"A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression." – Proverbs 29:22

Thanks to the cooler fall temperatures, an afternoon glass-off had started to appear in the ocean, creating calm and pleasant conditions for surfers. The wind died down and the surface became smooth, something that rarely happened in afternoons during the summer. Maya was thankful for the change in weather, even if it did mean that the days were getting shorter and the water colder.

She hugged her shortboard to her chest and studied the waves peeling in front of her. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure that her bike was securely locked and upright before giving Alana the go-ahead: "Let's hit the water!"

Alana smiled and bent down to grab her own surfboard. Her white-blonde hair fell in a sheet over her shoulder. Maya wished her own hair could be just as beautiful, but she was doomed to have wavy brown locks that could never be tamed. She sighed and headed down to the sand.

"Check out that right," Alana said, nodding towards a breaking wave off in the distance.

"If only the swell was a little bigger," Maya said wistfully.

"No matter what size the waves are, you always wish it was bigger," Alana laughed.

"Not true!" Maya protested, even though she knew her friend was right. She couldn't help it. As a shortboarder, she longed for bigger and faster waves. It helped that she was small and petite, because a set that was head-high for the average surfer was overhead for Maya. Despite this, she still yearned for larger waves.

Alana wrinkled her nose and set her board down in the sand. "I have to use the bathroom real quick," she said apologetically.

Maya groaned. "We walked past the bathrooms five minutes ago, and now you have to go?"

Alana gave her a sheepish look. "You can go ahead and paddle out. I'll meet you in the lineup."

Maya was reluctant to start surfing without her, but when she spotted a nice set out of the corner of her eye, she gave in. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll meet you over there." She pointed to the right that Alana had seen earlier.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be right back!" Alana dashed off towards the bathroom, her blonde hair swinging against the back of her wetsuit.

Maya fastened her leash around the ankle and jogged in the opposite direction towards the surf. Though the water was a beautiful shade of dark blue, enhanced by its glassy surface, it felt cold against Maya's shivering legs. As soon as she waded in up to her waist, she hopped on her board and began paddling.

A few duckdives later, she reached the lineup, and positioned herself slightly behind the pack of surfers waiting for waves. She figured she would warm up by catching the smaller ones on the inside.

The slightest sea-breeze blew her hair over her left shoulder, and Maya turned her attention in that direction. She saw Ventura Pier, a small brown line against the horizon, melting into the backdrop of hills and houses. Though she couldn't see it, she knew one of those buildings was Scottie's Surf Shack. Maya loved the restaurant but was glad she'd taken the day off. School, work, and her struggling relationships with her father and Jake were stressing her out. It was nice to be able to escape from reality and pursue the one thing she truly loved: surfing.

But her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a longboarder at the front of the lineup. Maya narrowed her eyes. Of course, out of all the spots she and Alana could go surfing, they had to paddle out at the same peak as Jake! Maya was tempted to turn right around and paddle somewhere else, but she had already told Alana she would wait for her here, so she had to stay put. She crossed her arms over her chest and hoped Jake hadn't seen her. As long as he stayed outside and she stayed inside, they wouldn't have to cross paths.

But the arrival of a new set shook things up a bit. Jake, being the furthest outside, spun his board around and went for the first wave. Though he paddled as hard as he could, he was unable to glide into the peak. He sat up, frustrated, and prepared to head back outside.

Then he saw Maya.

Their eyes locked, and their faces wore mirror expressions of surprise and apprehension. For some reason, Maya wasn't able to tear her gaze away. If only Jake hadn't paddled for that wave...if only he hadn't stopped four feet from her.

Water lapped at the sides of Jake's longboard, breaking the awkward silence. He finally glanced down, scooted up a few inches towards the nose, and repositioned himself. Everyone else was paddling outside towards the oncoming waves, but Maya and Jake were still sitting waiting for the other to make the first movement.

She quickly shook herself out of her trance. What was she even doing? Staying put wasn't going to get rid of Jake; paddling was. She set her jaw and headed towards the horizon like the other surfers. Behind her, she heard Jake taking long strokes, and in a matter of seconds he passed her easily with his buoyant longboard.

Out of her peripheral vision, Maya could see his strong jawline and the faintest trace of stubble, and for a fleeting moment she wished he would have turned and looked at her as he raced by. But his gaze had remained fixated on the horizon. Of course it would—why would he bother to look at her? Maya's thoughts simmered, and she tried desperately to chase them away by digging her hands deeper into the water and paddling with all her might.

A few unbroken swells rolled by them, but the third wave was about to break right on top of them. Jake ducked his head and punched through the wall of water while Maya pushed her board underneath and popped up on the other side. The fourth wave looked like it was going to break on them, too, but Maya realized she was in a good position to catch it. She quickly spun her board around and stroked into the peak.

Suddenly, the nose of a longboard slid alongside her to the left, and Maya glanced over and realized it was Jake. She huffed and paddled harder. This was her wave. Jake didn't have any right to force himself onto her peak.

But before Maya could even pop up to her feet, Jake glided past her and locked his elbows, about to stand up. Maya quickly took a few extra paddles and stood up as well. They raced to the bottom of the wave side-by-side.

"Hey, do you mind?" Jake asked, irritated. He gestured for her to leave. "This is my wave."

"I was paddling for it first!" Maya argued.

"I'm on the inside," he pressed. "You dropped in on me."

