"Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her." – Proverbs 8:10-11

At 6:20 a.m. the next morning, the blaring of Maya's alarm jolted her awake. After reluctantly cracking her eyes open, she groaned and sat up in bed. It took almost a full minute before she realized what was going on.

School.

She immediately flung off her covers, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and placed her feet on the floor. Her room was chilly at this time of day, igniting a few shivers that raced up her arms. Though she was still half-asleep, she padded across to her closet and grabbed the outfit she had picked out the night before. She made her way to the bathroom and took a quick shower, allowing the hot water to wake her up.

After dressing and drying her hair, Maya made sure she had everything she needed in her backpack before heading into the kitchen. She was surprised to see her mom already up and making breakfast.

"'Morning," Mrs. Mallory said with a smile.

"Wow, this smells good." Maya slid into a seat at the table and watched as her mother finished flipping the remaining pancakes. She raised an eyebrow. "You know we can't eat all those, right?"

Mrs. Mallory's eyes twinkled. "Well..."

From the living room came the sound of someone jumping to his feet and shouting, "Surprise!"

Maya whirled around, excitement lighting up her features when she saw it was Jake. "No way!" she cried, rushing over and giving him a hug.

Jake, staggering backwards from the force of their collision, laughed heartily. "Wow, I didn't realize how much you missed me."

Maya pulled away, still grinning. "I'm just glad you're here to help Mom and I eat all these pancakes."

"Now that I can do."

They sat down at the table in the dining room. Mrs. Mallory clearly enjoyed watching the teenagers' interactions as they ate and talked. When she finally glanced down at her wristwatch, she gave a little gasp. "Maya! You guys need to get going."

Jake quickly stood up and helped clear the table. Maya was about to start washing the dishes, but her mother shooed them away. "I'll finish up," she said. "You two hurry and get to school."

They obediently grabbed their backpacks. Jake thanked Mrs. Mallory for letting him stay and eat, and Maya gave her mother a quick hug before hurrying out the door. They slid into Jake's car and set off to Ventura High.

Less than ten minutes later, Jake swung into the senior parking lot and secured a spot. It was almost 7:30, a half hour before school started. A few students were already in class because of a seven a.m. 'zero period.'

Jake turned the key and pulled it out of the ignition. He smiled over at Maya. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Let's get this senior year started!"

They stepped out into the chilly morning air. Maya was glad for her jeans and sweater, but even more so for the rays of sunlight peeking through the clouds overhead. It promised to be slightly warmer than yesterday.

Jake and Maya ran into a few old classmates on their way to the school gym. They didn't stop to chat, however, as Coach Kerr was expecting everyone on the surf team to be in the gym by 7:30. Jake and Maya arrived just in the nick of time and slipped into the back of the bleachers.

Coach Kerr recognized them but didn't say anything about their near-tardiness. He began passing out papers that circulated throughout the students. As Maya's gaze swept over the room, she realized there were at least twelve new additions to the team. Tryouts had been held previously that summer, so incoming freshmen had already been placed in Levels 1, 2, or 3, as well as any veterans who'd improved over the summer and wanted to move up a level.

Everyone in the gang, of course, had been surfing in Level 3 (the "advanced" level) since his or her sophomore year. Maya spotted Alana and Koa sitting in the second row, and right behind them were the Anderson twins.

Jake gently nudged her side. "A lot of new faces this year, huh?"

"Oh yeah." She finally received one of the papers that had been circulating the room and realized it was a syllabus. Along with Coach Kerr's contact information were the seasonal competition and schedule and their weekly practice times. "Hey, look at this," she said, showing Jake the revised times. "Our practices are different this year."

She was cut off by Coach Kerr himself, who clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention. "Okay!" he said. "Good morning, guys. Thanks for being here on time. The reason I called you all here is to go over some new changes. Obviously, the surf team is different from other high school teams because our sport revolves around the ocean. That means our practice times vary, and so do our contests."

After making some quick introductions about himself and the history of the surf team, Coach Kerr went over the syllabus and explained the schedule: there would be practices five days a week, with two early in the morning before school, two right after school, and one as a gym workout/technique class.

He finished his short lecture by saying the rest of the week would be focused on getting everyone's equipment, transportation, and team T-shirt sizes figured out. When they were dismissed, Maya eagerly pulled Jake by the hand to go meet up with the gang.

"Ah, here's the two stragglers," Blaine greeted them.

"Yeah, good morning to you too," Jake said.

Alana scooted over to Maya's side and showed her the syllabus. "What do you think of the new practice times?" she asked.

"It's different, but I like it," Maya said. "This way we won't have to wake up extra early every single morning."

Alana smiled. "I feel the same way."

Just then, Cole came up behind Alana and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm gonna get going. My first period is all the way on the other side of school."

Alana nodded. "See you in chemistry!" she called as he headed away.

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you two had this 'thing' going on?"

"I'm not following," Alana said with a frown.

"You know...Cole. The hand on the shoulder. I see the looks you two give each other."

"Oh," Alana laughed. "It's not what you think it is. Ever since he became a believer, Cole and I have been close."

"Mm hmm." Maya, unconvinced, plodded on. "And you two already compared class schedules?"

"I did with everyone. You and Jake were late, so you missed out."

"Well, let's compare ours now," Maya said. They pulled out two thin slips of paper and held them side-by-side.

"Sweet! We have a lot of the same teachers," Alana pointed out.

"Yeah, but during different periods."

Alana sighed with frustration. "The only class we have together is English."

"It's better than nothing," Maya said. "We still have the surf team, too."

