At the Beach

Another abandoned fiction of mine

Jack sat on the beach with his plastic pail and shovel. His parents were taking him to the beach for the day, but there wasn't anything to do. His father was sitting on the beach roasting himself in the sun and his mother was reading a magazine with pictures of houses and kitchen appliances. Father was cross all the time now. He used to work lots his mother told him. Father used sell wool to the army for uniforms but there weren't any wars happening so they didn't need uniforms anymore. Now he just looked after a bunch of smelly old sheep.

He grumbled, he wished there were more wars. He would go fight in the wars, that way Father would have work and smile more often. He would say that Jack was a hero instead of a "weak little bugger".

As Jack walked farther along the sand, he came across some large rocks in the water. There was another boy standing waist deep in the foamy white water playing with a crab. Curious, Jack carefully tripped over the rocks to sit on one of the larger craggy rocks. He carefully lowered himself down so that his long legs were dangling in the water.

"Hello there." The boy turned in surprise and smiled. He had shaggy dark hair that went just past his ears. His hair was dark, like his eyes. Those eyes, the pupils were dark and black as tar.

"Uh...Hi. What's your name?" Jack felt suddenly nervous. There was something about the other boy's face that made him feel strange, uncomfortable. The other boy's smile was real, but in the teeth, Jack felt there was something alien. Unable to look the other boy in the eye, he focused his attention to the crab scuttling on the black rocks.

"Well what's yours?" The boy reached over and grabbed the crab by a leg, pulling it closer. His pale arm stretched out and Jack jerked his arm back suddenly.

Jack crossed his arms, disguising the motion. He frowned and splashed his feet idly in the pool. "The name's Jack."

"Really? Mine's...Jaques"

"Your name is Jack? Yeah right. You just made that up now." Jack taunted and looked at Jaques again. What a bloody freak with his weird eyes. As Jaques's skin flushed the crab quickly scuttled further away out of reach of both the boys.

Jaques bristled "Did not, That would be pathetic! Who would want to copy you?"

"Loads of people!" Jack splashed the other boy with his foot.

The other boy smirked and put his hands on his hips, "Like who?"

Jack opened his mouth angrily about to make a smart retort, but once again, words seemed to fail him. It wasn't his fault really, actions speak louder than words and all that. That was another thing about Jaques he didn't like, he spoke like a poof. "Well...at least I don't have a stupid voice! 'Moy name eez Jacks!' "

He spoke in a squeaky voice, a poor imitation of a french accent, and stuck out his tongue. Jaques gave him a look and retorted quickly, "Moi name ez Jack! Oi scare off crabs and can't socialize for shit!"

Suddenly, Jack jumped into the shallow water. "Piss off you bloody wanker, I sound nothing like that!" he raised his fists and Jaques backed further into the water. Jack grabbed a rock with his hand and was about to brain the other boy when he heard an ear piercing shriek from behind him.

"Jack Mundy!" Jack's face fell in horror as he turned his head. The sight of his mother marching towards him in her blue swimsuit was a terrifying sight. Jack was unsure wether to swim for it, or wait for her maternal wrath."What are you doing with that rock? Put it down right this instant and come back here!" She punctuated the last two words by stamping her foot and pointing at the ground by her feet.

Jaques was snickering, "That is your mother? She is a ball of fire!"

If it wasn't for his mother breathing down his neck, Jack would have had some choice phrases, hand gestures, and weapons for that smug kid to have stuck in his face. He was roughly pulled out of the water back onto the hot sand, left in his dripping swim trunks like a wet rat.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry if Jack was rude to you!" She smiled sweetly, a complete change from earlier.

Jack frowned as he heard Jaques suck up to his mom like a toad. "Oh, it was nothing Madame."

"Oh aren't you sweet." Jack nearly gagged, "Okay Jack, you're going back to get some rest. Say goodbye to your friend."

"WANKER!" Jack hollered as a last act of defiance, before being carted off to the metaphorical gallows.