Emerald Eyes

Moments later, Ashley and Mandy appeared. They must’ve used to front door.

“Going surfing?” Mandy asked me shyly. I looked at her, her blonde hair covered over her face.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Can you teach me sometime?” she asked again.

“Uh…” I began.

Ashley walked over to her, “Mandy…” she began.

“Asher’s fifteen. Stop hitting on him!” she hushed. I laughed.

“Hey Dad,” Ashley said, getting my Dad’s attention.

“Yes Ashley?” he replied putting his hand on his hips after fastening the surfboards.

“Is Mom coming home tonight? Or is she still in Vegas?”

Dad looked at her, “No Ashley, I don’t think so. She called in the morning and said her flight was cancelled. She’ll be back in Newport tomorrow morning,” my Dad said.

“Oh okay,” she said. Then she looked at my Dad and then at me, “Have fun,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. Mandy was still staring at me. “Mandy,” Ashley called as she started walking back to the house. Mandy didn’t move.

“Mandy!” she cried. Ashley walked up to her and grabbed her hand, imposing her to follow her.

“Bye Asher!” she cried as the two of them when back towards the house.

“Girls,” my Dad chuckled. My Dad put his hands to his sides.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said opening the passenger’s seat door. My Dad started the engine as it roared powerfully, sometimes it freaked me out. He put the car in reverse and started driving backwards. The drive to the beach was quiet and short. That was probably because it was only ten minutes away from my house. Sometimes I walked there with friends when they came over.

We usually went to the ‘Sea Crest,’ a restaurant by the seaside. The seafood there is really good. We drove on the road right by the ocean. My Dad finally parked in parking lot and got down from the suburban. By the time we unfastened the surfboards, two locals I came walking towards us, Wes and Owen. Wes and Owen were two guys about college age who worked as lifeguards on the beach. They used words like, “Dude,” and “Radical.” I thought they were a little weird because they often spoke in unison or finished each other sentences. They were always grinning. Their skin was tanned due to the sun. I see them often either in Sea Crest or on the beach. They were acquaintances to me. Their girlfriends, Kelly and Stacey were two blonde twins always wearing bikinis and shorts. I could see them waving at me from behind.

“Hey Asher,” Wes said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Hi Mr. Peterson,” Owen said. My Dad turned around and faced the two tanned lifeguards.

“Oh hello Wes and Owen,” he said.

“Catching the waves?” Wes asked.

“Uh, yeah,” my Dad nodded, “Just me and Asher today,” he nodded.

“Awesome,” Owen said in his usual surfer voice.

“She’s nice and easy today,” Wes told him. I knew he was talking about the ways.

“Hurry up you guys!” a girl’s voice called from behind. I couldn’t tell if it was Kelly or Stacey who said that, it was hard to tell not looking. The two of them turned around and nodded.

“Later dude,” Owen said. They subsequently started walking back to their girlfriends.

"Funny people,” my Dad muttered. I chuckled. We walked down to the ocean shores. The waves were overlapping each other. The salty water brushed against my feet. My Dad stood behind me as I watched the setting sun afar from the ocean, “Wait,” my Dad said behind me.

My Dad always went into the water before I did. He always did to make sure the water was safe. He told me by the time I was sixteen, I could surf alone. But for now, I always had to be accompanied with him. I guess I would have to wait until November.

I took off my shirt and put it in my sports bag, my Dad did the same. Afterwards, he held onto his surfboard and darted towards the water. He subsequently placed his red surfboard in the water and lied on it. He used his arms and swam deeper into the water. By the time a wave came up, he slowly stood up and began surfing.

“Go ahead!” he shouted from the water. I nodded and started running towards the water, doing the same. I stood up on my surfboard and glided across the waves. It was smooth and leveled. I grinned as I focused on the water. My hair became wet and matted to my face. I started thinking about Ava again. Her violet eyes and her brown hair. Her image was stuck in my head. I wanted her to be my girlfriend, I wanted her to know how I felt about her. I knew I had a matter time before I had a chance.