The Mystery of Oceanview

I was never the most popular girl in Oceanview, let me just be clear on that right off the bat. Being the mayor’s daughter, not the prettiest or skinniest, and wearing glasses almost confirms that it’s a given, but right now I feel like it’s a little more noticeable. Especially with Olivia Crewson’s raspberry infused lemonade dripping down my body.

I feel it against my back and stomach as it seeps through my bathing suit and hits my skin, instantly turning sticky as the hot summer rays beat down on me. The fabric clings to my not-so-flattering frame, showing off all the imperfections the dry bathing suit was hiding. Some of the lemonade drips down my face, having coated my hair in a sticky mess that will no doubt attract all the bees in the Oceanview area. My summer is really looking up.

The plastic cup hits me in the chest and falls to the ground with a clatter, the rest of the contents slowly trickling onto the sand under my feet. Giggles ensue and Olivia’s hearty laugh rings through the beach, drawing eyes. I feel heat rise to my face, and I’m grateful for my already sunburned cheeks that can hide the embarrassment from my face.

“That’s for your dad,” she sneers as she walks away, her posse following close behind.

They all pick up their bags and blankets, and make their way through the crowded beach to find a spot to soak up the rays to darken their already perfectly tanned complexions. What snobs.

I sigh as I pick up the plastic cup, the message for my Dad about his new law very clear. Stop ruining the summer by making the beach eco-friendly. Message received and will be delivered as soon as I get home. Thanks for the new rules, Dad.

As of last night, Oceanview beaches are now places that you can only bring a refillable metal bottle or refillable metal cup past the sand line. Anything else is to be left in your car or discarded in the proper recycling unit before entering. The Riptide Cafe cups are no exception to this law, and neither are plastic water bottles, fast food cups, or foam slushie cups.

No one is happy about it. The beach is one of the best places to have a picnic with your store bought food that’s already portioned out in neat little containers. My dad is more focused on the town’s pollution contribution and safety, though. Being his daughter makes me an easy target for the angry, angsty teens that can’t have their iced, non-fat, skinny, coconut milk, vanilla lattes with three shots of espresso while they chill on the beach. What’s a girl gonna do?

“Hey, Jo!” A hand touches my shoulder and almost instantly pulls away. No doubt having felt the sticky, sugary coating that has dripped and begun to dry there. “What happened to you?” the familiar sounding voice says in disgust.

I turn around to see Alexander Flint: long time best friend, long time pain in my rear end. We grew up together, always had the same classes, and lived just around the corner from each other. He was the awkward, scrawny kid who would ride his bike with a helmet and always carried a first aid kit strapped to his back. I was the one who always dragged him to go do stupid things. It was a great dynamic, until he hit puberty.

Before June twelfth of that fateful year, no one wanted anything to do with him. Then suddenly . . . BOOM . . . all the girls are fawning over his newly found muscular frame and gorgeous green eyes. It wasn’t an overnight transformation—and trust me much of it wasn’t pretty—but when it happened and they all started to notice, boy did it become annoying. He was accepted by every group in school and out. The jocks loved him, the drama geeks, the art kids, the science and math nerds, the neighborhood college kids, the parents, everyone. Just because of testosterone he was everyone’s favorite guy. He didn’t even talk to any of these people, he would just sit and listen to them, still does for the most part. Except if I’m around. In that case, he usually tries to talk to me, and drags me into inclusion. I am not a fan if I’m being honest, but at least he hasn’t dropped me as a friend.

“Oh. You mean this?” I gesture to my splotchy bathing suit and pose, “Thought I’d try out a new look, courtesy of my best friends,” I say, nodding very pointedly at Olivia and the other’s laughing as they hit a volleyball back and forth. I turn to look at them and I feel the heat creeping up into my face again as one of the guys laughs and points at me. I instantly feel the need to cover myself up. I’m not the thinnest girl around, I never have been. I’ve always had meat on my bones. In other words, my thighs touch and my stomach hangs over my waistband a bit.

Understanding lights in Alex’s eyes. “Not fans of the new law, huh?”

I shrug and start making my way to the recycling bins. Alex follows behind me, his surfboard in hand. He’s no doubt been here since the beach opened this morning, ready to catch some waves and hang ten, and whatever else the surfers do. He tried to explain all the terminology once, and I just got lost.

