Atwow Short Stories - Ships

Lesson Learned - Aonunete

—

It was a normal day. Neteyam was off work, it was sunny. He remembered the time Ao'nung had been talking about surfing and how he would teach him sometime. Neteyam got an idea.

N: Hey
Ao'
MA'NUNGGG

A: ?

N: Wyddd?

A: Nothing
I took the day off work
The beach isn't too full today

N: Teach me how to surf

A: oh
Okay😭
Why so sudden?

N: Idk
I think it would be fun 😋

A: meet me at the beach ig
10 mins

N: Kayyy!!
Byeeee
Love youuu

A: love you too 🥲

—

Neteyam drove to the beach and waited for Ao'nung. "I said 10 minutes dork!" Ao'nung said as he got out of his car. "Well you got here early too so it doesn't matter!" "Yeah yeah, whatever." Ao'nung laughed. He kissed Neteyam and grabbed the surfboards off of the racks on his car. He set them down and grabbed something else out of his car. "I brought you a wetsuit. They're easier to surf in." "How do you know my size-.." "I know a lot of things about you." Ao'nung gave a smile.

The boys changed into their wetsuits and walked down to the water. "Before we start, you should probably try on land first. There's quite a bit you need to know." "Alright!" Neteyam nodded. The boys sat down on the sand with the boards. Ao'nung lifted up something attached to the back of the board. "This is a leash. You wrap it around your ankle. It pretty much just keeps you with your board if you wipe out. It's kind of dangerous when your board floats freely because it can injure other surfers or mess up the board itself."

Ao'nung put the leash around Neteyam's ankle. "Alright. Lay down straight on your stomach in the center of the board. You have to practice paddling with both of your arms so your arms get a sense of the muscles you'll be using." Neteyam laid down and moved his arms in a paddling motion. "Like this?" "Yeah! That's good. Now you need to know how to take off. Popping up on the board is sort of difficult, especially on the waves." Ao'nung explained how to take off. "First, you put your hands flat on the board, below your chest. It all has to be in one quick motion to catch the wave. Push your body up with your arms and tuck your feet up and underneath you. You might want to use your knees first and then bring your feet up one at a time. It's a little slower but it works." Neteyam practiced doing what Ao'nung said until the next step.

"Okay, after you take off, you need to have a good stance. Keep your knees bent and your arms loose. Your feet should be planted on the board. If you start to slip, there isn't enough wax. Keep your torso leaned forward to lower your center of gravity." Neteyam copied Ao'nung as he demonstrated. "You'd probably notice how I keep my feet closer together but I'm more experienced. It might be more comfortable with your feet farther apart from bow to stern on your board, but it actually makes it really hard to control. Balance is side to side, not front to back. Proper stance also includes paying attention and looking in the direction you're going." "I like how serious you are.. It's so cute." Neteyam whispered. Ao'nung became flustered and covered his face with his hands. "I can't be serious if you aren't paying attention!!" "My apologies sir. Please, continue." "Sir? Really?" Ao'nung crossed his arms and smiled.

"Anyway, we can move on to the water." Ao'nung and Neteyam took their boards to the water. "The only way to find the "sweet spot" on your board is to paddle. Your board should plane across the water with the nose slightly above the surface. A good balance position is to have your toes touching the leash string. You'll know you're too far back on the board if the nose is too high up. If the nose digs the water, you're too far up." Neteyam hopped on the board and instantly rolled off into the water. Ao'nung laughed and helped him up. "Maybe a little slower-" He chuckled. "Yeah that's a good idea..." Neteyam replied. Ao'nung looked at the waves in the distance. "The waves are really good today. It's a good day to practice." "They look so pretty!" Neteyam added.