02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales by Derrolyn Anderson Page A

said hopefully.
    She looked at me and smiled, “Seriously?”
    “Yeah!” I said enthusiastically.
    “I’ll go get my stuff.” She bolted out of the
car and raced into the park and out of sight. A few minutes later
she returned with her board and bag. I got out and helped her wedge
it into the back of the convertible. I drove to Abby’s and I ran in
the house just as hurriedly.
    “Where are you headed in such a rush?” asked
Cruz as I whizzed by.
    “Surfing! See you later!” I called over my
shoulder.
    I pulled out of the driveway and turned to
Shayla, “Where to?”
    She looked at me, sizing me up, “I know a
place nobody from school goes.”
    “That,” I said firmly, “would be a definite
plus.”
    She directed me to drive up the coast past
Santa Cruz. We pulled into a small lot that looked out over an
ocean point with a steep path to a rocky beach below. Evie’s
shining Mercedes looked seriously out of place among all the beat
up vans and old cars with roof racks.
    Shayla turned to me, “These homeboys don’t
like strangers surfing on their territory. But they’re a lot easier
on chicks. I met this dude last week at the boardwalk and he told
me I could come out to thrash a few with them.”
    “Great, let’s go!” I grinned, eager to get
into the water. We got out of the car and changed into our wetsuits
in the lot. A couple of guys sitting in a smoke filled van started
whistling and hooting at us.
    Shayla smiled at me, “See what I mean?” I
just rolled my eyes. There was another pack of surfers we had to
pass by to get down to the beach.
    A voice called out, “You babes should go find
some little girly waves to ride. We wouldn’t wanna see you hurt
your fine selves.” They all laughed but we just kept going.
    Shayla turned to look at me, surprised that I
didn’t seem rattled at all. This was just like high school for me.
I’d become an expert at ignoring rude stares and whispered gossip.
I was used to being an outsider, and the natives weren’t always
friendly when you were a foreigner.
    We got down to the waterline, and I was
delighted to see big waves crashing in hard.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” Shayla
asked. I was surprised to see that she looked a little scared.
    “Oh yeah!” I ran into the surf, duck diving
through the foamy brine. I smelled and tasted the salty water and
sighed with relief. It felt like I was in my element, and ancient
forces surged through my body. Shayla paddled beside me and we sat
up on our boards, rising and falling on the incoming swells. There
was a group of about five or six guys nearby and they were checking
us out, talking and laughing.
    I blocked them out of my mind and focused on
what the sea was doing. There was a truly big wave forming, I could
see the shape it would take as I laid down on my board,
concentrating.
    “I gotta go on this one,” I called to Shayla
as I paddled out furiously. It was the biggest wave I had ever
surfed, which paradoxically, made it easier for me to ride. There
was plenty of room to cut back and forth across it, jumping off the
lip and turning to slide down the face. I narrowly missed slamming
into some rocks at the base of the cliff, but I made the adjustment
and turned in, paddling back over to Shayla.
    “This place is great!” I cried, ecstatic,
“Does Ethan ever go here?”
    Shayla was looking at me with an expression
somewhere between shock and amazement.
    “What?” I asked.
    “That was a sick ride Marina,” she said
solemnly.
    “Is that good or bad?” I was confused at her
change of tone.
    “You were surfing like– like a dude...”
    “No, I was surfing like a girl!” I laughed at
her, for I knew that the most powerful creatures in the sea were
all female.
    We watched a couple of other surfers take
waves and they were really good. I studied their maneuvers and
planned on trying them all. One of them paddled over to us and sat
up on his board, studying me curiously. He was a big guy, tall