Page 66 of The Teacher

Ripley Sailor, now Ripley Finn. My best friend and sister-in-law has her car parked right next to mine. I didn’t even see her when I drove into my usual space.

“Hi, Ripley,” I greet. She’s arrived before me and she’s already unpacking her surfboard from her car. Closing my driver’s door, I run over to her side and give her a big hug. She laughs as I squeeze her tight. We’ve arranged by phone call to meet here in order to surf together before the beach gets too busy.

It is high time I see my best friend. We haven’t spoken for weeks.

“Nice and early,” she says, and I nod in agreement as I put my hand up over my eyes to protect them from the rays of morning sunshine shining down on us and the beach.

“It’s the best time to come,” I say. “It’s really good to see you, how are things?”

“All good! Work at the hospital’s been great and Cove is doing well in Hawaii. I think he’s going to win this tournament. He says he saw you here the other day.”

“Yeah, he did.” I turn to collect my own surfboard from my car.

“He says you seemed a bit down. Restless.”

I shrug. “I wasn’t really. I’ve just been thinking a lot about things, you know?”

“Hm. That doesn’t sound good.”

“No,” I reply. “It’s nothing like that. There’s just a lot going on in my life at the moment, that’s all.”

Yeah, Skipper and Miss Tweed and potentially losing my job. Those little, minor things.

“You want to talk about it?”

I shake my head slowly. “Maybe not now.”

“You okay?” Ripley asks in her soft accent.

“I’m fine. Just a lot happening.”

My best friend laughs. “It’s strange that you’re the one who’s going through something, usually the drama’s happening with me.”

“I guess.”

“You’ve been a good friend to me, Sandy.”

“You too.”

“You can always talk to me. You’ve always been there for me but remember I’m here for you.”

I nod. I still don’t want to talk about Skipper and my job and all that, but it’s good to know Ripley’s got my back. That she’s still my best friend. That we’re still a team. “Got it.”

“Come on,” Ripley says. “Let’s catch the waves before everyone arrives.”

I can’t agree more.

We rush down to the surf and start paddling out into the ocean. There’s only us and the crazy old surfer dudes out in the waves this early, but it’s going to be a nice day and we anticipate the beach will fill up soon with families and tourists. Once we paddle far out enough, we sit on our boards and enjoy the sunrise together, waiting for the next good wave to come.

“You’ve become really good at surfing,” I say to my best friend. Ripley snorts and waves me away.

“Cove has me out here all the time now. You just have to get good when he’s with you like it’s the law or something.”

“Ripley, you’re talking to his sister; I know that exactly. He’s the only reason I can surf, I picked it up out of nowhere just being around him. It’s like learning by osmosis.”

“So, tell me what’s really going on,” Ripley asks, changing the subject. “Why are you thinking so much at the moment? Why did even Cove, the tone-deaf idiot he is, notice you seeming a bit down?”

I take in a long breath.