Astrid's P.O.V.

"The scores have been added up," the announcer says as me and a majority of the other competitors walked from the water, "In first place, Queen Astrid. In second place, Kind Hayden. And in third, Heather Berserk." People start swarming around me, asking me questions, shoving microphones in my face, and pushing cameras in front of me.

"Astrid, are you jealous about having to share your throne?"
"Your majesty, do you feel disappointed in your performance today?"
"If you could go back and change something, what would you do differently to improve your score?"

"One at a time please. I have one mouth, one voice," I say.

"Answer mine first," a woman says, stepping forward, "Are you jealous about having to share the spotlight and your throne?"

"Not at all. I am not one of those people who is so desperate to be on top that they can't let someone else have a taste of victory. I simply love the ocean, and my feelings help me to..." I paused, looking for the right way to put it, "I guess become one with the water."

"Now me!" a man cheers as he pushes the woman aside, "Are you the tiniest bit disappointed in your performance today?"

"Where were you during the last wave, dude? Ever since I set foot in the ocean, I have dreamed of catching a tube like that. I wouldn't change a thing about my ride today," I answer.

"Over here, over here!" I turned to a woman who put a microphone to my face. "Is there any attraction toward the new king coming from your direction?" I stared at her.

"Oh, so just because he's the 'king of the waves' I have to be drawn to him to the point where I want to rip my clothes off and sprawl out on his board? I will say this once and if you edit it in anyway, or twist my words the slightest bit, I will make sure your career as a reporter doesn't see another sunset," I say and she nods before the camera gets lifted by the camera man. I look into the lens with a shark stare. "I have not, do not, and never will experience any affection for any male character that isn't my grandfather," I tell them.

"What about your father?" someone asks and my heart jerks in my rib cage.

"No more questions please," I say curtly as they call the finalists to the podium. I step onto the first place platform and Heather and Hayden take their places on either side of me. We accept our trophies and climb down before Heather and I walk to the concession stand.

"Hey, good job you guys," a guy says and he pats our shoulders as he walks passed us.

"Thanks, Snotlout. You weren't bad yourself," Heather says.

"I agree with him, nice job out there," Hayden says as he joins us.

"Why are you still wearing that mask?" I ask him as he sits next to me.

"Helps keep the sun out of my eyes," he replies.

"Well, most use sunglasses," Heather says suspiciously. He just shrugs.

"So where're you from?" I ask.

"Uh, few miles east," he says.

"You live in the ocean?" Heather asks, raising an eye brow.

"On, the ocean. My dad has a yacht," he says and I narrow my eyes.

"Wa-ow," Heather says from the corner of her mouth.

"Something tells me you don't spend a lot of time on it," I muttered under my breath before ordering a virgin Pina Colada.

"Already?" Heather asks.

"Don't judge. I almost drowned out there," I tell her before Hayden chuckles nervously.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't think you'd go under like that," he says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Eh. Just shows that you're competitive. Might be a challenge for once," Heather elbows my abdomen at hearing me say this.

"Actually, I was just participating in this to see what it's like. I think I might stick to surfing for pleasure," Hayden says.

"Well, you have the potential to go pro," I tell him.

"She should know. She got her first sponsor offer when we were 15," Heather adds and I sigh.

"When are you going to let that go?" I ask her.

"You rejected it; I'm never gonna let it go!" she shouts.

"If I'd accepted it, it would have taken me places I don't care for," I tell her before chugging the rest of my Colada.

"Would've gotten you income," Hayden says and I scoff.

"Don't you start, rookie. I've found it's better if you don't have a sponsor. At least it's better for me," I say before standing up from the bar stool and walking to the water. 

"Astrid, there's our girl!" my grandpa cheers as he and Nana walk up to me.

"Hi, Papa," I say as I give him a one armed hug. Nana hugs me as well before grabbing my shoulders.

"If only your parents could see you now. They'd be so proud," she says.

"We're proud, they'd be ecstatic," Papa says, standing at his wife's shoulder.

"Why don't we go home? We gotta victory game of Monopoly with your name on it," Nana says.

"You know how much I love Monopoly, but I think I'll catch a few cool-down waves. Is that okay?" I ask.

"Of course, you just come on home when your ready," Papa says and I hand him my trophy before kissing them on their cheeks and running for the water, grabbing my board as I passed it. 

I ran into the water a few paces before jumping onto my board and paddling out a few yards. While I'm sitting on my board, waiting for a wave, I rip my surfing shirt off and feel relief under my arms. I had to get a new one, it really pinches. I look to the shore as I hear wolf whistles to see the sand lined with guys. I roll my eyes in disgust before paddling farther from the beach. I'll just stay out a little longer than intended. They'll get bored eventually.

Two hours later

I layed on my board, gazing at the pink clouds as the sun set. As I predicted, the beach cleared. I was just thinking about my parents. My grandparents were the only ones who knew what really happened to them and they refused to tell me. I mean, I was 18. When are they going to stop thinking it'll scar me? Suddenly, something nudged the bottom side of my board, making me pull my limbs in and every muscle in my body freezes as I looked around me. I saw a shadow flash in the water before a dorsal fin levitated to the surface a few inches away. A pointed dorsal fin. I took a deep breath and found my balance before preparing to kick the shark on the nose if it got too close. The fin disappeared before my board was nudged again, almost making me topple sideways. Then, it disappeared and I looked around in confusion before jolting as a shark nose slowly rose from the water. 

My body started shaking as it turned it's head to look at me. That's when I noticed it's skin was black and it's eyes were...green. They were supposed to be black and it's skin was supposed to be grey. What kind of shark was this? It wasn't attacking, just staring at me. Suddenly, it went back under and tipped my board over, dunking me into the ocean. I kicked and thrashed my arms, trying to find the creatures nose, but the only thing that my hand collided with was the things fin. I shot to the surface and gasped for breath before looking for it again. I couldn't see; it'd gotten dark. I quickly got to my surf board but before I could climb on, I felt something clasp around my ankle. It was soft and squishy and it felt weirder than grass. 

Suddenly, the thing was thrust upward, lifting me until I climb onto my board with ease. When I pulled my foot out of the water, I saw the thing that grabbed my ankle was the shark itself. I stared at it in confused fear before it opened it's mouth to show me it's toothless jaws. It was nothing but gums and tongue. It swam back under water before the rope around my ankle is tugged and I grab hold of my board as I'm dragged to the shore. I looked behind me in confusion to see the black dorsal fin leading the way to the sand. The pressure on my ankle is released and the fin goes down, letting me skid a few feet before a sharp nose gives me a final push. My board hits the sand and the shark breaches the water a few yards off before I stand up. Did a shark just help me get back to safety...from itself? I hastily picked up my board and jogged down the beach to my grand parents house, not even feeling the cold of night air on my wet swim suit.