Hit the Beach! by Harriet Castor Read Free Book Online Page A

I didn’t think that was what Bethany had in mind.
    Still, at least I was getting better at catching waves just at the right moment. And the second time I caught one, I nearly managed to kneel up. Really nearly.
    “Did you see me, did you see me?” I spluttered to Bethany when I got to the beach.
    “Good effort!” she nodded, giving me a thumbs-up. “Next time you’ll do it!”
    But the next time I had a go, Rosie completely upstaged me by standing up – that’s right standing up – on her board. Only for a nanosecond, apparently (I missed it – too busy flailing), but hey, who’s counting?
    “Yeah!” she shouted, punching the air and jumping up and down at the edge of thewater. “It’s just the best feeling! You’ve got to do it, Kenny!”
    I felt like tearing my hair out in frustration. When Bethany had given us her demonstration yesterday, she’d made standing on your board look like the easiest thing in the world. Today, “Keep practising” was all she could say to help. But what if I practised all week and never got the knack? What a miserable week of water swallowing that would be! Each time I fell in the water, I decided to throw in my surfing towel and go and join the volleyballers. And then each time I picked myself up and shook the seaweed out of my hair, I thought I’d give it just one more shot. Kenny’s no quitter, right? And besides, the next time might be the time I cracked it.
    By lunchtime, everyone had knelt on their board at least once – everyone, that is, except me. It was really starting to get me down.
    Today we’d all been given packed lunches in brown paper bags. Mrs Weaver insisted we findsome shade to sit in while we ate – “I don’t want anyone getting sunstroke!” she kept saying – so most of the surfers went with Miss Walsh to a picnic area behind a row of beach huts.
    “Hey – over here, guys,” I said, beckoning the rest of the Sleepover Club to a scrubby patch of sandy grass away from the others. I wanted to take my mind off my surfing disaster, and I had a great idea for how to do it.
    “Listen,” I said, “when are we having our midnight feast? How about tonight?”
    “Yes – while the weather’s good,” said Fliss. “You never know when it might turn cold and rainy.” The others nodded.
    “Is there anything in here we can save for it?” said Lyndz, peering into her lunch bag.
    “I’ve got some chocolate back at the hostel,” said Rosie. “I hope it hasn’t melted.”
    “How about these?” said Frankie, pulling a little packet of biscuits out of her lunch bag.
    “Where’s it going to be, then?” asked Lyndz, looking round at the rest of us.
    “On the beach – definitely,” I said. “Just imagine it – sitting under the stars, listening to the waves…”
    “Eating chocolate biscuits,” put in Lyndz.
    “Eating chocolate biscuits,” I nodded. “Come on, guys – wouldn’t it be the most amazing thing ever?”
    “The beach in the moonlight – it’d be so romantic!” said Fliss.
    “I’m not sure, Kenny,” said Rosie. “We’d get into major trouble if someone found out. Didn’t you hear what Mrs Daniels said yesterday? Anyone caught misbehaving has to spend the rest of the week at the hostel, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms.”
    “No one’ll find out,” I said breezily. “Just don’t talk about it in front of other people – especially nosy types with flappy ears, like the M&Ms.” I was pretty proud of myself – I’d ignored them totally so far this holiday.
    Rosie still didn’t look too sure. But then, shewas getting a major kick out of her surfing success – I needed something else to cheer me up. And a midnight adventure sounded like just the thing.
    No way did I suspect, though, just how adventurous it was going to be.

Running as hard as I could, my feet slipping and sludging into the sand, I made it past fourth base.
    “Home run! Yeeeaaaahhhh!”
    It was the afternoon and our whole class was playing a