The crowd was amped as the girls in front of me started running out through the beach. Shouts of encouragement were heard coming from every corner of the beach, and my leg bounced nervously as I eyed the waves. This quarter final lineup was the last thing that was keeping me from my dreams. Three other professional surfers, thirty minutes on the clock, and as many waves as possible.

A final deep breath escaped my lips as my name was called over the loudspeakers. The fans had been briefed multiple times that I needed to win this heat in order to qualify, and they were soaking it up. A few young girls held up signs with my name on them, and some of the stress left as a smile forced its way out.

The trip to the lineup didn't take long, and I was soon posted up with the rest of the women. Alanah, one of the best women on the championship tour glided up on my left side.

"Hey, River, you have a lot of people rooting for you. Surf like everyone knows that you can," She whispered to me with a wink.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Best of luck to you too," I replied. She had already requalified for the tour, so there was nothing in this for her other than the possibility of prize money. That wasn't nothing, but she might just want some entertainment at this point, even if it meant that she lost. Either that or she liked me, which was theoretically possible.

As soon as the buzzer sounded a flurry of action commenced. Everyone fought to get the best possible position for the incoming set, and I realized quickly that I had gotten boxed out. Each of them took off on their own waves, and I was left with a pool of frustration in my gut.

The only good thing to come out of my late start was the fact that I now had priority. I squinted at the horizon, hoping to make out a nice bump but there was nothing great. Each minute ticked by quickly, and the boards floated on the water, waiting for action.

Maria, a qualifying series surfer from Brazil looked agitated, gnawing on her lower lip. She had earned the lowest score of the group that had caught a wave, and was sitting on an uncomfortable 3.2.

Finally, a decent set appeared and the first wave appeared to be the best from my current perspective. I managed to get in a snap off the top and, rather than falling off like I did a few days ago, move into a smooth roundhouse cutback followed by another turn off the lip. The judges came back with a reasonable 5.9, and I wet my hands and pushed my hair back to prepare for the next round.

Twenty minutes later I had backed up my score with another 5, but that kept me three whole points below Alanah and one below Maria. It wasn't impossible, but it was looking tough with barely a minute left.

The three of them were all fighting for the next wave when I spotted it. Slightly smaller, but still nicely hollowed out. While they managed their priority, I paddled hard for the empty wave. I had more time than the others, and was pleased to see that Maria had managed to get the wave, which wasn't too threatening as she was last in the heat.

Pumping up and down my own wave, I snuck in two hard turns while staring down the line. I needed something big if I was going to score this well. Driving down the line for a few more seconds allowed the wave to begin to break, and then it was perfect. My board went straight up the wave and over the lip, adjusting its course in midair as it was directed by my momentum. Droplets of salt water flew through the air, shining brightly in the sun. As quickly as it had started, my board slammed back onto the water, my knees bending slightly to absorb the shock.

"And River Lancer lands the first air reverse of the competition, perfectly executing one of the only airs we've seen all weekend. We'll see if the judges rule it enough to put her through to the big leagues," The male voice echoed over the waves.

A grin split my face. Even if it wasn't enough, I knew that I had surfed well. Seconds later I was pulled out of my own reveling by the same loud voice. "And it's a 9.2 for the surfer in blue, putting her above the rest of the competition and officially onto the Championship Tour. Congrats River!"

A flurry of movement caught my attention on the beach, and I broke into a sprint through the shallows as I spotted the source.

"River, you legend!"

"That's my best friend!"

"I knew you could do it, I'm so freakin proud of you."

Evan, Will, and Noah enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug, all of our parents following closely behind. Alani had lost the round before, but she joined us in our cheering even though she didn't get the opportunity to come to the next level with me. A few seconds into the excitement, Ev and Will scooped me up onto their shoulders. Noah grabbed my board and held it up behind me, and even though this type of celebration was usually reserved for actual competition wins, no one seemed to complain. A group of boys from the Championship Tour waved and shouted their congratulations from their tents and balconies, and my heart swelled with excitement.

I allowed myself to be swept up in the pure joy of things before getting called over to the interview station.

"Hey everyone, we're here with River Taylor, who just qualified for the Championship Tour! Congratulations River, can you tell us exactly how you're feeling right now?"

I grinned, unable to stop my excitement from showing. "I mean in classic surfing language, I have to say that I am beyond stoked. I've been hoping to make it to this level for a long time, so it's pretty special and mind blowing to be here now."

"Well, we are certainly happy for you and can't wait to see you on the tour in a few weeks. Is there anything that you were specifically thinking about when you were out there this last heat?"

