Surf School (9 page)

‘Okay,' she rasped. ‘When I yell “paddle”, you paddle. Got it?' They nodded, silent, knuckles white as they clung tightly to the board. ‘I'll swim in behind you but don't let go of the board, no matter what.'

She faced the board towards shore, watching for the next set. As a wave moved towards them Marlee swam hard, using up her dwindling energy, pushing the board towards the wave. ‘Okay, go, go, go, paddle. Paddle harder.'

They picked up speed.

‘Harder. Paddle,' she screamed, giving them one final shove.

‘Go!'

The wave was upon them.

‘NOW!' Her yell disappeared into the spray as the wave lifted the board up. Marlee's energy faded and, exhausted, she paddled until the next wave came, floating on her back and sucking in ragged breaths, her eyes closed. She didn't hear the wave until it dropped on her, folding her in two. Marlee
buckled with the force of the water, the air pushed out of her lungs, arms turning windmills as she struggled back to the surface.

As her head broke the water she saw two things: Kyle paddling towards her and another wave, bigger than the last one, about to crash with its full force on her head. This wave nailed her deeper under the surface and this time Marlee didn't fight. That would only waste the meagre reserve of energy she had left.
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm,
she told herself, waiting for the turbulence to end. But the deeper she went, the darker it became.

She pushed off the sandy bottom, kicking her way towards the light when a vicious pain seared through her calf muscle, shutting it down. Marlee doubled over, clutching her cramping leg, writhing like a fish on a hook, forcing her face above water, gasping for air – fear and desperation seeping in. The vice snapped down on her leg again and she sank, clutching at it to stop the pain. But the cramp bit deeper and the pain leached out her last precious seconds of oxygen. She stopped fighting momentarily, sinking downwards.

Kyle caught her arm. He hauled her upwards, her arm socket wrenched tight. She flopped across his board, gasping, coughing, taking in ragged breaths, filling her lungs.

‘Argggh, my leg!' The cramp returned with more force and she yelped with renewed pain.

‘I've got you.' Kyle straightened her leg, pulling her toes back towards her shin, rubbing the muscle to warm it up. ‘It'll stop in a minute.'

The sharp pain gradually subsided but her leg muscle felt tight and useless. Marlee hunched over sobbing, shivering with cold. Kyle wrapped his arms around her, trying to warm her up.

‘I thought I was going to drown,' she sobbed.

‘Take some deep breaths.' He breathed deeply and Marlee copied him, her breathing gradually settling down. She rested her head against his chest, exhausted, but as she recovered she shuffled backwards, embarrassed.

‘Thanks,' she said gratefully.

Kyle's eyes were full of kindness and compassion. Did he feel sorry for her? she wondered. Marlee pulled herself together, wincing again at the dull ache left by the cramp.

‘I'll paddle you in.' She lay on the board, eyes closed, aware of Kyle's body close to hers.

On the beach, Shane was pacing up and down, his jaw pulsing in and out, in and out. As they hit the shallows he raced towards Kyle, pulling him off his board and shaking him like a rag.

‘What do you two think you're playing at?' he yelled.

Marlee limped to the sand and dropped down beside the boys, wrapped in towels. She rubbed her leg, head on her knees, shivering, beyond tired. Snatches of Shane's angry tirade washed over her.

‘Two boys … beginners … not watching … showing off … disgrace … Marlee … what was that all about?'

Kyle flicked his leg rope across the water, words crashing against him, not daring to look anywhere but down. Marlee stood stiffly and limped towards them.

Shane glared at her. ‘What?'

With the last of her energy she stood her ground. ‘If we'd been watching those boys it might not have happened. But they weren't listening to you in class or they would've known what to do in a rip. And if Kyle hadn't helped me I wouldn't be standing here now. You should be proud of him, not running him down.' Marlee bit her lip. She was yelling. She glanced at Kyle, now watching her intently, then back to Shane.

He'd calmed down too. But not much. And he certainly wasn't listening.

‘We can't afford to take risks like that, especially when it affects the safety of others. As far as I'm concerned, you two were in this together. You're a danger to the students.'

‘We're not in anything together,' Marlee said, flushing bright red. ‘But everyone's okay and that's something to be grateful about, not angry.' She limped down the shore to collect her board where it had washed up. ‘I'm going home,' she called pulling the board towards her by its leg rope.

Kyle caught her before she'd made it halfway up the beach, taking her board.

‘Here, let me help,' he said.

‘Don't you have another class?'

‘Not any more. My old man just told me to go back to babysitting.' His voice caught slightly and Marlee looked away, uncomfortable. That'd mean the same for her too.

She said nothing until they were nearly at the School then stopped to massage her leg. ‘Your dad is totally wrong. I hate that. My father's the same. They get it all wrong and then it's your fault. '

A small group milled at the School entrance and Marlee watched distractedly, her head numb with fatigue. Tilly waved impatiently for them to come over but Marlee slowly gathered her gear, too tired to walk over to Tilly and explain.

