Betha+-+Clare



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As I stared out at the waves that I had just been riding, I noticed how dark it had gotten. I usually stayed out late at the beach, and my mom knew that, but tonight I decided to stay out later than usual. The beach was amazing at night. The moon and all of the stars looked more magnificent reflected in the water, the way they flowed with the waves. That’s why I loved surfing so much, I got to flow with the waves, and see the water as part of me instead of a cold, wet, region that surrounds the earth. I guess I almost felt like it was a blanket. There for comfort when I needed it. Water supplied so many beautiful things. The tide pools that I visited frequently were one example. You could see every creature in the crystal clear pools on the rocks. They were perfect to draw in my sketchbook that I brought to the beach everyday. The beach had so many interesting scenes. Like the other day, a man got attacked by a shark and needed to be saved, and the day before that, I noticed for the first time a girl on a horse that, when I asked, came to the beach every day. I guess sometimes I’m so caught up in my own world that I don’t notice anything else. I loved this beach so much, and that’s why I became so upset when a group of boys from my freshman class started coming to the beach and began destroying one of the shoreline’s few nonpareil beaches. They were the same annoying ones that made fun of my pale skin and my unnaturally lime green, catlike, eyes. I tried to ignore them most of the time. ======

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As I was walking back to my house, I picked up the trash as I went. It was then that I noticed a small black outline a couple yards away. I looked at it for a moment then slowly approached it, and as I got closer I realized it was a bird: originally white. It looked like it had been covered in oil so I shrugged off my towel and gently picked up the struggling bird. I walked home with it cradled in my arms. When I got inside I noticed a note from my mom saying that she was at another party for work and would be back later. Well, at least I wouldn’t get in trouble for being home this late. I took the bird upstairs to our bathtub and filled it partway with lukewarm water. I anxiously placed the bird in the water, hoping it wouldn’t cause a commotion. To my pleasure the bird floated calmly in the water, so I started to clean the black substance off. I had to empty and refill the bathtub a couple of times so I could wash the bird with clean water. Just as I was drying the bird and draining the bathtub for the final time, my mom walked through the door.Yelling to me that she was home, she walked right past the bathroom where the bird and I were squatting and closed the door to her room. Well, I guess the bird was staying with us for the night. ======

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Before me and the bird rushed out of the house the next morning, I had to clean up any evidence that the bird was there the night before. That meant getting up extra early, trying to keep the bird quiet (now that it wasn’t covered in oil, it was quite loud), and cleaning up all of the darkened water that was splattered around the bathroom. Those tasks weren’t meant to be done in the morning, trust me. ======

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I was so tired I just decided to ditch my first two classes. They weren’t that interesting anyway, just advisory and gym. Instead I just took my time walking to the beach with the squawking bird that was sure to wake the neighbors. Once I got to the beach, I realized I wasn't the only one who had decide to ditch this morning. The annoying guys from my class were there and just as I stepped on the beach they looked over at me. Great, now they ======

can make fun of me at school for carrying a stupid duck around, I thought looking down.
I started walking the other way, hoping they wouldn't follow me. But with my luck, of course they follow me, calling my name the whole time. Finally, I just turn around and ask what they want, knowing I looked rediculous with the duck in my hands. They look like they're about to crack up at my image and just as I was about to flip them off, the duck jumps out of my hands. I try to run after it, but surprisingly, ducks are really fast. It headed towards the group of boys and bites the one closest to me. Now this was way to funny and I couldn't help giggling as the guy layed in pain on the grainy sand. His little possy starts laughing too, until the duck starts going after them. Then they just look terrified. By now I was laughing so hard I was close to falling down. The group of boys were now trying to back away slowly from the duck, who was squacking loudly once again. God, this just kept getting better. So get this, just as they were backing away, a cop clears his throat. The guys look surprised to see the cop there and I did too. These guys couldn't really actually be stupid enough to get caught by the cops. Then I saw what they had in their hands. Beer bottles that were half empty. They seemed to realize that that was what the cop had caught them for and started blabbering protests all at the same time. While they kept at their excuses, the cop asked me if I was alright. I said I was fine, 'cause I was, and looked over to see the duck wobbling back toward the water. I excuse myself and go help the duck slowly into the water. Behind me I heard the cop take the guys away to the station and soon the beach was silent again except for the sound of the waves rhythmically hitting the sand. I was sad to see the duck paddling away, but I guess that's part of life. Yes, I know what you're thinking: how much more cheesy could this girl get. Well, for your information, that duck had just scared the crap out of those annoying boys, and I had a feeling that, if that duck had stayed with me, those boys wouldn't even come near me. And that's why I came to say that I was sad to see the duck go. But, little did I know at the time, that duck would come and visit me every single day after, begging me for food and then just walking around with me. He even posed as a model for my drawing a couple of times but none of them were finished because, as you can guess, ducks don't always stay still. So, that's how I spent most of my days, and that's also why my mom got a call from the school saying that I ditched one too many times.... oops. Well, she didn't actually get the voice message 'cause I deleted it, but she doesn't have to know that. *wink*