Chapter 5

Walking up the slight hill towards the beach was a bit of a trek under the glaring sun, but it was so worth it when we reached the top. The sea was really that clear blue tropical water that you see in pictures and movies. The beach consisted of mainly sand, some shells here and there and a massive cliff on the far right. There was a massive rock by the shore on the left – probably used to be a part of the cliff many years ago.

Tia giggled out of excitement and started running towards the shore. She threw down the stuff she was carrying just before she hit the water. She looked back at me, her smile blending in with the glistening ocean, and waved. Feeling like a child, her excitement flew through the hot summer air and hit me. I leapt across the sand; threw my stuff down with hers and ran into the shallow waves. I only paddled along the shoreline; I don’t like the sea – you just don’t know what’s in it.

“Aw,” Tia said between gasps of air that she needed after laughing, “look at the little fishies! Ooh, a crab!” She pointed into the water near where she was standing.

“Ok,” I said as I waded out of the water, “that’s it. I’m out of here. I’ll go sit with the stuff.” If I can remember where we threw it, I thought as I shook of the water running down my body.

“No, come on,” Tia cried as she dashed after me, “I’m sorry. I was only doing it to wind you up.”

“Let’s get the stuff set up,” I told her, “maybe a little further back from the water.” I picked up half of the stuff we had brought with us.

We found an isolated spot, away from everyone else, that had easy access to the sea for Tia and was visible from the top of the beach for the others for when they came later. I laid out my stripy, multi-coloured towel beside Tia’s orange flowery one. We made a little shelter of the umbrellas but they still allowed some sunlight in so we could still catch that tan we were both after.

I took off my shorts and my top to reveal my tankini set that I had bought the other day. I had considered wearing a bikini but I didn’t have a nice to tan to hide my pale skin. Anyway, Tia was wearing her one-piece today – I didn’t want to be the only one wearing a bikini. Whilst I was writing my essay for Miss Shelby, Tia was rubbing sun cream over her body and then she took a drink out from the ice box.

A couple hours later the boys spotted us on the beach and joined us. They laid down their towels next to us – Jack purposely put his next to mine.

“What’s up, girls?” Johnny asked as he pulled out a drink for himself from the ice box.

“Just chillin’,” Tia said coolly. “What have you guys been up to today?”

“Checked out the stage and the arena, discussed lighting and choreography ideas.” Nathan answered nervously. “Have you been in the sea yet?”

“Yeah, I have. Leila went in it for five minutes and then I told her to look at the fishes and she saw a crab and went running to land again.” Tia teased.

“No, I did not.” I lied. I didn’t want them to think I was some kind of a loser.

Blake looked up, behind us and waved. “Look who’s here, everyone. It’s the hottest witch of the south.” We all turned to look and saw Melissa speed walking over to us.

“I’m going for a swim,” Tyler announced, “anyone coming?”

“Yeah,” Johnny said, “I could go for a swim.”

“Ok, come on Tia,” Nathan pulled her up off her towel.

“Yeah, I need to cool down.” Blake said and started walking towards the sea.

“I need a swim,” Jack told me, “as an escape plan.” Then he got up and ran to the sea before Melissa had the chance to come over and talk to him.

Melissa dumped her stuff down on the sand next to everyone else’s. Then she unrolled her bright pink towel and then she undone her beach dress to reveal her bright pink bikini and her slender figure. It wasn’t fair. She looked like a supermodel. She started pulling stuff out her bag. She seemed to carry everything from lipstick to baby teeth.

“They’re mints.” She explained when I asked her about them. “You better have left the boys alone.” She squinted out into the sea.

“Don’t you find it a little unfair that you assume I want the boys all too myself?” I asked and I really wanted to add, because I’m not a tramp like you. But I bit my tongue.

She said matter-of-factly, “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are...‘good’ is like expecting the bull to not charge at you because you are a vegetarian.”

I had so many thoughts to that but my main ones were: you’re not the world and you called yourself a bull. But the one I said out loud was, “I’m not vegetarian.” I turned it into a smirk so she’d get my meaning. She was about to say something mouthy back but then she spotted the boys on their way back over. Instead of throwing insults at me, she relaxed. “Like an erection at a circumcision clinic,” I mumbled.

“What did you say?” She snapped her head round to face me.

“Nothing,” I said as Jack and Johnny collapsed back down on their towels, “what have you done today?” I asked, innocently.

“I went to church, like a proper Christian should.” She stuck out her chin. Melissa would know what religion I am from her mum because of the reports for the adoption services.

“Going to church doesn’t make you anymore of a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.” Johnny blurted out and Jack nodded in agreement as Tia was joining us.

Taken aback by that comment, Melissa said, “I’m going for a swim.” She started applying sun cream before she went and washed it off in the water.

