It was that time of the year again when the temperature of the water was just right, and the waves were their perfect height. The annual surfing competition was in a few hours and Sarah Turner had spent the entire summer training for it. The many mornings that she got up early to go surf were finally paying off. She had studied the strategies of previous champions and researched all of this year’s judges. The celebrity judge was going to be her idol, Casey Mavericks, who had won numerous surfing competitions up and down the coast. The opportunity to meet Casey Mavericks and even possibly win the competition in front of her idol was the chance of a lifetime.
Sarah’s friends had invited her to dinner at the local diner the night before the competition. Apparently, the Pacific Plates Diner was Casey Maverick’s favorite place to eat when visiting San Diego. Even just the sight of Casey would be enough to motivate Sarah to win it all. Sarah picked out her best sundress and tied her long blonde hair behind her head in a bun. She reached for her jewelry box and from it retrieved her shark tooth necklace, which her grandfather had given her for good luck before he passed away. She tied the necklace on, adjusted her hair once more, and then checked her horoscope for the night. In it she discovered that she would have to lose in order to win. Sarah assumed the horoscope was referring to the many hours of sleep she had lost from getting up so early in the mornings. She hoped the victory it described was going to be the competition in the morning.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Sarah was stopped at the back of a long line of customers waiting to go in. Word quickly passed around that Casey Mavericks was eating inside. Sarah was overcome with excitement. Someone from inside the restaurant began calling Sarah’s name. Luckily enough, her friends had managed to get a table. Sarah walked ahead of people in line and entered the restaurant. Their table was only a few feet away from Casey’s table. Unfortunately, though, they could not see the celebrity from where they were.
The waitress came over to the table and took their orders. While Sarah was ordering, she could feel her hair coming loose again. Once she finished ordering, she excused herself to the restroom to adjust her hair. On the way there, she managed to glance at the table where Casey was. Casey had short blonde hair and was wearing a sun hat. Sarah was starstruck and wanted to introduce herself. However, she knew her hair was a mess and was beginning to feel it get tangled with her sharktooth necklace.
Finally, Sarah made it to the bathroom, where she was able to fix her hair. She took off her necklace and placed it on the bathroom counter, while she tended to her messy curls. Once her bun was back in place, she washed her hands and exited the restroom.
On the way back to her table, she passed Casey Mavericks, who was headed into the bathroom. Casey smiled politely as she walked by. Sarah smiled back, but then rushed back to her table to tell her friends about her encounter with Casey Mavericks. It was the main topic throughout their whole dinner.
The next morning, Sarah awoke to the sound of her alarm. She sat up and felt at her neck. The sharktooth necklace her grandfather had given her was gone! The competition was in just a matter of hours, and she didn’t have her good luck charm. All of the nerves and worries that she had so easily avoided before were now overcoming her. She shuffled through her bedsheets, dug through her clothes, and lifted up anything that could be overturned; however, the necklace was nowhere to be found. She just had to leave without it.
The competition that she so looked forward to before was now something that she dreaded. When her parents and friends wished her good luck, she just nodded, trying to focus on the task at hand. She knelt on the sand and waxed her board, with each stroke her nerves intensified.
When her name was called, Sarah stood up and readied herself to charge the water. Over and over in her head, she went through the motions: run, tread, swim, surf, and run again. The horn was blown and she ran. Despite not having her lucky sharktooth, she ran the fastest she had ever run before. The motivation to find her necklace after she finished, drove Sarah to paddle quicker and more efficiently than ever before.
After surfing the first wave she could get, Sarah sprinted to the finish line, completing the course faster than any of her opponents. As her competitors finished, Sarah stood scanning everyone’s necks and asking around for her sharktooth, but nobody came forward.
The announcer directed everyone to the stage, where he announced third place and second. Finally, after allowing the suspense to build up, he shouted Sarah’s name. She had won! Now, Casey Mavericks was going to place the medal around her neck and shake her hand. Sarah stood there happily as Casey presented her the gold medal. Around Casey Maverick’s neck, sure enough, was Sarah’s sharktooth necklace. It finally occurred to Sarah that she had left the artifact on the bathroom counter at Pacific Plates Diner. She couldn’t be angry at Casey for picking it up and wearing it. Instead, Sarah was flattered and as they shook hands, Sarah kindly said to Casey, “Nice sharktooth.” 