Anyway, most of the writing I am doing here in Maldives are mostly taking place at a place called Anantara Kihavah resort which I am inspired to write this actually.
Going to do the editing very soon additionally I need to place the link on my Tumblr.
In addition, this one will be where some of the other players are talking along with the coach and the other coaching staffs as well.
Disclaimer: This is only a work of fiction therefore there is no need to take it seriously as if this actually happens in real life.
This is mainly my work on a contemporary fiction additionally all of these are my own ideas.
Positive yet constructive criticism are allowed to be on here however all negative comments will be considered 'blocked' and reported.
The next morning, I am woken up by Austin ever since I remember he planned a kayaking plan on all of us ever since he told me kayaking is very different from riding on a jet ski; knowing the jet ski is fast by engine while the kayak is relying mostly by paddling with a paddle and the natural breeze.
Ever since my knee is still recovering from a small accident of how I fell down from the bicycle that day when a man who is also a guest as well while staying at a beach villa (We stayed in the water chalet villa) has luckily called to us an apology for the small accident.
We got concerned about explaining the story to everybody on what happened yesterday however Gabi just told me to be more careful while she thinks the bicycles does need a pair of proper handbrakes for us to use the bicycles properly additionally to have proper protective equipment on a helmet, a pair of elbow and knee guards to prevent accidents like the one yesterday I had running into another guest.
While we are now at one of the restaurants in the resort; having our breakfast—Austin does most of the talking on kayaking plus how kayaking can be great fun to explore around the waters around the island.
“I mean come on, it is fun to do it; don’t you think?” Ask Austin with an optimistic smile on his face; knowing his sweet, bright and beautiful smile could brighten up the day and anybody’s mood.
I laughed nervously and replied “Oh wow, I really think it is fun but . . . do we have to go into the water? I am worried especially after I scrapped my knee yesterday.”
“You actually need to be a strong swimmer but you know what? I got your back and I’ll keep my eye on you.” He replied with a wink after finishing the sentence.
“Okay but when you keep an eye out on me, do you mean in a way of a hawk watching a hare or even a cheetah watching a zebra?”
“Nope, not really—think of how young kids need to be under supervision of their parents.”
“Oh,” I am surprised, now I realise why Austin needs to keep a close eye on me because if there is something unexpected happens out of nowhere; someone have to check up on you instantly to ensure you are keeping your cool in your head; staying calm and making sure you are doing well yet knowing you are safe from any danger.
“I meant to make sure you are safe, cool; calm and collected on before kayaking, during the kayaking and after the kayaking.” He replied sympathetically with a genuine sympathy smile.
I smiled back at him, maybe he is right—kayaking may be all fun and it may look easy except in reality: like surfing—it isn’t as easy as it looks which leads to why Josh booked a lesson for everybody ever since they are also going kayaking as well.
~
After breakfast, I called Mathieu to let him know I am doing okay even after yesterday on the small accident plus he is so grateful I am doing well and alive after I got into a minor accident on a run with a man who is also a guest in the resort cycling the same white bicycle which most water villas as well the ones on the beach has a pair of the same white bicycle.
Austin calls his parents to let them know I am alive [Thankfully] from the small accident plus the only injury I had is a skinned knee.
It startled his mom, Shelly at first however when he confirmed I am safe apart from the skinned knee as a minor injury; she give a sigh of relief to feel thankful to hear that I am doing well.
At first I kind of feeling like an outsider to his family however to the local native people—whenever a transplant (*A person who is a resident move to Hawaii) are welcomed to the family: they felt like they become a part of the family as a family member.
However for his parents, they welcomed me warmly as a second daughter and a third child to the family.
I may not be their birth child however they are happy to see Austin has a beautiful friend who thinks his family are a beautiful gift from the universe and of course, from god.
Meanwhile Joe who is the setter for the team, knocks on the door to let us know we need to meet them at the water sports centre in about ten minutes.
“Hey Joe, what’s up?” I greet Joe happily.
“Actually you need to meet up with us at about ten minutes ever since everybody is already there.”
“Oh okay.”
“But I can give you and Austin a minute or two to rest up on emptying the stomach.”
“Exactly.”
When you go anything like kayaking, surfing or any other activities; make sure your stomach is empty therefore it is important to take rest for your body especially the stomach part.
Then Joe left our villa and I shut the door.
“Hey, did Joe just stop by our villa?” Called Austin.
“Yeah, he gives us maybe a couple minutes for us to talk before meeting with the others.”
“Oh sure, okay—shall we meet up with the others?”
“Definitely, Austin.”
We decided to meet-up with the rest of the team.
~
“Hey guys, sorry we are late.” Pants Austin as we decided to go by foot to the water sports centre.
“Oh no, that’s okay—you are on time.” Reply Gabi with a smile and a wink to us.
We both give a sigh of relief, thank goodness gracious we managed to be there on time—well just a bit late but who cares.
While everybody chatters with each other on either they are going solo or with a partner—Austin and I—we exchanged a high five.
[That was to be on time for your information regarding about the high five we exchanged.]
He lies down on the sand on his back while I sit up straight on the sand with stretched knees.
