Read Hit the Beach! for Free Online Page B

he’d fall in and make a complete fool of himself.
    Jude paddled out much further than Bethany had. Then, at long last, just as a fairly big wave was building, he turned his board around.
    What can I tell you? I have never seen anything like it. Jude didn’t ride straight into the beach like Bethany. He went along the wall of this wave, down the face of it and up again, like a skateboarder in one of those concrete rinks.
    When he had finished, there was a short silence. None of us knew what to say – we were all looking at Bethany.
    “Well, I think we’ve done enough for one day,” she said at last, smoothing her wet hairback from her face. “And anyway – don’t you reckon it’s about time for lunch?”
    We all agreed with that .

“What is the trouble between Bethany and Jude?” said Rosie the next morning as we hurried to get dressed. It was our turn on breakfast duty, so we were supposed to be up earlier than anyone else.
    “Did you notice that Rude Jude’s group didn’t even cheer him when he came out of the water yesterday?” said Frankie, pulling her t-shirt over her head. “He must’ve been really grumpy with them.”
    “He’s a loser ,” said Lyndz fiercely. “He’s horrible to Bethany and Bethany is just the coolest person ever!”
    Frankie nodded. “If he shows off again today, we should all laugh at him.”
    “Uh! Ooooh!” puffed Fliss, trying to bend down to buckle her sandals. “Is anyone else totally stiff?”
    “Me,” I said.
    “Me too,” said Frankie, Lyndz and Rosie all at once.
    “It’s weird, because I know I’m not unfit,” said Fliss, looking puzzled. “I go to aerobics and ballet.”
    Downstairs, we found Aidan already in the kitchen. “Morning, team!” he said, grinning at us. “Got a few aches and pains?” He must’ve been able to tell from our faces. “Don’t worry about it,” he laughed, handing out aprons. “You’re just not accustomed to using your surfing muscles, that’s all. The more you do it, the less it’ll hurt.”
    “Great,” whispered Fliss, not sounding at all convinced. “I think I’d rather sunbathe.”
    It turned out that the breakfast menu was already decided: porridge, with side servings of yoghurt, honey and chopped fruit.
    Fliss groaned at the idea of porridge, but I didn’t mind at all. We always have porridge when we go to see my gran and granddad in Glasgow and I really like it.
    Aidan got Frankie, Lyndz and Fliss measuring out the milk and oats, and gave Rosie and me the fruit to chop. We had bananas, pears, apples and a few strawberries. Yum!
    As he bent over the strawberries, picking out the bad ones, I noticed that Aidan’s hair was wet. “You look like you’ve been down to the beach already!” I said.
    I meant it as a joke – this early in the morning, I thought Aidan wouldn’t have been further than the shower. But to my surprise he nodded. “That’s right. Bethany’s there now, as a matter of fact – you can often catch thebest waves first thing. It’s less crowded too.”
    “D’you reckon Bethany’s a good surfer, Aidan?” said Frankie from the other side of the kitchen. “I mean – she looked really good to us yesterday, but we’re not exactly experts.”
    “Oh, she’s top,” said Aidan, grinning.
    “Is she as good as Jude?” asked Lyndz.
    Immediately, I saw Aidan’s smile fade. “Yes,” he said firmly. “She’s every bit as good as Jude – in my opinion, she’s probably better. But there’s no way Jude will admit that.” He shook his head. “Jude Bailey is just one of those cavemen who can’t bear the idea that a girl might beat him.”
    Yuck, I thought. What an idiot.
    “I wish Bethany would surf for us properly,” said Rosie.
    Aidan smiled again. “Bethany’s no show- off – unlike some people I could mention.” Suddenly, he turned and looked round at us all. “Hey – if you really want to see how good she is, you should come down to the SurfingDisplay Day on Saturday.