I walked around the dining room with the coffee jug in my hands. We hadn't gone for a surf this morning and I felt weird, like I was thrown out of whack. Emma moped around, looking thoroughly depressed. She didn't have any luck running those kooks off our beach. Lo had come up with an ingenious plan on how to get out of work, which she hadn't explained to me, so I had no idea what she was going to do or how to talk her out of it.

It was a slow morning. The highlight was probably when Ty came in for breakfast because that was when I actually had someone to talk to.

"Hey," He greeted, sitting at the Ridgmount table; his father, mother and brother had come down earlier. Mr and Mrs Ridgemount were almost complete opposites yet they were perfect for each other; anyone could see that if they paid close enough attention.

"Hey," I replied. "I'll be back in a sec." I walked to the kitchen to hang up another slip with orders on it. When I walked back out, I saw a girl eyeing Ty who in return was flicking glances at her. I couldn't read his expression.

"What would you like?" I asked him.

"Um, just coffee for now," he said.

I went to walk back to the bar when I paused. "She's pretty, do you know her?"

"What? Oh, no, I've never seen her before."

I don't know what possessed me to say this but I wished I could take the words back as soon as I said them. "She's interested in you, that's obvious."

"What? No she's not."

"Yes, she is." Why was I still talking?

"No she's not."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Trust me, she's interested."

He frowned then looked at me, squinting his eyes and concentrating. "How can you tell?"

"If a girl is interested in you?" I asked. He nodded. "Well, first off, the way she keeps looking at you, then looking back at her plate is kind of a dead give away."

"Is that the only way you can tell?" he seemed disappointed.

"Well, no. there's plenty of ways."

"What are the others?" his interest piqued.

"You really want to know?" he nodded again so I glanced around the room and spotted Kelly walk out, so I sat down. "Okay, well, she will probably laugh at your jokes, even if they're not funny; she'll tell you to take a sip of her drink; she'll ask if you have a girlfriend or she'll pry for information; she'll touch you often. And look out for flirting; most girls don't want to be obvious, so they won't. "

"Is that it?"

"No, but I'm not going to give away all our secrets."

"It would be easier if you just came out and said it," he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?"

He looked back over at the girl and the girl glanced up at him and when she saw him looking, she looked away and blushed. She likes him. Is there any female here that doesn't? I looked at Ty and tried to gauge his reaction. Does he like her? I felt a pang go through me at the thought. And what about Emma? This was all a mess to me. It was out of my hands. If Ty liked someone else, I couldn't change that. I couldn't tell him to pay attention to Emma, because if he didn't like her back, then he would know she liked him and it would be awkward. And it was Emma's secret to tell, not mine.

"Do you like her?" I asked quietly. His eyes widened before he frowned.

"Do you want me to like her?"

It was my turn to frown, "What?"

"You don't make sense sometimes. And you talk in circles sometimes."

"I do not," I said, outraged.

"See? That's not something to get worked up over; it's kind of funny actually."

I shook my head at him. I was so confused right now. What were we even talking about? I thought it was this girl, and if Ty liked him. I glanced over at the entrance and saw Kelly walk back in with Lo, who looked crestfallen, close behind.

"Look, just compliment her, okay? If you like her, if you don't, I don't really care, just, all I know is girls like compliments, and the girls' friends' like to hear you give compliments; it sort of boosts their opinion of you. If you know what I mean," I said quickly, getting up before Kelly saw me.

Ty shook his head, "There you go again," He smiled. "I sort of get what you mean, but I sort of don't."

"Then you're on your own. I'll be back with your coffee." I walked to the bar; hoping Kelly hadn't seen me sitting down on the job. I returned to Ty's table to a frown Ty who looked deep in thought. I poured so coffee into a cup for him.

"So, you're saying girls opinion of me is raised if I compliment their friend?" he looked so confused.

"Isn't that what I just said?" I queried.

"I have no idea," he laughed.

"Well, then yes. That is what I said." I smiled, even if he sort of missed the point, as he started to drink his coffee. "I'll see you around, Ty."

That was most definitely the weirdest conversation I've ever had.