Charlie did arrived plus he announced “Sorry about being late to the party, everybody—I am wondering what attire to wear for kayaking; you know!”
Everybody laugh, Charlie may be a coach but he also wants to join in with the players and the other coaching staffs as well on the kayaking session.
“I know, it’s funny—isn’t it? I may be old however I do want to join in as well.” He continued announcing with a wink on his face—normally he has a poker face emotion on his face however today it feels different which does feel very strange to some of the players and to me.
The players and the coaching staffs laughed even harder, I laughed too except it is just a bit actually.
Just when the instructor arrived, everybody let their laugh down ever since it is important for everybody to learn the rules on kayaking, the basics of kayaking: the equipment you use for kayaking additionally two of the most important part of kayaking, the safety of kayaking and making sure everybody are warming up before they can start going into the kayak boat, pulling it into the water and start paddling the paddle.
“Okay, good morning everybody.” Called the instructor to us as kayaking students.
“Good morning sir.” We greet neutrally yet calmly in our voices.
“Ah welcome to the Maldives; everybody—are you guys are new here?”
“Yeah, we are new here.” Calls Brett who is an outside hitter on player number three.
“Yeah, we’re new here.” Echoes Austin in a low voice of a whisper which I can only hear him ever since we are now sitting down together.
Austin is now shirtless with only a pair of navy board shorts, a gold chain around his neck and he is wearing a white cap on his head.
“Cool, where are you guys from?” Ask Dan who is the instructor on kayaking.
“Actually we all come from a place called Hawaii however some of the students are from the mainland of USA, some are foreign students from Europe and some are from the islands themselves.” Announced Charlie.
Everybody looks at each other and so did we. Austin flashed one of his beautiful bright smile towards me and turn to face Dan with the same bright smile.
“Cool, so shall we get into the lesson?” Announce Dan with a smile on his face.
“Yes,” everybody replied while facing Dan by wearing a pair of sunglasses over their eyes; a hat on their head or they use their hand as a visor to shield from the bright and blazing sun.
I used my hands as a sun visor to shield my eyes from the sun to focus on Dan.
One of my eye may look like a wink however it wasn’t because I am squinting from the bright rays of the sunlight.
“You okay?” Ask Austin on the most frequent question he has always ask me.
I nodded with a neutral smile, it is hard for me not to squirm from the bright rays of the sunlight just for me to face Austin that’s for sure!
~
After the instructions, the rules of kayaking in addition to the safety rules on both kayaking and the ocean plus the warm ups as well, Dan is now teaching us on why we need to wear a life jacket even when we are on the beach.
Stijn who is standing inches away from us asked “Why do we need to put this on?”
Austin glares at him, didn’t he supposed to follow the instructions from Dan? I did place mine on and clipped it properly plus so did Austin who follows the instructions clearly. (Before he put it on him, he ask me to hold his white cap while he wears it over then I give back the cap to him and he place it back on his head.)
“What? I am just asking.”
He shoved it softly just to say ‘Put it on, Stijn’ As the others place theirs on.
“Do you need to adjust yours?” Ask Stijn by the time when he had it on him.
“No need, it is okay on me.”
“Meaning?”
“She means it is just fitting her nicely.” Pipes up Brett.
After that, Dan teaches us on how we row the paddle carefully on which side is left, right and vice versa.
I whispered to him “Just do watch where are you paddling; okay?”
“Okay, I will.” He replied back to me in a whisper.
We follow the instructions very carefully; thankfully Dan’s narrative is truly clear enough for us to hear his voice.
“You know what he is saying?” He ask me.
“Well, I do—you?” I replied, matching the volume of my voice to his voice.
“I do however I might give you bit more information about the activity.”
“Okay.”
~
After the instructions on paddling properly, it is now time to pull the kayak boat into the water.
We got a transparent kayak which is made for two people kayaking while the others have either a bright yellow or a bright orange kayak.
“Oh, careful.” Grunts Austin while he holds the front end of the kayak while I hold the other end which is the back end.
“Dude, did you know anything about it?” Ask Stijn while he pulls his kayak by holding the front end meanwhile Brett who is his partner holds the back end.
“What are you talking about, dude? I have never been kayaking before.” Answer Brett, with a confusing look on his face.
“Jeez, you really think so?”
“Of course, man! I mean come on; the idea of a brunch doesn’t just come up so quickly—I got to watch ‘Brunch with Tiffany’ on YouTube for a couple of months before coming up with my own idea on you guys.”
“Oh, yeah—right; dude. So what’s your next idea?”
“I don’t know, it is more likely to be on the guests than on me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, so why did you ask me that question?”
“I don’t know, dude. I just want to ask.”
“Really? Boy, you do really get away with those questions on my idea.” Reply Brett with a ‘Wow, thanks for asking’ kind of look but Stijn instantly say nothing.
Meanwhile Charlie and Millan manages to get into the water with their kayak first which are made just for them while Josh and Gabi follows nearby their bright blue kayak with their yellow kayak.
Jennings and Hendrik are the third to follow the other two alongside the instructor who is now leading the group.
