The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 14

Lena's pulse quickened at the sight of the red Jeep pulling into her driveway. Of course, she was happy to see Kai—he had rehearsals every day after school except Friday—but she was even happier to know that she was minutes away from immersing herself in the cleansing sea.

Lena closed the front door behind her and ran to Ani's Jeep.

Kai jumped out and kissed her. "Are you ready to ride?"

Laughing, she brushed past him and climbed in the back of the Jeep.

"No, I'll sit there," he protested.

"I don't mind. It's only fair to take turns."

Kai pretended to climb in the back with her, and Ani said, "I'm growing weary of you, Kai. If you want a ride, sit down and buckle up. Otherwise get out and walk to Back Yard."

With a scowl, Kai sat down in front.

"Hi, Leen," said Ani. She put the Jeep in gear and pulled out of the driveway. "Ready for lesson number two?"

"I can't wait!"

"Good. Today's lesson: how to wipe out."

"Yay!" cried Lena into the wind.

Ani returned to the stretch of coast where she had taught Lena her first lesson.

"This is a sweet spot for beginners," she explained. "And it's off the beaten path, so there aren't as many locals to get bent out of shape at us for breathing their air and touching their waves."

Lena hurried into her wetsuit and snapped on her leash.

"All set?" asked Ani.

"Hang on, I just need—" said Lena, reaching into her duffel bag.

Ani waited.

Lena drew her hand out. I just need what? Not this craziness again! "Nothing," she said. "I'm ready."

"Paddle out and practice what I showed you last week," said Ani. "I'll critique."

Lena splashed into the ocean and lay down on the deck of the surfboard, enjoying the sensation of sliding through the water as she propelled herself forward.

As Ani watched Lena on the board, she called out instructions like "Bend your knees," "Keep that foot turned out," and "Turn turtle!"

Once Ani was satisfied that Lena was proficient on the board, she called over to Kai, "Hey, Pig-Dog, can we borrow your board for a few minutes?"

"Why would I let you borrow my board?"

"So I can teach Lena how to duck-dive."

"And I'll use the soft-top?"

"Duh, Dog."

Kai considered. "If you call me Maverick the rest of the day, you can use my short board for twenty minutes."

"I'll call you Goose the rest of the day," muttered Ani under her breath. She called out, "You got it, Maverick!"

They exchanged boards, and Ani explained to Lena, "You need to know how to protect yourself in the water, whether it's from a surfer who's out of control, or your own wipeout. Sometimes you need to turn turtle, and sometimes you need to duck. You can't duck a long board, but you can a short one." Pushing down hard on the board, Ani dove under an oncoming wave.

Lena practiced a few times, then it was back to the long board.

"I'm going to let you head out to the lineup in a minute. Your timing is really good with catching the waves. You don't need to keep surfing the mushy waves. So we need to talk about wiping out. Because wiping out is just part of surfing."

"Okay."

"I know you've grown up swimming in the ocean, so you know what it feels like to get tossed around under water when a wave crashes over you, right? You pretty much feel like an insignificant little pebble."

"Totally."

"You've learned just to relax and go with the flow, yes?"

"Yes."

"You can hold your breath a long time. Longer than any wave can last. So just wait till it stops churning, then push yourself up to the surface."

"Okay."

"Are you ready to try the lineup?"

"I'm ready."

"Go, girl!"

Exhilarated, Lena paddled out to the lineup, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, noob!" called Kai. "Show me what you can do!"

The other surfers eyed her.

"Great," muttered one. "Just what this spot needs. More beginners."

"I know, right?" said his buddy. "Like there aren't enough surfers in the world already. Dang."

Lena saw Kai's expression go tight, and she said quickly, "It's cool. I can wait."

Kai's body was tensed up, but he forced a big smile and said, "Awesome, dudes, you're so right. It's your world ... we just surf in it. Go ahead and bag the best waves. Then my girl's gonna take a ride and close this place down."

Everyone laughed, and Lena relaxed. Kai was good at keeping the peace out on the water.

"Aww, yeah," said the first guy. "I wanna see you in action now. And no disrespect. Everyone's gotta start somewhere."

They hung back, allowing Lena to get set up. When a good wave approached, the second guy said gruffly, "Hurry up. You can have this one."

Lena waited to feel just the right movement of the wave's swell, then used her arms in a butterfly motion to paddle the last few feet before she popped up. Landing on the deck of the board, feet perfectly planted, she rode the wave like she had been born to do it.

"Tear it up!" shouted Ani.

This was a bigger wave than any of the ones she had ridden before, and the feeling of rushing through the water as if on the back of a dolphin made Lena breathless with joy.

She let herself slip off the back of the board when the ride was finished, and came up laughing, tangled in kelp. Out in the lineup, people were clapping and hooting.

"Just kind of glide out of the kelp. Don't struggle with it," said Ani.

Lena shrugged her shoulders and wriggled her legs, and the kelp slid off. She turned and waved at the other surfers.

"I can't believe how you rock at this," said Ani. "It takes some people years to get good at surfing. It's almost like you anticipate the way the wave is going to move! You really only need me for maybe one more lesson."

"Wow, are you kidding?"

"Not kidding. Next week we'll try a different spot."

"Magic's?" asked Lena.

Ani stood still in the water. "No, not Magic's," she said, giving Lena an odd look. "Magic's is only for advanced surfers, and even then, it's dangerous. The shorebreak comes up out of the deep water and lands hard on the sand. It's not a nice, gradual shorebreak. Besides ... why would you want to surf at Magic's?"

So I can see the mermaid, thought Lena. "Why wouldn't I?" she said. "I mean, if I ever got to be a really good surfer."

"Isn't that where your father almost...?"

"What?" said Lena.

"Not to mention—" Ani broke off quickly.

Lena stared. "Not to mention what?"

Ani glanced back at the shore. "I think we should call it a day. Why don't we dry off?"

"Wait. What were you going to say?"

Ani refused to answer. "Nothing. Really. Let's get out."