Caught Inside

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." – Ephesians 4:25

Alana had just finished her pre-competition stretching when she glanced up and saw a familiar figure walking towards her. She rolled off her left hamstring and raised one hand against the glare of the sun. As soon as the figure walked under the shade of a palm tree, blocking his face from the harsh glare, Alana broke out into a grin. It was Trevor!

She quickly hopped to her feet and sprinted over. Because her wetsuit was rolled down to her waist, the arm sleeves flapped haphazardly around her torso. She laughed and came to a breathless stop in front of Trevor. "You made it!" she exclaimed.

Yesterday they had talked over the phone, confirming that Coach Alvarez was on his way up to meet with Alana. To her surprise, Trevor had said he would join Alvarez and hang out with the gang in Ventura.

When Alana and Trevor met face-to-face, he matched her smile with one of his own. "It's been too long, man," he said. "How have you been?"

"Great!" She beamed and turned to look at the man who stood a half-step behind Trevor. "And I'm assuming you're—"

"Coach Alvarez," he finished, leaning forward to shake her hand.

Alana's fingers were dwarfed in his large ones. The man was huge—tall, buff, and overwhelming, yet with a surprisingly gentle personality. Even his voice seemed too light and high-pitched for his body. But Alana liked him immediately.

While the first heat of the morning got underway, Alana chatted with Trevor and Alvarez. They mainly discussed her potential training schedule, which ultimately depended on Alana's current physical state. Coach Alvarez said he would base only part of her training off how well she surfed. The other key components, including nutrition and cardiorespiratory fitness, would be determined later during her first real training session.

When it was time for Alana to get ready for her heat, she bid Trevor and Alvarez a brief goodbye before hurrying over to the judges' booth. As she pulled on her jersey, she felt someone give a slight tug on her ponytail.

"Hey!" Maya greeted her. "I haven't seen you all morning. Where did you run off too?"

Alana gave her a quick rundown of her conversation with Trevor and Coach Alvarez. Maya squealed when she heard Trevor's name. "When can I see him?" she asked excitedly.

"After our heat, of course!" Alana laughed. "Now come on; let's grab our boards and get going."

The girls talked happily as they got ready for their heat. The energy between them was almost tangible as they bounced up and down on the shoreline. It was broken only momentarily when Cole walked up and gave Alana a few words of encouragement, and then Maya was back to her hyperactive self. The other competitors looked at her and Alana strangely, wondering why they were so talkative. Usually the atmosphere was thick with tension before a heat, but not in Maya and Alana's case.

As soon as the horn went off, they sprinted into the water. Alana grinned and closed her eyes as she coasted onto her surfboard. Spray from the water rushed up and over the nose, flooding the front of her wetsuit, but it didn't feel as cold as she expected. The bright sun overhead and the exciting vibes radiating from her best friend were enough to keep her warm.

Only when Alana reached the lineup did she find it funny that Maya was so happy. Her friend hadn't been this lighthearted since before her fight with Jake.