Cinderella in the Surf by Carly Syms

it under my right arm.  
    After I'm out in the driveway, I strap the board to the roof of my small, silver two-door and jump into the driver's seat.  
    The tune-up competition is happening at a beach right down the street, but I'm already pushing my luck with time and I definitely don't feel like lugging the board the whole way there while trying to walk normally on the hot dry sand.
    It doesn't take too long for me to find a parking spot. I'm out of the car with the board off the roof and on the sand all in minutes.  
    "Well look what the cat dragged in."  
    Anna White is sitting behind the small registration table under what I'm pretty sure is just a rain umbrella strapped to the back of her chair, giving off a little shade, while she checks in names and hands out numbers, knitting a few rows between contestants.
    I crack a smile. "You know I can't stay away."  
    Anna raises an eyebrow. "I see that now, but I had my doubts. Your name didn't get added to my sheet until this morning. And I've been watchin' for it for weeks."
    I give a little half-shrug and try to think of the quickest thing I can say to steer this conversation into safer waters. I like Anna, but I'm not up for four thousand discussions today about how I finally got my act together and back into surfing.
    "Must have been a glitch," I finally say.
    Anna sort of nods, then quickly gathers up the papers I need. One signature here, and another there, and I've got the numbers to pin to the front of my wetsuit before I hit the surf and I'm walking off to a quiet part of the beach to take a deep breath.
    I set the board down, then dig around in the small tote bag I always have with me when I surf. My hands finally close around my old stick of wax and I begin rubbing it up and down the board's smooth surface to make sure it isn't too slippery when I get out there on the ocean.
    I stroke the wax over the board in long, even motions, taking my time, not like I'm used to doing. I want to savor this moment. And as I rub the sticky stuff onto the surface, I feel a little more tension release from my shoulders.  
    Everything's just a little bit more okay right now than it was just an hour ago.  
    It's all gonna be okay.  
    "Shoulda known, shoulda known."  
    I look up but I don't have to to know who's talking. Sure enough, Ahe's standing in front of me, a big grin lighting up his plump face.
    "Don't even say it."  
    "I won't, I won't," he tells me, but he doesn't have to -- his smile tells the whole story. "But it's good to see you back out here, hoaloha."  
    "Yeah," I say. "We'll see how it feels, though."  
    "That's the thing about doing what you love. It might hurt sometimes, but it never feels wrong."
    I look up at him and crack a smile. "You're wise beyond your years, Ahe."
    "When you go out?"
    I put the wax down and pull the sheet Anna gave me out of my bag. We're still six weeks away from the Invitational, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that there aren't that many people signed up. Most of the big names probably haven't even flown into town yet. Only three heats today, with three girls each, and I'm right in the middle.  
    All in all, that makes nine of us ready to hit the waves today.
    Nine?
    I feel a small smile flicker across my face. That's nothing. I've surfed in much bigger competitions than this -- and won.
    "Second," I say, then I give the sheet another look and hold it up to show him. "Piper Monaghan isn't on here."
    He shakes his head. "I saw her in town down at the market when I was on my way over here. Not in a wetsuit."
    "Too good to need a tune-up?" I say, my voice dripping with snark.
    Ahe doesn't take the bait. "Would you be surfing in one of these if Alex was still here?"  
    I purse my lips. "Fair."  
    "The other surfers aren't always the enemy."  
    "This one is," I mutter under my breath, as the first three girls walk into the water with their surfboards.
    In the International Invitational, each heat will get thirty minutes to