â the beginning of winning. Hey, I like that, it sounds good.â
âYouâll be able to buy ten boards with all the money youâre making,â Fran added.
âMaybe, but if I can get one for free Iâd rather save my money. Thereâs plenty of other things Iâm going to need, like wetsuits, boardies, travel expenses â¦â
âWhat if you donât win?â Tilly asked gently.
Marlee held her fingers up in a cross shape. âNegative thinking, negative thinking â stop!â
âSorry, Marlee. Iâd hate to see you get hurt, thatâs all.â
Marlee laughed. âNothing you havenât seen before.â She rolled onto her stomach, grabbing her ankles and pulling them towards her head. âNo plan B â but Iâve got a good chance. If you work it out, there are eighty members in the club, and not everyone will go in the competition. And thereâs a board for the juniors and another for the seniors. The juniors Iâve got to worry about are Jamie, Kyle, Sam, Siennaand you guys. Some will be taken out in earlier heats, so I just need to hang in there.â She grinned. âI have a good feeling about it. Once I get a good board Iâll try and win some junior contests, get a bit of sponsorship, a wildcard into the World Qualifying Series, then the World Championship Tour. Thatâs our plan isnât it, Tilly?â
Tilly nodded uncertainly. âYou make it sound so simple.â
Marleeâs smile faded. âI never said it would be simple.â
âSounds great,â Pink punched Tillyâs arm. âI know you can do it. The whole Island Breeze team is right behind you.â
There was silence as three awkward moments collided: Tilly gave a fake laugh to cover her reservations about the WCT plan; Pink realised, too late, that sheâd promised Marlee sponsorship too, and Marlee fought back tears, worried that maybe she was on her own.
Fran sucked up the last of the smoothie. âWell, you can tick me off the list. Iâm over the competition thing. Theyâre so annoying. All that hype and hanging around, then hassling in the surf and what for? A board? No thanks.â
âItâs not just the board,â Marlee said quietly. âItâs about winning. And who knows what else might happen? I could get talent spotted. Last year Tilly picked up a sponsor.â Marlee turned away from Pink, giving her left leg a second stretch.
âNot for me, Marls,â Fran said emphatically. âIâm a weekends, holidays, just-for-fun surfer.â
âWhat about you, Tilly?â Marlee sat up, waiting for an answer.
âYeah, Iâm in. I love competition day, even if it is just a smallclub thing.â Tilly tried to sound positive and upbeat but she wasnât sure anymore. It was okay for Marlee she thought, annoyed, she didnât have her father or the School to worry about. It was all so clear cut for her.
âYep, Iâm up for it,â she said, trying to convince herself.
13 DECEMBER 2 AM
Hey guess what? Your amazing friend has nearly set up the Schoolâs website. When itâs finished, itâll have an archive, class info and a database. I know, I canât quite believe it myself. Sam helped with the geek stuff but now Iâm typing everything in.
Iâll have 575 names on the database â mainly ex-students, some repeat offenders and a few high schools. Schools have got to be the way to go. And corporate â canât forget Barb Cook. I bet Dad hasnât even thought about schools yet. The plan is to get the newsletter happening then email it to everyone in the database.
Itâs good to turn that screen off. I feel like my eyelids are fried open! Iâd planned on putting some more photos on there but Iâm too tired now.
You can have the book for a while. I havenât got time to write in it.
Gtg.
Love T xx
Â
Tilly was curled up