Fractured Slipper

by Adrienne Monson

  “Four beds in each cabin’s main room with a separate space for aides or camp counselors. No bunk beds. Everything’s extra-wide for wheelchairs, and the bathrooms have rails and chairs in the showers. The goal is to allow campers to live as independently as possible.”

  “You should see the zip lines and towers. Awesome,” Jerry says.

  “That’s not until Phase Two, when we add the obstacle courses for strength and agility training.” Uncle Kahana shoots me a glance. “You know about the tournament?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know anything. Tell me.”

  “When the Abilities Surf Tournament went international and got corporate sponsorship, Jay and Nili-boy came up with the idea to add a summer surfing camp. When they started, the whole thing was sponsored by Get Wet Prosthetics and some grants, but frankly they can’t do it without the support of businesses like Watanabe Global. This camp is going to be life changing.”

  I run a finger over a cabin. “It’s a camp for kids who want to become pro surfers?”

  Uncle Kahana’s head snaps toward me. He frowns and opens his mouth, but doesn’t speak. I look up from the model and catch his eyes. He reads something in my face and softens.

  “The camp is for more than just kids, Rell. Adults, too.”

  “But the goal is to win the competition, right? It’s a surf tournament.”

  Uncle Kahana chuckles quietly. “No. The goal is to heal. When bodies, minds, hearts, and souls are healed, they have a desire to test themselves. Competition is the natural result, that’s all. You’ve been to Piko Point?”

  Jerry says, “Not yet. She just got off the plane this morning.”

  “Take her, Jerry. Tell her. It will all make sense then.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. “You surf?”

  I smile and echo Jerry. “Not yet.”

  He pats my arm. “No worries! With a name like Rell, you’ll be a natural.”

  Chapter 10

  At the edge of the sand near the showers, Jerry stops. He steps out of his shoes and pulls off his socks.

  “No shoes. Only tourists walk on beaches in shoes.”

  “We’re supposed to carry them?”

  He takes my shoes from me and sets them next to his on top of the short rock wall.

  “You want me to leave my shoes here? Are you nuts? I only have one other pair. Someone will steal them.”

  He looks at me, amused. “This is Lauele. Nobody’ll bother them. Promise.”

  The sand is warm on the top and cooler underneath as it squishes between my toes. There’s a light breeze coming off the ocean. It’s not enough to chop the water, just enough to keep things from getting too hot. At Keikikai Beach, the water is bathtub calm and clear as glass. A little ways down the beach, a young mother is splashing with her toddler, but other than them, the beach is empty.

  “Where is everyone?”

  He cuffs my shoulder. “It’s Friday. Most people work for a living.”

  “I mean, where are the girls?” Panic rises. “I don’t see them.”

  Jerry shades his eyes. “There. Walking out to Piko Point. They’re on the Nalupuki side.”

  I follow his arm to the lava outcrop stretching out to sea. On the far side I see waves splash as they hit the rocks. This side is calm. The other is wild. I have a vision of the girls tumbling into the rough water, followed by my head on Regina’s wall.

  I shift my weight and run.

  “Rell! Wait!”

  At the start of the rocks, Jerry catches my arm, forcing me to stop.

  “Slow down. Makani’s with them, remember? They’re just exploring.”

  “I have to get out there.”

  “Okay, but don’t run. You’re barefoot, remember? Parts of the reef are slippery. Other spots are sharp. Let’s go slow. Step where I step.”

  His hand travels down my arm to grab my hand.

  “We have to wade just a bit to get to the first rock. It won’t get as higher as your knees, promise. But keep your eye on the water. You never want to turn your back to the ocean.”

  I tell myself it’s the shock of the water that makes me squirm and not the feeling of holding a boy’s hand.

  Good grief. Maybe an all-girls prep school isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

  We step out of the ocean and onto the lava. It’s rough and rippled like water and dotted with pockets of salt, but it feels warm under my toes.

