The Rock Star Trilogy 01 - Jaded

perfect .”
    “ Have you forgiven him?” I ask.
    “ Not yet,” he answers. “Someday I will, but not now. I can't.”
    “ I'm really sorry about what happened, Stephan. You and your mom didn't deserve that. Neither did Mona and her dad. I don't understand how they could have done that to you.” I feel overwhelmingly sad just thinking about the tragic situation.
    “ But, if you can find it in your heart to forgive your sister Stacy, I should find it in my heart to forgive him, you know?”
    “ I haven't forgiven her yet,” I respond, biting my lip.
    “ You will, though. I know you. You're too good to hold a grudge.” He stops and looks me in the eyes. “I love how you view the world. I've never met somebody so insightful. Sometimes I have a hard time believing you're only nineteen.”
    “ Ditto, Stephan. Seriously, you think things through, you don't just dive in head first,” I pause for a second. “Well, besides your racing. You are kind of crazy in that aspect. But you're a very deep thinker. And I know that your sarcasm is just something to scare people away. You have been so hurt, and you are scared to let anybody else hurt you, yet, you still let me in.”
    He shrugs. “I just learn from life, and take each day one at a time.”
    “ Exactly! Most people at school are too worried about which table their sitting at, or who is popular, but not you . You don't care what people think. I wish I could be more like you.”
    “ You can't please everybody. There will always be haters, and you will never measure up in everybody's eyes. It's insane to even try.”
    Once again, Stephan knows exactly what to say to me. Everytime.

Saturday, September 26
    7:32 am
    Why am I up this early on a Saturday?

    Saturday morning, I was woken up at 7:30 am by Stephan, and Ethan. Apparently they were in the mood to surf, which meant I had to be as well.
    “ Leave me alone!” I pull the covers back over my head.
    “ The waves are calling,” Stephan says, pulling the covers.
    “ I don't even know how to surf. Do I need to remind you how terrible I was last time we tried?” I pull the covers up again. “It's Saturday, and it's way too early to be up, let alone doing physical activities.”
    Stephan and Ethan both gasp dramatically. “How can you even say you're from California if you don't know how to surf ? It's like you're cursing.”
    I pull the covers down and glare at Stephan. “It's kind of hard to surf and win a Grammy at the same time. I was a little busy having a career. Besides, I'm from Washington.”
    “ Well we are going to teach you ,” Ethan insists. “It will be FUN .”
    “ I suck.” They both continue to look... no GLARE ... at me. I roll my eyes in defeat. I know there is no way to talk them out of this. “ Fine . I'll come. But so is Bridgett. Go wake her up while I get ready.”
    After the leave, I brush my teeth, throw my hair into a messy bun on top of my head, and put on a white bikini with yellow flowers. When I walk out of my room, Ethan, Stephan, and Bridgett are all waiting on me.
    “ How do you get ready so fast?” I ask her. Seriously, I didn't take more than five minutes. How was she ready before me?
    She shrugs. “Let's go. Maybe we can actually learn something this time.”

    I'm in the middle of the ocean, sitting on a surfboard, listening to Ethan explain how to surf. He's already demonstrated about five times. Bridgett and I have both tried twice, and failed. I think he's getting annoyed, but really, what did he expect? Neither of us are really very athletic.
    While Ethan is demonstrating for the sixth time, Stephan comes over to us. “He's not a very good teacher. You're both standing too far back on your boards. You just need to distribute your weight more evenly.”
    “ Ok,” we both say.
    “ Now remember to feel the wave. Be the wave . You are the ocean, and all that other crap,” he jokes.
    There is a wave coming. It's a small one, and Stephan feels confident we can handle it. So, together, Bridgett and I paddle out, doing exactly as Stephan instructed. I remember as I stand up to distribute my weight, and stand closer to the front of the board. And I actually stand up. I'm standing up on my board for about 10 seconds before I lose my balance and fall into the water.
    When I come out of the water, I hear Stephan cheering. “That was AWESOME! ”
    I paddle back over to where Stephan and Ethan are, shortly followed by Bridgett. Stephan high fives us