Chaos In The Wake

The First Splash: Plastic Knives and Bobble Heads

It's around lunchtime when I leave the beach. I spent most of the morning swimming in the ocean, getting sand in my scalp and water stuck in my ears. It was surprisingly fun, even all by my lonesome, with the waves keeping me company. But then, of course, I screwed it up. Thinking that a piece of seaweed was a shark against your leg? Having a complete freak out and screaming session at the ocean shore? Getting judged by everyone within a thirty yard radius, especially when an 11 year old points out that it's only a little piece of kelp? Yeah, not my finest moment.

I wring my hair out for a final time and leave the beach behind me. Not going to lie, I gave a sigh of sadness at having to leave, even with my embarrassing moment earlier. No one loves the ocean more than I do. When I was younger, I was convinced I was part mermaid and declared it proudly for anyone to hear. My parents fully supported my decided occupation, until I tried to swim too far out into the ocean and the lifeguards had to rescue me. I think I even made a shell bra once, but it was too uncomfortable to wear. It was only later that I learned that a crab had been living inside one of the shells. I still have nightmares about it pinching my boob.

The next obstacle for me to overcome is lunch. I walk over to the restaurant across the street, instead of going upstairs to make a sandwich because... ugh, stairs. It's called Shal's, but my parents and I always thought it was just a typo for "Sal's".  The door is littered with cigarette butts and a worn welcome mat, and despite it's convenience, it still doesn't look like a place you want to be in at 11:00 PM. I push open the door and before I can breathe, a beautiful girl with dark caramel skin and crazed eyes jumps out at me with a pen pointed threateningly

"Who the hell are you?" She asks in a high pitch voice, blowing some dark hair out of her eyes. "What do you want? I will stab you!"

"I... uh..." I say smartly. Think, Carrie, think! "T-That's a pen." Real intelligent.

"Are you from the bank? Because we're closing this place anyway, fucktard," she yells before a look of absolute fear crosses her eyes. "Or are you Jason's girlfriend? I honestly thought he was single – I swear to God. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, maybe with some blueberry pie-"

"That's a pen," I say again, still in shock. "A-a pen." The girl's looks down at her shaking hands at the instrument that she's threatening me with.

"Oh, shit. I thought it was a plastic knife. Wait, hold on." She leans down and rummages behind the counter that usually holds a nice old lady to seat you at your table. Not a crazy teenage girl who threatens people with ballpoint pens. "Ha!" she yells and pulls out the plastic cutlery.

"Um... that's a spoon."

"Are you serious?" She sighs and looks at the plastic utensil in disgust. "I thought this was... you literally can't see anything down there!" She turns to me again and lets out a sigh. "Hi. I'm Dezzie. I can't find a knife."

"Hi. I'm Carrie," I squeak out. "Please don't kill me."

"Well, I can't really do anything with a plastic spoon, now can I?" She says and throws it halfway across the room. It lands with a broken clatter, and it's only then do I realize that all of the tables and chairs are missing from the empty space. "Now, if it was a fork, it would be slightly better."

"You could prong me to death?" I ask cluelessly.

"Yeah, exactly," She smiles at me for the first time, and it's something genuine and unexpected.

"Yeah, well... I'm not Jason's girlfriend." Thank God. This girl can be downright horrifying if threatened. "I just wanted some food, but-"

"We closed, like, three months back," she turns her back on me and grabs a few things off of the counter behind her. Her purse, a phone, and a bundle of cash. "My parents quit the restaurant business."