Hi Justice, some thoughts for you, I'd stick with the BIC at this stage because a soft board is only good for about 5 or 6 lessons then you have outgrown . I'm not a fan of a BIC either but it is better than a foamy. This board will cover everything you need to do for the moment all boards can go in shallow water just as long as it's deeper than your fins, if you have fallen on your head the only time you will notice the difference between a soft board and a hard is when the board hits you or you hit the board.
Seriously I do not recommend soft boards for other than a one day experience to see if you like surfing.
You are a little while off surfing bigger waves quite a lot for you to learn before you get there but it's all fun.

I've taken up troll hunting just for fun, instead of a rifle I'll just use a pun! 冲浪爷爷