At first, it was just a little money to takephotographs and send them proof that Colby Taylor was indeed their‘missing and presumed dead’ son. Then it was eavesdropping onconversations, finding out where Colby would be and when.
“I gave them info on surf competitions andevents his sponsors were holding,” he says. “It seemed harmless,and Topher had always said that Colby had it coming. When you playwith fire, you get burned, and eventually the flames would catch upto him. I didn’t realize I was the one flicking the lighter all thetime, though. The stakes kept getting higher – plant this device,we’ll send a bigger dollar amount. Leave this here, we’ll sendmore. The money was nice. It was my ticket to Hawaii. Then itturned into what you’ve seen on the news.”
I’ll never forget the day that Keiko bangedon my bedroom door, telling me I had to see whose mugshot was onthe internet. I sat on my bed crying, saying it had to be amistake, while my brother thumbed through image after image of acrushed maroon car that’d been smashed into a tree. I watchedfootage of Drenaline Surf’s press conference. I watched Kaleapologize on live TV. And I sobbed through every second of itbecause I knew it couldn’t be real.
“I never wanted to hurt Drenaline Surf,”Kale says, a real sadness floating in his eyes. “Never. They weremy family there. They welcomed me in, no questions asked. That waswhere it all fell apart. I didn’t mind ratting Colby out, and itwasn’t a Colby issue. I like the guy. He’s chill, he’s a greatsurfer, and he’s not a bad guy. Stupid, maybe, and a bad decisionmaker, but I’m not one to talk anymore. I assumed his lies wouldall come out in the end anyway. But when they went after Shark’smemory and his legacy and all that Vin had done to build DrenalineSurf up after that, it was too late to back out, and it all fellapart.”
Anyone who is a surf fan knows about ColbyTaylor and this scandal. He’s going to be the most famous surfer onthe planet. It’s destiny. But if you know about Colby, you knowabout Drenaline Surf, and if you know about Drenaline Surf, youknow about the tragedy of Shark McAllister. Anyone on the outsidewould say they’ve been through enough already. I thought that toobefore I saw Kale’s picture in the paper.
“You don’t blame Colby now?” I question. “Imean, if you look at the root of all of this, he’s the one whostarted it. He lied to everyone. He let his family believe he wasdead. He started the web of lies to begin with.”
Kale nods. “I used to think that. I used tothink he had it coming, but the more I dealt with his parents andsaw the chokehold they had on me, I realized it was probably ahundred times worse for him,” he says. “The threats, the powertrips, the egos… Death is the only way to escape his parents. Hedid what he had to in order to survive. If anything, I wish I hadstopped Topher from mailing that piece of paper.”
I can’t give him back his California friendsor Drenaline Surf, but there’s an authenticity to what he’s saying,a tone of genuine remorse in his words. I don’t like playing dirtywith my own brother, but Keiko owes me a favor, and I think it’stime to cash it in.
“Do you remember Surf-N-Swells? The surfshop out on Stingray Drive?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says. “I bought my firstactual board there. Is it still around?”
I nod. “My brother is actually the managerthere,” I tell him. “He swears that when Peko retires, he’s goingto see if he can buy the place. They’ve expanded. It’s a lot biggerthan you’ll remember. A little more commercial but they get a goodbit of business.”
“That’s awesome. More power to the littleguys,” he says.
“I’m going to see if Keiko will get you ajob there,” I say. “Wait – before you argue with me, hear me out.My brother owes me a favor, and I’ve been hanging on to it for twoyears now because Keiko is pretty set in his ways. Allstrong-minded and stubborn. You know how he’s always been. Buthe’ll do this for me, and it’ll be good for you. For both ofus.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t do that. Hehates me.”
“No, he hates who he thinks you are,” Icorrect him. “Once he sees that you’re on the path to redemption,he’ll help you out. He’s not as bad as you think he is. I’ve justgotta prove you both wrong to each other.”
Chapter Eleven – Kale
“I’m only doing this for Lani,” Keiko says,as if that wasn’t already obvious. “Uniform is simple enough.Khakis or khaki shorts, and a Surf-N-Swells T-shirt, which weprovide. You know how to work a register, so I’ll have you trainfor a few days on it to learn our system. We’re a surf shop.Regardless of anything I think about you, you know surfing, sotrust your gut, and if you can help it, stay out of scandals,okay?”
“Got it,” I say, even though I still want toknock this guy out because he can be such an ass. I don’t rememberhim being this bad when I was younger, but then again, maybe it’sjust me and my reputation that bring out the worst in him.
Keiko steps closer, lowering his voice.“I’ll work around your community service and trial dates,” he says.“Just keep me informed, and if you need time off, that’s fine. Itis what it is. That comes first. Assuming it all works out, we cangive you more hours after it’s all said and done.”
He hands me a T-shirt to change into, and Ijoin a girl named Tori at the register to learn their softwaresystem. Keiko tells her to keep an eye on me before he disappearsinto the back office to handle
