TINAANCINEC.com

Contents

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

            Kyle Sommers sat down in the sand, next to his 5' 6" surfboard, on the drift wood laden beach in front of the small, Northern California coastal town of Mendocino.  He closed his eyes.  His wet face felt icy and numb, but the sun had decided to burn through the normally overcast skies that blanketed the California coast throughout the months of May and June.  It felt warm and soothing to his skin.  He shook the water from his sun bleached, shoulder length hair and grinned as the sparkling droplets flew randomly around him.  It was July first, after all, and about time the sun made an appearance.

            He unzipped his thick, cold-water wetsuit, and pulled it down off his arms, leaving it at his waist, while leisurely watching the others who were still out surfing.  He was feeling totally stoked. The jock-looking guy and that rad chick were out again today, and they had seen him catch some killer waves. 

            He'd seen them out surfing three times last week and twice this week, but today was the only day the surf had been good enough for him to show off his talents.   He'd noticed them looking at him more than usual, as they had paddled back out, passing in front of him and over his wave, just as the translucent tube had surrounded him.  Perfect timing.

            Maybe they would talk to him today.  Kyle knew the jock was at least a two years older than he, because he had seen him in the beach parking lot with a hot, blue and white, 1956 Chevy Nomad, with fat tires and deep, shiny rims.  He could use a friend with wheels who surfed, and he knew once they found out how cool he was, they wouldn't care that he was only fourteen.  Plus, the jock's chick was rad, and Kyle hoped there were more where she came from.

            Suddenly, the jock took off on a steep six-footer, dropping in quick and straightening out, just in time to catch a stand up size tube himself.  Kyle sat up and watched intently, as the jock worked the wave to it's full capacity, before dropping onto his stomach and gliding in.  He grabbed his surfboard and walked straight toward Kyle.

            "Hey, dude," the jock said as he approached, "killer barrel you caught earlier."

            Kyle smiled and stood up.  "Thanks, your last ride was pretty bad too."

            The jock sat his board next to Kyle's and shook the water from his short cropped, dark hair.  "You're new around here."

            "Yeah, my name's Kyle Sommers.  I moved here two weeks ago from Los  Angeles, to live with my dad and step mom, Pete and Cindy Sommers.  We live up that way a couple blocks."  Kyle pointed toward the north end of town.

            "Really?  I know them.  Your dad works for the electric company, right?  He talks to my dad when he comes out to our place to read the meters.  We live a few miles south, in Elk."

            "Elk?  I haven't been there yet," Kyle said.

            "There isn't much to go there for.   We don't live right in town.  My parents bought sixty acres of headland property when I was just a baby.  They built our house from the ground up."

            "Sounds like a killer place."

            "Yeah, but it's boring.  After I graduate from high school next year, I'm going to Berkley.  I've been waiting my whole life to get out into the real world."

            Kyle smiled.  “I hear ya, dude"

"My names Bill, by the way.   Hey, your parents have a little kid too, don't they?"

            "Yeah, my step bother, Echo Page.  He's six, and I'm still trying to get used to having him around."

            Bill laughed.  "Echo Page?  What kinda name is that?"

            "Not one I had anything to say about," Kyle said.

            "Billy, you didn't see that last wave I came in on.  It was the best I've caught all year,” a female voice called from behind them.

            Bill turned around and waved at his awesome babe, as she trotted toward them in her hot pink and black wet suit, with her surfboard tucked under her arm.  She stopped next to them; Kyle could smell the remnants of her flowery shampoo, as a trail of water dribbled off the ends of her long, blonde hair and made an impression in the sand.  "Hi, I see you met my brother, Billy.  I'm Maxi."  Her brown eyes, which were lighter than his, sparkled with golden flecks when she smiled."

            Her brother?  This was more than Kyle had hoped for.  He immediately felt himself blush, but tried to act cool all the same.  "Hi, Maxi, I'm Kyle."

            "Kyle just moved here from L.A.  His dad's Pete Sommers, the meter guy."

            "Really?  Why did you move here?  L.A. must dust this place," Maxi said.

            Kyle shrugged and brushed the salty, half dry hair out of his eyes.  "Yeah, but I didn't have much choice.  My grades weren’t good this year, and I was partying a lot and surfing all the time."

            Bill laughed, as he unzipped his wetsuit.  "Sounds good to me.  Surf all day, rage all night."

            "Yeah, it was the life.  But after I got busted for pot, my mom said she couldn't control me anymore.  So she sent me here for my dad to whip into shape."

            "It's not so bad here, Kyle,"  Maxi said.

            Kyle smiled at Maxi.  "Well, it just got a whole lot better.”

Maxi blushed and smiled sheepishly.

Kyle composed himself, getting back his all-important air of cool.  “But I've been getting kinda board lately.  This place is a lot slower than L.A.  What do you guy do for fun, after the sun goes down, that is?"

            Bill took his wetsuit off his shoulders and pulled down it to his waist.  "There isn't much to do, that's for sure.  We party a lot.  With the whole Northern California wilderness at our disposal, there's lots of remote places for that.  There’s a big party out by this one vineyard east of here, for the fourth."

            "Yeah?  Sounds fun, but what about weed?  Know where I can get any?"

            Billy shot Maxi a subtle glance.  "There's lots of weed up here. Tons.  Hell, Mendocino's one of the weed capitals of the United States.  And it's killer stuff too.  Not cheap though.  I only have a little myself right now.  I'm kinda broke.  Still need to get a job for the summer.  How much do you want?"

            "I'm kinda broke too.  I thought maybe you might have a joint or two?"

            "A joint or two is all I have, but maybe. . ."  Bill glanced at Maxi.

            "What, Billy?"  Maxi asked.   "You're not thinking of going back up there, are you?  You might get shot."

            "Up where?"  Kyle asked.

            Billy looked around suspiciously.  "Come on, Max, it's not like we're actually trespassing on someone's farm.  Those plants weren’t part of anyone’s crop."

            Kyle's raised his eyebrows.  "Hey, guys, fill me in on what you're talking about."

            Billy moved closer to Kyle.  "I was out on my mountain bike this morning, on this old logging road up in the forest, and I ran across a couple of lone plants just growing on the edge of this clearing.  Good ones with big, purple buds."

            Maxi shoved her brother lightly.  "Yeah, right outside old lady Cooper's pot farm."

            "Yeah, Max, but they aren’t hers."

            Maxi rolled her eyes.  "But, duah, the seeds must have blown over from her place.  It's only a few feet away."

            "So what?  They aren't on her property.  We could go back up and pull them tonight," Billy said.

            "Billy, if she sees you, she'll shoot you,"  Maxi said.

            "That's why I didn't take them this morning.  Tonight it'll be dark and we'll be quiet.  No way she'll catch us."

            "Sounds like a plan to me.  When do we leave?" Kyle asked.

            "Cool, which house is yours?  I'll pick you up at about eight,"  Billy said.

            Kyle gave Billy his address and picked up his surfboard.  "I'd better get home.  Cindy takes a reality check when I'm late for dinner, and I've been in enough trouble lately, so I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself tonight."

            Billy picked up his surfboard, and he and Maxi walked with Kyle up the steps to the parking lot, and over Billy's '56 Chevy Nomad.

            "Totally cool car," Kyle said as he got on his bike. 

            Billy put his and Maxi's boards onto the surf racks on top his car.  "Thanks.  See you later, dude."

            "Later."  Kyle, with his board under his arm, road out of the parking lot and toward his house.