  I raise a hand to my eyes and peer out toward the point. The girls are sitting down near a big saltwater pool, watching something in the water. Ilima is sitting a few yards away, chewing her tail.

  “It’s easy,” Jerry says. “But watch where you step. It’s low tide, so there might be some wana exposed.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It looks like a black ball of spikes. It’s a sea urchin. Nothing to worry about, but you really don’t want to step on one.”

  “It’s like a sea cactus?”

  Jerry snorts. “Good one. Just don’t let them hear you say that.”

  “Wana are sensitive?”

  His eyes twinkle. “Totally!”

  When we get near the girls, I hear them arguing.

  Ana says, “It’s a killer snake.”

  “You’re lying,” Zel says.

  “I saw a video about it. One bite from a sea snake and you’re dead before you get back to shore.”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “Put your foot in the water and wave it around if you don’t believe me.”

  “You do it.”

  “Hi girls,” I say.

  Ana looks up. “Let’s make Rell do it.”

  “Yeah. Rell, put your foot in the water.”

  “So a sea snake can bite it? That’s not very nice.”

  Ana’s eyes flit to Zel. “There’s no snake,” she says.

  “We just want to know how cold the water is,” Zel says.

  Jerry squats down next to the girls. “Put your own hand in the water. Rell can’t tell you if it’s cold.”

  “Who’re you?” Ana asks.

  I say, “This is Jerry.”

  “Is he your boyfriend?” Zel asks.

  I shoot Jerry a look.

  Why? Why do I do this? He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have to check with him to see if he agrees.

  “No,” I say evenly. “But he is my friend. We drove to the beach in his truck.”

  “Ugh. That old thing? You need a better truck,” says Zel.

  “Yeah, your truck smells like seaweed.”

  “And stale burritos.”

  My face turns purple.

  Let a wave take me now.

  Please.

  I can’t look at Jerry.

  The girls are beyond rude.

  Jerry throws his head back and laughs.

  “Of course it smells like seaweed and burritos. It’s a surf truck.”

  Zel and Ana’s eyes bug out of their heads.

  “Are you crazy?” Ana says.

  “Or just weird?” Zel says as she stands.

  She moves toward a rock the size and shape of a basketball perched near the edge of the biggest tide pool.

  “Careful!” Jerry says. “That rock is called Pohaku. It’s part of an ancient fishing shrine. Be respectful and don’t get too close.”

  “What?”

  “Stay away from that rock,” Jerry says. “It’s not something you touch or play with.”

  “Come on, Ana,” says Zel. “Let’s leave the love birds alone.”

  “Yeah, love birds.” Ana rises and makes kissy noises as she walks over to another tide pool. “Ooo! A crab! Let’s catch it!”

  Jerry stands. “Charming. Your sisters?”

  I sigh. “Stepsisters.”

  “Wicked little demons, aren’t they?”

  “I don’t really know. I haven’t seen them in years. But you’re probably right.”

  The water in the saltwater pool is deep, but I can see all the way to the bottom and through a large archway that leads to black water. />
  “Is there a sea snake?”

  He shrugs. “It’s possible, but highly unlikely. Sea snakes are really rare in Hawaiian waters. I’ve never seen one. It was probably an eel.”

  I bend down and run my fingers along the surface of the water. “It’s colder out here than near the shore.”

  “Right off the point is deep water. There’s a channel between us and the other side. That’s what makes Nalupuki a great surfing beach.”

  Beneath my fingers, the water stirs. A thin rope peeks from a crevasse, then shoots out to wind between my fingers. I’m too surprised to jerk my hand away.

  “What’s that?”

  Jerry gasps. “It’s a baby snowflake eel. They’re usually really shy. I’ve never seen one do this. It’s like he’s happy to see you.”

  More fish rise from the bottom and head to the surface. I see yellow tangs and purple damsel fish, striped sergeant majors, and others I don’t recognize. I pull my hand out of the water.

  “They must think I have food,” I say. “Do people come out here and feed them?”

