Monthly Writing Challenges

Prompt: Short story about a life guard on a busy beach.

A little girl giggled while splashing around in the water. Her parents watched but they weren't quite paying attention, for she was drifting away and towards the deeper part of the ocean.

She had her little floaties on, but the water was a bit rough today. She giggled and bobbed away, splashing her little brother who was trying to follow her.

The lifeguard was high in his chair, feeling drowsy. He wasn't actually tired, he was hot. He felt sweat dripping down his face and he wished he could take the T-shirt off.

He had the proper swimwear- red swimming trunks- to show off that he was the lifeguard, so why couldn't he take his shirt off? Especially in this heat.

A little further down the beach, a teenager was stepping into the water and splashing back out. She was scared, it was her first time swimming.

Her parents never had time to teach her, and now that they were estranged her boyfriend and his family were more than happy to help.

She laughed as the water stood calmly over her feet, looking back at her boyfriend, who was nodding reassuringly that it was okay.

Eventually, she had splashed into the water, struggling. The lifeguard was on alert, watching her carefully as she learned to swim.

It was heartwarming, and the kids who were floating away had managed to come back in, whether on their own or due to the dad, the lifeguard didn't know.

There was another family, two, actually. They were together, the moms tanning and watching the dads play with their kids. The ones in the water were splashing around and the dads were having a blast. The moms were talking, probably about how it's nice to catch a break and have the men take care of the kids for now.

A group of teenagers walked by, and the lifeguard leaned back. They made him self-conscious, they always seemed to be thinking mean thoughts about him, and he's not much older than them.

They were laughing, and the girls were all smiling. Some of the guys were, but guys don't smile a lot. A few of them glanced at him, catching the bases of his sandy feet, but most of them walked by without a second thought.

One of the blondes looked up at him when they got to their spot. She was pretty, and her bathing suit was the prettiest shade of blue. It was light, so if she ended up drowning- God forbid- he would be able to spot her and save her.

The teenagers sat down, talking and shoving each other around in the sand before taking their affairs into the water. The lifeguard watched them before remembering he had to keep an eye out for others.

He scanned the water, spotting more people inside. There were buoys to make sure people were where they needed to be, and so they didn't actually drift too far into sea.

"Mister!" A little kid calls up, and he glanced down. "Do you have a band-aid? I have a boo-boo!"

With a sigh, the lifeguard climbed down, the stairs creaking and the chair seeming to wobble. It was old and was becoming unsafe, so he had to be careful.

There were more lifeguards, but they cycled through. He always got the rush of the people. His whistle hung around his neck, being the only thing to not stick to his skin.

He opened the first-aid kit and got out a band-aid. He blinked a few times when he saw what the "boo-boo" was. A squirt of ketchup.

He thought about saving the band-aid for someone who needs it, but then figured it was pointless arguing with a child. Especially if their parents were too stupid to double check and wipe it off.

He gently wipes the ketchup off, putting the band-aid around the kid's finger and sending them off to play. He glances up at the teenager learning to swim, and she was doing much better now.

The little kids who almost floated away weren't even in the water anymore, they were eating with their parents.

The group of teens were in the water playing volleyball and cheering each other on. They were the loudest bunch on the beach, but no one said anything because everyone was having fun in their own way.

The beach is one of those places people go to release all of their negative energy and just have fun. It lets people soak up sunshine and possibly make new friends, and it lets everyone relax.

It's a great way to spend a day off, so the two moms catching up had a point.

The lifeguard climbed back into his chair, putting his sunglasses over his eyes. The sun hurt, and he reapplied his sunscreen.

A couple people were scattered across the beach, lots of actual couples with the guy in the water and the girl reading. A group of teenage boys were making sandcastles, and they weren't with the ones playing volleyball.

An older couple came in. Maybe old wasn't the right word for them, they only looked in their sixties. But to go to the beach? The lifeguard changed his mind, the beach is for everyone.

He watched them meet up with a family that was already there, and they talked and laughed and caught up. The grandchildren came running over excitedly, giving hugs and getting presents.

It was sweet to see.

The lifeguard skimmed the water, keeping an eye out for any hands that went up. Kids loved to pretend to be drowning, and he hated that.

He's supposed to act on every call, but he could tell who was and wasn't drowning. He spotted a couple kids watching him, and they were trying to do tricks.

Most water tricks require a bottom from the pool, so their tricks were fruitless, but he was amused to watch them. They spotted him watching, and giggled.

