CHAPTER FOUR
The nativE
Hermione grabbed Sirius's wallet, taking charge of the money calculations. "Okay. Surfboard rentals, plus deposits, plus lessons, times four…" Her voice trailed off and she concentrated on the bills in her hand.
Ron's eyes widened as he watched her work. "Amazing," he breathed. "I don't know how she does it."
Harry stifled a laugh. "So how much is it going to cost, Hermione?"
"More than we can afford." She sighed and put the money back into Sirius's wallet. "Sorry. We have two days before we go back home. We still need to eat."
Ron looked out to the cove of surfers. "Things sure are expensive in the U.S."
"Not if you know where to shop," said a voice behind them.
A girl, who roughly looked about the same age as the sixth years, approached them. She had long bleached blonde hair that was wet with salt water and bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of low-cut flower-printed shorts and a black tank top. The strings of her yellow bikini poked out at her neckline. Harry's mouth dropped open at the sight of her.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you. If you're looking for a place to rent some boards and get some lessons, I can help you out."
"You can?" Ron asked.
"Yeah. My mother owns the shop a little ways from here. She'll give you five boards and lessons for half that price." She smiled, and Harry felt as though his knees were going to give out.
Sirius seemed to consider her offer. "Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind trying this surfing thing myself."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Hermione said.
Ron smirked. "Of course it is, Hermione. Don't be so afraid to take a chance."
Hermione glared at him. "At least we'll have enough money to eat now."
The girl glanced to Hermione and then to Ron, and back again. "Right. Well, I'd be glad to walk all of you there." She gestured around to a half-hidden building on the other side of the cove. She began to walk. Harry made his knees toughen up as he and the others followed her.
"Oh, by the way I'm Makana Nane." She shook Sirius's hand.
"What?" Ron asked. "How do you say that?"
The girl laughed. Harry liked her laugh even more than her smile. "Mah-Kah-Nah. Nan-Ay. Makana is my first name. It means gift in Hawaiian. But you can call me Kana for short."
"Well, I'm Sirius, and this is my god-son Harry, and his friends Ron, Ginny, and Hermione." He gestured to each one of them.
She turned to Hermione. "How do you say that?"
"Her-my-oh-nee." Hermione smiled. "So do you live on this island then?"
Kana nodded. "I've lived here my whole life."
"You know how to surf, right?" Ron questioned.
"Of course," Kana said. "I've been surfing ever since I learned to stand up. Where are you guys from?"
"London," Ron answered. "In England," he added, matter-of-factly.
"I'm quite sure she knows where it is," Hermione snapped. Both of them had daggers in their eyes as they glared at each other. Harry wasn't sure how much more he could take of this. He was almost embarrassed to be around them when they were arguing like this, especially with this gorgeous girl walking them to her mum's surf shop.
"Sorry about them," Harry said quietly to Kana. "They're having sort of a lover's quarrel."
She grinned. "I thought so." Kana glanced at Harry, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay? You're limping."
"Oh," Harry said sheepishly, blushing and looking down at his feet. "It's from the sand. It's too hot."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "You'll get used to it in no time. It doesn't take long to build up a tolerance." She smiled again, her pearly white teeth highlighting her dark tanned skin. Her eyes were sparkling, and the color reminded him of the salty ocean itself, its crashing waves and magnificent sunsets.
Kana continued to lead them through the white sandy beach, weaving their way amongst all the tourists and natives until they reached a small hut near the cove of surfers. "This is it," she announced. She gestured inside the shop. The group went inside and Kana came in behind them, quickly going behind the counter. "Makuahine, we've got customers!"
A petite dark woman came from a backroom. Her dark eyes were shining brightly in the dim sunlight shining through the roof. "Aloha. Welcome to the Tiki Shack. How can I help you?"
"They're looking to rent surfboards and get some lessons," Kana supplied. "They were over at the other end of the beach at Milo's store."
"Ah, my daughter is good for business," the woman told Sirius. She had a rich Hawaiian accent, but they could still understand what she was saying. "She brings in nearly all my customers."
"Gee, I wonder why," Ginny muttered under her breath.
"They're from London," Kana said. "In England," she looked over at Ron, who smirked at Hermione. "We should give them the European special."
"What's the European special?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"You don't pay for your lessons until after you've mastered the surfboard," Kana's mom said. "You only have to pay for the rentals right now. A daily rental of a surfboard is only ten dollars. That will be fifty total for all five of you."
"Sounds good to me," Sirius said, handing Hermione the wallet.
Hermione took it reluctantly and put five ten-dollar bills on the countertop. "And what about the lessons?" she asked, as Kana's mother disappeared into the backroom again.
"The fee is negotiable," Kana replied, putting the money into a rusted cash box. She grinned at Harry. "I'll be your instructor."
"Wicked," Ron whispered. Harry agreed wholeheartedly.
Kana's mother returned from the back room, a surfboard under each arm. "Why don't you try these out for size?" she asked, handing the boards to Ginny and Hermione.
"I'll get the others," Kana said. Harry watched as she hurried into the back room and emerged with a red surfboard for him and a yellow for Ron, and then went back again to get one for Sirius and herself.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Hermione questioned.
"Rest assured, it's perfectly safe," Kana's mother said. "Kana may not be a certifiable surfing instructor but she knows this beach better than anybody on the whole island."
"And she's easy on the eyes," Ron added. Ginny elbowed him.
After some last-minute, basic surfing instructions, Kana led the five of them out of the shop and back through the hot sand to the beach. The surfers in the cove were screaming again, as wave after wave crashed on shore, whitecaps and all.
"I – I'm not so sure I want to try this anymore," Ginny said, as one of the surfers flew off his board and landed flat on his back into the water.
Kana followed her gaze. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not taking you there. The cove is dangerous this time of year." She pointed to a thick forest of palm trees and leafy green vegetation. "There's a better place to surf just past those trees. It's more private and not packed with tourists. And the waves aren't quite so big."
As she led them along the beach and through the thicket of tropical plants, Harry realized that his feet were, in fact, adjusting to the burning sand like Kana said they would. He wasn't limping around anymore and had grown used to the weight of the surfboard he was carrying.
When they finally pushed their way through the last of the ferns and palm trees, Harry gasped at what they saw. This part of the beach seemed much more like paradise. The sand glistened like crystal in the sun and the water was much more calm than in the cove. Its crash was gentle and soothing, and the waves weren't nearly as big.
"Wow," Ron breathed.
"Amazing," Hermione added.
"This is where we locals like to do some easy surfing," Kana explained. "Most people don't want to trek all the way here with surfboards under their arms, but it's definitely worth it. I usually come here just to relax."
"I can see why," Sirius said.
"Well, why don't we get into the water and I'll show all of you how to get started?" Within seconds, Kana had wiggled out of her shorts and slipped out of her tank top, leaving her in her black bikini.
Harry's mouth dropped open. Ron reached up and closed it for him. Hermione muttered something that sounded remotely like "boys."
By & © 2002 spazzoid3@yahoo.com