She swam by me, she got a cramp
He went by me, got my suit damp
Saved her life, she nearly drowned
He showed off, splashing around
Summer sun, something's begun
But uh, oh those summer nights
Sandy Olsson had grown bored of her family vacation in California. About a week and a half in, she was over it. All her parents did was gloat over celebrities they can't touch. It was time for her to get out and spend time by herself for a while.
"Mum, Dad! I'm heading down to the beach, okay?" Sandy yelled from the upstairs of their rental home. "Now wait just a minute, young lady." said Barbara, her mother. "Where do you think you're going all by yourself?"
"Awh, Mum" replied Sandy. "I'm seventeen now. Can't you trust me?"
"It's an unfamiliar environment, Sandra", Sandy absolutely hated it when people referred to her as 'Sandra'.
"I promise, mum, I'll be safe"
Sandy threw on a bathing suit and a cover-up, and headed out the door. She brought a sunhat, a towel, and a small novel. The sun was pretty nice out, and luckily the rental home was close to the beach.
Sandy arrived, kicked off her sandals, and stepped off the sidewalk into the warm sand. It was a bunch of people here, she thought. She hoped she didn't stand out as a tourist. She walked around a lot, and eventually found a spot to settle. She carefully placed down her towel, making sure to smoothen the bumps, and went to rent an umbrella.
Sandy never really liked the water, but she decided to take a break from her book and examine the shore. She took small steps into the water, grimacing with every one. She tried to ease herself into it, until-
Splash! Splash!
Sandy shrieked at the sudden sensation of cold water.
"Hey!" she called "Hey! would you quit that!?"
"Alright, Alright. Cool your jets, would'ya? It's just water" taunted the one who had been accidentally splashing her. It had been some doe-eyed, greaser boy. Sandy had seen greasers before. There are some in Australia, all coming in different flavors, but all sporting that same hairstyle.
Sandy was mildly irritated. She did not plan on getting her suit damp so soon. By the looks of it, she thought he was probably showing off; splashing around to impress a couple of girls. Well, she was already kind of wet; might as well try to go all the way in.
It was the most uncomfortable thing ever, the water sending little shivers on her waist. Sandy kept it together and eased until the water got higher and higher. She thought she'd be used to it by now.
A small wave came in and pushed Sandy back to bring her forward. It lifted her off of the sea floor a little bit, and it was actually kind of fun! She would make short hops do it again. Each time she did it, the wave would carry her out even further. So far until Sandy's toes did not touch the ground anymore. The water was up to her ears now, and she started to panic. Not knowing how to swim, she started to frantically kick and flap her arms. She tried to pull herself back to shore, but she was going nowhere. Her sides cramping up only made matters worse. Another wave caught her in the face, and accidentally went up her nose. Sandy began to cough and bring attention to herself.
"Somebody help! I think that girl is drowning!"
The lifeguard caught sight, blew her whistle, and began to climb down the ladder. The greaser boy, the one who had splashed her earlier, had taken notice, and believed the lifeguard was not acting fast enough.
Drawing his attention away from his girls, he grabbed a stray floating surfboard .
"Hold on! Don't panic I'm comin'!", he held the surfboard out to her. "Grab it!"
Sandy obliged and gripped onto the board, and began to be pulled slowly back to shore. She found her feet being able to touch the ground again, and her panicking subsided.
She was on her hands and knees, coughing up a little of the water she had accidentally swallowed. The boy held hid hand out to her, helping her stand up.
"I think you saved my life" Sandy chuckled, "Really. Thank you so much!"
"Hey" said the greaser, "You nearly drowned. It was the least I could do"
"Thank you, again" Sandy put out her hand, "I'm Sandy, by the way"
"Well hello, Sandy" the boy smiled, and shook her hand, "I am Danny. Danny Zuko"