“You want me to have a talk with them?” He leans against his surfboard, staring down at me with his ocean like eyes. There he is! Big protector Alex here to save the day. He’s always felt like he needs to make up for their being mean to me. Sometimes I wonder if that’s the only reason we’re friends still, because he pities me. He assures me it’s not. I don’t know if I believe him though.

My eyes trail over to Olivia, who is smiling at me with her devilish grin, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. She reaches into her PINK backpack and pulls out a plastic water bottle, which she takes a long sip from before placing it on the sand next to her. Her eyes never leaving me as she does so. Always the rebel, always the lawbreaker.

Don’t get me wrong, my father can go overboard on his laws and legislation. After only five years of being mayor, Michael Bovelt IV has passed two hundred laws for safety, and that isn’t easy to do. Especially when it came to some of his more extreme laws. Want to swim an hour before or during high tide? Four hundred dollar fine. Want to try and scale the monument in the town square? Two hundred dollar fine, plus two months of community service. Think you can get away with climbing the ledges by the water so you can jump into the sea? Three hundred dollar fine and two nights in the town’s shabby prison. Like I said, excessive? Maybe. But he’s still my father, and more importantly, he’s still the mayor. And what the mayor says goes.

I turn back to Alex, who is looking at me expectantly, having seen the whole exchange.

I shake my head. “No, just let her get fined. Besides, with my luck it will come back to bite me. Everyone can see you clearly hang out with me, you know.” I gesture between the two of us to demonstrate my point.

“If you say so.” Alex shrugs and nudges me with his muscular shoulder, stooping a bit to reach my own. “Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving. My treat.”

“Fine, but only since you’re treating.”

He chuckles, “Anything for you m’lady.” He gives a dramatic bow with a flourish of his hand.

He has a big heart, I’ll give him that. Always has too. Like when we were in second grade and Oscar Morton stole my lunch, Alex shared his with me. Or when Lance Webber ripped his pants in the ninth grade and Alex lent him his pants and went around in his gym shorts the whole rest of the day. He got detention because school had uniforms back then, but he took the hit anyways, knowing full well what was coming to him.

No matter how bad the situation, he knows how to brighten anyone’s day. It’s one of his many charms. That and being unbearably attractive . . . or at least so says all the other girls. I certainly don’t think that about him. He’s just a good friend. But he can brighten my world even when no one else can.

I’m about to start heading to his truck, Lola (Don’t ask), when he starts making buzzer sounds and holds his hand up. His hand touches my shoulder and retracts quickly like before. I roll my eyes and cross my arms.

“What?” I growl.

“But go get showered first, I don’t want you getting lemonade all over my seat.” Alex pats my head, his hand sticking for a second before ripping some of my hair out as he removes it.

I cringe and rub my scalp, glaring at him. He gives a sheepish smile before he urges me along with a gentle push to the small of my back. I roll my eyes, but head to the showers to rinse off. Maybe this summer will start looking up.

Once I’m clean I head back to Alex’s truck. I’m sure it’s roasting inside with the black exterior and the black leather interior it has probably turned into an inferno by now. I look around but Alex is nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I carefully lean against the bed, making sure that only my clothing is touching the scorching metal. I close my eyes and let the sun beat down on me, a cool stormy breeze blowing my hair dry from the coppery smelling water.

“Oh look, she finally covered up that hideousness,” I hear the sneer and I instantly know who it is. Olivia is standing by the edge of the sand, a lifeguard and police officer next to her. A ticket is being written with her name on it. The plastic bottle from earlier, plus a few more plastic containers rest in the lifeguard’s hands. “Maybe you should try looking into the sun for a little while, you might destroy your vision enough to get laser eye surgery. Then maybe you’ll feel more inclined to work on yourself.”

Alex comes up behind Olivia, an angry scowl on his face. “First off, laser eye surgery doesn’t work like that, and second, don’t you think you should be focusing on that ticket. Maybe they can explain to you what those pictures mean, cause clearly you can’t read.”

Olivia’s face turns red. I don’t know if it’s from anger or embarrassment, but it’s definitely not her color. Alex chuckles as he walks towards me, leaving Olivia to fume and fuss. She has always had the biggest crush on him, and I think she targets me the most because he still chooses to hang out with me, a bottom feeder, than with her. I’ve learned to enjoy the little moments when it comes to the Olivia front. Every battle is one step closer to winning the war. What war that is? I don’t know, but she is going down no matter what.