Too Short To Ride

1 0 : Wow

The sun was beating down on all the surfers and watchers as the first heat set off into the water. Karter nervously bounced her knee as she examined the competition. Whenever she was surfing in front of a crowd, there was a certain degree of anxiousness that took over her entire body. She knew there wasn't anything to worry about but that didn't matter.

"I'mmmm sooooo neeeerrrvouuss," she said to Camden who stood next to her.

He just laughed and rubbed her back, "you'll do great."

The HotShot Surfing Competition was a tradition on their stretch of the beach. It signified the start of summer and took place after finals. There was a panel of judges that sat behind a table facing the water, and all the competitors hung out a little bit away from them in a group. There were 15 guys and 9 girls competing in divided heats, Karter being in the second heat for the girls and Camden being in the third heat for the guys. The audience was positioned to the left of the judges' table, with blankets and towels littering the hot sand.

Jessica and Bri walked with Caleb and Logan to see how the two surfers were doing. Caleb hardly recognized Karter as they approached. Her usual confident disposition was exchanged for a nervous ball of worry. She was crouched down in the sand, absentmindedly running her fingers across her board.

Camden noticed Caleb's concern. "Don't worry, she gets like this before every competition."

Despite the reassurance, Caleb sat down next to Karter who didn't even notice. The others chatted with each other as Caleb spoke to the anxious surfer.

"You alright?"

The sound didn't break Karter out of her trance, but she did address him.

"I'mmmm sooooo neeeerrrvouuss," she repeated.

Caleb didn't know what to say, so he relied on his gut, "you know, before every basketball game I have to listen to the same song to relax. There was one time I forgot my phone at home and during the game I could barely hold the ball I was shaking so much."

Karter turned to the boy beside her, "really?"

He nodded his head, "yeah, it started back in middle school. Before my very first game I was crying because I was so scared to go out on the court in front of all those people. My one dad was really impatient and was trying to get me into the car to go but it only made me cry harder," Caleb was embarrassed to be telling Karter about the story but continued, "I genuinely thought I was just going to quit basketball but my other dad took me aside and told me that when he was my age all he had to do to calm down was listen to this one song and it gave him all the strength he needed."

His face burned and he hoped she would just think it was the heat.

"Can I listen?"

The question startled him out of his self-consciousness and with wide eyes he looked at Karter, "really?"

She fervently nodded.

Caleb was surprised at the request but didn't say no. Instead, he took out his phone and held the speaker between their ears so they both could listen.

The music was calm.

As Karter listened, she tried to focus her breathing and closed her eyes. The ukulele chords fit with their current setting while she tried to regain control over her rapidly beating heart. She blocked out the chatter from the crowd around her and focused simply on the music and the waves that crashed on the shore.

Caleb watched her. He watched as she slowly began swaying with the music. He noticed that her breathing had become more regular (this was only possible due to their close proximity) and the color was coming back to her face.

His heart lightened.

After the song finished, Karter took another deep breath.

"Thank you." She gave Caleb a genuine smile before standing up and walking over towards where the second heat was gathering.

The honest sentiment threw him off.

"Yeah," he said quietly and stood up too.

The first heat came back on shore and the second heat headed out. Some minutes passed before the first good wave came in and Karter caught it. Caleb knew it was Karter because of her brightly colored rash vest. She rode the wave in a flurry of color, driving her board down the wave, turning, and then shifting her board into a sharp snap, completing a beautiful full roundhouse cutback.

Caleb's eyes widened as his mouth dropped open.

"Wow."

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2/23/18

A whole ten chapters!! Thank you so much for reading :)