0:o:0:o:0:o:0:o:0:o:0:o:0

When our shift ended, we went to the Office anyway. It was wishful thinking that the kooks had packed up and left. The waves looked beautiful though. We sat on the beach, dejected, with our surfboards nearby. With the heat and the calming of the waves, we were close to falling asleep. Actually, I was pretty sure the kooks were asleep, judging from their snores.

We were jolted awake though, when loud music was played and we heard a boat coming close to shore. I looked up and saw Reef, Johnny and an old man in the boat.

"I take it everything is too your liking, Mr Grizzle?" Johnny asked, when the stepped onto the sand. What was going on?

"No, it's not. There's a bunch of young punks mucking up the joint," Mr Grizzle said, walking over to the kooks. He pointed his walking cane at them, "Look at you, spoiled nancy boys with your fancy tents and sleeping bags, why, in my day we slept on shredded newspaper and when we woke up we had shredded newspaper for breakfast." He walked over to a log and groaned as he sat down. "Got any cream? My foot fungus is acting up again. You'll have to rub it in for me though, on account of my herniated bowls," he told the kooks, lifting a foot. There was indeed a gross growth of green fungi on his foot. I cringed away, grossed out.

"Dude, that was way too much info." The head kook turned to Reef, "Is this another scheme to get us to ditch your beach?"

"Nah, brah, didn't we tell you?" Reef said, looking pleased with himself.

"From now on, we're using the office to run all the senior surf tours," Johnny jumped in.

"Yeah, the soft sand is easier on their bad knees and corns,' Reef said.

"Plus, it's nice and private, let's face it, when your that old, sometimes you forget stuff," Johnny said.

"Hey, tour guides, I can't find my bathing costume," Mr Grizzle said. Oh my god! He had no pants on! He was stark naked, as naked as the day he was born. I turned away, shielding my eyes.

"Oh my god. I think I've lost vision in my eyes," I cried.

"Eww," Emma said and Fin said roughly the same thing, while Broseph covered his eyes.

"Grandpa goodies? Oh, dude," the head kook cried. They packed up their stuff faster than I thought possible. "Come on brahs, we're outtie." They ran off.

Slowly, realisation dawned on me. They were gone. Our beach was clear off kooks. Happiness fluttered around in my stomach. Yes! They were gone.

A shriek of joy left my lips as Emma ran over to Johnny and hugged him. They looked kind of cute together like that.

"Johnny, you saved the office!"

"It was a team effort," he said modestly. A small smile tugged his lips as he looked down at Emma.

"You're such a good friend! Now Ty won't hate me anymore," She said. Johnny's happy expression turned pinched.

"What are friends for?" he said. He didn't sound like he was too happy about it anymore.

"I'm going for a surf," Emma called, running to grab her surfboard. Johnny sighed. He liked Emma, but all Emma could think was Ty.

I grabbed my surfboard as well just as I heard Johnny scream, "UGH! MY EYES!" Looks like Mr Grizzle still hadn't found his shorts.

I didn't stop to help poor Johnny because the ocean was calling to me. I hadn't surfed in what felt like forever and I was surprised at how tightly I was wound. As my board hit the water though, it all melted away. I sighed, I was back. I decided not to surf hard, instead revelling in the majesty of the waves, letting it soak through me until I was placid and content. It felt so good to be back on the water, the salty sea water sprayed me and I felt good. Happiness lifted my lips in a smile and I shouted with joy again.

We surfed for a long time, or at least it felt like a long time. In actuality, it was probably the same amount of time as every other day. The seniors came down later on to surf, and Ty had his camera. Obviously, it hadn't sustained irreparable damage. He turned his camera towards the waves, and in doing so, he turned my attention back to the waves.

It was good to be back.

Ty P.O.V

He trained his camera on her, watching her move through the waves. Her long brown hair streamed out behind her and her face held an expression of complete relaxation. She surfed as though she was an extension of the water. No, she was the water. She was a part of it, completely at home. And for a second, he wanted to be out there too, becoming a part of the water. She made him want to surf too; her enthusiasm at getting the chance to surf and her contentedness just to be there, made him want to join her out there and experience what she was experiencing. She made it inviting, made the water look alluring.

