Tides Change
"Let me tell you about stylin'. I'm talkin', the perfect A-frame wave spittin' salt water in your face. I call it 'liquid draino, wanna be bullwinkle', I tell you no lies, my friends. It's the consciousness" – Mitchell Goosen (Airborne)
There's not much of a difference between getting mutant powers and catching a big wave. It's fierce, confusing, and at the end of the day it's fulfilling knowing that you've made your mark as an individual on this planet. Both require mental focus and acceptance of the dangers that come with this lifestyle. Most importantly, it's not for everyone. Some people just weren't born to do either. But those who persevere, those who take the chance, and stand up for what they believe in just might make it. In most cases, what they have to believe in is themselves.
The night sky was lit up with the glow of a billion or so burning stars. They glistened over the cold salt water of the Hawaii, and along with the beautiful moon, created an unreal effect that spread as far as the eye could see. The waves has calmed down after one of the best swells Alex had experienced in a while. Concentrating on the great up above as he lay on his board out in the now pitch black water.
This was his life. Surfing has meant everything to Alex since the age of ten when he finally caught his first wave. He had been everywhere his parents could possibly travel. From the big waves of Waimmea to the mellow three footers of Sheboygan, and even against his parent's will, the monsters of Mavericks, Alex had only just begun to chase his dreams.
This peaceful moment was brought to an end when a medium sized swell began to build up. However, after the events of last winter's excursion with Scott, you couldn't take Alex by surprise. He flipped onto his stomach and began to paddle.
"Five, four, three, two…" he calmly said to himself as the wave slowly picked him up and brought him to the top. This was pure nirvana to Alex. The idea of standing up higher than everyone else was astounding to him. In his eyes, these few moments turn you into something totally unlike anything on this earth. You're not a human, you're not a mutant, you're simply one with the ocean. The crescent blue sweeping him off his feet and into a tube of transparent water, transcending him to a plane unlike any other.
As the wave came to an end, Alex noticed a splashing in the distance. He squinted to try and make it out, but could only see the panicked state of the water. Soon enough he heard a gurgling sound along with the splashing.
"That's no good" Alex said paddling out to the splash. Alex had been a lifeguard for two summers now and even though he wasn't on duty, nor was this his beach, it had taught him to help anyone and everyone in trouble. "Hang on, I'm coming!" he said getting closer.
"Hey, you should be more careful out here. The swell is unpre-" Alex stopped in mid sentence. Her hair was green. Not just a dark shade of green, but full on vegi-green. Of course, the next thing Alex noticed was the fact that she was now unconscious. Sometimes the mind works in funny ways like that. "Ok, up you go" he said in a panicked state, lifting her up onto his long board. He paddled quickly, knowing that every second in a situation like this counted.
As they got back onto the beach, Alex put her on her back and began to check her pulse. She still had a heart beat. "Hey, you ok?" he said, remember his training. Never use CPR unless you have to. He didn't receive an answer though. "Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way" he said placing his hands just above her chest. Compressing her chest two times then giving her two life breathes. "Come on, come on!" he said in a bit of frenzy. On the second set of life breaths, she finally coughed up the water. Alex sighed in relief. As she began to come to, hey eyes came squinted in a bit of confusion. "Hey, welcome back" he said waving. After a few seconds of realization, she quickly scowled at the boy.
"Get off me!" she said pushing him over. Obviously, this girl was not fond some random guy touching right above her chest and having the life saving equivalent of kissing used on her. She dusted herself off and got up. She was a relatively short girl, probably standing at about 5'3, with a skinny figure to match. That hair though, that's what really made her something else. It was cut short and the bangs managed to cover her eyes in a way that made her look mysterious and innocent at the same time. She simply rolled her eyes and began to walk off. "Ugh, stupid beach jocks trying to pull a quick one over on me" she mumbled.
"You're welcome!" Alex said a bit ticked off. He grabbed his surfboard and began to walk the other way. "Man, I try to do something nice and this is what I get in return" he grumbled and he picked up some other stuff he had left on the beach. In all his years doing this
"I was fine you know" the girl said making Alex jump a bit. There she was again, standing behind him giving him a mix of a death glare and a look of intrigue.
"Oh yeah, your lifeless body could have totally swam onto shore and recuperated. But hey, don't take my help, I'm just a life guard" he said putting his hat on. "What were you doing out there anyway?" he asked a bit puzzled by her motives.
"What, I can't swim here? Let me guess, non-local hater?" she said with a giant amount of smarminess chalked into her reply. She was clearly not one to back down.
"Well, you just proved why non-locals shouldn't be swimming at night. Now if you'll excuse me" Alex said walking away. Still something about her was, attractive. Still walking, he waited for an excuse to turn around and stare at her cute appearance again.
"Thank you…" she said quietly. Alex flung around in a heartbeat. Her right hand rubbing her left arm, she looked up at him innocently. "I guess…I guess I just don't like being handled like that. Kind of a pet peeve I suppose" she said sighing. Alex was a bit taken a back by this.
"Well…I can understand that. But if I hadn't done something, you would have been a goner" he said seriously as he walked back to her. He stuck his board in the ground, making sure it was stable. "I'm Alex" he said putting his hand out for her to shake. She was a bit unsure of what to do, but a handshake seemed fair enough.
"Lorna" she said shaking his hand. Her green eyes staring at him dead on, seemingly ready to beat the crap out of him if he made one small move on her. He withdrew his hand and looked the other way for a second.
"So, mind telling me what your doing out here…alone?" he asks, very afraid that a kick to the face might be his answer. Yet she simply sighs.
"My foster parents aren't exactly the most exciting people, so…I came down here and decided a swim might spice things up" she said kind of upset about the whole situation.
"Well, its not really a great idea to swim at night around here. Take it from a guy who learned the hard way." Alex said putting his hands in his pockets. "Listen, do you need me to get you somewhere, like a hospital or something? Cause I have a scooter that I can drive-"
"Save it blondie" she said with a bit of an attitude. "I think I'm fine, my hotel is just up the beach…but, thank you for your help" she said smiling. She began to walk in the opposite direction. Alex had gotten what he wanted, but something still felt wrong, so, against her will he tried the inevitable.
"Hey, Lorna!" he yelled before she was too far away. She turned around with her hand on her hip looking a bit annoyed. "Listen, it doesn't seem to be your style, but um, there's this competition tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd wanna come and check it out?" he said with a hopeless tone. She simply giggled.
"Good night Alex" she said walking off into the distance. Usually the lifeguard act is a shoe-in for at least one date, but she crushed him like twenty-foot swell.