Wave Jumping

Amaryllis finished her book within an hour. That’s what she gets for grabbing a small one. She sighed as she put the book away before looking around. The beach wasn’t on her list normally. She stood and stretched. It was a nice day, and it wasn’t even over.

She forgot the last time she had been to the beach, but she remembered something she loved. She smiled as she walked to the water, well aware that her skin was pale and the light only made it look worse. She could care less. She would enjoy her time.

The water felt cool on her feet, then her ankles. As she waded into the water, the coolness climbed. It didn’t take long for her feet to acclimate to the water temperature, nor the rest of her body. She was up to her clavicle in the water before she stopped.

A low bump in the water came towards her and as it was about to hit her, she jumped. She giggled as she came down, barely any water in her face. She noted the surfers far in the distance towards her left. They wanted gnarly swells, she didn’t. She looked forward just in time to close her eyes so the water didn’t get into them.

She shook her head before opening her eyes again. She grinned, nothing could be better. She called it wave jumping. The small bumps didn’t truly count as waves, but it was fun. A bigger bump came at her, even gaining a bit of foam at the top. She took a deep breath and jumped as it reached her.

She went under for a moment, the water stinging her eyes. As soon as she righted herself, she took a breath before another wave hit her. She stayed standing this time and caught her breath. Exhilarating. She may have risked disorientation and more major issues, but it was fun! Champagne may just yell at her if she told him what happened.

She continued. Leaping as water came at her, giggling as she came down. She went under some times, but was always calm about it. Water would still get in her face. None of the negatives deterred her. This was her favorite beach activity. Something she’d enjoy for as long as she could.

She occasionally noticed people watching, especially if she had just come back up from a wave taking her under. She just gave them her biggest smile. Some shook their heads, as if thinking the greed bun was out of her mind, others gave her thumbs up, and the lifeguard just seemed exasperated. 

Amaryllis was more than prepared for the next wave. It was a true wave, one the surfers would have loved. This time she purposely dove. She came up only to dive again for the next one. Coming up this time, she took a breath. From her left, she heard whooping. She looked to see the surfers had gotten a bit closer and seemed to have been watching as she was enjoying herself.

She grinned as another wave hit, really, it wasn’t even big enough to be called a bump, just enough to make her feel it. She looked behind her and saw others joining in her fun. She turned back and saw a good sized one. She pushed off the sand under her feet and her head just barely got over the wave. In just a moment, a surfer stood next to her and was wave jumping, having handed their board off to a friend.

This was definitely a great day. She jumped a few more waves before beginning to walk back. She’d continue to jump until she was half-way out of the water. She slowly made her way back to her towel, wringing her hair a bit as she walked. She stood for a moment by her towel to let her ears stop dripping.

There was still daylight out as she sat down. There had to be more to do. She dried her hands and fished her phone out of her bag to search for anything else to do. Maybe she’d find something that would take up the last few hours before she left.