  The look on Jerry’s face is odd. It rolls through different expressions until it lands on something between sheepish and puzzled.

  “Nobody I know,” he says.

  I stand and look at the strip of sand off to the right. Just past it is the hillside from the architect’s model.

  “That’s where the surf camp is going?”

  Jerry nods. “Yeah. That’s Kaulupali land over there. Your family owns a few acres just above it. Uncle Kahana is gifting some of his Kaulupali land to Jay’s foundation to use for the surf camp. Come out to the very edge of the lava with me, and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  “There’s a mystery?” I tease. “A deep, dark secret?”

  But when Jerry reaches for my hand to help me over a slippery patch, I see the pain in his eyes.

  “There’s a reason for the surf tournament and the camp.” He sweeps his arm out over the bay.

  “It all began here during our freshman year of high school.”

  Chapter 11

  Out at the very edge of the lava outcrop, the waves splash against the rocks, sending a fine mist toward us. In the water just off the point, a guy on a green surf board and a girl on a cream one wait for the next set. The guy waves at Jerry.

  “Santos!” he shouts. “Where’s your board?”

  “Home,” Jerry says.

  “Brah! Better hurry. Kids will be out of school soon,” calls the girl.

  “Can’t,” Jerry says.

  “You snooze, you lose! The waves wait for no one,” says the guy.

  Like magic, a gentle swell forms off the point. The surfers swing their legs onto their boards and paddle into position where the wave suddenly builds four feet higher.

  “Chee-hoo!” the guy calls.

  “Laters, Jerry!” says the girl.

  Jerry’s eyes are on the surfers as they head to shore.

  “You surf here a lot?”

  He nods, but doesn’t look at me. “From the time we could walk, we were in the ocean. Like I said, the International Abilities Surf Tournament, Get Wet, the surf camp—it all begins here.”

  He tugs my hand until our shoulders touch.

  “Our freshman year, Jay Westin and I were competing in a surf tournament. Jay was the favorite.” His lips twist wryly. “In those days, Jay was always the favorite. When the heat started, we all raced from the beach, paddling to get to the sweet spot just there,” he points, “right where those surfers were. The waves were bigger that day. We were jockeying for position when someone yelled, ‘Fin!’”

  I look back to the beach and shiver.

  It’s so far.

  “But it was just a dolphin, right?”

  “No. Sharks. I saw them.”

  “Them?”

  “Two. One the size of Jaws and the other his littler brother. Jay was out farther than the rest of us. From Piko Point, the shark fins made a beeline to him and disappeared.”

  “They left?”

  Jerry shakes his head. “They dove. Sharks ambush. The biggest one rocketed from the bottom and came up underneath Jay’s board, knocking him off and into the water. I saw the other one circling below.”

  I squeeze his hand. I have no words.

  “When Jay came up for air, he shouted at us to go—to head back to shore.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “I couldn’t. I knew he’d never leave me. I heard sirens and jet skis start up on the beach. I tried to paddle toward Jay. I thought if I could get him up on my board, we’d be okay. I knew help was coming, but before I could get there— ”

  He swallows and presses his lips tight, the horror of that day as fresh as a minute before him.

  “The smaller shark bit Jay.”

  “You saw that?”

  “Yeah. In all its technicolor glory. Red blood in blue water looks purple. Seafoam turns pink. Bone is whiter than white.” Jerry reaches down and touches his shin a few inches above his ankle. “It ate his foot.”

  “My—”

  I can’t even say it.

  Jerry tugs my hand until I look him in the eye.

  “Jay lost his foot, but more importantly, he lost himself that day. Before the attack, being in the ocean was like breathing to him. People think losing a limb is about what someone can or can’t do, but that’s the smallest part of it.”

  “Jay Westin. You said he started Get Wet Prosthetics?”

  Jerry nods. “That came later. After it happened, Jay filled his empty surfing space with hate. It took a lot of time, but the ocean eventually healed him—body, mind, heart, and soul. He figured out how to surf again. To forgive himself.”

