Delphine still wasn’t smiling.
‘The conditions. They could be better.’ She sighed. Then a voice rang out across the beach.
My heart raced. It was in French. I had no idea what they were saying. I looked in panic at Felix who waited until they’d finished speaking before looking me straight in the eye.
‘OK. It is the first heat. And both you and Delphine are in it.’
I could barely hear what he was saying because of the thud in my chest. This was it. An actual competition. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second and thought of Rue. What she’d said. How she expected me to win. And how brave she was.
Today I’d be channelling Rue.
I picked up my board and walked towards the water with a racing heart and a determination that I hadn’t felt in years.
41
There were four of us in the first heat. Everyone picked up speed as we neared the water, breaking into jogs and looking straight out to the ocean. I glanced at Delphine as she threw her board on to the water and started to paddle. I followed her.
We all paddled out. No talking, only the sound of the ocean and the hum of the crowd on the shore. I felt sick. These girls knew what they were doing. They looked almost professional, the way they paddled, the way they watched the waves.
And then one girl went for it, paddling hard and catching her first wave. She was amazing. And the hole in the pit of my stomach grew.
Delphine took the next wave. My heart was in my throat when she surfed, hoping she’d do well. And she did. Perfect form. A perfect wave.
I kept watching the waves, but I found something wrong with all of them. Until it came. The most beautiful swell I’d ever seen. And I knew it, I knew this was the one. I started paddling hard, then almost fell off my board as a girl cut right across me, taking the wave.
‘Hey!’ I said. But nobody did anything. That wasmywave.And she surfed it beautifully. I kicked the water, my heart beating harder than ever.
I saw a yellow board in the corner of my eye. Delphine was back.
‘Fear is excitement without the breath, Margot.Breathe.This next wave is yours.’ I glanced at her, and she winked at me.
I took a deep breath. She was right.
I took my eyes off the shore and focused on the next wave. I paddled hard. Harder than ever, then popped up, and there it was, the rush of adrenaline, the cool water on my hand and the exhilaration that I’d only ever felt on the board.
I cut back into the wave and did my best to keep my form as I finished.
I was so in the zone that the cheer from the shore sounded distant, like it came from miles away. But I couldn’t stop smiling as I paddled back out into the water to catch more waves.
Delphine was incredible. Every wave she surfed was perfect, and like Sébastian had said, it was the best two that counted. There was no way she wouldn’t make it to the next round.
I surfed four more waves, and by the time we’d all returned to the shore, I was exhausted. Sébastian and Lili met us at the water and took our boards. Lili and Delphine kissed in celebration and Sébastian high-fived me. ‘That was amazing, Margot! You were so much better than the other two,’ he said far too loudly, as we both looked at one girl in my heat who threw her board on to the sand.
‘Thanks, Sébastian,’ I said, smiling.
We walked back to their little camp where Felix was waiting. He kissed me on the cheeks, and I hugged him in response.
‘I am so tired.’
‘Well, you will probably have to do it all again.’ Felix nodded towards the judges’ table where one of them was standing up with a microphone. And as she spoke, Felix translated for me.
‘Conditions were challenging today, with cross-shore winds affecting wave selection. All competitors have demonstrated remarkable skill. The judges have now deliberated. It was an extremely close heat with only eight points between first and fourth positions. The results will now be displayed on the scoreboard.’
I grabbed Felix’s hand as the numbers flashed on the board. ‘I can’t look.’ I turned in towards him and closed my eyes. ‘You look.’
‘I think you want to look, Margot,’ said Felix. And I could tell that he was smiling.
And when I stared at the board, I couldn’t believe it. 12.50. I’d comesecond! And Delphine was first.
