Sea Star Summer by Sally Ann Partridge

Author:Sally Ann Partridge [Partridge, Sally Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Human & Rousseau
Published: 2020-04-15T11:11:25+00:00

* 9 *

THE BEGINNINGS OF the bonfire sparkle in the distance, sending wisps of flames into the air. I stand still on the beach, my skirt hugging my legs. A few months ago at school, Becky Spencer wouldn’t stop talking about the beach blaze she and her stupidly large group of friends made on some unpronounceable beach along the West Coast during the April school holidays. She made it sound like they all had the time of their lives, like no other night in the history of great nights could ever compare with that one golden moment.

I was sitting two desks up from Becky when she related the story to her friends in class. I was facing forward, pretending to take notes from the board, but I was listening to every word. I always sneak my phone into school, so during lunch, I looked up the pictures on Instagram. I remember being so insanely jealous that it physically hurt. I could never imagine myself in a similar situation. Beaches, bonfires, friends. It was so far removed from my own life that I could have been an alien watching from a distant planet. It made me depressed for weeks.

It was around that time that I retreated into my books full time, obsessing over female authors and learning their words by heart, even dressing like them. It made me feel good about myself. Perhaps it was even the time I started acting like I’m better than anyone else.

Now here I am, facing a bonfire with my name on it, and I’m too afraid to take one more step.

“Naomi.”

The sound of my own name calls me back to the present, and I start walking the short distance across the beach.

Elize’s face is golden in the firelight, her eyes gleaming precious stones. Marius crouches next to the coals. He looks up, and I blink twice. It’s the same face, just squarer along the edges and a little wider along the forehead.

He smiles crookedly. “Hey,” he says.

My heart does a little jump. They’re just different versions of the same person, one male, one female.

“Hi.”

Elize holds out a brown bottle.

“Obies?” she says.

“Sorry, what?”

“Obies,” she repeats.

I shake my head. “I, uhm, don’t know what you’re saying.”

“It’s Old Brown Sherry,” explains Marius.

“Oh, okay, thanks.” I accept the bottle and take a tentative sip. The liquid is sickly sweet and warm.

The closest I’ve come to alcohol is the annual glass of champagne at Christmas. I know a few kids at school drink. It’s part of the deal of having friends apparently. I take another sip.

“Hey, easy,” she says. “Save some for the rest of us.”

The black waves crash behind us, and I spin around, enjoying the stars and the fire and the sound of the water. But as soon as the smile forms on my lips, it disappears just as fast. I’m uneasy and nervous about the night ahead.

We pass the bottle around, and the more sips I take, the longer the warmth remains in my belly. Marius throws another log on the fire, sending sparks shooting up into the air.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.