Journey's Child

8

The cold air raised goosebumps on my legs. I almost went back inside to change into long pants, but the idea of wearing pants in June seemed wrong. I had already been down to the small beach where the couple I'd seen earlier, were now laying on a blanket making out. I decided to walk up the road. It continued past the row of cottages and curved back up to a pavement street. At that point, a narrow path continued on from where the road broke away. It led near the edge of the high rock face where I could look down onto the churning water below. I walked for quite some time, passing only one old couple who smiled and said, "Good morning". They looked like tourists in their pastel clothes and the lady's hat with the floppy brim going all the way around.

The rock wall that sat out in the ocean finally moved in and a long wide beach appeared. It was dotted with people, who from where I stood, looked like specks of pepper sprinkled over the sand.

On the hill across from the main street was a nice looking Motor Lodge with, according to its sign a swimming pool, a game room and cable TV. I shook my head and used a four-letter word my mother wouldn't have approved of. There were big houses widely spaced from the bottom of the hill, climbing all the way up the side to almost the very top. They looked expensive and comfortable. At that moment I really hated my mother and the cottage with its mildew smell and the squeaky beds. I hated my life and I even hated that old couple who said 'good morning' to me.

With no other plans and not wanting to go back to the hell hole, my new name for the cottage, I decided to find a way down to the beach. The sky was beginning to show through the high fog that the weak sun was trying to burn away. The milky film had been lifted, and the sky could be mistaken for a very pale shade of blue.

I found a footpath that led to some old wood stairs. They were too high to just step down naturally, so I brought one foot down then the other - one stair at a time. There were about twenty steps. They stopped about halfway down, turning back to a steep sandy path through plants and grass down to the bottom of the slope. I was warm after climbing down and decided to go walk along the shoreline and get my feet wet.

I didn't bother to take my tennis shoes off, I just stepped into the rolling tide and let it wash over them. I shivered as the icy water splashed up my bare legs. I walked back towards the rock wall. I hoped to find an alcove that would be away from the groups of people who were already setting up their base camps for the day.

I had to scramble over long, narrow rock formations broken up by bars of sand. They reminded me of claws that stretched out from the high cliffs. I came to a larger area of sand bordered with rock walls and cave-like holes worn in them. It was as far as I could go because the tide blocked my way from going any further.

I heard someone laugh, then more voices joined in. I froze where I stood. I knew without looking that the laughter came from kids around my age. I could just tell, maybe because I'd listened to those sounds before. It made me want to turn back and walk away.

"Hey girl, this is our beach," someone said.

I turned towards the voice. There were three of them, the girl, who had spoken and two boys, all staring at me. They looked to be around my age.

"Okay," I said as I started to walk back the way I'd come.

"Wait," the girl said. "Are you staying at the Travel Lodge?"

All three of them walked towards me. I wasn't sure what to do so I just stood there. When they got up to me I could see how pretty the girl was. She had long straight blond hair and light blue eyes. The boys were about as tall as her, making them about three inches taller than me.

"You staying at the Lodge?" one of the boys asked again. He had sandy brown hair, green eyes and freckles, like me.

I stood there dumbstruck for a moment, then because I wasn't prepared, I told the truth, "No, I'm staying at the cottages."

The girl giggled, "Oh you're staying there."

I didn't like the way she said there. It made me feel small and embarrassed.

"What's your name?" the other boy asked. He had dark brown hair and his brown eyes were all squinty and mean looking.

I should have gotten out of there, but I've never been a quick thinker. I tried standing my ground by putting one hand in my pocket and leaning to my right. "Gilly," I heard myself say.

This time, they all laughed.

"You mean like a fish?" the girl asked, still giggling.

I could feel the heat spreading over my face as I blushed. "It's a nickname. My name is Jillian," I explained.

The sandy haired boy smiled at me.

 "That's a pretty name."

The girl, who I guessed was the leader, made introductions for all of them. "I'm Debbie." She pointed to the dark haired boy and said, "This is Rory," and moving over to the sandy haired boy, she put her arm around his shoulders, smiled at me and said, "This is Ben."

"Hi," I said looking at the ground.

"So how long are you staying at the cottages, Gilly?" Rory asked.

Debbie giggled in the background. She whispered something in Ben's ear and giggled again. Ben didn't laugh. He kept his eyes down.

"All summer," I replied. "How about you?" I asked in hopes of moving things away from me.

"Oh, we live here," Debbie said. "See that house up on the hill? That's my house and Rory and Ben live in that house over there."

She pointed to two of the beautiful homes on the hill. Her house had a huge picture window in front and a balcony that wrapped around the second floor. Ben and Rory's house was white with blue shutters. It also had two stories and a beautiful lawn with evergreens and flower beds filled with colorful flowers.

I was beginning to feel sick. "I have to go now," I said, turning away.

"Yes, hurry back to your mommy and daddy," Debbie spat out with a laugh.

I walked as fast as I could, trying not to look like I was in a hurry. I wiped the tears away before I reached the main beach.

Well, I had my answer. Definitely enemy territory.