Catching Waves by Stephanie Peters Read Free Book Online Page A

Sunny. She smiled warmly at him.
    “You’re Kai, right?” she said.
    He nodded.
    “Okay, you’ll be in the second heat. That’s in about forty-five minutes. Go ahead in now and take some practice runs to get
     a feel for the day’s surf, if you like, but come on out when you hear the horn. And good luck!”
    Kai thanked her then retrieved his boardand swam out into the surf with the other competitors. The waves were fantastic and large with long, rolling curls. Kai wanted
     to kick himself for not working on his tricks the past week. But he hadn’t, and now he had no one but himself to blame if
     he stunk up the water with poor surfing.
    Ten minutes later he heard a long horn blast. He left the water with the other surfers and walked up the soft sand to where
     his father sat. Mr. Ford waved him into an empty chair and handed him a pair of binoculars.
    “For checking out your competition,” he said, lifting his own set up to his eyes.
    The contest started five minutes later. Four surfers bobbed in the lineup. The horn sounded. In a flash, all four paddled
     like mad for the first wave. According to the contest rules, the first one up wonpossession of the wave. In this case, that honor went to a small girl in a bright green and black wet suit. She guided her
     board back and forth across the wave —
nothing fancy, but controlled and smooth
, Kai thought.
    He was about to make a comment about the girl when he realized his father wasn’t looking at her. Or at the ocean, for that
     matter. Instead, Mr. Ford’s binoculars were trained on someone on land. Kai didn’t bother turning his head. He knew who his
     father was looking at.
    “Dad,” he said. “Why don’t you just go over to Sunny and introduce yourself?”
    “I would,” his father muttered, “but some other guy is about to beat me to her.”
    Kai quickly turned his own binoculars to that part of the beach. Sure enough, a muscular man was making his way across thesand to where Sunny sat. The man walked with a pronounced limp. Kai focused on the man’s bare leg. He wasn’t positive, but
     he thought he saw a jagged scar in the shape of a crescent — or the jaws of a shark — on the man’s calf.
    It’s Raymond
! he thought.
It has to be
!
    Kai wanted to look away, but he just couldn’t seem to put the binoculars down. From where he sat he couldn’t hear their voices,
     but their gestures and expressions spoke volumes. It was like watching a silent movie.
    First Raymond tapped Sunny lightly on the shoulder. Sunny turned — and stood up so quickly that she knocked her chair over.
     Her hand flew to her neck, and she seemed to be struggling for words.
    Raymond appeared to be reassuring her. He picked up her chair, took her arm, andguided her back down to her seat. Sunny bent forward, head in hands, her long blond hair covering her face. Raymond crouched
     down next to her and continued to talk. At one point, Sunny looked up and shook her head violently. She pointed to the scar
     on her arm. Her face was laced with misery. Raymond talked some more, his movements calm and gentle. Finally, Sunny’s expression
     softened. Raymond smiled and to Kai’s great relief, Sunny smiled back. They stood and embraced.
    “I wonder what
that
was all about!”
    The sound of his father’s puzzled voice broke the spell. Kai lowered his binoculars. He was about to tell his father all he
     knew when suddenly the horn blasted again. The first heat had ended.
    “Hey, you’re up!” Kai’s father said. “Better get going or you’ll miss your chance!”
    Kai hesitated a moment then picked up his board and rushed into the surf. He promised himself he’d explain everything to his
     father later. Right now he had to put all his attention on surfing!

15
    T he water closed around Kai’s head as he duck-dove his board through a wave. He reached the lineup at the same time as the
     three other surfers. Together, they bobbed on the surf, waiting for the signal to start