paddle
out. In a way it was a bummer Megan wasn't with us as
she was fully into an early paddling race. By early I
meant the minute her board hit the water she'd be
hunting for a battle.
A set ruined by too many flat spots churned
through. If there was one thing Jake was picky about in
an expression session, it was that we selected the right
wave. He didn't like us just mucking around on
anything for fun. 'That's for your free surfs,' he'd say.
So we waited, watched and discussed – which was
what I was dying to do. Megan was bad!
'They're still having a go at her,' I said, sitting up on
my board, facing the beach. 'I wish I had bionic ears. I'd
love to know what they're saying.'
'I'd love to know what Megan's saying back,'
Georgie replied. 'I nearly died when she spat that gum
out at Shyan. She has grown balls, I swear it.'
'I'll tell you what's grown. Her eyeballs,' I add.
'They're humungous.'
'Yeah.' Georgie slapped the water. 'I noticed that too.'
'Hey, she's putting on her leg rope,' I announced. 'I
think. She's bending down doing something. No. No,
she's standing up again.'
'Hmm, I wonder what she's up to.' Georgie's
mission was to be one step ahead of Megan. 'She's
pretty confident. Do you reckon she's pulling some
stunt to try and make us lose focus? You know how like
sometimes Kelly Slater doesn't turn up for a contest
until the absolute last second?'
'I don't know,' I answered. 'But aren't we meant to
be acting like a team? Isn't that the whole reason we're
here?'
Micki had been so quiet. I wasn't sure if she'd been
listening but then she mumbled, 'You wouldn't want to
be in a team with her.'
'I don't know about that, Micki. She's training hard
and taking it seriously,' Georgie said. 'But it's turned
her into a psycho.'
A new set was lifting out of the horizon. Georgie
began to spin around. I lay down and got ready too.
'I think she's taking drugs.' Micki spoke again just as
Georgie began to paddle.
'What!' Georgie shouted behind her. 'How would
you know?'
Micki muttered something but I didn't hear it 'cause
I was following Georgie's call.
Georgie could pick a wave for the taking even with
her eyes closed. She reckoned it was the sound they
made. This instinct of hers used to really piss me off.
Now, well, now I tried not to take it personally.
MICKI
Two blonde hairs still clung to the page where I'd written
about arriving at Kia's. I'd found them on Monday afternoon
just before Georgie came back from meeting Jules.
The strange thing was, I made my discovery just as
Georgie's mobile rang for the first time. It was Ace
calling, the owner of the hairs. There was no way I could
answer it.
Last Saturday, when I rolled up my sleeping bag, I
noticed that my diary wasn't way down the bottom
where it usually was. I thought it'd probably been
shoved or kicked out of place, 'cause everyone had to
step over my sleeping bag to get in and out of Kia's
room. That's why I rolled it up every day, in case one of
the girls trod on it and got curious.
That must've been what happened. Ace went back
to the house before us. She must've stepped on it. It's
not like she would've gone looking for it. Was it?
I was trying really, really hard to keep it together.
But this felt as bad as I'd always imagined it would.
Finding out that someone has been through your diary
is like being turned inside out. Suddenly this person
has a totally different view of you because they've seen
the things they weren't mean to see: your most private,
private thoughts. Now they know every layer of you
and every space in between: your fears and fantasies,
your darkest secrets, every little tiny bit of you. There is
even worse to come because now they can spread that
information to other people.
If I found a diary, would I read it? Or would I put it
back knowing that it wasn't for me to see? Reading
someone's diary is a low thing to do. Maybe even the
lowest. It isn't the sort of thing you do to a friend, especially
a special friend.
But had
out. In a way it was a bummer Megan wasn't with us as
she was fully into an early paddling race. By early I
meant the minute her board hit the water she'd be
hunting for a battle.
A set ruined by too many flat spots churned
through. If there was one thing Jake was picky about in
an expression session, it was that we selected the right
wave. He didn't like us just mucking around on
anything for fun. 'That's for your free surfs,' he'd say.
So we waited, watched and discussed – which was
what I was dying to do. Megan was bad!
'They're still having a go at her,' I said, sitting up on
my board, facing the beach. 'I wish I had bionic ears. I'd
love to know what they're saying.'
'I'd love to know what Megan's saying back,'
Georgie replied. 'I nearly died when she spat that gum
out at Shyan. She has grown balls, I swear it.'
'I'll tell you what's grown. Her eyeballs,' I add.
'They're humungous.'
'Yeah.' Georgie slapped the water. 'I noticed that too.'
'Hey, she's putting on her leg rope,' I announced. 'I
think. She's bending down doing something. No. No,
she's standing up again.'
'Hmm, I wonder what she's up to.' Georgie's
mission was to be one step ahead of Megan. 'She's
pretty confident. Do you reckon she's pulling some
stunt to try and make us lose focus? You know how like
sometimes Kelly Slater doesn't turn up for a contest
until the absolute last second?'
'I don't know,' I answered. 'But aren't we meant to
be acting like a team? Isn't that the whole reason we're
here?'
Micki had been so quiet. I wasn't sure if she'd been
listening but then she mumbled, 'You wouldn't want to
be in a team with her.'
'I don't know about that, Micki. She's training hard
and taking it seriously,' Georgie said. 'But it's turned
her into a psycho.'
A new set was lifting out of the horizon. Georgie
began to spin around. I lay down and got ready too.
'I think she's taking drugs.' Micki spoke again just as
Georgie began to paddle.
'What!' Georgie shouted behind her. 'How would
you know?'
Micki muttered something but I didn't hear it 'cause
I was following Georgie's call.
Georgie could pick a wave for the taking even with
her eyes closed. She reckoned it was the sound they
made. This instinct of hers used to really piss me off.
Now, well, now I tried not to take it personally.
MICKI
Two blonde hairs still clung to the page where I'd written
about arriving at Kia's. I'd found them on Monday afternoon
just before Georgie came back from meeting Jules.
The strange thing was, I made my discovery just as
Georgie's mobile rang for the first time. It was Ace
calling, the owner of the hairs. There was no way I could
answer it.
Last Saturday, when I rolled up my sleeping bag, I
noticed that my diary wasn't way down the bottom
where it usually was. I thought it'd probably been
shoved or kicked out of place, 'cause everyone had to
step over my sleeping bag to get in and out of Kia's
room. That's why I rolled it up every day, in case one of
the girls trod on it and got curious.
That must've been what happened. Ace went back
to the house before us. She must've stepped on it. It's
not like she would've gone looking for it. Was it?
I was trying really, really hard to keep it together.
But this felt as bad as I'd always imagined it would.
Finding out that someone has been through your diary
is like being turned inside out. Suddenly this person
has a totally different view of you because they've seen
the things they weren't mean to see: your most private,
private thoughts. Now they know every layer of you
and every space in between: your fears and fantasies,
your darkest secrets, every little tiny bit of you. There is
even worse to come because now they can spread that
information to other people.
If I found a diary, would I read it? Or would I put it
back knowing that it wasn't for me to see? Reading
someone's diary is a low thing to do. Maybe even the
lowest. It isn't the sort of thing you do to a friend, especially
a special friend.
But had
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