A Walk on the Beach - Jordan

A Walk on the Beach

Hi! My name is Sarah Louis. I have lived in one place my entire life, Washington D.C. Most people think it would make a wonderful home, but it doesn’t. There’s always traffic, too much noise, and there’s always political gossip. I know it still doesn’t sound that bad but you’ll just have to trust me. As I was saying, I have lived here my whole life, and as much as I complain about it I am really glad I live here. I have the best friends, the best school, and I wish I could say I have the best family, but that would be a lie. My parents are getting a divorce. Everyone keeps telling me it is going to be okay because they feel bad for me. The weird thing is I don’t really mind. I knew it was coming from about a year ago when my dad started sleeping on the couch and they stopped talking to each other. I am just afraid that I will be moving away depending on who gets custody of my sister and me. My parents keep telling us that it is going to be up to us because of our age and I think we both agree that we want to live with mom. I mean, think about it. We are two teenage girls and with a dad that just doesn’t click. On the other hand, if I stay with dad I will stay in Washington D.C. and mom plans on moving. It’s a really hard decision that I don’t know if I can make.

Well the custody decision has to be made so I am going with my mom. I am really sad because I am leaving all of my friends and everyone I knew behind in Washington and starting over in Cape Cod, which I think sounds like a boring place compared to Washington. I am also extremely nervous about starting at a new school because I won’t know anyone there and it might be hard to make friends. I know people at my school don’t want to be friends with the new people, so it’s a little bit on the scary side.

We drove all the way from Washington D.C. to Sandywind, Cape Cod. Yes, I know it sounds generic, but surprisingly it was gorgeous! Our house is bigger than the one in Washington and the view from our back porch was even better. We are right on the beach and we come down off our porch onto sand. I was actually happy until my mom said I you needed to be getting to bed soon because I have school tomorrow. Then my heart was in my throat because now it was only a few hours away!

I went to school in Washington for a month so I will be starting my first day while everyone else is already a month into the year. It’s September, so it’s not the warmest out, but I can deal with it because jeans and a sweatshirt is my favorite outfit. Once it really gets cold out it won’t be as much fun though.

When I walked into my first class everyone was staring at me. It made me really nervous so I went to an empty seat in the back and sat down. I tried not to talk because I was afraid I would say something stupid. After a few minutes they forgot I even existed, which I must point out was a good thing to me. I got to second class early so I thought no one would notice me. Then I looked over to the person sitting next to me and I realized he had been looking at me too, and on top of that he was gorgeous! Later in class I found out his name was Derrick when the teacher called on him to answer a question. I was so excited! I got the most amazing guy to notice me without having to do anything but sit there and listen to the teacher.

Then in my third class I noticed him sitting next to me again. This time when I looked over at him he didn’t look away, he just smiled an amazing smile that melted me! I couldn’t believe it was my first day and I was already falling in love with someone I knew wouldn’t ever love me back…. Out of all 8 of my classes, he was in 5; Algebra, Spanish, Language, Art, and lunch. In almost every class he sat by or near me!

That afternoon, at the end of the school day, he stopped by my locker. He asked me where I was from, if I had any siblings, and where I lived. Then he said good-bye and we went separate ways, but I was so happy! I know guys like him don’t just go to a girl’s locker for no reason, but then again he had to have a girlfriend didn’t he? I mean, come on, he’s gorgeous! Well, I guess the important thing was that he came.

The next day at school he smiled at me in Algebra and I smiled back. At lunch, I sat with two girls, Samantha and Allie. They seemed really nice and friendly. They talked a lot about after-school activities. Samantha said that she was going to join the swim team and Allie said she wanted to play volleyball. I said that I wanted to join the tennis team because that’s what I played at my last school and, not to brag or anything, but I was the champion. Then I asked them about Derrick and if he had a girlfriend. Allie said that he did and that her name was Amanda, then Samantha pointed her out. My first thought was wow! Amanda looked so pretty. I knew I could never get a guy that already has a girl like that, but I really liked him so I decided we could be friends.

After the showing of his girlfriend, Allie gave me the whole story of them. Derrick and Amanda have apparently been dating for a few months and seem to be very happy together, but Derrick only sees Amanda’s sweet and pretty exterior and not the real her. Amanda is a rich, spoiled brat, plus she’s popular: A deadly concoction. Truly, the correct definition of Amanda was snob, but that’s not what Allie called her. Derrick is the amazing, athletic, smart, and popular boy. They go together like cookies and milk. That was pretty much what I got from Allie, though she was a little more descriptive.

Later that same day I talked to Derrick a little bit, and the next day, and the next day too! This time though he said he would introduce me to some of his friends at lunch. I was expecting guys, and at first that’s what I got. He took me to his lunch table and introduced me to Brian, Michael, Jake, and Sam. Then he told “the guys” he would be right back and he took me to another table, except this time I wasn’t as happy about it. He took me to Amanda’s table. When Amanda saw him coming and with me, a girl, she jumped up and hugged him. I introduced myself to Amanda along with Rachel, Emily, Katie, and Becky. They all seemed to be very nice, except Amanda. It was obvious she didn’t like me because I was hanging out with her boyfriend a lot. It was also obvious to me that I wasn’t taken as a threat but that was okay because I wouldn’t have seen me as a threat either if I were her.

