《The Adventures of Rusty Slater》


 Paddle Out!

    The set is sifting. It¡¯s a cold day on the beach, but the waves are looking good. It¡¯s December and I¡¯m on winter break, well actually I skipped all my midterm exams at school just to surf. I really needed a break from everything. Looks like some waves will be rolling in soon, Eddie and I are sitting on our boards out in the water, oh look there¡¯s one, ¡°Eddie let¡¯s take this one in!¡± Eddie and I paddled out further to the wave. It got bigger, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get it!¡± We turned our boards around and waited for the wave to get closer to us, ¡°C¡¯mon! Paddle, paddle, paddle.¡± Let¡¯s go! I got up and we went two in a pipe! Some people around here call it ¡°The Rusty Pipe¡± Even though that term sounds like a drug reference, but two in a pipe is when two surfers take a wave and surf side by side in one pipe. People say that there is no way someone can do that. I guess I¡¯m just gifted with it. Eddie was carving a bit, his turns were very swift and fast. I decided to do it too. ¡°I don¡¯t know about this Eddie, this is kinda¡ªoh no!¡± The wave crashed on us because we were too busy messing around and not focusing on getting out of the pipe,but hey that¡¯s what happens. I swam up to the surface to meet Eddie.


    ¡°Eddie? Ed!¡± I saw him, he was carried by the wave and he got close to the shore. I got on my board and decided to take a small wave in, I boogied it in by just getting on my knees. The salt water soaked my hair and covered my face, I had to push it out the way so I could see.


    Eddie waited for me on the shore. I walked over towards him, but a little kid ran up to me, ¡°Hey, I like your board!¡±


    ¡°Thanks little dude!¡± I said to the kid. I had a 5¡¯10 Rusty Surfboard. I had to get the board because, Rusty is my name.


    ¡°Stole one out of my playbook there with that kneeboarding!¡± Eddie said as he tied a red bandana on his head. His hair is so long, people mistake him for a blond girl. He can rock a bandana though, well¡ªI guess anyone with long hair can.


    ¡°Sorry dude.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°Well, you want to go get some food?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s head to Lani¡¯s.¡± I said.


    Lani¡¯s is such a cool place, and so many people come here. This place really gives off a surfing vibe, if you catch my drift. There is a bar here and you can get in at 18, you just need a wristband confirming that you are underage. The front door to the place was a simple glass door. There was a little hallway that led to the main dining area. The tables were steel and so were the chairs. The air was a little chilly.bEddie and I got a table and sat down.


    ¡°Hey boys! How¡¯s the water out there?¡± The waitress said.


    ¡°Pretty wavy.¡± Eddie said.


    ¡°Are you boys ready to order?¡± She asked. I looked at the waitress and she looked like she was young enough to be a freshman or sophomore in college.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take a Big Kahuna Burger.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a Louie-Louie salad.¡± Eddie said.We waited for our food and chilled out for a little while. Eddie and I just talked about the latest stuff going on in our lives. You see, Eddie lives here in Pensacola, so I don¡¯t get to see him during school a lot. Unless one Friday afternoon, I skip class with Tommy and we¡¯ll head over to the beach. It¡¯s only a three hour drive from The Northshore.


    ¡°Hey! I said no tomatoes on this damn thing!¡± Some random guy shouted across the room. What the hell is going on?


    ¡°Eddie, what¡¯s happening?¡± I asked. Eddie looked back and it looked like he knew who it was.


    ¡°Aye, Rusty! Holy shit,¡± Eddie leaned into the table, ¡°That¡¯s Snake Jackson!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± That name sounded stupid, but it sounded familiar, ¡°Snake Jackson? No way it¡¯s him?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what people call him, haven¡¯t you seen him?¡± Eddie was talking about this guy like he was some sort of celebrity, he looked back at him.


    ¡°No? What¡¯s so special about him?¡± I asked. I looked over and I got a glimpse of the guy. He had long blond hair and his face was strong and hard. He looked real tough too.


    ¡°Four time winner of the amateur Lou-Loi surf competition!¡± Eddie said. Wait¡ª is he talking about the Lou-Loi surf competition? And is he talking about¡ªoh my¡ª


    ¡°That¡¯s the Snake Jackson?¡± No way! I have to meet him! I¡¯ve heard about this guy! I got to catch him before he leaves.


    ¡°Whoa Rusty! Where are you going?¡± Eddie started to get up from his seat. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be back!¡± I have to get to him! I opened the door and walked outside, ¡°Snake!¡± Snake looked back at me and stared me dead in the eye. His green eyes pierced my heart into two. I stopped and I saw him. He was tall and big in muscle, not fat.


    ¡°What do you want, Kook?¡± He yelled. Wow, no one¡¯s ever called me that before. A Kook is a dumbass, people use the word as an insult around here.


    ¡°What the fuck? What¡¯s your deal?¡± I yelled back at him. No one calls me a fucking kook!


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for some scrawny little kid like you! Beat it!¡± I¡¯m not scrawny! I¡¯ll kick it to him. Snake walked away next to his surfing team, he was laughing and giving high fives to his teammates. I felt like a loser, so I walked back to my table, as I went to open the door, sure enough, there it was, a flyer and a chance to show Snake Jackson who I really was! The Lou-Loi surf competition was in two weeks! No way! I¡¯ll kick him some white wash! I grabbed a flyer, ran back to my table, ¡°Eddie!¡± I slammed the flyer on our table in front of his food as he was trying to take a bite, but I interrupted him ¡°Look here! We can do this! Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    ¡°Rusty, look this is a¡ª¡± Eddie was interrupted by our waitress.


    ¡°And here is that Big Kahuna Burger?¡± The waitress had the burger on a plate in her left hand, she set the plate down on the table.


    ¡°Oh thanks!.¡± I said, as she set my burger down. We both ignore each other and started to chow down.


    6:32 A.M and waves are starting to form. ¡°Ready to paddle out?¡±


    ¡°Rusty, about yesterday, are you sure about that competition ? The Lou-Loi is not a ¡®walk in the park¡¯ kind of competition. It brings in a lot of surfers all over the coast.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a challenge, what¡¯s wrong with a little challenge?¡± I grabbed my board and started to walk down to the shore.


    ¡°Yo!¡± Tommy ¡°Shortbreak¡± Dover arose from the dunes. That was a nickname we gave him. He was a small guy, ¡°are you guys bustin¡¯ surfboards without me?¡±


    ¡°Shortbreak we wouldn¡¯t leave you out!¡± Eddie laughed.