“Hey,” Tia laid down beside me, “are you still doing that paper?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What paper?” Melissa found a way to recover from that remark, “let me see.” She snatched the paper from my hands and pretended to read it.

Tia told me, “A paper should be like a mini-skirt-”

“-Long enough to cover everything-”

“-But short enough to keep it interesting.” She finished.

Melissa threw my paper into the sand as she cried, “I could have eaten alphabets and crapped out a better essay!”

I turned to Jack, “everyone’s entitled to be stupid, but some do abuse the privilege.”

He smiled at me.

“I’m going for that swim.” Melissa said and then skipped off.

“That’s why light travels faster than sound.” Tia raised her eyebrows, “some people appear bright until they speak.” Johnny laughed whilst Jack and I just smiled at her.

Half an hour later, we all decided to paddle around in the sea for a little bit. Jack stayed with me and watched out for any crabs, jellyfish or sharks. Then the guys went a bought some chips for us all. As I got myself a drink from the ice box, I picked up a couple of ice cubes for my drink. But instead of using all of them, I placed one on Melissa’s back. She shot up, screaming her head off. Everyone started laughing – even a few strangers who were near us, until she swore so much that even her dirty mouth appalled me.

“You want a war; you’ve got one,” I whispered to her as she dried off her back. “If you think things can’t get worse it’s probably because you lack sufficient imagination. Don’t challenge me.”

I turned around to see Jack smiling at me. He was red from laughing. Feeling rushed from my plan starting to succeed (showing Melissa’s true colours), I stuck my tongue out at him. He stepped closer to me and murmured in the sexiest voice I had ever heard, “don’t stick that out unless you’re going to use it.”

I froze even though it was like thirty degrees. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Unfortunately, Melissa had overheard and told me, “Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much. You’re not that good.”

A slight breeze from the sea drifted over us, so I stretched my arms out, trying to cool my armpits and I caught Jack checking me out as my tankini top started to reveal the bottom of my stomach. It seemed like we were all trying new approaches to get what we wanted. Jack was being really sexy – EW! Really? – Melissa was trying to seem more innocent around the boys and I was going to step it up and hit that ball so hard that it will rip around her side of the court and burn a hole through her racket.

“Why don’t we play that game you guys in the UK play?” Melissa giggled as she suggested the idea.

“What game’s that?” Tyler asked. “We play many games back home.”

“You know the one with the ball – where you kick it and run around.” She giggled and stuck out her hip.

“Do you mean football?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, football – the one where you kick the ball,” she made the boys get up from the sand, “I brought a ball with me. I think it’s the one you use.” She just pulled out an ordinary football from her massive beach bag.

Blake took the ball and booted it down the beach, causing all the boys to run and tackle each other for it, with Tia and Melissa running behind them. Jack helped me up on to my feet.

“Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him think.” Jack smiled at me. “Come on, show me how you play football.”

“I’m not very good.” I said quietly.

Tia, Nathan, Johnny and I were on the same team and Jack, Melissa, Blake and Tyler were on the opposing team.

Melissa wanted Jack on her team so he couldn’t flirt with me, but that didn’t quite work out because when Jack tackled me, he put his arms around me and we made physical contact. Whereas, if he was on my team, the only contact we would have would be between passing the ball back and forth. Johnny was our goalie and Tyler was the goalie for their team. We decided to call our team The Challengers after the band, so they called their team The Champions.We played until the sun began to set. Of course, our team won.

We all agreed it was time to pack up the stuff and start heading home. As I folded up my towel and took down the umbrella, Jack was talking to me.

“Congrats, on winning the game.” Jack smiled as he helped tie up the umbrella. “I didn’t know you could play that good. If I’m honest, I was expecting you to play badly.”

“Ah, come one, you can quit pretending now.” I told him. “You obviously let our team win.”

“What? No, I didn’t.” Jack said honestly, “normally I am on the winning team. I wouldn’t give up my winning streak for anybody.”

“Is that true?” I raised my eyebrows at him and tried to suppress a smile.

“No,” he let his smile loose, “but don’t tell the others. They’ll never let me live it down.”

Jack made me laugh. He spoke to me all the way home and when we had put the stuff away and stood upstairs in the hallway about to head our separate ways to go have a shower, it was almost sad. I thought he was going to kiss me. And the un-kissed part of me desperately wanted him to.

Instead, he leaned in and whispered to me, “I’m going to hit the shower now,” I had an image flash across my mind of Jack in the shower hitting the showerhead, “and I’ll be thinking of you.” The latter surprised me and made me melt on the inside but I managed to stay solid on the outside. “You’re going to be on my mind for a while now, whether you like it or not Jones.”

I walked away, without saying what I was thinking: I like it very much.