Sooo sorry I forgot to update yesterday. Someone asked me why I would have less time once school ended instead of more. Well, being a sophomore in college, I need money. And to get it, I have to have a job. I have a pretty good one which pays 9.25 USD an hour. (Roughly translated, 8.85 AUD an hour.) Our minimum wage is 7.25 USD. (6.50 AUD) And I work at a community pool as the assistant manager (highest position there :P I AM EVERYONE'S BOSS :D) so once summer starts I work A LOT. But on Fridays since I don't have school on Fridays I work all day. BTW: Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day in America, so don't expect an update too soon haha

ANYWAYS, tell me stuff about Australia. Is gas as overpriced there as it is here? Is it a big issue?

Heath ducked his head in towards his chest as he touched his toes to hide his yawn. He and Steph had just gotten back from a sprint in the soft sand and were stretching..

Steph flopped back and sighed. "Man, I am so tired." She turned her head to look at him. "Are you?"

"You have no idea," he chuckled. Even though he had tried to boost her confidence by not putting her down, she still seemed to hesitate at all the wrong moments. It's not that she wasn't good; it's just that she could be so much better. "So Steph."

"Hm?"

"What do you think of your surfing?" he asked, lying back with her. The sun had risen and was a blindingly bright point on the horizon behind them.

She was silent, contemplative. "I think, right now, I'm the weakest link. I got in because another girl stuffed up."

"You know that's not true," he denied.

"But it is." She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "I'm the youngest, the smallest. Sometimes I can't hold my own on my board."

"Surfing has nothing to do with size," he told her, grunting as he sat up, too. "I once knew a girl. You remind me of her." Steph didn't respond, so he continued. "This girl, she was the youngest and the smallest, but she definitely wasn't the weakest—that was me."

She gave him a flat look. "Right."

"No, really," he defended. "The trick to getting rid of these confidence issues you have is to realize that you're here. Solar Blue didn't pick you because another girl stuffed up."

"But—"

"The judges don't just look at what you're doing on the wave. They look at what you're doing and compare it not only to the other contestants, but to what they know you can do."

She looked down at the sand. "It's not something that can just be done. I can't just say 'I'm the best' and believe it."

"No one's asking you to. And no, it's not that easy," he mumbled. "But from what I've seen today ad last night, you're a brilliant surfer and you deserve to be here." He paused. "Confidence isn't really your big issue. I think it's more than that."

"Then what is it?"

He glanced over at her. "I think it's more about a safety zone."

"A what?"

"Yeah," he nodded. When he said it aloud, the pieces began to click together in his head. "You need to get outside of your safety zone. Do things you're not totally comfortable with. You've fallen into a rut of only doing things you're comfortable with." Heath's voice had gotten fast with his excitement. He jumped up and looked around the beach.

"Wha do you mean?"

"Oi! Matt" He called, ignoring the girl. "I need a favor."

The redhead in question looked up from his own stretching curiously.

XXX

"You want me to what?" Steph snapped, board in hand on the edge of the surf.

Heath placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed out to where Matt was waiting in the water on a board of his own. "Go out there and knock him off as many waves as you can."

"But isn't that illegal?"

"That's not the point. This isn't a comp, so stop treating it like one. This is free surf and even if you'd never cut someone off usually—that's the whole point."

"To do things I wouldn't usually do."

He nodded. "That girl I was telling you about before? She looked cute and sweet and innocent until she started to become a threat."

"Yeah?" Steph muttered doubtfully. "And whatever became of her?"

"She went on to win the wildcard spot," a new voice chimed in. Perri stepped up next to Heath. Steph's eyes flicked over her shoulder to where Fly and Damian were doing crunches. "You know how, when you're alone and listening to music, you'll just burst into dance?" Steph just pursed her lips and stared out into the waves.

"Come on," Heath snickered, poking her in the side. "We all do it."

"Alright," she grumbled, hiding her smile and swatting his hand away.

"Well, do just that on the waves. Dance," Perri encouraged.

Steph took a deep breath and stepped into the water. "Whatever you guys say."

"That's the spirit!" Heath cheered.

Several moments later, everyone had come in except Matt ad Steph. Everyone was in a small mob in the sand waiting to see what would happen. Maybe the added pressure of everyone watching will only help, Heath thought.

Matt turned his board and began to paddle. But Steph cut him off before he could even stand up. For someone who was so shocked by the idea of cutting someone off, she sure did it well. But as soon as she was on the wave, she didn't do anything differently than she had been earlier.

"That's not dancing!" Perri yelled.

Heath could practically see her roll her eyes as Matt prepared for another wave. This time he was ready for her aggressive maneuvers and was able to get around her first block, but submitted to the second. Still, her surfing was more or less the same.

"Not enough, still!" Heath yelled.

Matt pushed himself closer to Steph and said something to her. She laughed and nodded. Again, they both went out. Again she blocked him off.

But this time, she was literally dancing on her board. It threw her balance off a bit at first, but she continued to correct herself and stay on the board as long as she could before she over corrected too much and fell off.

Everyone on the beach cheered as she and Matt walked in towards them.

"Okay, a little less literal dancing," Perri smiled.

"Yeah, but I get what you mean."

"Hey, Matt, what did you say to her?" Heath asked curiously as they all packed up to head back in to get ready for school.

"I told her to pretend you got a haircut and do a happy dance about it," he smirked, tugging on the end of a long strand of Heath's hair.

Heath laughed and pushed him away. "No, really."

"It's a secret, mate."

"And my hair is not that bad," he defended. They stood off to the side in the kitchen as the kids rushed about, gathering things for the day ahead of them and trying to shove food in their faces at the same time.

"Chew, Jason," Bec warned as she passed them.

"Hey, Matt, can you look at my science report before I have to hand it in today?" Shelly asked from the table, a folder laid out in front of her. "No one else in this house is willing."

Matt smiled. "Sure."

Heath watched from the corner. A sense of déjà vu and nostalgia washed over him. He grabbed a bowl of cereal and took it out to the back deck to eat it in the quiet, but Fly was already out there, a magazine rolled in one hand, a spoon in the other.

Maybe this was the last last chance. He sighed. With her, there would never be a final "last chance."

He took a seat in front of her. "What're you reading?"

"A magazine," she muttered without looking up.

He paused, not sure where to take this conversation. He could ask her what magazine she was reading, but that could make him seem like a pest. He could ask her how she was doing, but then again he had been a part of her disastrous morning run.

"Look, Fly," he sighed.

"I really don't want to talk right now, Heath," Fly said through her teeth. "That's why I came out here—to be alone?"

Something inside him sapped. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was their friendship literally snapping in two after the years of strain and tension. "What the hell's your problem?" he snapped. "From the moment I got here I've only been trying to work things out with you."

"Maybe I don't want to work them out," she yelled.

"Well that's a pretty childish reaction!"

"Don't talk to me about maturity, Heath," she growled.

"I'm not about to let everything we had die, Fly."

"We didn't have anything!" she screamed, throwing her magazine and spoon down before storming off back into the house, slamming every door in her path.

Heath leaned against the table and ran a hand over his face. It wasn't even nine in the morning and he was already having one hell of a day.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?"

Heath looked up to see Edge standing in the doorway. Beyond him, every other person in the house was staring at him from the kitchen. No one moved. Everyone was frozen in shock. Bec walked up behind Edge and kicked him in the back of the knee.

"Not now," he sighed and walked towards the shed. Nothing left to do but surf. Maybe it could help to improve his day a little. Maybe even cool him off.