Beach Bully by Jake Maddox

Author:Jake Maddox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 9781434259738, 9781434262066, Fiction, Jake Maddox Sports Stories, Sports & Recreation/Water Sports, Boys & Men, Social Issues/Bullying, Social Issues/New Experience
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Isaac sat up in the shallow water and coughed. He rubbed his eyes, which burned with the salt and grit of the ocean. When he opened them, he saw a figure running across the beach toward him. He squinted and realized that it was the lifeguard, in his red and white shorts.

“You okay, newbie?” the lifeguard called to him.

Isaac nodded and tried to say “Yeah,” but ended up coughing some more.

The lifeguard shook his head. “You really shouldn’t be out here so early,” the lifeguard said. He turned and headed back for his chair. “If you’d hit your head, you could’ve drowned.”

“Sorry,” Isaac said. He headed for the sand, dragging his surfboard behind him.

“Don’t be sorry,” the lifeguard said. “Just don’t be stupid. If there’s no lifeguard on duty, don’t surf — especially if you don’t even know how.”

The lifeguard pulled out his phone and started poking at it. A moment later he was chatting away.

“Hey, Canada!” a voice suddenly yelled from up the beach.

Isaac groaned. Glancing up, he saw Jackson and his whole crew stomping along the sand from the harbor, right toward Isaac.

“My name isn’t Canada. It’s Isaac,” Isaac said. He crossed his arms across his bare chest, suddenly very aware of how pale his skin looked compared to the tans of the local surfer boys.

“I don’t care what your name is,” Jackson said. He came to a stop right in front of Isaac. “You’re on my beach.”

“I am not,” Isaac said.

“Didn’t we go over this yesterday?” Jackson said, glancing over at his friends. “Because I thought we did.”

Isaac shook his head. “Your beach is over there,” he said. He pointed over Jackson’s shoulder. “That’s where you guys were all surfing yesterday.”

“Ah,” Jackson said with a grin. “I see. You’re still confused. When I said ‘my beach’ I meant the entire beach. All the way from the Mexican border up to your home country of Canada. Get it?”

Isaac looked at his feet. “That’s not fair,” he said quietly.

“What?” Jackson said. “Speak up, Canada.”

“I said that’s not fair,” Isaac repeated, speaking much louder this time.

He stared at Jackson, clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt. He realized he was struggling not to cry.

“Too bad,” Jackson said. “My beach, my rules.” He reached out with both hands and shoved Isaac’s shoulders.

Isaac wasn’t ready for it, and he fell backward, dropping his board and landing on his back in the sand. His elbow landed on a ragged rock.

Jackson’s friends cracked up. With one last look at Isaac, the crew of local boys grabbed their boards and headed for the water.

Isaac sat there for only a moment. Then he grabbed his stuff and walked home as fast as he could, his surfboard under his arms.

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