"Mostly just not to mess up. Actually though, I spent a lot of time trying to calm myself down by reminding myself of what my coach and brother said this morning. I knew that I could do it, and I wanted to surf hard and prove it. There were people who believed in me, and it felt great to be able to honor them and show that they did well by helping me get here. And it was even better to get to the beach and see those same people here cheering me on," I gestured at the crowd of supporters that I had behind me.

The interviewer gave me a smile and brought the mic back to her mouth. "River Taylor just qualified for the Championship Tour, and we are so glad that she's as excited for it as we are. Stay tuned to watch a few more of our surfers earn their way onto the tour. We'll see you later, and congrats River."

△▽△

I collapsed on the pool chair next to my family who was currently taking this opportunity to enjoy the resort's pool in Maui. The competition had ended hours ago, and I had managed to squeak out a reasonable second place. After the awards ceremony, I had been held hostage in order to perform interview after interview. It had been thrilling at the time, and the hundreds of congratulatory notifications that I had been getting made me smile, but the time in the sun was paying its toll on me.

"I'm so proud of you, River," My mom sat down in the chair next to me, stroking her hand through my hair as she did. "I can't wait to watch you live your dream."

I rested my head on her shoulder and smiled up at her. "Thanks, mom."

Just as my eyes were beginning to close a loud yell came from across the patio. Evan, Will, and Noah were all running across the poll deck, attempting to dodge the lounge chairs and small children walking around. I chuckled as Will was forced to grab a small girl as she stepped out in front of him, quickly putting her back down before she could fall or start crying. He looked up at our parents and I sheepishly as his mother shook his head at him. The boys leapt into the pool, water flying as they hit. After a few minutes of attempting to dunk one another, Evan whipped out a tennis ball and began tossing it to the other boys.

Both Will and Evan were in the middle of their sophomore year playing baseball at the University of Hawaii. Growing up they had played together in high school, and although Noah had phased out after high school, the other two continued to play. Evan spent most of his time on the mound, while Will had transitioned to third base as he got older. The pair had been inseparable on the field since middle school, and they somehow got lucky enough to find a college coach that wanted them both.

I couldn't complain, because UH kept them close to home, meaning that I still got them as surfing buddies. Even though they had picked baseball in the long run, they grew up surfing and couldn't seem to let it go. That, and it didn't hurt their arm strength.

This December break would be the last time that I would see them regularly for a while because they tended to stick around campus when they could. They seemed to be very committed to "getting the college experience" and all of that stuff, so I had been sticking with Alani while they had been gone.

"Okay, why do I have to be in the middle every time?" Will complained as the other boys tossed the ball over his head over and over.

"Well, if River wasn't being lame then she would be the youngest and in the middle, but unfortunately for you, she's being lame," Noah responded with a grin.

I looked up at them and beamed. Will chose to take the opportunity to glare at me, making my smile even brighter.

Just as I was beginning to doze off, a ball hit me in the stomach. Looking up, I saw the tennis ball lying at my feet and three boys looking at me expectantly. "Gosh, where is Alani when I need her," I groaned as I grabbed the ball and chucked it back at them. Seconds later, it was back on my lap. Evan had gone underwater, unable to contain his laughter at the death glare that I was giving, while Will's dimples prominently showed as he attempted to contain his laughter.

"I'm not playing with you," I said flatly.

"The fame getting to your head already? Think you're too cool for us?" Evan said as he got out to retrieve the ball. I shook my head at him, retreating further into my chair as his soaking body got closer to me.

"Bro, I swear if you try to get me into that pool I will fight you and then tell everyone how horrible you are so that you never get another date."

"Aw River, I would never do that to my lovely sister. I can't say the same for everyone else though..." He trailed off, looking above me.

Just as I started to turn around a torrent of cold water came crashing down over my head. I whipped around to see both of the Sanders boys holding empty water glasses over me. The parents were attempting to contain their laughter, but it was not going well for them.

"You really had to do it when my clothes were on, too?" I attempted to keep my voice cold, but it was hard to contain my laughter when they all looked so pleased.

"We all know that you weren't going to come in with no motivation," Noah smiled crookedly.

"Fine, fine, I'll honor you with my presence. You guys are honestly like children though, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to outgrow the phase of wanting to play with a ball at some point."

Will looked at me confusedly, "You stand on a board on water for a living. I don't think you have much to stand on with that argument."

As soon as we managed to get back in the water, I was predictably in the middle. Thankfully, my tried and true tactic of climbing onto Evan's back so that he never got the ball worked again, as eventually he replaced me out of sheer boredom.

Finally, the boys decided that they were cold and we made our way back onto the patio. "Okay, now I'm really going to sleep," I mumbled into the towel.

"Go for it, surfer girl," My mom responded, finally shooting all of the boys a silencing look.

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