Jewel

Chapter 12

*11 years old, end of summer*

After my last incident at the pageant, I have not been back and I can’t say I mind.  I did enjoy it when it was for fun, but not when it became a competition.  The whole glitz aspect isn’t really my thing anyways.  I much prefer playing outside and skateboarding any day.  Blake didn’t believe me that I actually won until I showed him the picture that I took with my iPod.  He laughed so hard and I laughed with him too.  It was pretty funny to see me dressed up with a whole sash and crown and everything.  

Today I do get to go to the beach with Blake and his family… but only for a little bit because I have to back in time to clean before the dessert party tonight.  I put on my favorite swimsuit, a white one shoulder with pink polka dots and ruffles along the top.  I tie my hair up into a high ponytail and but on a baseball cap and sunglasses.  I scurry around the house packing my bag of a lunch, extra change of clothes, towel, and other beach necessities.  

We leave in mid morning so that we can get to the beach by lunchtime.  We load up the beach dolly with all of our towels, umbrellas, coolers, and boogie boards and Blake and I start pulling it.  We’re fine until we get to the sand.  We kick off our shoes, but the sand is super hot, so we end up doing a dance to keep our feet off the ground as much as possible.  Mr. Todd takes over pulling the dolly because the sand is tough to even walk through, let alone drag a cart full of things through it, and the sand is pretty hot.  

When we finally reach our desired spot along the shore, Mrs. Todd and I spread the giant blanket for us all to sit on and we unpack the cooler and extra chairs.  Nicole and Ruth spread out on the blanket and lay down to “tan” so Blake and I run into the water without them.  They are such party poopers.  In the meantime, Blake and I jump waves together and dive into the crests, pretending to be deep sea fishers.   I get some salt water in my mouth and it’s the grossest thing in the world.  That’s the only part of the beach I really don’t like, getting fish water in your mouth. Bleh!

We continue to play in the water for a while before we take a break for lunch.  We are not allowed to sit on the blanket because we have a bunch of wet sand stuck all over our legs, so we sit on the low chairs next to the blanket instead.  Mrs. Todd hands us our lunch bags and we dump its contents onto our lap.  As we eat, I take in the scene around me.  It’s so beautiful here, no wonder why my mom always loved the beach.  It’s so much fun too!  There’s so much to do!  You can play in the water, you can surf, you can make sandcastles—Ooooh! Blake and I have to make a sandcastle!

We stuff the rest of our lunch in our mouths and put our trash away, then we grab the pail and shovel to start our creation.  We sit in the sand and dig a giant hole to reach the pasty wet sand and we work on the castle for the rest of the time at the beach.  It’s so much fun and it actually looks really good.  We make a few dribble castles next to the main castle too for some extra design.  We can’t stop laughing together as we make the castles and we end up taking a break to throw sand at each other.  It’s actually quite hilarious.  I love these kinds of days with my best friend.   

I wish we could stay longer, but I have to get home to work.  We pack up all of the things we brought and start on our journey back home.  I take a nap on the way home so that I have at least some energy to clean the whole house before the party tonight.  

When we get back home, I beg for Blake to be able to stay with me for a little bit while I clean.  Because nobody else is home, they won’t let him stay and I understand even though I’m sad.  “But you can come over when you’re done like you usually do.” Mrs. Todd offers with a smile.  

“Thanks.  I guess I’ll see you guys in a few hours.  Thanks for taking me to the beach with you today!  I had so much fun!” I wave to them as I close the car door.