SHORT STORY

DUE:
April 27th, 2011



The sky was dark with just a bit of blue light shimmering across the water. There were stars only beginning to shine their gentle glow upon the sandy beach where I stood. The sand was crunching through my toes and it stung across my legs as the cooling breeze blew across the flat landscape. The lantern was warm in my hands and let just enough light out to see the edge of the waves flowing ashore. I missed home like a mother would miss her new born if it were taken away. That's how I'd describe this feeling. I felt like home was ripped from the palm of my hands; like it fell through my fingers like the rocky sand on this new beach. The sounds of the gulls was calming just like the ebb and flow of the water, but it was nothing like laying around in the soft grass, just laughing with your friends. For a country girl like me, it wasn't even close to being the same.
My home was Chattanooga, Tennessee and don't forget to really let the WAS soak in. This new home is called Old Orchard Beach, Maine and let me tell you, I was not a big fan. Although I had just moved in, I already wanted to take the first transportation out. It was so bad, I would fly if I had too, and I hate planes. My family seemed to really enjoy it. They would spend all day on the beach while I walked the board walk to look for people to make new friends with. Everyone seemed like they were either really young or teenagers which fit perfectly with me, seeing how I'm seventeen. The only good thing I found about this place was that they had a huge amusement park down the street from where I now lived and there were so many stores, finding a job wouldn't be so bad.
As I walked through the amusement park, licking my vanilla soft serve, a young guy approached me. "Hey" he said, grinning with his pearly white teeth. "Uh hey." I replied from him startling me. "I heard you're new here. Everyone's been talking about it." I looked at him with surprised eyes, "Really? That's odd, seeing how I just moved in last week." He smiled, "Well, there's a lot of kids around here in this small area, don't be so shocked." I laughed, "Haha, oh well. I'm Lorin." "I'm Jake, it's nice to meet you." I could feel that awkward moment coming on and I was praying he wouldn't ask me to hang out with him. "Cute accent." He said, sticking his tongue out. "Oh thanks, I guess." I said with a smile. He looked away and then looked back again, "Well, a couple of my friends and I are going on some rides if you want to join. It would be fun." I didn't know what to say as I stared for a second, "Hum, sure. Let me just throw this thing away."
It turns out, carnival rides are totally my thing, although I almost ended up with my head in a trash can for the rest of the night. Jake's friends left earlier and I was kind of glad because they were extremely annoying, in my opinion. "Well, I should probably get going soon. My parent's will freak." I said. Jakes eyes narrowed and he suddenly blurted out, "I'll walk you home." I hid my smile behind the sleeve of my Boston Bruins sweatshirt I got from an old friend from Massachusetts, "Haha, sure sounds good." We started walking down the street and I began to get the feeling Jake was going to be a really good friend of mine. Well I mean, he is like my only friend here, other than his friends that I just met like an hour ago. "So did you have fun tonight?" He asked with a nudge. I shrugged, "It was alright I guess." Jakes smile blurred to a frown, "Oh okay." I couldn't believe he took me seriously, "Of course I had fun! I'm glad we met." He smiled, "Me too. That's why I decided to talk to you." I stared at our feet, noticing they were both moving at the same time. Left, right, left, right. I looked up at the sound of a car horn. "Oh, that's my street right there." I staggered. Jake laughed, "Sea Shell Road?" I shot him a dirty look, "Got a problem?" "Oh of course not, it just fits to well and you just don't." I could see him looking at me from the corner of my eye. "Is that a bad thing?" I questioned his statement. "Not at all. You just seem so out of place here." I had to agree with him. Living by the ocean didn't seem all that great. It was going to get boring quick and I knew that for a fact. We walked to my house, number 24. "Well thanks for introducing me to people and stuff. It gave me something to do." He smiled at me, "Anytime, you're really fun. Want to hangout again soon?" I had this weird feeling inside, like this whole thing was supposed to happen. Like this whole meeting Jake process would change my entire life. I nodded, "Yes, I'd love too." "Alright sweet, so I'll see you soon." He gave me a quick hug and turned around to leave. "See you later." I said with a smile. He turned around and winked, "Maybe, new girl."