4th Place Entry by: Sunnyforever1234
Perfect
Tears ran down my cheeks. I blinked them back. I was shipwrecked like the heroes of all of my childhood stories, but it was real, right here, right now. Standing on an uncharted beach, it was all too much! "Chels, you okay?" I turned around to find Natalie. Her normal tough girl face showed a hint of concern and uncertainty. "I'm okay, just a wee bit homesick." I replied. Natalie nodded and left. I sighed and turned back to the endless ocean. I had lied. I wasn't homesick one bit. I was frustrated, my family had been farming our whole lives, but I had never been taught. So here I am. 20 years old, uncomfortable, unloved, unknown. The 'un's' seemed to go one forever. Plus, how would you feel if you were forced to farm with absolutely no experience. But I knew pouting wasn't going to do anything about it. So I picked up my seed filled rucksack, and headed to my farm. As I walked up, I smiled and waved a Vaughn, who turned away. "What a shy boy," I thought, "He must have had a rough childhood."
Standing determined in my fields, I started to sow my seeds. At about 6 pm, I decided to call it a day. I wiped my sweating forehead with a cloth, set my hoe and watering can in the rundown shed, and opened the door to the rickety shack I called home.
I woke up the next morning to a knock on my door. I scrambled out of bed to open it. Expecting to see Julia or Gannon, I looked up, but instead, I had to look down on Taro's bald head. He said, "Chelsea, I found and old fishing rod and I know you'll get more use out of it then me." He handed me an old looking fishing rod, and set off. I stood in my doorway, in my nightgown, looking down on the contraption. After watering my plants, I found a large rock near the bank of the river near my house, found a couple worms, and sat down to fish. By 7 pm, I had caught an enormous amount of fish. Happy with my catch, I put the rod away and lugged the fish to my shipping bin. I gave the crops one last look over before hitting the sack.
Day after day my schedule stayed the same. Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, water my crops, dig up worms, fish, look over crops, ship fish, eat dinner, and sleep. It seemed I'd be living my life to that tune when one morning, my life changed forever. I was eating some cereal when I heard a knock at my door. I got up and opened the door. Expecting to see Taro, I looked down. "Uhhhh, what are you doing?" a voice asked. I stepped back to find a tall man, carrying a fishing rod and smiling. I just stared at his face for what seemed like forever. "Hi, I'm Denny!" the man said, breaking my fantasy. "I'm Chelsea." I smiled and said. The two of us smiled at each other until Denny broke the silence. "I heard a large amount of fish was shipped from here and I wanted to find the wonderful person behind that!" I started blushing uncontrollably. He was cute, sweet, and positive! He was absolutely perfect, even though I had just met him! "That'd be me" I giggled. He gave a little chuckle too. "I'm going to live in that shack on the beach from now on. I heard the island used to major in fish shipping, so living here would be perfect! Stop by for a visit if your on the beach, 'kay?" He said. "Okay!" I smiled. And with that he was off. I waved good-bye blushing like crazy.
I began to feel like a teenager falling in love. I stopped by to see Denny often. Sometimes, I would show him my catch of the day. I also met the idol Lanna. The two of us became close friends. But I started to feel that maybe she was trying on Denny too. Whenever Denny and I were talking, she joined the conversation. And even worse, she always had something more interesting to say. Much better that my stories of growing up in a condo with my brother, Mark. Lanna told of her journey in pop stardom. Doing little dances and singing lines of her hit, "Into your Arms"
I wanted to set things straight, so I called her up. The Island was growing, so we decided to meet at the Diner. I came in my plain Orange tee shirt, yellow vest and red boots. She showed up in her lacy green dress and her matching headband. I sighed, wishing I had money for things like that. We sat down at a table and ordered drinks. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about, Chels?" she sung in her girly voice. My hands trembled around my drink as I said, "Look, I know we're close friends, so would you mind if you told me if you like…" I hid my face. "Like who?" Lanna asked, "Denny?" I looked up, surprised, but nodded slowly. Lanna giggled "As a friends, yes, as a guy…well, a little." I looked down into my drink at the unflattering reflection. "But if you want to date him, I'll stay out of your way." Lanna smiled. Both of us looked at each other and laughed. I was relieved. If there was one thing I never wanted to do is to fight over a guy with my best friend. Just then, the diner door opened Lanna and I saw a tired Denny walk in and sit at a nearby table. "This is your chance!" Lanna whispered. I looked at Denny, who was ordering his food. I sighed "Are you sure?" I whispered back to Lanna. "Of course!" she replied and gave me a wink. "Okay" I said, "But you have to come with me." Lana looked at me with a look that said "Are you kidding me?!" But she agreed. The two of us got up and walked over to the table where Denny sat. He was receiving his food. "Wow, that's certainly a big heap of food ya got there, Denny!" Lanna giggled. "You meeting someone?" I asked nervously. I looked at the food set on his table. Everything from fried noodles to cheesecake, he could never eat it all alone. "Nope," He said "Just got back from a fishing trip and I'm starving!" Lanna looked disgusted. "You've got to be kidding me!" She said "You'll get fat like your little birds!" She laughed so hard tears steamed out her eyes. Denny and I exchanged a glance. "Well, Lanna," I said, "Denny's a working man and he needs his nutrition!" "Huh?" Lanna asked, wiping a tear from her eye. "He needs that food" I smiled. "Well, you two stay here, I'm tired and I need to call it in for the day" Lanna giggled. She winked at me, grabbed her purse, paid for her drink, and left. "Sit down and help yourself!" Denny said. "Uhhhhh… Are you sure that I…" Denny laughed "It's okay, girl" I sat down on the seat across from him, but ate little. The two of us had such a great time. When we were finished, I helped the waiter clear dishes, and met Denny outside. "How'd you enjoy your first date with me?" He laughed. I stared at him as I did when we first met. Did he mean it!? "Y-Yes…Yes I did!" I laughed. And, as if we had the same thought in our heads, he held me close, and walked me home. In the starry night he left me at my front door. But I couldn't help myself. I ran and stopped him in his tracks, and kissed him. That moment locked in time. I wanted it to last forever, but when it finally ended, he smoothed down my bandana, smiled, and left blushing. I sighed. He really was perfect.