    ¡°Shortbreak?! Ugh, c¡¯mon guys, cut it out! I¡¯m not that small!¡± Tommy laid his board down.


    ¡°Well, you guys go ahead, I have to wax my board.¡± Tommy sat down to wax his board.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Ed!¡± I ran straight to the water and paddled out. I spotted a wave and got close, turned to the side and caught the wave. I wasn¡¯t straight , but I dropped in two feet and got into the pipe. As I got out and finished riding the wave, I decided to dive in and jump off my board. The water was a bit cold and I was underwater for a little bit, but all of the sudden everything went black. I swam to the surface to see that the object that darkened the water was¡ªSnake Jackson¡¯s board. This guy again!


    ¡°Ah look who it is? Little kook!¡± Snake said.


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate if you didn¡¯t call me that.¡± The water was deep and I couldn¡¯t touch the bottom. I yanked my leash on my ankle to pull my board towards me. I got on.


    ¡°Sorry what was that? I can¡¯t hear you over the sound of the waves calling my name!¡± Snake raised his hand next to his ear. ¡°Listen, kid¡­Can you hear that?¡± What the hell is this guy¡¯s deal? All I could hear were the waves crashing on shore ¡°The waves are calling my name and telling you to get the fuck out!! This is local¡¯s only,¡± Snake pointed to the shore, ¡°There¡¯s no room for a benny like you!¡± I got out of the water and watched Eddie surf a few. I sat next to Tommy.


    ¡°Rusty what¡¯s wrong?¡± Tommy asked.


    ¡°I got kicked out of the water.¡± I had my head down, I felt ashamed.


    ¡°What?¡± Tommy looked confused.


    ¡°Snake kicked me out!¡± I kicked up the sand on the shore


    ¡°Wait! The Snake Jackson?¡± Tommy was surprised


    ¡°Yes!¡± I yelled again as I kicked up sand.


    ¡°Says who? Just one surfer?¡± Tommy grabbed his board, ¡°Tell ya what, if we work out a strategy, we can push him into the white wash and he¡¯ll get irritated. Grab your stick!¡± A stick is another name for a surfboard.


    ¡°You mean like snake his wave?¡± That¡¯s kinda funny, because people call him Snake. That¡¯s his name, isn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Yes! C¡¯mon let¡¯s go get some!¡± Tommy helped me up. Let¡¯s take him out!


    So back into the water we go. ¡°Swing wide Rusty!¡± Tommy said as he carved to the right of Snake, ¡°there ya go, there ya go! Shake and stomp!¡± Tommy started to make some curves, I rode off of Tommy¡¯s wave and launched and landed in front of Snake. He had no choice but to wipeout!


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Snake yelled as he went down, the wave carried him off.


    ¡°Wipeout!¡± Tommy laughed.


    ¡°Nice play there guys!¡± Eddie came near us.


    ¡°Thanks Ed! I said as I gave Tommy and Eddie a high five.


    ¡°Yo! These waters are open to everyone!¡± Tommy yelled out. I felt great that we took down Snake and re-opened the surf spot to everyone. That guy is such a prick.


    ¡°Yo! Way to go Rusty!¡± Tommy said.


    ¡°Hey, look at all the people on the beach!¡± We all paddled to the shore and a group of young surfers and a few older girls who were admiring us were all cheering and took pictures with me. Tommy and Eddie lifted me up, ¡°Rusty Slater! Hero of The Cove!¡±


    Now I just gotta say it was a good day. The boys let me down and everyone was still cheering me on. I looked around me and saw that a bunch of people were behind me, calpping and yelling my name. Out of all the people I saw, there was this one girl that stood out from the crowd. Her skin was tan, and she was a dime. A ten. She was so fine looking. She walked up to me and said, ¡°Nice moves out there.¡± Her smile was so white that I could go blind.


    ¡°Thanks girl. You look pretty nice.¡± I said as I made eye contact with her.


    ¡°Awe, Thanks! Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?¡± The girl asked me.


    ¡°Nothing special, why?¡±


    ¡°Do you see that house over there?¡± She pointed to this raised house right on the beach, past the dunes. The house was white and blue with a wooden boardwalk from the back of the house to the white sands on the beach.


    ¡°Yeah I see it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having a party tomorrow night and you¡¯re invited. A ton of people are going to be there. You should totally go!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh for sure, I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°It starts at nine, don¡¯t be late!¡± She smiled at me and waved goodbye. I¡¯m definitely going to that party.

 Lou-Loi Surf Competition

    Lou-Loi Surf Competition


    Rusty Slater Short #2


    The water was calm and the wind blew ever so slightly, and yes it was cold and I had a jacket on. I¡¯m standing outside on the balcony of this girl¡¯s house on the beach, the girl who invited me to the party, I¡¯ve been for for about an hour and I¡¯m already pretty buzzed. I killed an entire bottle of red wine earlier with Eddie, so I¡¯m feeling pretty tipsy right now. I heard someone open the sliding glass door and come outside, I turn my head and I see Eddie. His blonde hair swayed to the left of his face as the wind blew, but his bandana kept his hair from completely falling out of style.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you man, you really showed Snake yesterday.¡± Eddie said as he gave me a beer.


    ¡°Thanks, that guy is a prick am I right?¡±


    Eddie chuckled, ¡°yeah, but in all seriousness,¡± Eddie paused, ¡°Did you really sign us up for the Lou-Loi surf competition?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I opened my beer,  ¡°What¡¯s one competition going to do to us?  We can do this Ed. I¡¯ll be fine. We¡¯ll be fine¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure Rusty. It¡¯s pretty gnarlym  out there, I wouldn''t do it. Snake has been surfing before we could even walk. He was born in the waves, man! You¡¯re not some hot shot surfer boy. You¡¯re  just Rusty Slater, a kid.¡± Eddie said. Look, here he goes again with his lecture, Jesus, I thought this guy was cooler than that. He¡¯s right about Snake though. He is a very good surfer, I guess I just came down to the coast at the wrong time. My school is on Winter break so I decided to come down here and surf. I was just itching for the chance to leave my hometown, and December was the right time to leave The Northshore.