Amanda invited me to sit down, but I immediately replied, “No, I’m sitting with Derrick today,” and I could tell that bothered her. Then she said, “Then you must sit with us tomorrow.” I decided to say yes because the last thing I needed on my first week was an enemy. Somehow I knew I would regret it.

I walked with Derrick back over to his lunch table where we sat with “the guys” and ate lunch. “The guys” were surprisingly interested in my stories about Washington D.C. and my life there. I enjoyed sitting with them because they made me feel at home. I wish I could sit with them tomorrow instead of sitting at Amanda’s table. Well, I guess it’s too late. I was committed and I believe that people should always honor a commitment.

The next day at lunch, I was walking toward Amanda’s table and I thought about turning and going toward Allie and Samantha, but I didn’t. I walked right over and Amanda pointed for me to sit right next to her. I sat there and I surprisingly enjoyed myself and all of the girls were quite nice and friendly. They even invited me to sit with them tomorrow, and this time I said yes without hesitating.

The next day before lunch, Derrick came up to me and asked if I wanted to do homework with him tonight. I surprised myself by saying that we could do it at my house if he wanted because I live on the beach and we could take a walk when we were finished. Derrick seemed to like my idea, and he said that he would be there around 6 o’clock. Then we walked to lunch together!

I went to sit with Amanda again, but when I sat down I got a rude awakening. I had sat down into a cup of chocolate pudding. My natural instincts kicked in and I jumped up and ran toward the door crying. Then the unthinkable and unbelievable happened. Derrick jumped up grabbed my arm and pulled me close. He told me to wait there and that he would be right back. I watched as he walked to Amanda’s table where they were all giggling. He quickly stopped the laughing and pointing with a very angry side of him. He asked Amanda what was wrong with her and how she could do anything like that to someone like me who had never done anything to her. Then as he turned and began to walk to me he shouted over his shoulder, “I don’t know if we are going to be able to work this out.” That was the end of that discussion. He took me to the lost and found where I got the only pants they had, a pair of blue sweat pants. I couldn’t help but keep thanking him. After what he did for me, he practically ended his relationship with Amanda because he didn’t like seeing her hurt me. After he left to go back to lunch I kept thinking of the awful thing she did to me and that just reminded me of how he stood up for me and yelled at her. This also reminded me of how much I wished he was mine.

Later that evening, Derrick showed up right on time. First we ate a dinner of corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and pork chops. Derrick gave his complements to the chef, a.k.a. my mom. After dinner, we went up to my room and did algebra and Spanish homework together. While we were doing this I finally realized how smart he is. After our homework was done, we decided to take the walk on the beach. We hadn’t walked far when we began playing a game of tag. Derrick was it, then I was it, then Derrick again…. It went like this for a while because we weren’t really trying hard to get away from each other. Then when Derrick was it, I took off running down the beach, but he was quick to follow and was right behind me. Then I tripped on a pile of drift wood that I couldn’t see because of the dark. I ended up lying on my back facing up toward the sky. Derrick slowed down and walked quietly up to me. He peered down at me from above with a big smile on his face, poked me with a stick, and said, “Tag, you’re it!” I laughed but I didn’t get up so he lay down beside me.

We lay like that, staring at the stars, for a long time. Then he said, “They remind me of you.” I was a bit shocked by this and confused. After a few seconds I asked, “How?” He replied, “They are so beautiful and amazing.” I could feel myself blushing. Then Derrick grabbed my hand. When I could feel that he was looking at me I looked over at him too. We stayed there staring at each other for a minute and then he kissed me. I was so surprised and it was so unexpected that I didn’t really kiss back, but either way, it was a kiss of a lifetime! Then he looked back at the sky and whispered, “I think I love you.” This was more than I could handle…. It took my breath away…. When I could finally breathe and speak I muttered, not wanting to hear the answer, “What about Amanda?”

Hearing this, Derrick got to his feet, and for the first time I saw him look sad. He had always seemed so happy and smiling, always, but now he looked sad. Very sad. He looked down at the sand, then up at the sky, then down again. Finally he said, “I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure what to say next and he could tell. Finally, I said, “We should be getting back soon.” Derrick looked at the ground again and began to walk back the way we had come from. I caught up to him and took his hand, and we walked that way the rest of the way home. The only bad part about it all was the feeling I got when I thought about tomorrow and Amanda.

The next day at school, I couldn’t help but notice that Derrick was smiling at me more than usual. Then lunch time came and I knew this wouldn’t be fun. I sat down at Derrick’s usual table, but he didn’t. He sat down at Amanda’s and he didn’t look happy. He sat right next to her and started talking. I couldn’t hear because it was too far away and I’m not good at lip reading either, but I watched intently. After a minute, Amanda broke out in tears and Derrick got up and walked over to me. He sat down and started eating like nothing had happened. I asked what they were talking about even though I already knew. He told me that he broke up with Amanda because she wasn’t his type. She was mean to girls that were his friends, and she was in the way of something much more important to him. Then I said, “Want to do homework at my place tonight?” I paused. “We could go for a walk on the beach afterwards.” At that very moment I knew I was starting a very interesting chapter in my life.




Okay, I thought maybe I could give you a little bit of what happens in the rest of my school year at Sandywind. Amanda became my first and only enemy at school and Derrick and I are still together and will be for a really long time. Amanda tried to start things because she despised me for, as she would say, “stealing” her boyfriend. I never did let her do so, but she sure did try. I finally adjusted to my new school and made many friends. Over all, moving wasn’t such a bad idea.