The Surfer's Heart

Chapter 7

The next week and a half were extremely...boring. After all the excitement of the Boardwalk and the first day of school detention, I regrettably imagined my entire Junior Year to be a byproduct of the rocky, but an entertaining start. However, that was not the case. Everything resumed back to the way it was before; I was invisible.

A few days after the whole Boardwalk escapade, and after apologizing for three days for leaving Amy at the fair without any word from me until the next day, Sean ended things with Amy. He came up with some cliche breakup speech about how he wasn't ready for commitment. Well, at least it was the truth.

She was sad for a minute, but rebounded quickly, as I knew Amy would. It's only been a week and she's already found a new man-interest.

"You're sure you wouldn't be upset? It seemed like you two had a fun night together!" Amy asked. I knew how much my answer relieved her, but she was asking again out of courtesy.

"Seriously, Amy. John seems like a good guy. Go for it," I smiled as picked at my salad in front of me. The cafeteria was bustling as always and Amy and I sat by ourselves against the far wall; perfect view of the entire cafeteria in case any form of drama occurs, but also invisible enough that people didn't notice us.

"Thanks, Brookie," Amy smiled widely and leaned across the table to hug me.

"Never call me that," I mumbled into her ear.

"I know, I know," she giggled and sat back down. "But anyway, can we talk about your surfing lessons? I feel like I haven't heard much about the competition in like four days. That's a long time for you to stop talking about surfing."

"Ha, ha. Very funny," I stuck my tongue out. Amy laughed again.

"No, I'm serious. I know your dad's been tough on you lately, so I just wanted to make sure everything's good." Amy said while taking a bite of her pizza.

My mind flashed back to practice yesterday when I almost lost it completely on my dad for pushing me beyond my limits. We practiced for at least four hours after school and I was beyond exhausted. My mother wasn't too pleased, as I barely even had time for my schoolwork afterward. I remember hearing my parents arguing in the kitchen, long after I was supposed to be in bed. "How is she supposed to get into college if she barely has time to do her schooling," my mother had snapped at my dad, in which he replied, "how is she supposed to get into college without any money," which then sent me to bed with a whole head full of anxious thoughts.

"It's been fine," I lied. My fingers fiddled with the water bottle in front of me and I analyzed every crinkle and word on the bottle. I couldn't look Amy in the eyes. I was a terrible liar.

Some commotion stirred at the other side of the cafeteria and I looked up to see Sean entering the room with a few other guys at his flanks. Someone from the jock table was hollering towards the guys and Sean smirked, throwing a football across the entirety of the cafeteria and hitting the other jock perfectly in the hands. The boys whooped and hollered as Sean approached their table. His eyes drifted towards the side of the cafeteria for a moment, meeting mine for only enough time to make my cheeks flush.

"Just fine," I mumbled again, looking back at the water bottle. It was weird to have spent the entire night of the Boardwalk with the guy and then become elusive again. It's like nothing had ever happened. Maybe it was all just a game after all. His odd confession of attraction, his offer to take me home, him demanding to stay to protect me while I surfed...and then nothing. It was all over as fast as it started.

"What idiots," Amy scoffed, although when John shot a quick nod in her direction, she smiled like a giddy school girl. "Although I suppose not all of them are."