    ¡°Whatever man, we can do it anyway.¡± I walked back inside. I didn¡¯t want to hear all of Eddie¡¯s bullshit. Inside the house I could barely hear because the music was so loud. Most of the songs that played through the house were A Now this girl has a cool house, from where I was, a green velvet couch and coffee table were to my left, and to my right was the kitchen with wood and steel barstools. Her house was raised about twelve feet, because she lived right on the beach. I mean this house was so great!  I met this girl the day I beat Snake Jackson. She ran up and hugged me. Look there she is, ¡°Hey, Alana! Nice place you have here.¡± Her name was Alana Schell. She smiled and looked up at me, the girl was only 5¡¯2, and her eyes were dark, but in the light I could that her eyes turned to a dark green colour. Funny, my eyes do the same thing. She was wearing cut off jean shorts, they fit her butt perfectly. I mean, hey she has a nice ass. What else can I say? She was also pretty tan and she wore a yellow bikini top, along with an unzipped white hoodie. One thing about this girl is that; she wears a flower in her hair all the time. Tonight she wore a pink flower and it rested on her right ear.


    ¡°Thanks Rusty!¡± She said, ¡°Do you like my jacket?¡± She turned around to show me the back of the jacket, Oh wow! It¡¯s a Rusty jacket. Now that I have a good look at it, the jacket¡¯s primary colour was white, on the back there was a gray triangle with the word, ¡®Rusty¡¯ on it. Below the word was the year 1985 and the company¡¯s logo, which was the letter R with two surfboards intersecting it. She turned back around and asked me,  ¡°So are you in the Lou-Loi tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow? Oh shit! I thought it was two days from now.¡± I said, but that can¡¯t be right.


    ¡°No, it''s tomorrow.¡± Alana took a sip of her drink, tequila. I could smell it from her breath.


    ¡°Then why are you having a party before a competition?¡± This is ridiculous. Why would she do that?


    ¡°I like to party, duh! And it¡¯s not just a competition, it¡¯s a surf fest! So there will be live music, food, art, and the end of the fest is the competition.¡±  She explained, ¡°Didn¡¯t you do your homework? Alana was talking about my knowledge on the Lou-Loi, truth be told, I really don¡¯t know anything about it, I just signed up so I could beat Snake Jackson.


    ¡°No, I--¡±


    ¡°Oh? Ya know this is a big deal around here?¡± Alana had a serious look on her face.


    ¡°I just jumped the gun a little on it, I didn¡¯t know it was a big deal.¡± I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. We both laughed. I heard the door open and someone cheered, I walk into the main hallway and you wouldn¡¯t guess who it was, ¡°What the fuck? Snake Jackson!¡± I yelled and the music stopped. Some kids started to crowd around us, Snake and I got close. So close that we could hear each other breathing. I could only see his eyes. Those dark green eyes were locked onto me. Kids behind him took out their phones ready to record a fight.


    ¡°You really think you¡¯re something, huh?¡± Snake yelled in my face.


    ¡°I better not see you tomorrow morning!¡± I yelled back.


    ¡°You bet your ass I¡¯ll be there pussy!I¡¯ll be there to see you lose as I get the purple Lai! I always win! This is my beach, my town. My fucking paradise! I¡¯m not going to have some little bitch like you win. Never!¡±  Snake pushed me.


    ¡°Get the fuck out of here!¡± I yelled and pushed Snake back. He punched me in the face, I fell to the ground. People started to crowd around me and help. All I could see was a blur from that one punch. Man he really packs it, fuck!


    ¡°This kid is going down tomorrow! He doesn¡¯t own this beach! I do, me, Snake Jackson!¡± Snake flipped a table over and he walked out the door. The table, along with everything else on it, flew up into the air. I heard bottles shatter on the floor and red solo cups hit the floor.  I rested my head on the wooden floor.. I closed my eyes and laid there. I felt blood on my face.


    ¡°Rusty are you all right? Rusty?¡± I heard Alana¡¯s voice. I opened my eyes and I felt her hair touch my face. I woke up in some bedroom, as usual to every other party I go to. I was laying on a bed and she was leaning over me. My head started to hurt as I moved to get up.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked. I looked around the room. It was dim and there were small dim lights hanging over the pink bed. I smelled incense, which gave off a floral scent.


    ¡°You¡¯re in my room.¡± Alana responded. Well, that makes sense now that I see the surfboard. It was a small board, a 5¡¯10. This board would be great for taking on a lot of waves, ¡°is that your stick?¡±  A stick is a slang term for a surfboard.


    ¡°Yes, you can take a closer look if you want later, but I have to fix you up. Snake really did a number on you.¡±  Alana got up from the bed and she brushed her hair back, ¡°follow me.¡± We walked into the bathroom, she motioned me to sit on the counter by the sink. She took out some cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide, ¡°I hope this doesn¡¯t sting you.¡± Jesus! She poured so much that the cotton ball was drenched, and then she just slapped it on me!


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I moved away.


    ¡°Oh calm down! It doesn¡¯t hurt that bad.¡± Alana touched up my nose and right cheek. Snake had a ring or two on and his punch cut my skin open. I looked at her and I noticed a scar on her leg and forearm, they were both pretty long, ¡°There ya go,¡± she finished and threw the cotton balls away.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± when I got down from the counter, Alana was pretty close to me, ¡°How did you get those scars?¡± I asked and pointed at the scar on her arm. It was keloid and long. The scar tissue was sightly a lighter shade of her skin colour. It traveled from her thigh to her knee.


    ¡°I was surfing one day up in North Carolina near a boneyard, I took a nasty spill and I got cut on my arm. Then the one on my leg is from a Jellyfish tentacle.¡±


    ¡°Looks pretty radical.¡± Looking at her scar made me wince.


    ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t really a nice experience,¡± She laughed, ¡°I don¡¯t really like them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like your scars?¡± I asked her. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at me and looked down at the floor.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Alana, I¡¯m sorry if I-¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a few scars.¡± Alana said quietly.


    ¡°Well, I have a lot of scars too. I counted forty- three.¡± I shrugged my shoulders.


    ¡°Forty- three! Jesus! What did you do?¡± Alana¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one day, but not tonight.¡± I told her. We stared at each other for a while, an awkward silence filled the room.


    ¡°Um, we should go back to the party.¡± Alana walked out the bathroom and grabbed a box from her dresser in her room. I followed her out of the bedroom and into the living room, Alana walked over to the couch, ¡°make room for us.¡± Alana said poliety to these guys sitting on the couch and I mean, it was her house too, so these two guys got off the couch and Alana took my hand and we sat down.


