Fresh Air

A light breeze blew through Seraphina's purple hair as she strolled along the peaceful shore of the lake. It was a calm and quiet evening, the type she liked. Not many people were out on the beach tonight. She'd seen a young man fishing on a sailboat and a family having a picnic, but that was about it.

Hmm. 1st place again. As she walked, she glanced back and forth between her phone screen and the scenery around her. She'd been playing Shiver.io, a game about sharks. Seraphina was beginning to wonder if she would beat her high score tonight. So far, the highest she'd gotten was 25,000. She was at 20,000 right now – it wouldn't take much longer to break that record.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from behind her, calling out her name. "Sera!"

She spun around and looked up from her phone. A few yards in front of her stood her best friend, John. Like most days, his black hair was matted with gel and a bright smile was plastered to his face.

"Oh hey, John," she responded with a wave, "Wasn't expecting you to be here. I thought you said you were spending break with your dad in New Bostin."

"About that," he responded, "my dad's out of town for an interview this weekend. I decided to come here to get a break from the city – sometimes it can get overwhelming."

Seraphina snorted. "No kidding."

"So Sera, why are you here?"

"My mom was putting too much pressure on me. I needed to get away," she replied, shaking her head and exhaling a sigh.

"It's a good thing I'm here. Want to build sandcastles?"

Seraphina smiled. This was why she enjoyed hanging out with John – his positive attitude never failed to cheer her up. "Sure."

He pulled two shovels out of his backpack – one turquoise and the other bright pink. "You take this one!" he beamed, handing her the blue one.

"Bet I can build a bigger castle than you," she taunted, smiling.

"Oh really? Let's compare in thirty minutes and see who the real champion is," John teased, a smirk appearing on his face.

"On it."

--

For a few minutes, all was quiet. Seraphina dug up sand and built her castle in peace.

Just then, a voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, where'd you get that shovel?" someone demanded.

She turned around and saw the young man who'd been fishing earlier. Apparently, he'd taken an interest in John's shovel.

"The mall," he replied. Patting his backpack, he added, "You want one? I've got another in here."

In response, the fisherman laughed. "Okay, but of all shovels, why'd you get a bright pink one? Did your five-year-old cousin pick it?"

John glared at him. "I just thought it was cool. Did your five-year-old cousin pick out your sailboat? It appears to be drifting away."

He pointed towards the boat, which was steadily floating away from the pier.

"You! Take back what you said!" the stranger snarled.

Seraphina instinctively activated her ability. She froze time around the man, temporarily making him unable to move. People had already messed with her best friend enough due to his lack of powers – she wouldn't let anyone hurt him today. This was vacation, after all.