Last Wave [Paperback]

Seventeen-year-old Matt Owl Owen is living in the heyday between school and the rest of his life. He has his friends, the beach, and the surf -- and the big event on his calendar is a date with Hayley Churchill, an absolute goddess. When she asked him to take her to Stink's eighteenth birthday, Owl thought he'd die. Is it possible his best friend's sister has finally come to her senses, or is Owl just putting himself on?
It's supposed to be the best summer of his life, a final hurrah before Owl and his buddies are forced to grow up and start the next phase of life, but he and his surfing crew are about to get dragged kicking and screaming into the adult world -- and nothing will ever be the same again.Paul Hayden grew up on the Gold Coast and in Sydney, and went to high school on Sydney's Northern Beaches. While at high school he surfed many of the breaks of Australia's east coast. After completing university, he traveled widely in Australia and South-East Asia, and lived in Europe. His short stories have appeared in popular and literary magazines in Australia.Chapter One

He holds my foot in his hand as he's talking to me.

The bone is fusing itself.

What do you mean?

Just what I said. The cartilage has deteriorated and because of that the bones start to rub together -- and as they rub they cause a sort of sediment that actually builds up and stiffens the joint.

Christ... I sort of gasp quietly, and sink down a little further in the chair.

It's a type of arthritis.

No one's explained that properly up to now.

Well, that's what's happening.

Right then, I'm suffering the most awful mixture of emotions. This doc is so great. He's the first one I've found that's just so calmly and clearly nailed it down for me. That's just sat there and told me what the hell's going on without all the other crap and stuffing about. And because of that I'm sort of half out of my mind withlƒ^