1000 Memories

Chapter 11

As we drive down to the beach in Jo’s car, I can already start to feel the beach vibes. Jo had lowered the hood of her sports car so the wind blew in our hair as we drove than the road. Maggie and Jo are seated at the front and Emily and I are seated at the back. We sing to ‘Hair’ by Fifth Harmony at the top of our lungs and as we get closer, I can already smell the ocean. There are lots of people dressed in bikinis and shorts also heading to the beach.

It is so much hotter today than any other day since I’ve been here, and it’s no wonder why everybody is spending the afternoon at the beach. We park at the side of the road and as soon as I step out of the car ,I feel the cool ocean breeze on my skin. We all stand there for a while taking in the view before getting our bags from the boot and head over to the sand. The beach is so packed and every good spot is already taken.

“Come on, I’ll show you a nice spot on the other side of the beach. This place is too crowded.” Jo says as she starts walking to the opposite direction and we follow.

We find a sport on the other side next to a huge rock that is offering the perfect shade. There are fewer people on this side compared to near the entrance.

Jo and Emily immediately throw their beach bags on the ground and excitedly run and dive into the water before coming up and giggling and laughing like little girls for their first time on the beach.

Maggie and I put up the big beach umbrella we had carried to provide shade before laying down our towels to sit on. I take out my sunscreen and start applying it all over my hands and legs, because nobody wants to get a sunburn. I watch as little kids run around the beach making sandcastles, adults watching the kids as they talk and laugh amongst themselves, teenagers ,and young adults sitting in groups sipping on their cocktails and others walk along the beach and swim in the water. A few people are also surfing the huge waves that come in from time to time. I lay back on my towel and bask in the warm sun.

‘Oh, I could get used to this,” I say out loud.

‘I know right!” Maggie says as she gets up and runs to join Jo and Emily in the water.

I get my phone from the bag and FaceTime my mom. She starts to miss the beach when I show her how much fun we are having. She makes me promise to take as many pictures as I can, and send them to her. “I also want to feel like am at the beach, and those pictures will definitely help with that,” she jokingly says and I laugh. After talking for a while, I hung up just as Emily comes back to the shade and I run off to join Maggie and Jo in the water.

As soon as my feet touch the ocean water, I start to feel cooler. I crouch down for the water to cover my whole body and I stay there enjoying the feeling.

“Cindy, come over here!” Maggie calls to me and I swim over to them as they were much further out into the water than most of the other people. Maggie and Jo had already brought out their surfboards and were just sitting on them as they wait for the waves to get bigger. They both really love surfing and are really good at it. They even won first and second runners up respectively in a surfing competition that they entered last summer. Jo has been surfing ever since she was fourteen and Maggie only started at nineteen so they both have years of experience. I on the other hand would never dream of surfing because I really don’t like the waves, especially those big ones that look like they are about to swallow you up and then spit you out. I never even learnt how to swim until I was twenty one years old, and that was because my brother Phil always made fun of me about that, and bullied me into signing up for swimming classes or he would tell everyone that I don’t know how to swim. I know, I know, you can laugh, but I always had a huge phobia for water.

 I join them and sit on Jo’s surfboard as she jumps back into the water to swim. We tell stories as we watch the waves crushing over the rocks on the shore. Emily is lying on her towel under the shade and we assume that she is probably taking a nap. The hot sun quickly dries the water on my skin and so I drop into the water and start swimming back to the shore. Maggie and Jo say that they’ll wait a little longer so they can surf ,but later change their minds and follow me back to the beach as there are too many people surfing the waves. Emily gets up to apply more sunscreen on herself as we approach.

It’s almost 3.00pm and by this time we are so hungry. Luckily we had carried some sandwiches from the refrigerator to eat since we had not had any breakfast. Jo goes to order some cocktails for us at the fruit and drinks bar. She comes back balancing all for on her arms and sets them down before starting to eat her sandwich.

We decide to sit and watch people and take pictures and selfies ,as we wait for people to come back to the shore before we go back into the water. It has become too crowded.