    ¡°What¡¯s in the box?¡± I asked. I guess it¡¯s weed or something, ¡°wait is it weed?¡±  Alana gave me a smile and nodded. She took out a joint and we sparked it right there on the couch.  She gave a few puffs and then the joint started to burn slowly. She leaned her head back and blew the smoke into the air. The second time she took a hit, she inhaled all the smoke and coughed a bit and I tried to hide my laugh.


    ¡°So, Eddie told me how you took out Snake. How did it make you feel?¡± Alana passed the joint.


    ¡°I heard that he was an excellent surfer and when I met him that day,¡± I took a hit and coughed a little, ¡°He- he was just such a prick and very rude. When he kicked me out of the water, I had to do something about it. So a friend and I paddled out and showed Snake who¡¯s boss. I felt great that day.¡± Not going to lie, when I told Alana about the surfing incident I spoke with confidence. She seemed very interested in everything I had to say.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I saw you from the shore that day,  you were giving it everything you got.¡± Alana rested her legs on the couch.


    ¡°Oh, I saw you too, your pretty face was distracting me though.¡± I laughed and


    she tapped my arm, she was blushing, ¡°Oh stop it.¡±   We talked about nonsense for the past hour. We talked about hobbies, movies, books, surfing, and school. She went to an art school for fashion but she got kicked out of the school.  In the hour I had talking to her, I became attracted to her. She loves music and she listens to old school tracks too like The Doors and The Beach Boys, but then again who doesn¡¯t listen to the Beach Boys. I liked her a lot, ¡°Hey Alana?¡± I looked away from the ceiling and turned to look at her. We are both high and sitting next to each other on the couch, I rested my feet on the wood coffee table, the only thing on the table was empty beer cans and a half full bottle of rum, ¡°thanks for helping me out.¡± I said and she turned and looked at me. Her smile was just gorgeous. Her laugh lines extended to her cheeks and her eyes were so red from being completely stoned, but she was still beautiful. In those red eyes of hers, I could see the ocean, ¡°your eyes are so blue, like the ocean.¡±


    ¡°Oh Slater, cool it.¡± She felt embarrassed and tried to hide her feelings but I saw her blushing again, I laid on my side and got closer to Alana. I placed my hand on her waist, I leaned in, closed my eyes, and kissed her. She kissed me back and suddenly she stopped, she pushed me back into the couch and laid on top of me. She got  comfortable around me. She wrapped her legs around me and held onto me. She kissed me again and again. All of the sudden I heard a ding from a phone. I looked up and saw a kid taking a video of us. ¡°You fucking prick!¡± Alana got so mad she grabbed a lamp by the end table and threw it at the kid. He ran out the house, ¡°Jesus! What a fucking creep.¡± She calmed down and looked back at me. Her hair was hanging and touching my face. I saw the lamp, shattered on the ground.


    ¡°Alana! You just broke your lamp!¡±  I looked up at her.


    ¡°Oh well, this place can get messy.¡± She laughed as she leaned in towards me and she gave me a french kiss, ¡°Hold on Rusty.¡± She got off me and started to tell everyone to leave, ¡°Everyone please leave! The party is over!¡± Everyone left and the house was a mess, but do you know what wasn¡¯t a mess? Alana¡¯s beauty. She walked towards me and held me hand, and we walked into her room. That was that.


    The sun¡¯s rays pierced through the blinds near the window to Alana¡¯s bedroom. I¡¯ll tell you what, there¡¯s something about the beach that makes it feel so good. The wind, the water, the smell of the salt water, the ¡°Skrt¡± sound that sand makes when you walk on it. Everything, I love it, I¡¯m still in Alana¡¯s bed. It is just so comfortable, and it¡¯s better than my bed. Last night was great too.


    ¡°Boy! What are you still doing here?¡± Alana came out of the bathroom. I assumed she just got out of the shower.  She had a towel wrapped around her and her hair was still wet, ¡°You need to get going!¡± She removed her towel and threw it at me, then she ran in the closet to get her wetsuit. I removed the towel from my face and I saw her zip up her suit. It was a hot pink suit with white as the secondary colour. She put a white bandana on to serve as a headband to keep her hair out of her face. I got out of bed, ¡°Um. Eddie has my wetsuit.¡± I told Alana, I hope Eddie is already on the beach by now. I looked out the window, and I saw a lot of people on the beach. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Alana asked.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get down there.¡± Today is the start of the event and people are already out training this morning. Alana mentioned the Lou-Loi was a festival as well. The fest doesn¡¯t start until 11:00, but the competition is at 3:00. Look there is Eddie and Tommy, ¡°Hey there guys.¡±


    ¡°Bout time you showed up, hey Ryan called me last night to tell you that him and some other kids from The Northshore are heading over.¡± Eddie said to me. That¡¯s nice. I wonder who will come. He handed me my wetsuit and I walked into the tent to change. My wetsuit was gray and black. I walked back outside of the tent.


    ¡°So we have some time to kill, Rusty do you want to check out the festival?¡± She asked me.


    ¡°I¡¯m down!¡±  I said with some excitement in my voice.


    ¡°Oh no sir! Why don¡¯t you do at least a few runs in the water before going off with her?¡± Eddie pointed to me. Ah, he¡¯s right. I should get in the water and practice a little before the real event. I¡¯ll have time to chill with Alana later. She understood what was going on and she said, ¡°well, I¡¯ll guess I¡¯ll see you out there then.¡± She seemed pretty bummed out, but it is what it is. I have to win this thing.


    Welcome to the 2017 Lou-Loi Surf  Competition! That¡¯s what the big banner read as I walked on to the beach. Alright this is it! The competition will start in a few minutes, so I better go meet up with Eddie and Tommy.  Wow, I never seen so many sticks all over the beach, you could see some contestants wax their board down, and then some people are just trying to congregate with the contestants. I saw Eddie with my stick and his.


    ¡°Eddie!¡± I walked up to him. He had a radio playing some Dick Dale, next to the radio was an ice chest.


    ¡°Here, take a bottle.¡± Eddie threw me a bottle of water.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I grabbed my board from him and I looked back over my shoulder and I saw Snake. Fucking Snake. That guy gets on my nerves. Look at him, walking around like he owns this place. These are public waters! Look, I only did this whole thing just to beat Snake. I took him down once I can do it again! Oh, who tapped my shoulder?