She understood why he made surf videos, better than even he did and he was the director. She was the essence of what surfing is – she showed it through her every movement. How had she put it again? Oh yeah, that's right; being as much as one with the sea as you can be. She had a way with words, he thought, remembering the way her lips moved when she spoke and how much he would very much like to kiss them.

He shook his head and concentrated on her. She didn't throw out any hard tricks, preferring instead a slower pace. Her movements were fluid and flowing as her board skimmed the surface of the wave. Her friends, the other Groms, weren't too far behind her, but he kept the camera focused on her, not wanting the attention to be centred on someone else. And, if he admitted it to himself, he didn't really want to look anywhere else. She was stunning like this, in her comfortable environment, but that isn't to say she's not stunning all the time. Because she is. He had thought it the moment he had seen her walking towards the front door of the lobby. The sun had been shining down directly on her and a gentle breeze danced strands of her hair around her face. He had walked into her, pretending not to see her just so he could have a chance to talk to her.

Again he had to force himself to focus back to the present and he watched as she surfed to the top of the wave, determination and anticipation written in her face. As she gained air, she flipped upside down and spun a three-sixty-degree circle before smoothly meeting the wave and continuing along. A happy smile was plastered on her face and he smiled too.

It made him glad he finally decided to film her, after those couple days of watching her be the water. She was exactly what he was looking for. Natural; not fake, not made up or pretending. She was being herself. And through his eyes he saw her as perfect and innocent and oblivious to the attention she draws from the opposite sex. He became irrational and irritable when a guy looked at her and he felt the same jealousy that he knew he had no right to, rise up inside him each time. Her emotions were worn on her sleeve and her face was a book. You could read what she was thinking and see what she felt. She didn't even realise she was doing it, and that made her vulnerable sometimes. And unattainable. It would be wrong of him to use her open nature against her; it would be like pretending. Pretending he knew her and understood her when all he was really doing was reading her. And how could she go for someone like him? Someone as uninteresting as him. He could wish, alright, but in the end she wouldn't even know that he was wishing in the first place. How could she when she didn't know her own appeal?

The times he had been around her made him glad to have been given those chances. She was different to other girls; she constantly surprised him. She could be the voice of reason one second and then totally illogical the next, and sometimes she had a way of talking in circles that made him smile. She looked so soft on the exterior, delicate even, but he had experienced her change from soft to hard, seen her eyes go cold and her voice seem like flint. She was toughness in disguise and it intrigued him. He had watched her hold strong to her beliefs and stand up for herself. She had a knack of being around when someone needed to talk, and she seemed to always know what to say; it was amazing that someone could be so in tune with other people's feelings. He loved that she was a bookworm, becoming so engrossed in the story that she wouldn't hear you when you spoke to her. It made him a little envious that she could get transported into another world, another time so easily. He laughed as he remembered that she babbled sometimes when she was nervous and she was full of facts that surprised him. Facts about worms and grasshoppers and petroleum jelly. She was smarter than she realised and compassionate. When he was around her, he was completely himself; he felt no need to act a part and be something he wasn't. He couldn't imagine his life now without her in it, as absurd as it was, because she had become a part of it. Which was why he couldn't do anything that would compromise their friendship. It meant too much to him to jeopardise. But he wanted her, that was for sure. In ways he shouldn't.

He should move on, he told himself, find someone else, like that girl in the restaurant. Their budding friendship was important; in the time he had spoken with her, laughed with her, he had become more involved in her life than any other girls'. Disappointment rose in his chest as he realised it would be better if he didn't show an interest in her. Save him the humiliation and future disappointment of her rejection. And that way, he could remain her friend without it becoming awkward or strained.

And he could continue to film her, her radiance reflected in the lens of his camera.

I know this chapter is short, and kind of a filler, but I gave you Ty's perspective of Nereida. And remember, this is the way he sees her; as someone who is perfect. It doesn't mean she is, it's just the way he sees her. It's Ty's personal reflection.

So, what did you think?

Hopefully the next chapter will be better. I have some interesting tidbits for you in it; more from Nereida's life before she became a summer staff.