CHAPTER 20:

" hello" , ritha answered the phone as she woke up " it's bill" , "yes I know , your name is written in my contacts" , " yeah I know too , I just like saying that" , " bill it's been time since you called me in the morning , I nearly thought it was my alarm" , " wow , I've been a careless boyfriend" , " no , don't blame yourself for that" , " yeah that's what I wanted to hear" , " oh so you tricked me huh" , " okay you win , so how was your night" , " it was nice hope it was good for you too" , " yes it was , I loved your generosity yesterday , actually I was somehow dragged away and i ..." , " you got nothing right" , " sort of , but I think I got it all covered , I just wanted to talk to you , not get lessons" , " okay I get it , but I kind of missed this too don't you think we should hangout some time at the beach far from the club , just after the competition ?" , " I think that would be great" , " well speaking of training , I think we have some intense training today , miley said it yesterday" , " oh we're late" said ritha , " I think we have to go , before it's too late, I am normally early but I'm going to be late today" , " I think we should be hanging up now" , " yes but it's hard for me to hang up" , " yeah me too , but it's a must , see you ritha" , bill said and hang up .

" Mom , I really have to hurry , I'm late" , " honey you can't go without breakfast" , " I'll get a snack on the way" , " okay have some juice and waffles then" , " okay mom if you insist" ritha said and grabbed the glass in her mother's hand . "okay mom I can't have any other , I am super late miley is going kill me , bye mom and dad" , she said as she rushed out . " this is what makes a champion , she really fears to let her team down" her dad said as she closed the door .

" Guys sorry I'm late" she entered the cabin saying but no one answered her , " guys ..." she kept on saying to herself , " wow , do they want to scare me" she said as she moved to get her surfing board.

She found no one there , she continued , outside , " there they are" she said , the whole team was busy training at sea , she ran down the sand .

" looks like you're late than I am yet we woke up same time" , said bill , " you know what , let's just start practice" , they both went to the sea and started .

Miley came to check if all was going well , " okay guys , everything going on well , mike you're doing great , same as you Jennifer and pete , keep it in handle lanna , and tom , you're doing great" she said .

" now look at you two , hey knock it off" , she said to bill and ritha , they were out of focus and couldn't practice , " sorry coach" , " alright despite your courageous character ritha I am stopping you from meeting bill in training , cause he is making you lose focus , and you're making him lose focus too , but you can still talk after practice" , " what look what we caused , I should have known" bill said as miley went , " bill I think we have to get serious let's practice , you know we have a big day to come" , " a big day it is , we'll talk after practice" she said as she went back to the water .

" man today was very exhausting day , I think these three days are going to be such a terrifying day" , " yes , I saw , bill , it's going to be hard keeping in touch with ritha" , " yeah but it's the right thing to do" bill said .

" pete I think I'll be going we'll meet tomorrow" , he went and approached ritha . " hey" , " hey" she said , " ritha , about what happened earlier I think coach made the best decision" , " keeping us apart that's the best decision" , " no that's not what I meant , you know your dream is being a great surfer and dad that's what your dad and mom expect from you" . "Oh , yeah it's true and I think we'll be champions together" , " actually we're not apart we'll meet in the evening these three days , shall we go home together then" , " sure" ,ritha said .

"Shall I stop to stay hi to your parents I kind of miss them" , " sure , they'd love it too" , she answered bill as she knocked the door . " ritha , bill nice to see you" , " hi mam" bill said , " will you come in for some tea I guess" , " I think I'm a bit late" , " i..." , " come on bill it's just some tea ," , her mom interrupted" , " oh I was about to say that , mom insists a lot , she just wants to make sure things are okay she used to do it a lot when I was still a kid , she just tries to keep it that way hope it doesn't bother" , " okay I'll come in" he said as he went in .

It was just tea but her mom kept on insisting bill and I turned to be dinner and it was really dark outside. Ritha went out with bill after diner ," bill thanks again for waiting , you see , my mom insists a lot" , " no problem ritha at least she treats me like her own son I like her the way she is , it reminds me a lot of my mom" , " oh I think it doesn't hurt you" , " no it's fine , perhaps it's getting dark ritha but luckily my dad never blames me for being late" , " oh , so it's no big deal" , " but the bad part is that I didn't come with my car so I have to get the bus" , " oh okay , so bye I guess you don't want to miss the bus" she said as she hugged bill .

" Ritha , so how was your day with bill" , " actually mom we didn't spend the day together" , " why is there something wrong" , " no , it's just that we had a lot of practice today , so we had to stay apart to practice" , " okay , you seem pretty sleepy I think you have to go sleep now" her mom said , " pretty much mom I think all this work deserves a little sleep" she said as she went straight to her room and lied straight on her bed . Her mom and dad sneaked in her room as she was asleep , " look at her" , her dad said , " she looks like an angel right ?" , " yes , you know what , I sure like to see her with bill I don't know how I came to like that gentle man" , " I told you to let ritha follow her heart and it was worth it , I think they look more than great together" , " come let's not interrupt her sleep" her dad said and they went out of her room .

The remaining days would be more of a struggle than the previous because they were left with two days to go and the last day before the competition would be of rest, to avoid any injuries or fatigue. All the team members tried hard to get their techniques mixed up and they tried new techniques in the short time they had , this kept ritha and bill far apart than ever , perhaps also none of the others met like they normally did. But all their hard work was yet to pay off, it would be worth it on the last day , though the blue yachts and the rest of the teams were aggressive , but still couldn't stop the barracudas from being a great team , and they were yet to be seen by every team in the region