Ross

Line up. Noun. [lahyn uhp]. The place just outside the breaking waves where surfers wait for their waves.

I lean my head against the wooden back of the lifeguard chair, my eyes lazily scanning the two kids playing in the sand at the edge of the waves. Sun beats down on my face, deepening my already golden brown complexion, and wind tickles the soft cotton of my t-shirt.

Summer. It officially starts tomorrow, bringing the crowds of Mainlanders with their garish beach umbrellas, screaming toddlers, and inability to doggy paddle in the whitecaps. As a year-round islander, I have mixed feelings about the dawn of summer. On one hand, summer brings a huge boost in income to my dad's part-time bike rental business, and I get paid for longer hours as a lifeguard during the prime months for beach going. On the other hand, my peaceful beach will be packed with half-naked tourists instead of wild horses. I'll look out to the ocean and see drowning teenagers instead of pods of dolphins.

Financially, summer's great. I don't have to drive to the mainland every day to work in the Office Max warehouse, loading boxes in the sweltering heat. I get to spend my days in this chair with my rescue tube beside me and my lifeguard whistle around my neck. Sure, I'll have to dive into the freezing waves to rescue a few idiots, but it's a small price to pay for a summer spent on the beach.

After working as a lifeguard for eleven summers, however, I itch for something more. I love the beach and the ocean and my island, but there's more to the world than the sound of the lapping waves and the feel of sand between my toes. I'm not sure what more, but I know there has to be something beyond life tied to one miniscule strip of land next to the Atlantic coast.

I watch as one of the kids passes the black and white checkered flag marking the edge of the swim zone and I lift the whistle to my lips and motion him back into the safe area.

"Still strict as ever, Rossy."

I look down from my chair to find Javier and Earnest, two of the other summer lifeguards I've known for years.

"It's about time you Mainlanders got here," I say, jumping from the chair into the soft sand ten feet below me.

I shake hands with Javier, a spunky Mexican American kid who talks too much, and slap Earnest on the back, disturbing his perfectly combed hair and pressed dress shirt. Javier and Earnest are summer lifeguards, living here for June, July, and August and then returning to their normal Mainland lives.

"How's Dartmouth, Ernie?" I ask, eying the dark haired kid with the serious expression.

"Still in New Hampshire," he responds with a half quirked smile.

Javier slaps him on the back. "Hilarious, Ernie. Real funny. How's our island, Ross? Ready for us?"

"After three years ago?" I joke, remembering the illegal fireworks we set off on the 4th of July.

That almost landed us in jail, but luckily, Earnest runs track, Javier plays soccer, and I run on the beach every morning. We were fast enough to leave our inexperienced Long Beach law enforcement in our dust. Even though Bob Warner and the other local cops know we were the culprits, they couldn't pin anything on us and let it slide.

Still, I'm 24 now, too old for the carefree summer antics of yore. The novelty of spending the summer on the beach wore off years ago, but I don't have any other choices. Instead of enjoying it like I should, I feel stuck here in a Groundhog's Day loop of the same summer, year after year after year.

I glance back at the beach and blow my whistle when I see a gang of surfers getting too close to the surf zone like I've done a thousand times. I tamp down my discontentment and turn to Javier and Earnest.

"I'm still on duty, guys. A good lifeguard never sleeps."

"Nah, he only naps when no one's looking," Javier says, winking. He scales the chair beside me and we share the wooden bench made for two.

Earnest remains standing below us, rolling his eyes at Javier and checking his phone.

"What's the matter, Ernie? Waiting for Lucy to text you back?" Javier teases, recalling Earnest's summer girlfriend of the last three years, Lucy Covington, an islander like me.

"Screw off, Jav," Earnest responds, but the red on the tips of his ears tells us Javier was right.

We both laugh and I ask, "When did you guys get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Zack told us you were down here so we thought we'd stop by and say hello," Earnest answers.

"Oh, dang," I say. "So you really are waiting to see Lucy."

Javier cracks up beside me, slapping his knee and sending peals of laughter across the water. He disturbs a flock of seagulls and sends them flying further down the beach. Earnest sighs and rolls his eyes at both of us.

"You knuckleheads might not be aware, but some people actually want to see each other after months apart."

Earnest's name has always matched his personality. While Javier is all jokes and wild pranks, Earnest is serious, forthright, and sincere. I lie somewhere in between them on the spectrum, laid back enough to avoid being the brunt of all the jokes, but not as untamed as Javier.

"Months?" Javier asks, "You mean you've seen your little Lucy Liu since last summer?"

"She visited me a few months ago," Earnest answers, rocking back and forth in the sand.

I smile to myself as Javier interrogates him, trying to unearth the juicy details. It doesn't surprise me that Earnest and Lucy have gotten more serious; the tenor of their relationship changed last summer, becoming something that lasts beyond the summer months. It's been so long since I've actually dated that I forget what anything beyond meaningless flings and casual flirtations feels like. Maybe I'm jealous of what Earnest and Lucy have, that it lasts beyond the fleeting heat of summer.

"Go see your girlfriend," I finally say.

"Yeah, she's a lot prettier to look at than this ogre," Javier says, elbowing me in the ribs and cackling.

Earnest doesn't hesitate to jog off the beach to find her, leaving me with Javier.

"Speaking of girlfriends, Monica's back," he says in a singsong voice.

I cringe, recalling mistakes of years gone by. Monica Chanel was a summer lifeguard from two years ago who looked way too hot in her lifeguard swimsuit. So hot, in fact, that I convinced myself I couldn't resist her. One three week fling later, I realized she also knew she was too hot to resist and I wasn't the only lifeguard who had caught her interest.

"Great. I'll have to ask Zack to keep us off the same beach." I turn to Javier, watching the sunlight play in the dark chestnut of his eyes as he gazes out over the waves. "How about you, Jav? What's new?"

"Eh, nothing," he answers, scratching his shoulder. "I've been good."

His words ring hollow. "Really? Any news on your dad?"

A few years ago, Javier's dad was arrested for illegal immigration. His family lives in a poorer part of Philly and five or so years ago, their house burnt down and all of their immigration papers went up in flames. His dad had no green card to show, so they deported him back to Mexico, leaving Javier, his American-born mother, and his six siblings behind.

"No." Javier's jaw tenses. "Mom's thinking about taking the younger kids and moving back to Mexico. I don't make enough to take care of all of us and Dad's in Mexico, so..."

I don't say anything but I look away. I'm not a stranger to having to take care of a family. I've been taking care of Dad and my three younger siblings for years. Usually I like being able to help my family, but sometimes I feel like they shackle me to the island, keeping me from exploring the vast world outside of Long Beach.

Sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting for a wave to sweep me off my feet instead of riding the waves myself.

~~~~~

Introducing Ross Montgomery! What do you think of him? How about Javier and Earnest? I'm hoping to update again soon, so be sure to vote and add this story to your library if you're enjoying it :)

~ Hannah