    ¡°Hey Rusty!¡± It was Alana! I gave her a hug, but her hair was wet, ¡°So are you ready for today? Hey what¡¯s wrong?¡± She gave me a sad look.


    ¡°Oh nothing I was just thinking about--¡±


    ¡°Rusty look man, whatever is going on in  your head,¡± Eddie pointed to me and looked me dead in the eye, ¡°Just forget it man.¡±  Look, Eddie is right, I just have to stay focused. Forget Snake right now,


    ¡°C¡¯mon everyone is paddling out now.¡± Eddie said. He picked up his board and Alana and I followed behind him. The water was a little chilly. I saw about twelve surfers paddle out even further.


    ¡°Rusty we are going with this first group out.¡± Eddie and I followed them. We all waited for a wave...I remained calm and I started to paddle, I got on the wave and then I was flying man. I zoomed past Eddie and I managed to get a few carves in, I quickly managed to ride to the top of the wave and get some air. I did a tail grab while doing a 180 and that was the end of the run. After that I jumped in the water. I surfaced and saw Alana down by the shore. She took the wave all the way in. I waited for her to come back out. She flipped her hair back. She paddled up to me.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Slater let¡¯s go!¡± She glanced at me. I followed her out and we waited for the next wave. I looked to my right and I saw Snake not far away. It looks like Snake is going to take this wave. I looked back to Alana.


    ¡°Hey girl, heads up!¡± I warned Alana. She saw Snake too. ¡°He might take this wave.¡±


    ¡°Slater don¡¯t let him wipe you out!¡± Alana said and she turned her board around, preparing herself to paddle. I also did the same thing. She¡¯s right. Snake cannot take me down. Not now, not ever.  The wave came closer and I paddled. We got on the wave! Alana lowered her body once she stood up on the board to gain some speed, she went down and surfed up to catch some air, I went forward and kept making turns so Snake wouldn¡¯t get past me. As I turned left, Snake whizzed past me and punched me in the stomach, I fell off my board and into the water, the wave rolled past me as I got tossed around  in the water. I surfaced, and saw my enemy take the wave all the way in. Fuck! I got back on my board. I slapped the water out of frustration. I saw Eddie coasting near me,


    ¡°Hey man. Let¡¯s take the next one.¡± Eddie said.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± I said. Eddie and I paddled out to a group of riders. I counted five riders. We joined up with them as the wave was approaching. Eddie and I turned our boards and we paddled hard. We got up instantly and rode with ease, we even managed to surf past each other and give a high five. Eddie was doing some tricks here and there, I preformed another jump and it felt so nice, the wind just hit my entire body as I left the water. I bend my knees to comfortably stick my landing back on the wave. I hopped off and I heard a ton of people cheer for me. It was pretty cool! That was run two. One more run and the competition is over. I rested on my board and waited for the next wave, I looked to my right and saw no one. I looked to my left and saw Snake. It¡¯s just him and I now! Here comes the wave, alright here we go! I got some good speed and I stood up instantly. Snake was right on my tail, I carved in and out to shake him off but I couldn¡¯t. He lowered his body to increase his speed and he was neck-to-neck with me. I put some weight into my left foot and moved my hip to ride up the wave, but Snake cut me off. I was about to ride in close to punch him, but in a flash a surfer whizzed past both of us. Snake seemed surprise and not going to lie, I was too. Who the fuck was that? Snake moved in front of me and caused me to wipe out. He snaked my wave.


    I got out of the water, and I felt so fucking exhausted, I can feel my lungs wither like a dying flower! I was breathing twice as fast. I unzipped my wetsuit down to my waist,  I laid my board in the sand and walked close to the stage. A man with a white linen shirt came up to the stage, ¡°As we wrap things up here at Lou- Loi Twenty Seventeen. We would like to announce the winners of the competition.¡± The man¡¯s voice was amplified through the mic we had, I saw Eddie and Alana up front so I walked up near them. I tapped Alana¡¯s shoulder and I continued to listen in, ¡°And the winner of the twenty seventeen Lou-Loi surf competition is Max Terrier!¡± Oh what the fuck! The crowd of people cheered for Max. Now I know, the cheers I heard earlier in the water weren''t for me. It was for Max


    ¡°Alana! That¡¯s the guy who zipped past me and Snake.¡± I pointed to Max on stage, that fucking guy!  The announcer raised the microphone to his mouth. ¡°And second place goes to Alana Schell!¡± The people cheered and Alana walked up to the stage to receive her lai, which was yellow. Some people took pictures and she obviously posed for every picture. Well that¡¯s it. I fucking lost. How terrible! Hopefully the night will make up for what happened today.


    The moon was full, and yet there was a party on the beach, all the kids were out. Winter break just started so all the students from Alana¡¯s school are out here as well. I was watching some people playing volleyball on the beach. Usually back home, kids would play beer pong. ¡°So Alana, what are the rules again?¡± I asked Alana as I watched the players.


    ¡°The team that loses has to all do a kegstand!¡± Alana told me. Man, that¡¯s crazy. I walked away from Alana to get another drink. I saw Max Terrier on the way over to the table. He¡¯s the winner, and he looks like one. Golden hair, blue eyes, white teeth, and a fucking twinkle in his eye.  He saw me and walked over to shake my hand.


    ¡°Hey nice job out there!¡± Max smiled at me, but I just pushed away his hand, grabbed two beers and walked back to Alana. When I kneeled to get the beers, I saw the purple lai around his neck. That could''ve been me wearing that, but I don''t have anything.I walked away back to Alana. She was sitting down on the beach. So I decided to go sit next to her. Her hair was pulled over her right shoulder. I should feel happy right now, but I feel so bummed out.


    ¡°Rusty what¡¯s wrong?¡± Alana asked. I didn''t look at her. I was staring at the sand as I buried my feet in.


