Lena had been in Australia for a week now, surfing and testing the waters. It wasn’t the first time she came there; her parents would send her to her aunt and uncles place every summer. Her uncle was her dad’s brother; he was older within 5 years from him. He worked in Australia in some business corporation and his wife Missy who was originally from there. Every summer she would go to visit her family down there. Her uncle was a laid back man, who didn’t have children of his own but enjoyed the company of his niece and nephews.
When Lena was 8, her father and uncle had decided to teach her how to surf. On Christmas her dad had gotten her a surfboard a long board it was about a foot bigger then she was. That same Christmas morning there was another surprise, uncle Jeff was there for the holidays. That’s when she learned how to surf. Since she was a kid that’s what she loved. In time she got use to the California waves and every summer she would learn how to manage the larger ones. She had learned to move with balance and grace her father told her. She was proud of herself, and she was in love with the ocean. The blue and the grays of the sea, its life and the life living within it, never had she loved something like she loved surfing. It was a different world it had a soul. The rush of it, the adrenaline running in your blood couldn’t be compared when running a wave. The excitement, the rush, you had to trust yourself, because you couldn’t predict nature.
The least favorite season of the year to Lena was summer. Of course you had time to surf all you wanted but it was because the surf was weaker then it usually was in the wintertime. But summer was always looked forward for Lena because it was the time of the year where she could go to Australia to see her uncle. They would spend entire days on the beach, talking and he would show her new tricks. When she was 14 her uncle died from cancer. They had scattered his ashes to the sea.
Every summer, like any other summer Lena went to Australia. Staying with her aunt, her uncle’s widowed wife. Waking up early mornings for a run on the beach and then into the surf. It was hard to not get bothered by the over protectiveness people had over their beaches. She knew they weren’t found of ‘tourist’ but she ignored it. She stayed focus, speaking to her uncle in the water. Remembering his lessons. Her aunt had mentioned to her a surfing contest holding up in the week. On Saturday, her aunt had signed Lena up for it. Reassuring her husband’s niece that Lena could do it. Lena had been in competitions before but with Ana and Eden, because it was easier. To have your friends there, the competitions in Australia weren’t any different; the rules didn’t change except her uncle wasn’t there. The rest the week until the competition Lena felt unsure of herself for this one. It was a short board competition, 5 waves. Lena could surf a short board almost as good she could deal with a long board. It was a co-ed competition.
In the water, it was almost insane. It should have been canceled by account of rain. The waves were coming in almost higher then the usual 6 feet and she could feel her heart in her throat. She had paddled into the water, ducking under a wave, the bubbles of air coming out from her nose, her eyes open under the water and then she paddled in more. Waiting for the right wave to come. 20 minutes she had. After 3 waves she was doing good. Using the turns pretty well and keeping her balance. Touching the water every now and then. But then something happened, on the final wave while bent over surfing on the wave there was a rock near the shore, hitting her board. She had virtually jumped to the air trying not to crash into the rock and then fallen into the water. The undertow sucking her in, the rope of her surfboard wrapped around her ankle had pulled to its extent. She was being tugged to the end and she couldn’t hold her breath anymore. She had swam against the undertow and got the surface. Her board had broken in three places and once she got the shore she had to sit down feeling week. They were shocked she had gotten out. And she coughed out some water she had in the lungs. She had gotten 4th place out of 23 surfers. She couldn’t complain and they had to make it a two-day competition thanks to the rain.
She had scrapped her shoulder while under the water against a rock or something.
Today she had gotten a call up from one of the judges. “Lisa Riley, I work with Roxy” her Aussie accent spoke out. Lena’s heart dropped to the floor. They were interested in sponsoring new talent and they had noticed Lena’s fall but how she took it and didn’t budge. Lisa had noticed that Lena’s accent wasn’t local but American. She had given Lena a card, to contact her once she got home, there to get some local Roxy talent searchers to contact her so they could watch her surf and maybe compete in other contest once she was home in Meridian. Her stomach flipped and had gone a summersault while it was at it. Being sponsored was a close enough step to becoming pro. Sponsoring meant not paying for new boards, no needs to worry for getting new swimsuits. She had gotten to her aunt’s jumping up and down. She had to get to Meridian tonight, she couldn’t wait to tell the girls.
