the dreadlocked kid said.
âBut you were trying to cut his finger off,â Runt insisted.
âRunt, get a life,â Bean said.
âThis means war,â Runt snarled, then went to get his board. That left only Everett from Lucasâs crew. The guy named Derek was still outsurfing Screamers as if nothing had happened.
âDo me a favor?â Kai said to Everett. âYou know the T-shirt shop where I work? If youâre around town later, maybe youâll stop by and let me know how he is?â
âNo sweat,â Everett said.
Except for Derek, Lucasâs entire crew had gone. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the waves were feathering blue shoulder-high walls. Kai and his friends stood on the beach for a moment, as if not sure what to do.
âHey, guys.â Spazzy came down the beach with a brand-new wet suit in one hand and a brand-new green-and-blue-striped beach towel in the other. Both items still had white sales tags dangling from them.
âHey, man,â Bean said.
Spazzy twitched, then licked the back of his hand and sniffed it. âHow come youâre not surfing?â
âSam just had an accident,â Bean said.
âIs he okay?â Spazzy asked.
âWe think heâs gonna be okay,â Bean said.
âWhat happened?â
âI tried to surf Screamers so Sam decided to get me,â Booger said. âOnly Kai got Sam first.â
âI didnât mean to hurt him, just stop him,â Kai added.
âHe who lives by the sword dies by the sword,â Spazzy said.
Once again they stood around as if not sure what to do.
âI know this feels weird,â Shauna said. âLike part of me is saying we shouldnât go back out and surf, because someone just got hurt. But another part of me is saying we might as well surf, because thereâs nothing else we can do.â
âI like that part better,â said Booger.
âI guess we could go visit Sam in the emergency room,â Spazzy said.
âIâm sure heâd love that.â Bean chuckled.
Booger picked up his bodyboard. âWell, I donât know about you guys, but Screamers is wide open and those waves look too good. Iâm going back out.â
âHard to argue with that,â Bean said. He picked up his board and followed, leaving Shauna and Kai with Spazzy.
âI got a wet suit,â Spazzy said. âSo I can show you, okay? Youâll come out with me, right?â
Kai wasnât certain how to answer. He was always in favor of people surfing, but thisseemed like a lot of responsibility, and he was already responsible for one person getting hurt today. âWhat if something happens?â
âNothingâs going to happen,â Spazzy said. âI told you, Iâve been surfing in California for three years. Nothing ever happened there and itâs not gonna happen here. Itâs just that I made Mrs. Lantz a promise.â
Kai looked at the wet suit and the towel and the labels hanging from them. Spazzy had bought them just to show Kai he could surf.
âWhat are you gonna do for a board?â Kai asked.
Twitching and blinking, Spazzy turned to Shauna. âThink I could use yours for a minute?â
Shauna frowned. âItâs not my board. Itâs Kaiâs.â
Spazzy turned to Kai. âThen we can do it?â It was more of a statement than a question.
âYou sure you can surf?â Shauna asked.
âBeen surfing for years,â Spazzy said. âI swear.â
Shauna gave Kai a âso-whatâs-the-problem?â look.
Kai sighed. He knew he wasnât going to win this debate. âAll right, letâs go.â
Twenty-one
S pazzy tugged his shirt off, then wrapped the beach towel around his waist and started to pull at his shorts. Only, in true Spazzy fashion, the towel didnât stay tucked in and started to slip down his waist. Shauna covered her eyes with her hand and
Adam Byrn Tritt
Amy Rose Bennett
Carrie Mac
Chantel Acevedo
Greg Sisco
Mingmei Yip
H.J. Rethuan
Michele Scott
Max Allan Collins
John Birmingham