He was used to people trying to impress him, whether it was (kind of weird) little girls or teenagers and women. Not old women, but people within his appropriate age range. He was an adult, but he was just leaving his teenage years behind.

He was active on TikTok, and he's seen all the TikToks of girls who say they were about eight and trying to impress the "cute lifeguard". It was a bit flattering, knowing there were people who thought he was cute from time to time, but he didn't want to dwell on the fact it was mostly kids.

Maybe it was just the fact that kids don't really care and they'll be open about pretty much anything, whereas people his age would keep their crush a secret.

The girl in the blue bathing suit was back where the group was hanging out, and she was reading a book while listening to the others rant and rave.

Suddenly, there was splashing, and the lifeguard's eyes quickly found the source before he slid down the chair, blowing his whistle as he ran across the sand to help the little kid out of the water.

He was okay, but he wanted to make "big waves".

"You can't do that the way you were. You'll have to find another way to make 'big waves', because it looked like you were drowning from my point of view."

"Oh," The little boy looked up to the chair the lifeguard had been sitting in, shrugging. "Okay, sorry."

"It's okay, kiddo. Just be careful next time. Have fun!" The lifeguard resumes his position, propping his cheek up on his fist. It was still hot, and the sun was merciless. Soon, he would get to go home.

He had some snacks up at the top with him, he was secretly munching on granola bars and whatnot, but he wouldn't tell anyone else that.

The one thing that sucked about being a lifeguard is the lack of freedom. You must watch the water at almost all times, also be aware of your surroundings. Make note of who's who and who's with who. Also, keep an eye on the water, obviously!

He closed his eyes, the heat tiring him. He knew he would be released soon, the few lifeguards here switched shifts periodically so everyone had some time to themselves.

There wasn't much to do as a "closing" lifeguard. The beach naturally closed at eight, all the lifeguard did was pick up some trash and leave, there weren't any doors to lock on an outdoor place.

Sure, there was a hotel a few miles away, tops, but that doesn't make them correlated. They actually had nothing to do with each other, but people assumed it was "included in their hotel stay".

The beach owners had thought about partnering with the hotel, since it was such a popular attraction and would get more business, but the profit would be split with the hotel while they were already paid in full for their guest stays.

No, thank you.

The lifeguard opened his eyes, watching people shuffle around the beach. Some people were leaving, as they'd been there all day. Others were just arriving, opening umbrellas and laying out towels.

Dads were heading out to splash in the water and moms were spraying sunscreen on their little ones.

The teenagers who had come in were packing up, and the lifeguard watched the cute girl walk by. She winked at him, and he was glad he was burnt enough to hide the blush.

The little kids who had drifted away were back in the water, ignoring their parent's calls to come out, it was time to go home, and the teenager learning to swim was drying off before the drive home.

The teen and her boyfriend were snacking on chips, the adults were sitting around, having never gotten into the water. A lot of people were just tanning, few people were even in the water at any point.

The lifeguard pulled his phone out, it was almost time to leave. If his replacement was running late, he was screwed. He couldn't leave until someone else had eyes on the water.

He scanned the water again, most people were responsible and didn't drown, but there was always the possibility of that kid who didn't quite know how to swim and those false alarms.

Boys were making sand castles, filling buckets with water to make the sand stick. The castles were pretty impressive, with lots of details and windows and doors and stuff.

One of the boys had begun to make a sand canon, and that took the cake for the lifeguard. His creation won easily. They worked together to complete the village, and some teenage boy kicked one of the houses over.

"Hey!" One of the boys had yelled. They were between ten and twelve, but their work was professional.

"Why would you recreate the loss of your home?" Another yelled as the teen ran away, circling back and threatening them. The lifeguard blew his whistle, and the teenager jumped, looking up and backing away.

The boys easily fixed the house- they were professionals, so it too mere minutes. They called their families over to look at the artwork, and the lifeguard smiled.

It was a nice little village with a castle and some of their sisters put Barbies in it. They kind of ruined the look, but it still looked pretty cool. That was some talent.

A whistle blew below the lifeguard, and he looked down to see Rebecca standing in her lifeguard one-piece. "Come on, down, buddy. You're free."

He climbed down quickly and thankfully, nodding at her politely as she climbed up. "Don't miss me too much!" He calls, walking towards the little hut they clocked in and out of.

His day was over, nobody drowned, and nobody actually got hurt. Finally, he could go home and relax.