Ian and Rado are forth—not far from them, they followed in silence.
James who does it solo follow them quietly, meanwhile we are the eleventh to get to the edge of the water but gone up to tenth ever since Evan need to check for any scratches on the kayak.
“Wow, this is amazing!” I speak up while I started paddling very carefully however Austin decided to let me sit up at the front ever since he wants me to learn to ‘Take the driver’s seat’ in life.
“I know, isn’t it? This is great!” He replied to me with a smile on his face, feeling as enthusiastic as I am.
I chuckled, then he chuckled with me; we made sure we paddle in harmony just as when we are a couple in a relationship.
We both have so much kayaking, yet we had to follow the group as Dan leads the way.
~
A few minutes later, we are in the shallow part of the sea—kayaking with the group; I whisper to Austin “Hey, maybe we could spot a school of fish when we look at the side.”
His reply is “Good idea, Paula—maybe there’s a small school of fish swimming by us on either side of the boat.”
We look down, however there are none unfortunately.
“Or not, sorry.” I replied to him in a guilty voice to let him know we got to look even more deeper at this point.
“Don’t be, you know there are plenty of fish in the sea.” He replied with a smile; letting me know we can get the chance to take a look at the crystal clear water surface to look for any ripple movements from a school of small fish.
I chuckled and replied “Agreed, you’re right: Austin. We’ll get the chance to see it.”
We continue paddling quietly to follow the group however unlike the others who did go slightly fast which sometimes it might bump into another kayak: for us—we slow down the ride therefore we can look at the water surface on either another school (Or a shoal) of fish or we look up at the distance to spot dolphins in the distance by the white water when they go back into the water from their acrobatic moves.
“Do you think we are following the group?” I ask, breaking the silence and hoping maybe we could catch up with the rest of the group.
“I don’t know, what do you think?”
For us, we can see the bright blue kayak which it turns out there are two people paddling in a bright blue kayak—turns out it is Josh and Gabi.
“Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?” She greets us with a lovely smile.
“Well, we are looking for a school of fish from the surface.” I replied.
“Yeah, sis however it turns out there are none and we got to be patient at this point.” Adds Austin.
“Cool, we are doing the same however we are also looking for dolphins at the distance.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, Dan told us they do the acrobatic dance moves in the distance which you can spot the white water in the distance.” Reply Josh with a genuine smile.
“Oh, can you spot them?”
“Actually you can spot them in the distance by the whitewater they make a splash but they not easy to spot.”
I look down at the transparent surface of the kayak, maybe there is luck on our side.
“Hey, hey.” Calls Austin while nudging me by nudging his right hand on my back to look up.
“Huh? What? Is there any chance to spot them?”
“No, but they mention you can spot dolphins in the distance.”
“Oh, are they easy to find?”
“Not really . . . Actually.”
“Oh,”
“But you just got to be patient to spot the whitewater they make a splash.”
“Oh, maybe you’re right: they’re not easy to spot.”
“Tell me about it.” Adds Gabi, shrugging with a ‘It is what it is’ kind of look on her face.
“Well, a lot of patience to wait for them coming.”
“Mmhm.” I replied to Austin.
“Hey, where is everybody?” He ask them.
“I’d think they are now kayaking in different directions as long as we stay in the same position.” Reply Josh, scanning the area for the others yet only other guests who are either kayaking or paddle boarding at the area we are in now meanwhile we are the only four people who did stay in the same position.
It did take a while for us to wait any results however by the time when we decided to go back to the beach; Austin spot a sparkling object moving in the water.
“Hey did we spot something?” Ask Austin, looking down at the water surface.
“No, but why?” Reply Gabi.
“I did spot something.”
“Maybe it is a school of fish like what we mentioned earlier?” I ask Austin.
“Definitely, I mean it: everybody.”
Everybody look at the side of the kayak very carefully ever since we are hoping for a school of fish additionally the patience and the wait is worth it.
“They’re beautiful!” I exclaimed while holding my breath in surprise.
“I know, aren’t they?” He replied to me.
“They are definitely.” Adds Gabi.
“I guess the wait is worth it: right?” Ask Josh to everybody.
“It is worth it.” Reply Gabi.
“You said it, sis.” Adds Austin.
I chuckle a little bit then answered “It does take patience to wait for the moment to happen.”
“I agree, it may take a while however the magic happens when you wait patiently.” Replied Josh to me.
We all laughed then paddle back to the beach.
~
“So how did your kayaking session go?” Announce Dan to everybody.
“It is impressive especially when you are being patient to wait for a moment to happen especially you may never know when you look up in the distance or you look at the side of kayak then you’ll find something in the water.” I replied as Austin to hold my right wrist for support to speak up on what we learned today.
“Cool, I like that—Miss; this is a very good answer actually especially when you may never know—the magic would happen unexpectedly.”
“Exactly.” Adds Gabi, I turned around and she winks at me with a smile on her face.
After a long afternoon of kayaking, Austin ask me “So do you think you want to go kayaking again?”
“Definitely, Austin. I love to,” I replied with a true smile on my face.
He truly smiled back at me, all we need now are rest, room service and relaxation back in our water villa.