  “Himself?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “But it’s the shark who took his foot.”

  “It’s complicated.” Jerry rubs his face. “Anyway, Jay and his cousin Nili-boy started Get Wet Prosthetics to help others reconnect with the lives they were meant to live.” He gestured toward the beach. “This camp is the next step. Watanabe Global is doing a lot of good by supporting the auction. That’s one reason why I helped you.”

  “One?”

  Jerry presses his shoulder against mine. “Don’t push it,” he says.

  I watch the surfers pull out of the wave and head back out.

  “After what you saw, you still surf?”

  “Every day I can. Rain or shine, big waves or glass.”

  I look at the waves crashing against the lava and think about pink foam and white bone.

  “I’d never get in the water again.”

  “You only say that because you’ve never surfed.”

  “What about sharks? They’re still out there.”

  Jerry gives me a side-glance. “We worked it out. It’s all cool now.”

  “What—”

  Bark, bark, bark, BARK, BARKBARKBARK!

  Chapter 12

  We whirl around in time to see the girls rocking the round stone perched on the edge of the biggest tide pool. Ilima’s dancing around them, her jaws snapping like a shark.

  BARKBARKBARK.

  “Come on, Ana! One more push and we’ll get it in the water!”

  “No!” shouts Jerry as he lurches toward them. He slips on the lava and falls to his knees. “Stop it! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

  The stone starts to tip.

  “Girls,” I say as I scramble around Jerry.

  Ilima leaps and bites one of Ana’s ruffles, tugging the back of her suit off her hips.

  “Eeee!” Ana shrieks. “I’m being attacked!”

  The stone tumbles.

  Zel pumps her fist. “Yes!”

  Ilima releases Ana’s suit and rushes to the edge of the tide pool. As the stone sinks to the bottom, big silver bubbles rise like jellyfish and pop at the surface. Ilima collapses on the lava, raises her head, and howls.

  “Stupid dog,” Zel says, marching over. “Nobody bites my sister, but me!”

/>   She swings her foot, kicking Ilima squarely in the ribs.

  Ilima’s howl turns into a yelp. She leaps to her feet, saltwater dripping off her chest. Pinning her ears back, she growls.

  “Zel! Ana! Don’t move!” I say.

  “That dog pantsed me!” Ana says, pulling her suit up over her butt. “Kick it again, Zel!”

  “Ana, are you hurt? Let me see.”

  I spin her around, but she covers her backside with both hands.

  “Don’t! You’re as pervy as the dog.”

  There’s not a mark on her.

  Zel draws back her foot again. “Don’t you growl at me, crazy dog. I’ll kick you again.”

  “No, you won’t!” I grab each of them by the arm. “Stop this right now!”

  It’s not until I turn back to Jerry that I see the tears in his eyes. He’s kneeling at the edge of the pool, staring at the bottom in shock.

  “Jerry?”

  No response.

  “Jerry, your knee is bleeding. Are you okay?”

  At the sight of blood, the girls still.

  He raises his eyes from the water and looks at the girls. “Why?” Tears spill down his cheeks. “That was a sacred aumakua stone. A guardian of this place for hundreds of years. People come here to pray, to meditate, to leave offerings. I told you it’s an ancient shrine. I told you to leave it alone.”

  Zel scrunches up her face. “It’s just a stupid rock.”

  Ana says, “Yeah. If it’s so important, why did people leave it here?”

  Ilima lowers her head and growls deeper.

  Jerry stands and pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it on the ground. The sunlight glistens on his surfer’s broad shoulders and trim waist.

  “Go,” he says. “Get them out of my sight.”

  His hands move to his belt.

  Ana pulls her arm out of my grasp.

  “You’re not the boss of us,” she says.

  Jerry unbuckles his belt and moves to the top button of his cargo shorts. “Leave before I’m temped to use my belt to do more than hold up my pants.”

  “I’m tell—ow!” Ana says when I grab her by the ear.