‘Wait,' Kyle pushed the nose of his board into the sand. ‘I'll walk you home.'

Marlee smiled gratefully, handing her gear to Kyle.

‘Hey!' Tilly called. ‘Marlee!'

But Marlee was smiling at Kyle, ignoring Tilly completely. She either didn't hear or didn't want to.

‘Don't mind me,' Tilly muttered sourly. ‘Dad's condition has taken a dive. I need to get to the hospital and the pair of you are just walking away. And take your arm off my friend,' she added crossly, watching them leave.

Then Shane stormed into the School dragging two boards with him. He threw them into the stacker then went back and dipped the rashies into the water trough, wringing each one out with such force they were nearly dry by the time they reached the hanger.

‘What's wrong?' asked Tilly.

‘
Two
kids nearly drowned. Unbelievable! I've just been calming down the parents but if one of them happens to be a lawyer, we're stuffed.'

‘But what happened?'

Shane tipped the water out of the trough and tossed the heavy plastic bin into the School. ‘Right – I check out the surf. It looks safe enough but it's a bit gnarly, too unpredictable for
beginners, so I tell Kyle and Marlee to round up the kids who'd raced out the back and bring them in to shore.' His voice got louder. ‘Kyle and Marlee paddle out and instead of doing what I ask them, they start playing games. I look over and there's Marlee on Kyle's board, fooling around. Meanwhile,' his voice went up another notch, ‘a massive set comes in, one of the kids loses their board and then they get caught in a rip!'

Shane grabbed his head, as though the waves were coming through his forehead.

‘I can't see them but I can hear them screaming and panicking. So I get my guys out of the water so I don't have to watch them and race up there. Luckily the kids had the good sense to get on a board together and come in. But what really finishes me off is what happens next. The boys are on shore crying and carrying on, the parents round on me and I look up to see Kyle and Marlee riding in together on Kyle's board.' His speech became more pronounced as he got angrier. ‘Well, as long as they're having fun!' He flung a rashie across the shed. ‘It's my fault. If I'd got another professional in, none of this would have happened.'

He thrust his towel into his bag. ‘You know what. I've had it for today. I'm going to the pub. Tomorrow'll be a new day and I'll get on the phone and find some more instructors. I can't keep working the hours I am, running all the classes, watching everyone else. It's not even my School!' He walked out, leaving Tilly surrounded by a chaos of clothes, boards, vests and equipment.

In the silence she finally let the tears fall. She cried for her dad, the lousy day, her friends who'd all deserted her, for being yelled at, for being let down. She cried until there was nothing left, then she shut the door and went home.

‘Where've you been?' Sam swung around in his chair, whispering so as not to wake Phil. Then he noticed Tilly's red eyes. ‘What's up?'

Tilly wiped away a tear that had trickled, unnoticed, down her cheek. ‘Tell you later. How's Dad?'

‘Getting better. He was fine this morning. I took him for a shower and helped him with the physio but he was having trouble breathing and it gradually got worse. Every time he took a breath he'd cry out in pain. The doctor thinks he has a blood clot on his lung so they've given him some stuff to thin his blood. But as long as he's on that, he can't come home. You okay?' Sam asked again. ‘Maybe you should've stayed home.'

‘Sorry, I tried to get here earlier.' Tilly pulled some money out of her bag. ‘Why don't you get something to eat while I stay here with Dad.' She moved along the bed, realising she'd actually raced through the hospital for the first time without gagging. She took Phil's hand in hers and squeezed it. The fluorescent lights cast shadows along Phil's cheeks, sinking his eyes into smudgy wells. His face was pale and clammy, and his breath came in short painful bursts.

‘Hi, Dad.'

Phil's eyes opened and closed in one long slow movement.
He smiled, and squeezed her hand back. Tilly moved as close to him as she could, her head near his and began to cry quietly.

The roads were empty when Tilly and Sam finally left the hospital, and it took a while before a cab came along.

‘You've hardly spoken all night. You going to tell me what's wrong?'

‘Two students nearly drowned today.'

‘You're kidding!'

‘I wish I was. Don't tell Dad.'

‘How could that happen? You're always so safety conscious.'

‘Some boys got into trouble while Marlee and Kyle were mucking around instead of watching them like they were supposed to.'

Sam shook his head. ‘Really? That doesn't sound like Marlee. She's usually pretty focused.'

‘Not when Kyle's around,' Tilly said sullenly.

Sam nodded. ‘Have you got the paint sorted out for tomorrow? There won't be any surf so it'll be our best chance to get it done.' He pulled out his mobile.

‘Yeah, if anyone shows. Aren't we going to see Dad?'

‘Yep, but the more people we get the less time it'll take and then we can come in here. Anyway, the nurse told me not to come early because Dad needs to rest.'

Tilly sank against the window of the cab. He's not the only one, she thought as Sam sent out texts to their friends about painting the School.