"True." Alana folded up her schedule and shoved it into the front pocket of her jeans. Suddenly, one of the teens behind her turned around and gave her a tap on the shoulders. "Adam!" Alana exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since last semester!"

As the two reconnected, Maya said hi to a few old friends as well before latching onto Jake. "Ready to get to class?" she asked.

"Not really, but okay." He grinned and swung an arm around her shoulders. "What's first? Math?"

"History," Maya corrected him. "Man, am I glad we have half of our classes together! It'll make the day go by so much quicker."

"I saw you and Alana comparing schedules. Do you share any with her?"

"Only English."

"Oh, bummer. I have at least one class with every member of the gang."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This year is going to be great—I can just feel it."

She shook one of her brown locks out of her eyes and glanced up at him. "Even greater than summer?"

He grinned. "You never know."

It was only the first day of school, and already time was passing slowly. Blaine went through the same motions in each class: find a seat, listen to the teacher go over the syllabus, and grab a textbook. A few of his teachers had already assigned homework. Though Blaine was of average intelligence, he studied hard and completed all his assignments, which is what made him an A/B student.

Hello homework, he thought grimly.

When lunch rolled around, he was thankful for the break in his monotonous day. He stopped by his locker and grabbed his lunch before heading outside to the quad. Compared to his air-conditioned classrooms, it was warm outside, and he quickly unzipped his jacket. He swept his gaze over the quad and spotted the gang—minus Cole—already sitting at their usual table.

Blaine hurried over and took a seat next to Jake. "Hey guys," he said brightly.

"What took you so long, man?" Jake asked. "Lunch started five minutes ago."

"My class is all the way over by the track," he explained.

"Well, good thing you aren't buying lunch—the line is already super long."

Blaine chuckled. "I think that's where Cole is."

A few minutes later, the last member of the gang arrived, carrying a steaming tray of soup, vegetables, and a bag of chips.

"How's that soup?" Koa asked, pointing at Cole's food.

The latter took a seat next to Blaine and shrugged. "Haven't tried it yet. I just hope it's as good as it smells."

Everyone watched as he unwrapped his plastic spoon, scooped some soup from the surface, and gulped it down. His expression remained stoic.

"Well?" Alana prompted.

"It's hot," he rasped, causing everyone to laugh.

"Maybe you should have blown on it first," Blaine chuckled. He popped off the lid on his Tupperware and blew on his lasagna. "See?"

Cole just took another spoonful of soup and swallowed it whole. "I think I'm getting used to it," he said.

From there, the conversation switched to the suggestion of carpooling. Since Alana, Cole, and Blaine were already riding to school together, Koa decided to join Maya and Jake's carpool.

Everyone soon finished their lunch and chatted casually about whatever came to mind. When the topic of surfing inevitably came around, Alana gave a little gasp and leaned forward. Her eyes flashed with excitement. "Guys!" she exclaimed. "You'll never guess who called me yesterday."

"Enlighten us," Jake teased.

"Trevor!"

It took a moment for the name to set in. Once they realized who Alana was talking about, they all nodded and murmured something along the lines of, "Oh, Trevor."

"Is he asking us to come down and surf Trestles again?" Maya asked. "Or does he wants to come up here and surf C Street?"

Alana smiled. "Actually, it's neither. He called because one of his friends got sponsored from a video Trevor filmed. Now he wants to do the same thing for me."

They all gaped at her.

"Alana!" Blaine exclaimed. "Did you say yes?"

"I told him I would talk it over with Dylan before calling him back."

"Oh." Blaine immediately wished he hadn't spoken so quickly. Ever since Alana's parents had drowned in a surfing accident, her brother Dylan had stopped competing. Now, if Alana happened to grab a sponsor and enter some competitions, it would be like reopening an old wound.

Blaine stared at her bright blue eyes hidden behind a few strands of white-blonde hair. "Look," he said quietly, "I think this is an awesome opportunity for you. If Dylan's okay with it, go for it. This is your life, not his."

She nodded. "Dylan said I could go. But that means Trevor and I have to meet somewhere halfway. I was wondering, well, why don't you all come with me? If Trevor wants to get some footage, why not get footage of all of us?"

Blaine grinned. He glanced around the table and saw Koa leaning forward, smiling. Maya and Jake had their heads tilted close to each other, both of them nodding. But Cole was staring in the direction of the lockers, his forehead creased in thought.

"I think that's a great idea," Blaine said. "When are you planning to go?"

"One of these weekends." She shrugged. "Whenever the waves look best."

"We'll help you look at the forecast and choose a beach," Koa said. "Hopefully all of us will be able to make it."

As they traded ideas back and forth, Blaine gently nudged his brother in the side. Cole's eyes flickered away from wherever he had been staring.

"Did you hear?" Blaine asked.

"Hear what?" Cole's tone was sullen and disinterested.

"We might drive south one of these weekends and get filmed by Trevor."

"Surfing?"

Blaine nodded. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Blaine didn't get a chance to ask his brother what was wrong, as Alana suddenly hurried to Cole's side.

"You ready?" she asked brightly.

"Ready for what?"

"We have class together, remember?"

Cole's face brightened at her remark. He swung his backpack over one shoulder and threw his tray in a trash can. Alana placed a hand on his arm as they began walking away.

Blaine watched his brother and felt a little relieved. He was happy for him. At the same time, he wondered what Cole had been down about. Though Blaine was staring in the same direction Cole had been just a few minutes ago, there was nothing—or nobody—that he could distinctly see. He pursed his lips and stood up. Shouldering his backpack, he set off to the next class on his schedule.