Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xii. island in the sun

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ashtyn groaned as her tired shoulders continued to fake paddle her blue foam board forward on the sandy beach. For the last hour and a half, John B and Kiara had been working on her pop and transfer from paddling to standing that way when she got in the water, the action would be one of habit. It had become an increasingly frustrating routine though, and Ashtyn was at the point of quitting altogether.

Kiara yelled, "Pop!" unexpectedly, causing the shorter brunette to trip on her way up.

With her face down in the sand, Ashtyn felt as if she was at her breaking point. She knew going into this that it would be a challenge since she wasn't very athletic. Surfing required a lot of balance and stamina, whether you'd like to believe it or not, and she had neither of those.

"Ash you've got this," John B's encouraging words hardly helped at this point. His hands wrapped under her arms, hoisting her up so her blue eyes could look into his hazel ones. "Kiara has to shout when you're least expecting it because you never know what's going to happen when you're in the water. The currents change constantly and if you're not responsive, it'll take you down."

The long haired boy knew that Ashtyn hated every second of this 'training session'. As a student, knowledge came easy to her, but she's learned that she struggled with everything else. Claudia and Peter sheltered their daughter from extracurriculars, hoping the lack of outside interaction would prevent her from turning out like Luke, but you can see how well that worked out...

"I just can't do it guys!" Ashtyn threw her arms in the air, visibly showcasing her frustration to the two locals. The voice inside her head had been screaming that she would never learn this, and now she was starting to believe it. "I'm not mentally or physically strong enough."

John opened his mouth to argue, but Kiara slid between the young lovers, splitting them up and silently telling John B to let her handle this. Her dark brown eyes silenced him immediately, causing the boy to take a step back and let his long time friend take over.

Kiara wrapped an arm around Ashtyn's shoulders, leading the her away from their male counterpart to find some privacy. She knew John's encouraging words weren't helpful for Ashtyn in her current situation. The brunette girl needed something to motivate her, and that's why Kie was here. "Are you going to let your parents drag you down forever?"

"What?" The question caught her off guard, causing Ashtyn to pull away.

The mainlander watched silently as Kie crosses her arms over her chest, shaking her head and letting out a sigh. "Are you seriously going to let Claudia and the boundaries she created for you as a child hold you back right now? If so, tell me so JB and I can go surf. We're trying to teach you Ash, but you're holding back."

"I'm just not athletic enough for this-"

"You saying that makes it true," Kie took a step forward, grasping the mainlanders shoulders as she looked her in the eye. "You're letting your parents get in your head while you do this. Make it yours Ashtyn. Say you're going to do this, not that you can't."