Catalina Island

Catalina Island

For my class. I remember this so clearly.

The waves lapped the shore,

Discreetly destroying the island,

Piling up more shattered rocks and shells -

Onto the land of dreams.

The kayaks lay uselessly in the sand,

Slowly inching forward towards the - salty water

As if they were yearning to be able to move again.

The fireplace stood to a side,

Burnt black - ashes drifted in the late summer wind -

Flakes of the past swirling around the landscape.

The volleyball court was planted in the sand -

With laughing children knocking the ball back and forth

Their teasing and jokes echoed across the valley -.

The pearly white tents stood far up the shore.

They created a semi-circle, welcoming people inside.

Girls and boys dashed in and out, some of them suspiciously

Coming out from the back of the tent. Others dashes across

The small space in between the tents,

pulling pranks - and giggling -

A loud bell rang, and the happy children milling around filed around an odd pepper tree -

They sat on the bent trunk and chatted away happily.

A man came out of a small blue building,

announced a few things and then gestured them towards the house.

Some leaped off; others slipped down the pepper tree -

and rushed towards a side door.

They created a messy line. A perfume of delicious food -

Wafted through the door. The children kept chattering excitedly. Suddenly, a yell came from inside the building. They scrambled through the door.

A few minutes later, they filed out, holding plates of food.

They settled themselves in a dining area with a

Perfect view of the beach. A few of them pushed together

Tables and the whole herd plopped down around the cluster of round tables. They started playing a game.

Each and every one of them revealed a small Secret, inspecting their classmates when they react to their answer.

Once the children finished up their sweet-smelling food,

They rushed to their inviting tents, emerging a

few moments later wearing various swimsuits -

They spread their towels across the sand, smoothing

Wrinkles. A group of boys continued spiking the ball over

The net, occasionally missing. Then the boy would let loose a long string of colorful words.

The teachers scowled at them but stay in the shade.

Girls gathered around an assemblage of towels,

Playing music loudly as they chatted in the baking sun.

Other boys sat and talked quietly, sometimes glancing

At the other crowd. After a while,

they complained about how bad the girl's music - was.

The group just waved them off.

A long moment after, a lifeguard showed up.

A few people dashed to the life jacket bin.

Others plunged directly. Most children waded through

The water slowly, complaining loudly and laughing

At the same time as they plunged further into the salty - water. Some swam further away,

Towards a white dock. Others floated near the shore.

Some scavenged for shells and crabs.

Some just stayed on the beach, occasionally creating

Small sculptures with wet sand.

Another bell rang, and once again, the children filed

Into their appointed tents.

They came back out in clothes, their wet hair swaying in the light breeze. They clambered to the east of the beach.

Jagged rocks pointed outwards as the waves

buffeted them violently. The group climbed over

Effortlessly. A man passed out sticks with squids

Transpierced through. The children waved them over the water. Ugly eels jumped out of the water,

Snapping at the squids - which drew a gasp from

The crowd squeezed around the small half-circle of

Rocks. After they were satisfied that they have seen everything, the group retreated to the beach.

They were served a delicious dinner and ushered off to bed.

They chattered quietly for an hour or so,

then settled down for the night.

Well after curfew, a girl crept outside, grabbing her

Book - blanket and flashlight.

She sat on the small front porch Of her cabin.

Her flashlight shone across the letters as she flipped through the pages. She froze when she heard a high pitched grunt. She shone her light to the sound came from.

A baby deer with her hide Sleek brown that shines in the light tilted her head curiously. When the girl moved forward,

The baby scampered to her mother.

She grunts once more and they dash into the

shadows of the trees.

The girl stares off for a moment, then closes her book.

She turns off her flashlight and wraps her blanket tightly around her. She silently made her way

To the beach, her footsteps as light as feathers.

She sat in the sand, looking at the full moon ’s reflexion on the water.

The consistent crash of the waves made her relax.

She just kept staring. After a long moment,

She stood up, brushed off some sand and dropped off her blanket onto a nearby chair.

The girl walked towards the beach.

She let her feet touch the water and walked across the beach several times. She walked faster and faster until she was speeding across the sand.

The girl trips and falls onto the sand.

She lets out a long happy laugh that could be heard

Across the whole island.

The girl laid there for a while to catch her breath.

Then she picks herself up, brushing sand off her.

She walks back to her blanket, then jogs to the pier.

The mysterious miss stares on the horizon from the pier.

She admires the landscape until God knows how long.

The girl watches as the sun goes up.

Her classmates started pouring out of the cabins and

Saw her on the pier. They shrugged. They thought that she woke up every morning really early.

But they didn’t know that she went to bed really late.

Nobody joined her. Her friends sat in the corner,

gossiping happily. The all-nighter girl just sighed.

She took her book and started reading on the pier.

She paused from her reading and looked at the

Sunlight glinting off the water.

The girl wished she was alone on the beach at twilight again. She sneaked out every night. Sleep was

Certainly not important to her during the night.

During the day, she would regret her choice.

But most of the time, she thought that

staying up was worth it.

Everybody thought she was a crazy loner that was just plain

Weird and a complete introvert.

Who knew somebody had so many secrets?

Author Notes: All of this is true. I, indeed did take midnight walks by the ocean. You should do it sometime. It's so comforting.
Anyway, for everybody in my class! Oxygen, H2o, nepenthexwriter, egnimaticflamingo, Krypton, rose, Lise_D, all of you guys and many more! Hope you enjoyed.

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