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Interesting.
“Okay, well! I’m going to talk to Tommy and get some wetsuits for you guys before you all chicken out,” she calls before running away from the group.
And yes, she is literally running. Sarah doesn’t move slowly; she has the energy to rival the energizer bunny.
As Sarah makes her way to the surf shack, a tall, thin guy comes out to meet her. He’s holding wetsuits, but his eyes are glued on Sarah, who is already geared up in her own.
Isaac notices Tommy noticing Sarah, and his posture becomes less relaxed. He crosses his arms and slightly lifts his chin as he stares at Tommy, irritation evident on his face.
Right, Sarah is dating Tommy.
Not ideal if Isaac is starting to be interested in our friend.
Sarah is oblivious to Isaac’s posturing. She’s bubbling with excitement about finally getting her friends into the water. “So, everyone, this is my friend Tommy. Tommy, these are my friends Conner, Isaac and Vivi!”
At the introduction, Tommy reluctantly pulls his eyes from Sarah as he approaches us to hand out the wetsuits. “Hey guys, uhm, I tried to guess your sizes from the surf shack.”
As he hands Isaac a wetsuit, Tommy looks momentarily taken aback by Isaac’s hostile look.
Thankfully, Conner, ever the people person, holds out his hand to shake hands with Tommy. “Hey man, thanks so much for doing this.”
Tommy quickly glances at Sarah before looking back to Conner. “Yeah, no problem. Sarah is out here all the time, and if you guys love surfing just as much, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you, too.”
He and Conner then start having what is undoubtedly a riveting conversation as they both walk toward the surf shop entrance to find a life jacket for Conner.
I’m relieved about the complementary wetsuit and not needing to show off more of myself than I’d like. I’m pretty careful about keeping my scars covered up.
One night, out of morbid curiosity, I tried to count them. There were at least fifty that I was able to see. Some have faded over time to become barely noticeable, but others are larger and leave clear marks over much of my skin.
I might like my new friends, but I’m not ready to talk about my past. I’m not sure I’ll ever be.
I turn to Isaac and Sarah, “I’ll be right back; I’m going to change in the bathroom at the beach entrance.”
Sarah laughs, “Too shy to show off your bikini body? Come on, girl! I would kill for your curves!”
I laugh with her, “Oh, come on, Sarah, you’ve got the fabulous lean, athletic look. Like a sexy gazelle.”
Poor Isaac is taking a drink of water just as the words leave my mouth, and he spits it out as he bursts out laughing.
“A gazelle, Viv?” he asks, tears in his eyes as he wipes his face on Sarah’s towel. They aren’t used to me being vocal with my humour.
Hey, good things take time.
“Averysexy gazelle,” I deadpan before turning towards the bathrooms.
I’m relieved I was able to distract them from asking more questions about why I’m not changing with them on the beach.
The wetsuit is a deep grey and quite literally skin-tight. It’s the full-body kind and thick enough that it will likely at least offer some protection against the cold. I stuff my sweater and sweatpants into my schoolbag and head back to my friends, who now stand beside the surfboards Tommy has brought out.
The surf shack keeps a small, fenced-in courtyard at the back where all the surfboards are stored. Placing my bag with my friend’s things, I head to a free board lying in the sand.
Conner is wearing a yellow life jacket over his black wetsuit and eagerly questioning Tommy about his different tips for us.
Tommy is notably not in a wetsuit.
Isaac is impatient and interrupts them, “so about the lesson...” he begins, the annoyance bleeding into his tone.
Oh boy, there is zero diplomacy in that tone. It sounds as though our typically mild-mannered Isaac is ready to fight someone.