    ¡°I¡¯m just so mad at,¡± I hesitated before I continued, ¡°myself. I was so confident to take down Snake when I saw him at Lani¡¯s that day. I felt it. I felt it Alana. The courage I had was all wasted on the competition. I didn¡¯t even win.¡± I buried my face into my hands, ¡°sorry I didn¡¯t mean to go on I just-¡±


    Alana raised her finger at me, ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, look I know what it¡¯s like to lose.  Don¡¯t be so blue about it.¡± Alana looked back as I heard a group of girls cheering in a crowd of people. ¡°Let¡¯s go dance!¡± She frantically got up and grabbed my hand, she yanked me up and we ran into the crowd of people and started to dance. Honestly her dance moves were so clean. We  started to dance like fools among others who were dancing just as crazy as us! Alana got closer to me and we danced at a moderate pace. I could see glimmers of her smile that twinkled.A new song came on. The song was nothing but drums and steel guitars. She rubbed her hands near my chest and looked up at me. Her mouth was closed and her pupils were wide like olives. I think I just saw pure beauty from the sea. Right there on the beach Alana and I were dancing till we couldn¡¯t feel our legs. We left the crowd and sat down by some chairs left out of the beach. ¡°I¡¯m so sweaty from all of that!¡± I laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m so tired.¡± Alana caught her breath, ¡°Want to come to my place? ¡± Alana asked me. Fuck yeah I want to go to her place. She grabbed my hand and we walked back to her house.


    Here we are,  the two of us standing outside her back door  and all I can think about is Alana. As I hold her in my arms; I just feel so damn happy.  She¡¯s just so sweet to me. The competition and Snake were lost in the ocean of my mind.


    ¡°Rusty? I know you lost today, but you won something important.¡± Alana was blushing.


    ¡°What did I win Alana?¡± I leaned in closer to her.


    ¡°You¡¯ve won me.¡± She kissed me.

 The Goodbye

    The Goodbye


    I opened my eyes to see nothing but Sleeping Beauty right next to me, it was Alana. I was laying on the right side of the bed while she was on the left. Her bed was so comfortable- it was like sleeping on a cloud. She snuggled up next to me, ¡°well good morning Sleeping Beauty!¡± I laughed a little bit at my own joke. She laughed too, but when she laughs she tends to draw her laughter out and that doesn¡¯t  bother me one bit!


    ¡°Sleeping Beauty? Wouldn¡¯t I be more like Ariel?¡± Alana looked at me with a big smile on her face.


    ¡°Well, Alana if I¡¯m going to be fair; you can¡¯t be Ariel because you


    don¡¯t even have red hair.¡± I explained to Alana and her expression drastically changed.


    ¡°Gee thanks Rusty.¡± She covered herself with the bedsheets and she got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She seemed a little mad, but I know she was joking around.


    ¡°Hey the only reason I said Sleeping Beauty is because you look cute when you sleep.¡± I raised my voice as Alana was in the bathroom fixing her hair.


    ¡°Rusty you¡¯re so sweet,¡± Alana¡¯s smile reflected in the mirror. I could see it from where I was standing. She was complaining about her hair and started to just mess it up by frantically running her fingers through it, ¡°Ugh! I can never get my hair the way I want it!¡± She yelled as she fumbled with her hair. I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth.  Alana tried to fix her hair one more time and she was looking at me through the mirror, ¡°you look so cute right now!¡± She turned around and pecked me on the cheek.


    ¡°So now that the competition is over, what do you want to do today?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start by getting some breakfast. My hair is not cooperating with me so I¡¯ll just put a bandana in it.¡± She had this yellow bandana that she folded and tied around her head. She looked like Rosie the Riveter, only Alana was cuter.


    ¡°We can go to Lani¡¯s that place is open for breakfast.¡± I suggested and she agreed. Now what do I wear? All of my clothes are at Eddie¡¯s house. I guess I had to wear the same clothes I wore yesterday: jeans, checkered vans, and a blue tee. I usually cuff my jeans an inch. Alana wore cut off jeans and a A$AP Rocky sweatshirt. It was like sixty-two degrees out, and I bet the water is freezing right now.


    ¡°Nice sweatshirt.¡± I took a look at her sweatshirt, it was maroon with an inverted American Flag with the letters ¡®VSVP¡¯ above the flag. Alana and I walked out the door, ¡°Are you not going to lock your door?¡± I stopped, and  Alana was walking down the stairs to her car.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Alana unlocked her car, ¡°get in.¡± She had a an old blue Jeep wrangler, go figure I see girls back home whipping their jeeps around all day. They all drive newer models. Alana has an ¡®03.The jeep was a soft top. I hopped in and the car smelled like dank and the interior was so messy too. Alana seems to just not care about anything. I mean, the night I kissed her she threw a fucking lamp and shattered it! By the way, the lamp is still on the floor from two nights ago. I can¡¯t wait to see how her parents react to the house when they get back from New York. We pulled out the driveway and we headed to Lani¡¯s. She drove like a mad woman honestly. Speeding down the highway, I had a nice view of the coast to my right, she went twenty miles over the speed limit, but then again a lot of people speed here. Let me just say all in all Alana was a bad driver. I should check my phone to see if anyone called me. Wow, Ryan called me five times. I tapped on Ryan¡¯s name and called him back, ¡°Hey Ryan, what¡¯s up¡­..wait you¡¯re here in Pensacola with the rest of the guys?...Okay¡­.No, you missed the competition¡­ well you didn¡¯t miss anything too exciting¡­.I¡¯m heading to Lani¡¯s. Look, I¡¯ll send you the location...Okay, bye.¡± I hung up. I send Ryan the location of Lani¡¯s restaurant. Alana turned into the gravel parking lot and the car slid into an empty space, it was like something out of a James Bond movie. ¡°Nice parking job.¡± I was actually impressed, but Alana thought I was making fun of her. Her face said it all, ¡°No, like seriously good job.¡± I said with a more serious tone. She laughed as she got out the car. I followed behind her, and then she was complaining again.


    ¡°Who the fuck decides to fill this parking lot with gravel and rocks? It¡¯s the beach! Most people walk barefoot here! Oh my gosh!¡± She wasn''t wearing shoes.


    ¡°Alana, you should¡¯ve worn shoes then.¡±  Why is she complaining right now? She should¡¯ve put on some shoes. ¡°It just hurts my feet!¡± She paced a few steps further than me and got to the door. I went to open the door for her and she seemed a little surprised.We walked in and got a table  by the window. We didn¡¯t wait that long for a waiter to come to us.


    ¡°Hello welcome to Lani¡¯s!¡± The waiter was a small scrawny kid with blonde hair that hung down to his shoulders. He was quite energetic though with all his hand gestures he made when he talked, ¡°Can I get you guys started off with some drinks or are you two ready to order?¡± I glanced at Alana and she ordered first, ¡°We¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll take a sweet tea and a tuna salad.