"No, I did not." She began pumping her board for speed. If Jake wanted to fight over whose wave this was, then whatever. Maya was out in front, and she had a wide-open shoulder in front of her. Jake could eat her dust—or water, whichever was more accurate.

But Jake wasn't one to be so easily discouraged. His buoyant longboard, gliding effortlessly across the surface, quickly caught up with her. He even crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down as they traveled closer to the beach.

"For the last time, move," he ordered.

In response, Maya turned on her heels and cut back towards the whitewater, almost running over Jake and his board in the process. He was forced to swerve out of her way, but not before exclaiming, "Hey!"

Maya ignored him and continued surfing. He raised his pitch and yelled, "You're putting both of us in danger!"

"Then get off my wave!"

"You get off my wave!"

But the section in front of them closed out, and Maya realized that their whole argument had been fruitless. They were arguing over a stupid small wave that wasn't even worth it. Frustrated and annoyed, Maya dove off her board and resurfaced when the whitewater rolled past her. She was about to head into shore and tell Alana that they were leaving pronto, but a yank on her leash suddenly pulled her back towards Jake.

"Leave me alone!" she blurted out.

Jake's eyes flashed. His hand, which was still gripping her leash, tightened until his knuckles were white. "Not until we clear this up first," he demanded.

Maya sighed loudly. One look at Jake's face told her that he was serious, so she sat up and stayed where she was.

Jake released his grip on her leash but remained lying down, propped up on his longboard by his elbows.

"Well?" Maya prompted.

"Don't you want to explain why you've been ignoring me?"

Maya's mouth fell open. "Are you kidding me?" she scoffed. "You're not innocent—you've been ignoring me too."

"Only because you've been too stubborn to talk to me."

Maya's anger flared. "Are you even listening to yourself right now? I haven't talked to you because you're too stubborn to talk to me."

"The last time we spoke, you got up and left the room! What was I supposed to do?"

"So now you think it's my responsibility to make the first move to apologize?" Maya rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this."

"If it's not your responsibility, then whose is it?" Jake said, exasperated. "Mine? This accusation can go both ways, you know."

They stared at each other for a quarter of a minute, their steely gazes never once leaving the other person's face. Slowly, Maya's features softened, and she saw Jake do the same. She quickly glanced away, embarrassed.

Her conversation with Alana came flooding back to her. How could she be so cruel? The anger that had bubbled up inside while surfing was slowly ebbing away. She realized, as if she was holding a mirror up to her face, that everything she had just said were the words of a hypocrite.

The apology was on the edge of her tongue. I'm sorry, Jake. Only three simple words that could change the course of their relationship. But the stubborn streak inside of her wouldn't let her say it. After all, the snarky voice in her head protested, Jake is the one who should apologize first.

And what if he did? With a start, Maya realized that even though she missed his light kisses and funny conversations, she had grown to live without them. There was barely a trace of his former kindness and humor in that stoic face. If Jake was just as hardened by their fight, what was the use of going back? Maya had a full plate with school and work and her father's situation. Mending her relationship with Jake was too tedious.

But all of this fighting is ridiculous! It's pointless! As soon as the thought darted into her head, she snatched it away. Maybe their fight had been pointless in the beginning, but now it had swelled into something much bigger. If they couldn't even make it over this small roadblock, how would they survive the rest of the obstacles life was bound to throw their way?

Jake and Maya were starting to drift apart on a small current. Her leash was now safely out of reach, so without another glance in his direction, she turned and paddled towards shore. She didn't hear any splashes from Jake's direction, so she assumed he had let her go.

A few traces of anger and frustration continued to taunt her as she exited the water. She refused to look back. That was the only thing she was good at—walking away. She had done it at her house when they first fought, and she was doing it again at the beach. The thought nearly brought tears to her eyes.

An astonished Alana met her on shore. "What's going on?" she exclaimed. "Why are you leaving?"

"Let's go," Maya said wearily.

"But what are you doing?"

"I said let's go."

Alana planted her hands on her hips. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened out there."

Maya whirled around. "Fine! I met Jake in the water, that's what happened!"

"Hey, great. Did you guys talk?"

Maya couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why do you think I'm so angry right now? Yeah, we talked! And he never once apologized to me!"

Alana groaned and shook her head. "No, no, no...that's not how it was supposed to happen," she muttered.

"Oh, how was it supposed to happen?" Maya asked dryly.

Alana didn't reply.

The answer suddenly dawned on Maya. "You set me up?"

Another silence. This time, it confirmed Maya's suspicions. "I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, poking her friend with an accusatory finger. "You knew Jake was going to be here, so you forced us together!"

"I was trying to help," Alana argued.

"The reason Jake and I haven't been talking is because we both know this will happen!" Maya waved her free arm around as if to gesture to the hostility between her and Jake.

"Did you say you were sorry?" Alana pressed. "Did you even attempt to apologize?"

Maya grew quiet. "No," she said after a lengthy silence. "But neither did Jake."

Alana heaved a large sigh, exasperated. Maya watched as she stormed off the beach. Once again, tears threatened to spill over her eyes, but she held them back. She waited until Alana's figure had disappeared into the distance before crumpling into a ball on the sand. She could almost hear her friend's voice saying, You knew what was the right thing to do, but you didn't do it. There's nothing more I can help you with.

The conviction only sent a fresh round of anger through Maya's heart.