Friday Fiction, the return!

Chapter 6

The sand was just as hot as it had been the day before. At the first shady place, Bel sat down. She would have to do something about her feet. But what? All she had was this damn purple shirt. After a while, Bel said to herself, I guess it will have to do. She tore at the seams with her teeth until she was able to tear the shirt in two. She wrapped a half around each foot, doubling it up, so there was some protection. When she stepped back on to the hot sand, it felt warm, but no longer burned her.

Bel felt exposed without her coverup. But, then again, who was there to make fun of her stomach? NO one! Not one judgmental soul was there to see her brown and turquoise tankini So, she thought, I’m just going to concentrate on finding those coconuts.

“What the hell kind of palm trees don’t have coconuts” Bel screamed at the ocean half an hour later. She’d walked down the beach, and up the beach, and looked everywhere, but couldn’t find anything. She didn’t want to get to far from the place where she had washed up, that was probably where the boats would go by, so she carefully watched her trail of footprints making sure they didn’t stretch out too far. She walked back to her original starting place and flopped down in the sand.

About five feet from where she had stopped was a big leaf. On the leaf, was a slimy looking pile of seaweed. It was almost in the same place as the one she had kicked yesterday. She looked at it with disgust, and tried not to think about how hungry she was. What, she thought does this stuff wash up all the time? Could some takeout please wash up next?

Bel wondered if she could catch a fish. People do that, right? It can’t be that hard. But, she thought, there would be a few problems. First, she wasn’t sure if she could kill the fish if she caught it. Second, how would she cook it? She didn’t have a fire, didn’t know how to start one, and it was hot enough that it sounded unpleasant to have. So, great raw fish. Sushi.

On second thought, that didn’t sound so bad. She like sushi in the normal world. Boy, what she wouldn’t give for fish and veggies and rice all wrapped up in seaweed. Wait. Seaweed. That’s edible, right? She crawled over to where it was and looked at it more closely.

It sure smelled that was for sure. But past the briny smell and the nasty odor there was a green smell that reminded her vaguely of grass. When she reached out to touch it, she decided that it wasn’t all that slimy. She tentatively picked up one long piece and tore off the end. She placed it in her mouth.

Fiction on Friday Chapter 5 part 2

Bel turned her head as she heard a quick lapping of water. There, in the water, the calm sea was broken by a shape. Was it a rock? No, she’d heard it move. She strained her eyes to look closer but it was gone in a heartbeat. Ripples marked the place where it had been.

It had been roundish, and wet, and really that’s all she could have said, other than she got the distinct feeling that it had been watching her, and something still was. She sat down on the sand and watched until the sun rose.

As it crested the horizon then sun dazzled the water into a field of sparkles. Bel felt a little hopeful. She was still sure that her boat was on its way. By the time the sun left the horizon, she was beginning to feel a familiar grumbling in her stomach. I’m just going to wait, she thought. I’m sure they’ll have granola bars or something on the boat.

As the sun rose in the sky, it began to shine harsh rays down on the beach. Bel’s olive skin didn’t burn easily, but just to be safe, she decided to sit in the shade until the boat came. Wait! What if the boat can’t see me back here? She wondered, and emerged back out into the sun once more.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, the grumbling in Bel’s stomach had grown to a full on growl. There was no denying it any longer, she was starving. What do people eat on an island, she thought. Coconuts. She was going to find some coconuts, and then she wouldn’t be hungry anymore. Then, she thought, the boat would come.

Chapter 5, Part one

Short this time, I know.

When Bel woke it was dark. Not the city kind of dark she was used to, where there was still enough light to see some things. No, this was an all encompassing, blotting out all hope kind of dark.

The only light is coming from the moon, reflecting from the water. Bel drug herself from the deep darkness and into the moonlight. The ocean was relatively calm and the stillness was almost eerie. It’s a little better out here, she thinks, but a wave of hopelessness crashed over her as she recalled her predicament. Here she was, stuck in the middle of the ocean for all she knew on an island that might as well be deserted, and all she had with her was this stupid purple t-shirt (okay, and her bathing suit underneath, but that didn’t help any either).

As Bel walked alongside the ocean, she thought about what she could do. How could any one person be expected to cope with this? Her only experience with anything like this was watching that movie Castaway, and even Tom Hanks had more supplies than she did. Surely, she thought, when morning came, there would be boats that would pass by and see her. There would have to be. That’s it, she thought, If I just make it to morning, someone will be here to rescue me.

Chapter Four

I must have fallen asleep on the basement floor again, Bel thought. The grainy scrap from her sculpture scratched her face and arms. Mom’s going be mad that I made such a mess on the floor. I must have left the lights on too, but I don’t remember them being so bright! Bel was shocked awake in a second. She was lying on soft, tan sand, not her dirty basement floor. And that was no light, it was the sun! Guessing from its height, it must be close to noon. It all came back to her in a flash. The party, Jonathan’s assumptions, Brianne’s treachery. She had fallen from the boat, but they had been nowhere near an island, so where was she now? She couldn’t have swum there, she had never been any good at it, no matter how many times her father threw her into a lake.

