Waves, Sun, and Body Boards

Im sixteen. My sister, a couple of friends, and I have all piled into "my" (owned by my parents driven by me) beat up yellowish 1987 Toyota, with the windows that dont work, the ignition that has to be started with a screwdriver, the tires without hubcaps, and the trunk that is bungee corded shut. The car has character, we like it. I drive up to our destination. All that each of us brought along are our boards, fins, and a towel. We all get out of the car, I step onto the sand coated parking lot and can hear the waves crashing in the distance. We chat excitedly to each other, our "slippers" (flip flops) beating a rhythm on the pavement as we walk to the beach. We're each carrying our body boards and fins. I reach the sand and kick off my walking gear, then plop down to put my fins on, I then secure my board leash to my wrist. Once done I jump up grab my board and take off for the water. I reach the wet part where the waves lap up the beach, my legs take another couple of strides then I leap out with my board held under my stomach and land on the water. I feel the cool almost cold water hit my hot body and hear the water splash all around me. Immediately I start paddling my arms and kicking my legs out to the sets of waves. I love how my heart is already pumping hard in my chest with excitement, adrenaline, and anticipation. I arrive at the point where theres waves that have already crested and are just white water. One almost reaches me and would push me back but I grab the front of my board, push hard on the nose of it and kick under the water. I feel the force of the wave rush past me, tugging at my hair and surf shorts as it surges on. My board almost seems to know the way under the wave and back to the surface, I just hold on for the ride. I pop up on the other side and start paddling again. I smile as I shake my head to clear the water from my eyes. My now wet hair is lying heavily on my back. Water is streaming down my face, I notice that I can smell conditioner from my hair. I lick my lips and taste the salty ocean water. The crashing of the waves is about all I can hear. As I paddle out I duck under several more waves. The set has finally passed. I make it to the area where we wait for the waves to break, I get up and straddle my board. The hot sun beats on my shoulders and warms me, the sun is also reflecting brightly off the water. Water droplets have formed on my arms from the sunscreen I put on earlier. Squinting my eyes I look toward the horizon to watch for waves. There is near silence now, where just moments ago the tumbling waves were so loud. My board bounces happily over the ripples that skim the top of the water. Out in the distance I see a small bump that is gradually growing. I jump off my board and get it ready under me. The wave gets bigger and bigger and starts to gently crest, I turn around and start paddling. The wave is right behind me and it tugs at me, Im almost at the top of it. At just the right moment I push on the nose of my board and kick hard, I lean forward and bring my legs up, I feel myself gliding down the front of the wave, riding it with awesome speed. The wind is in my face, my hair is is flying behind me, I lean to the right and ride the wave as it rushes on. I let out a yell for the sheer joy of riding this powerful mass of water. The wave is slowing down and is starting to shrink, so I turn sharply and ride over the top of it. I paddle back out to find another wave to ride. I see that another one is already cresting so I turn around and I try to catch it, I again reach the top, I push to hard on the nose of my board and end up wiping out. I tumble off my board and feel myself being tossed around under the mountain of water, my arm is yanked hard as the wave tries to separate me from my board, where my leash is velcroed to my wrist I feel the edge dig into my skin. I let the wave do as it pleases to me, its so powerful that you cant fight it. The roots of my hair even seem to be pulled with the mighty force of the wave. My lungs start to burn as I need oxygen to fill them once again. Under the water, there is almost no noise. In a strange way, its almost peaceful, even though it feels like Im drowning. The wave finally moves on. My body floats to the top of the water, I tip my head back as I near the surface, this pushes my hair out of my eyes. When my mouth reaches air I gulp greedily. I breathe heavily from the exertion, but am still smiling, as even being pounded makes the adrenaline pump through my veins. I pull my leash and grab my board. Once again Im on top of it and paddling back out to the waves. The day goes on, I ride some waves, I get pounded by some waves. The sun starts to get low, so we call it a day. My limbs feel heavy as we walk up the sand to our slippers. I scrunch my nose and feel the itchy soreness that means Im sunburned. I peek at my shoulder and see that its already turning a deep pinkish red. My board has already been tossed on the ground so I sit on it to take my fins off. After removing them I notice my ankle is sporting a sandy blister from my fins rubbing them all day. That will hurt in the shower later I think to myself. I slip my feet into my sandals. We trudge tired but happy back to the car. I glance one more time at the ocean. The sun is starting to set, I look around and see the palm trees dancing gently in the breeze, the air as it skips across my skin is starting to feel cool. I turn around and grin, then sigh with contentment.

This was my life in high school. Those long sun filled days seemed like they would last forever, now they are just a pleasant distant memory.