Forever & Always

Chapter 2

I followed the smell of the sea until I found what I was looking for. The beach that was visible from my window laid out before a long boardwalk that was full of shops. I planned to walk up there after I got my feet in the sand to check some of them out. I was definitely going to need a job. Another problem with most people our age is that we have such expensive taste and almost never have a well-enough paying job to feed the need. It's sad, but then again, so is most of our generation. I walked right onto the sand and slid my white flip flops off. I let the sand run between my toes. It was warm, but since it was late afternoon, it was that nice warm that was right in between lukewarm and way too hot to stand on without shoes. I took a deep breath in, the sea air blowing my hair back around me. I unbuttoned my flannel shirt that I had on and let the air hit the tank top I was wearing underneath. It felt so good, but then I started to think that people that saw must think I was trying to recreate the "flying" scene from Titanic so I put my arms down and tried my best to blend in. 

I made my way down to the water. My family would always go to the beach for vacation every summer. Because we were from Pennsylvania, we would always go to New Jersey. That's what most people did since we were so close to the Jersey shore. When I was younger, the loud noises of the waves crashing would make me cry. No joke, I would sit down in the sand, wherever we were and cry. I was scared! Yeah, I know, what a baby. Now, it's obviously different. I love the ocean. I try not to think about the fact that people in pee in the ocean, as well as fish and every other microorganism that lives in the see because if that was always on our conscious minds, no one would ever go in the ocean again. Still, I don't mind going down to the water getting my feet wet or walking along the water's edge. I came up to the edge of the wet sand and let the tip of the wave touch my toes. I took a step back at first, expecting it to be cold, but oddly enough, it was pretty warm. I was used to it being cold. Come on, New Jersey, start taking notes. There weren't that many people out today. Some young kids were up along the sand playing and making sand castles, their parents a little closer towards the boardwalks, in their chairs, watching them from a distance or reading their books. I was looking around and didn't notice one of the kids running around by the water where I was standing, so when I took a step to the side, I practically stepped on this little boy, running to the water with a tiny plastic bucket. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I jumped back. 

"Are you okay?" I asked.

 He looked up at me and simply replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. What are you, my mom?" 

I stood there for a minute, poised to say something nasty in response as is my instinct now as teenager, but then I remembered I was talking to a boy that couldn't be much older than 6. 

"Oh hell no," I mumbled under my breath and turned around to walk up to the boardwalk. So much for a relaxing walk on the beach. 

I walked all the way up the beach onto the wooden steps of the boardwalk. It seemed pretty long from where I was standing and the row of shops were quite diverse. In front of me was a surf shop, a Sunglasses Hut, and a bookstore called Baxter's, which I took note of because I loved reading on the beach. That's when I smelled it. There was something beautifully familiar mixed in with the salt of the sea in the air. It was the unmistakable smell of greasy diner food. And sure enough, as I searched the row of stores and shops, there it was. Tony's Diner. I could smell the burgers cooking inside. It took every fiber of my being not to go in and order the biggest milkshake they had. I almost had to ask a passing stranger to hold me back from walking through the front doors and blowing a good $20 on some food that would go right to my thighs. I took a deep breath, summed up the small amount of self control I had, and continued walking past the alluring aroma of burgers and fries. A couple more stores down from the diner was a beachwear shop that had some really nice clothing in the window. I didn't feel bad about buying clothes, despite the whole idea that I needed to save money as a high school senior going into college soon. But I would cross that bridge when I got there.