    ¡°And for you?¡± The waiter frantically wrote on his notepad.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯ll get the same thing.¡± I said. Alana looked at me strange. She had a look on her face as if she were to say ¡°What the fuck?¡±  I took a look out the window and saw this black Challenger pull into the parking lot like a bat out of hell. I know who that is. It¡¯s Ryan and the rest of the boys; Graham, Matt, and Sean. Graham had on a Bowie world tour tee shirt. Sean wore swim trunks, and Ryan wore shorts and a black tee. Oh now they see me. Okay, here comes Graham running in.


    ¡°Rusty Slater the Hero of The Cove! Dude, you¡¯re all over instagram with that Snake Jackson fight!¡± Graham screamed as he ran through the threshold. Keep in mind that the restaurant  was quiet until Graham¡¯s voice shook the place.


    ¡°Graham keep your voice down!¡± I laid my head down on the table. Graham pulled up a chair next to Alana.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? I¡¯m Graham.¡± Graham shook Alana¡¯s hand, then he turned to me,  ¡°Rusty what¡¯s wrong man?¡±


    ¡°Look, I didn¡¯t win yesterday.¡± I looked at Graham¡¯s face turning into disappointment. The waiter brought Alana and I our drinks.


    ¡°Oh jeez I¡¯m sorry to hear that Slater.¡± Graham said. I¡¯m surprised Alana didn¡¯t mention herself placing second. I thought she would be the type of girl to brag, but she didn¡¯t say a word.  Maybe because she doesn¡¯t want to hurt my feelings. Ryan, Matt and Sean walked in and sat to the table next to us.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going winner!¡± Ryan gave me a friendly punch to my shoulder, which kinda hurt.


    ¡°Ow, my shoulder! I¡¯m very sore guys and I lost. I didn¡¯t win.¡± I sipped on my sweet tea.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I saw a video of you wiping out on Snapchat.¡± Matt said. Wait, on snapchat? That¡¯s odd.


    ¡°Wait on whose story?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Victoria Vice.¡± Oh my God, Matt just said Victoria Vice was there. Why the hell would she be down here at the beach? Agh, no need to worry about that bitch.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that Rusty?¡± Alana gave me an eye and I answered,


    ¡°Victoria is on the dance team at our school.¡± I focused my attention on Matt now, ¡°Matt, why would she be down here?¡±


    ¡°I told you guys! Victoria is in love with  Slater.¡± Ryan laughed and the others chimed in, like a nice melody. I know they are joking with me, but I seriously don¡¯t want Alana to know about Victoria. I told the guys to cool it and they did. The scrawny waiter came and brought us our food. Oh I forgot to introduce Alana to my friends, ¡°Alana, this is Ryan, Sean, Graham, and Matt.  They go to school with me.¡± One by one they shook her hand and of course Graham had to ask, ¡°So are you two dating?¡¯ Alana and I both looked at each other and she gave me a wink, and I chuckled, ¡°Something like that.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°So, Alana what do you do for fun around here?¡± Ryan asked, he pulled up a chair and the waitress walked by with a tray of food and a drink. Ryan took the drink behind the waitress¡¯s back and sipped it, ¡°it¡¯s Dr.Pepper.¡±


    ¡°Well, during the summer people are always out on the shore, so I¡¯m always out in the water. There¡¯s a movie theater here that a lot of people go to, um.. What else? Oh!  I was on the dance team for my school but I quit that last month.¡± Alana sipped her tea. She never mentioned that to me.


    "What about during winter break?¡± Sean added.


    ¡°I surf,¡± Alana laughed, ¡°I told you I¡¯m always in the water!¡± She laughed.


    ¡°Yeah guys, I didn¡¯t expect you all to show up this morning, I thought you all would come in later in the day.¡± I told the boys. Ryan looked at me if I was stupid, his mouth was open.


    ¡°Slater it¡¯s Fourteen hundred.¡± Ryan said it was two o¡¯clock in the afternoon.  He was in the ROTC program back at school, even though he got kicked out he still uses twenty-four hour time. I don¡¯t mind it.


    ¡°Jeez, we slept good!¡± Alana raised her legs and crossed them in her chair. We were out all night, but I didn¡¯t know we woke up in the afternoon. Man, my sleep schedule is so off right now. The boys laughed and we just hung out and ate lunch.


    After we ate lunch, even though I considered it breakfast, I walked Alana to her car. The boys followed behind me.


    ¡°Hey, Slater wait a minute.¡± Ryan yelled out. I stopped walking and turned around and looked at him.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something? We¡¯re taking you home.¡± Ryan explained. Oh fuck. I don¡¯t really want to leave right now, even though I do have school tomorrow.


    ¡°C¡¯mon guys, just a little more time?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Dude, we drove all the way out here to pick you up!¡± Matt said. I got a little mad, but Alana came up to me and said,


    ¡°Look, Rusty you can drive with me to get your stuff from my house. Okay?¡± Alana rubbed my hand. I nodded.


    ¡°Okay then, I also have to get my bags from Eddie¡¯s house. Let¡¯s go.¡±  I walked with her to the car.


    ¡°Hey boys, you can follow us to my place!¡± Alana raised her hand at the boys. Her and I hopped in her car and drove back. She was blaring The Kinks through her car stereo. Ryan was following us. He was a several feet back.


    ¡°Here we are!¡± Alana took her orange sunglasses off and threw them in the center console of her car. Ryan parked next to her and all the guys got out.


    ¡°Nice place!¡± Graham said as his jaw dropped at the sight of her house.


    ¡°Thanks! Wait until you see the back!¡± Alana walked up the stairs and opened her door for us. I walked in and saw that lamp again, broken and in pieces. The sliding glass door to her balcony was open just a little bit. The green couch had a wine stain on it. Alana went into the bedroom to get my clothes and board. He handled my board with care. That¡¯s what I like about her, ¡°Here you go.¡± She gave me a wink and giggled. I took my board and I just felt so sad. For the past week I¡¯ve had some fun times, but the last three with days with Alana were the best- dancing on the beach not giving a care about anything, smoking weed and talking about nonsense, and she nursed me back to health when Snake punched me in the face. I¡¯ve never connected so much with a girl like her before. I looked at those dark eyes of her¡¯s. She glanced at me and then looked down at the wood floor. She bowed her head.


