Page 7 - My FlipBook

from the ocean, and she could hear the waves.
Her heart started beating faster, and a smile
crept onto her face that she wouldn’t have been
able to shake even if she had wanted want to.

She didn’t realize that she’d started walking
faster until Paige told her to slow down.
The public beach was crowded with families
setting up umbrellas on the sand, and the water
was full of people. There were a few surfers
here, first-timers mostly, but for Maya and Paige

the waves weren’t big enough. They were headed
to where the real surfers went—down the beach
where the waves were bigger and where there
weren’t swimmers getting in the way.
“Slow down!” Paige said again, a little

agitated. “The waves aren’t going anywhere.”
“Sorry,” Maya said. “Just excited.”
“Be excited at a regular walking pace, please,”
Paige replied.
Maya nodded to her friend but only slowed
down a little as she climbed the large grassy

mound that separated the surfing area from
the rest of the beach. The mound was about
seven feet high and blocked the view of the

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