Bel sat up slowly. She had to admit, the beach was beautiful, and, unfortunately, deserted. The water was a perfect turquoise blue, and she could see to the bottom for a long way out. Colorful fish darted between rocks and brilliant coral fans waved in the distance. The sand was indeed soft. The softest she’d ever felt between her toes. The beach stretched a long way both to her right and left. Behind her, there were large palm trees that grew into a thickly forested area. She could see nothing past those trees into the forest. Still, the sun shone down warmly, the waves made a beautiful sound and, if she hadn’t been insulted, ridiculed, and then thrown from a boat, she might have been glad to be there.

If she’d been asked what she would want on a deserted island, it wouldn’t have been her swimsuit and this damn purple t-shirt. She looked to her right and discovered on the sand beside her, a large leaf. On the leaf was a pile of slimy looking seaweed. Bel stuck her tongue out and got up. She kicked it onto the water, careful not to let any of it touch her foot. This place might look deserted, she thought, but through those trees there might be a road.

Sand burrs stabbed her in the toes as she made her way to the tree line. She wished she had some shoes, at least sandals. When she made it into the trees, no doubt, the ground would be rougher. Hopefully that road was right ahead. She made it to the trees, parted some brush, and stepped into the cool shade.

The forest was dense. Unlike any forest she had seen in girl scouts, vines grew thick through the tops of trees. At her level, there was very little room to move. Plants covered every space. The sunlight that filtered through the trees dappled leaves of every size shape and shade of green imaginable. Ants marched in single file over fallen branches. Bel took a few steps in, but she couldn’t see where she was putting her feet. Scared that she might step on something sharp or poisonous, she returned to the beach.

The sand that had been so soft just a minute earlier now seemed like hot coals on her feet. She ran to the water as fast as she could and didn’t stop until she was ankle deep in the cool blue. When it didn’t feel quite so much like she was standing on the stove, she backed up and sat down on the sand. With one foot in the water she massaged the burnt sole of the other. She switched and rubbed the other one. She collapsed backward onto the sand and blew out a long breath.

I’m completely screwed, she thought. I can’t make it through the forest, and it’s too hot to stay on the beach. She glanced up at the sun. Its rays were becoming stronger as the afternoon went on. She knew she would be even worse off if she let herself get sunburned on top of everything else. She decided to retreat to the shade at the back of the beach and think over what she was going to do.

In the shade, the cool, soft sand greeted her like the Egyptian cotton sheets on her bed at home. Just thinking about it made her tired. She tried not to go to sleep but in less than a minute she was out like a light.

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Bel found herself on a lower deck with a balcony. The water was so choppy now that she had fallen against the walls in the hallway a few times, but she had held on to her drink, and her tears. She felt lucky to have found a little solitude on the crowded boat. She had to come through what looked like a bedroom to get there, and she was pretty sure that she wasn’t supposed to have, but she didn’t care.

How stupid could she possibly be? Jonathan liking her? That was about as likely to happen as it was for the pope to be struck by lightning. But on top of that, he thought she was a lesbo? Well that was just the vomit icing on the dirt cake. What had she ever done to make him think that? And why had she even come to this stupid party anyway. She knew she didn’t fit in here. She took a huge drink from her cup. She should be at home, working on that piece in the basement, hanging out with her cat, and being ignored as usual by her parents. Instead she had the stupid idea to get on this stupid boat and hand out with the stupidest people on this stupid planet. She took another sip. And Brianne must have known what would happen, after all, why else would she have invited her. I’m just some big joke for people to laugh at. She finished off her drink. No wonder people call this liquid courage she thought.

It’s not fair! Bel told herself. I’m a person, not just some toy for her to play with. I might be a little chunky, but I’m no circus freak! Just because I don’t fit her perfect little mold of what’s “normal” doesn’t mean I deserve this! I’m going to go let her know that Isobel Dane is no pawn for her to play with! Bel leapt to her feet.

At the exact same moment, the yacht hit an especially rough wave and Bel was thrown against the balcony railing. She thought for a moment that she would be able to just put her feet back down but another wave rocked the boat and threw her over the side.

She clung to the railing with all of the strength she had ever had. She could see the party going on several levels above and screamed for help, but the music was so loud that she wasn’t heard. He fingers slipped on the damp railing. The hull beneath her feet was completely smooth, nothing for her bare feet to grab on to. She couldn’t hold on much longer. She took a breath to yell again, but before she could the boat rocked once more and her hands no-longer held the railing. Her head struck the hull of the ship with dull thud. She fell toward the black water. Before she lost consciousness, she saw was Jonathan, calling her name from the balcony door.