    ¡°Hey girl.¡± I touched her chin and raised her head up to look at me, ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± I smiled at her, ¡°I¡¯m only three hours away.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know I just wish we had one more day together.¡± Alana was feeling blue, as she would call it. Her eyes were filling up with tears.


    ¡°Wait Alana are you crying?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± Alana wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her sweater, and she gave me a tight hug that I was not ready for. She looked up at me and I could see her dark eyes water up with tears again. She squeezed me and I wrapped my arms around her waist.  I¡¯ve had so much fun being here with her. I was suppose to get my bag and other clothes from Eddie¡¯s place. Let me just call him, that way I can say goodbye to everyone at once. I pulled out my phone and tapped on his name.


    ¡°Hey Eddie? What¡¯s up man...hey listen I was wondering if you could drive down here and bring me my clothes and everything else? Really¡­.. Cool! It¡¯s the house we were at two nights ago¡­.Alana¡­.yeah the fine ass girl¡­.okay thanks man.¡± I hung up. Alana gave me a funny look


    ¡°So Eddie calls me the ¡®fine ass girl¡¯ huh?¡± Alana placed her hands on her hip.


    I laughed and answered, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re one pretty girl.¡± She pecked me on the cheek and I heard the sliding glass door open.


    ¡°Damn check out this out!¡± Sean exclaimed. - Graham walked outside and put on his dark sunglasses. Alana and I walked out to her balcony, she had three chairs out, circling around a steel table.


    ¡°Nice view!¡± Graham shouted, and we all walked out there and saw the white sand, which was very bright as the sunlight reflected off it, making the sand almost blinding to the naked eye. The waves were breaking onshore, and they rolled in fast. Some waves crashed on top of each other and the sound of it were like music to Alana. I could see her face, she brushed back her hair as the wind was blowing it all around. Damn, she¡¯s lived here her whole life.¡°Wait till the wind dies down, everything will be calm then.¡± She said. Ryan grabbed a chair and sat down. He made himself comfortable and rested his feet on the table. Alana gasped, ¡°Hey get your feet off there!¡± She snapped at Ryan.


    ¡°Jeez alright sister!¡± Ryan put his hands up and lowered his feet. I walked back inside to go get a drink and I heard a knock on the door. Could that be Eddie? I called him like twelve minutes ago! I walked over to open the door.


    ¡°Eddie! You got here fast.¡± He wearing a red bandana that held his hair back. His hair was messy and it seemed as if he didn¡¯t even try to comb it at least. He had a yellow Hendrix shirt on too, that¡¯s cool. ¡°I like your shirt, come in dude.¡±  Eddie and I walked out to the balcony. The wind blew and Alana was talking to Ryan, She peered over his shoulder and was looking at me, her dark eyes stood out from all the colours I could see. I can¡¯t seem to take my eyes off her. Maybe I¡¯ll take her to a school dance when I get home, or maybe I¡¯ll take her to Jazz Fest. Now that would be fun, a music festival with my favourite girl. Not giving a care and dancing till our feet hurt.


    ¡°Hey Alana.¡± Eddie waved. She waved back. Eddie looked at me ¡°So Rusty you¡¯re heading out?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s about that time, sadly.¡± I shrugged my shoulders. I said to Eddie,  ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± I looked over his shoulder to see Alana and I smiled, I wanted to wink at her but- I can¡¯t wink. She walked over towards me.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go get everything in the car then.¡± She held my hand. We all walked outside and loaded the car up with my two bags and board. Ryan opened the trunk and placed my bags inside and closed the trunk. Sean got in the car. Graham and Matt carefully placed my board on the roof of the car and tied it down. I was just watching them all do this and I was still holding Alana¡¯s hand, only tighter now.


    ¡°So when will I see you again?¡± She asked me. I thought about when the next time I would see her. It is December and I probably won¡¯t see her till spring break, or maybe until Summer. Funny thing is that I never go to the beach on spring break. Too many people. She was waiting for an answer, but I asked her, ¡°Well, In February my school has a Sweetheart dance. Do you want to go to the dance with me?¡±  Her smile exposed her white teeth and her eyes were big


    ¡°Yes I¡¯d love to go with you.¡± She tilted her head and leaned in to give me a quick kiss.


    ¡°All right. We are ready to go.¡± Ryan said. Matt and Graham got in the car, and Ryan started the engine. The car growled when he started the car. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and I could hear the loud steady gargle like sound from the exhaust pipe.


    ¡°Text me when you get back.¡± She placed her hand in front of me and I gave her my phone to put her number in it, ¡°I had a fun time Rusty.¡± That was all she said.


    ¡°Goodbye Alana.¡±


    I was thinking of Alana. Honestly, she¡¯s a wild child - so sweet and so fine. She¡¯s no daddy¡¯s girl, but she¡¯s loving and caring like a mother though. Her tan skin shines a light bronze colour in the sun. She certainly has a good taste in fashion.  Oh yeah, and she wears that flower in her hair. At first, it looked kinda weird and stereotypical, but Alana is such a nature freak that she can wear a flower in her hair if she wants to. Her dark eyes are so cute though.


    ¡°Hey Slater! Welcome home.¡± Graham said from behind my seat. I was in the passenger seat with my window rolled down. The breeze felt nice.


    ¡°Oh we are already here?¡± I was daydreaming the whole trip back, and to pass the time so more. All of us smoked weed on the way back. We let Matt drive the car because he¡¯s the best driver out of all of us.


    ¡°How about we drive down to the lakefront?¡± Matt asked us. Ryan was just chilling out and listening to the radio, I was daydreaming still, and Sean was sleeping.


    ¡°Sure thing, why not.¡± I answered Matt. Ryan agreed with me. So we drove to the lakefront, it¡¯s a park right near Lake Pontchartrain. Kids from school go down there every Saturday night and park their cars along the road. Some kid will usually blast their stereo of their car and everyone has a good time. Only thing is, it¡¯s not Saturday night, it¡¯s Sunday afternoon. So there is probably not one there.


    ¡°Are you thinking of Alana, Rusty?¡± Matt turned his head to look at me. Truth be told I was missing her. I wonder what she is doing right now. I hope she feels the same way I feel about her-agh- what am I saying of course she does!


    ¡°Yes.¡± I replied. Matt got his phone and plugged it into the stereo of the car and he played, ¡°She Loves You¡± by The Beatles. I had a big smile on my face. I got a feeling about Alana.