag. ‘You know what. I’ve had it for today. I’m going to the pub. Tomorrow’ll be a new day and I’ll get on the phone and find some more instructors. I can’t keep working the hours I am, running all the classes, watching everyone else. It’s not even my School!’ He walked out, leaving Tilly surrounded by a chaos of clothes, boards, vests and equipment.
    In the silence she finally let the tears fall. She cried for her dad, the lousy day, her friends who’d all deserted her, for being yelled at, for being let down. She cried until there was nothing left, then she shut the door and went home.

    â€˜Where’ve you been?’ Sam swung around in his chair, whispering so as not to wake Phil. Then he noticed Tilly’s red eyes.