by KB Benson
The other surfer paddles a foot behind me, but gains momentum fast, trying to snake his way in front of me to claim the wave. I pull myself harder and cut him off by a fraction of an inch and reach the take-off zone just as the wave forms. The other surfer falls back to avoid interfering with my wave—an automatic disqualification—as I pop-up to a standing position and bottom turn to trim the optimal surf line.
I carve the wave face riding it up toward the crest and cutting back toward the shoulder. The smooth water lifts my board in the direction I want to go with only the smallest shift of my weight. We’re in this together, the ocean and I. My fingertips graze the water before I turn my board toward the crest and punt into an aerial. When I land, I cutback to get on the surf line again to finish at the shore break. The wave wasn’t the best, but at least I’ve got one in the bank and can retry as others form.
I step off the board and lift it up in one fluid motion, heading back out to the line-up to wait for the rest of the waves.
At the end of the heat, I head back to where Iris waits on the beach, shaking the water from my hair. A series of cheers and hollers follow as I pass fans and then settle down next to her.
“Jace, that was fantastic,” Dotty squeals. “I can’t believe that jump, and you took more than half of the waves. You’re totally getting first place.”
“Thanks, Dotty.”
Meghan touches Dotty’s shoulder and her attention diverts away from me. I clear my throat and lean in to Iris so the others don’t hear. “You look really nice.”
“Thanks.” Iris’ eyes sparkle under her dark lashes. “You’re not too shabby yourself.”
I glance down at my wetsuit and laugh.
The rest of the competition passes in a blur as my attention is monopolized with the girl sitting next to me. When the final surfer returns to the shore, the crowd goes wild and rushes the water like a stampede of rhinos. They announce the winners, and I hit fourth place which isn’t too bad for the first competition of the season.
“How are you feeling?” Iris asks.
“About the competition? I’m happy with my score.”
“That’s not what I mean. I mean from last night.”
“Oh, better,” I breathe. “Are you sure you weren’t in the water last night?”
“Jace, c’mon, I’m not dumb enough to think it’s safe to swim when there’s a storm. But apparently you are,” she laughs.
I bump her with my shoulder. “Hey now! Is that really called for?”
She shrugs. “I don’t think I’m ever going to let it go.”
I roll my eyes. “Bring it on.”
She tucks her hair behind her ear and looks over her shoulder. A growing line of patrons forms at the Snack Shack’s small window.
“Do you want something to eat?” I ask.
“Sure.” We take maybe two steps when Iris grabs my arm and yanks me backward. “Be careful!”
“What?” I look around for the cause of her alarm, but I’m only surrounded by sand.
“Jace, that was close. See that right there?” She points to the water. “That’s water and it’s probably a bad idea to get in it when there’s a hurricane.”
I push her away from me. She really isn’t going to let this go. Bending low, I throw Iris over my shoulder and lift her into the air.
“Put me down!” She kicks her legs and beats against my back, but there’s a smile in her voice. “It’s not my fault you can’t tell the difference between calm and dangerous water.”
“That’s it!” I spin on my heel and head toward the water. “This water is calm, right? I think we should try it out.”
Iris’ body goes rigid in my arms. She kicks her legs with more force and pounds against my back. “Jace?” Her words lace with panic. “Jace, put me down. Jace, I’m not kidding, let go of me.”
My pace slows but only by hair. “I think it’s time you get a taste of your own medicine.”
“Jace, stop. This isn’t funny! Let me go.” Iris beats against my back and her voice shakes with terror.
My feet splash into the water; and Iris curls up as high as she can away from it. She holds her legs up and out of the way, but still scrambles to get me to let her go.
“Please, Jace, please don’t.”
The water brushes my ankles, at least Iris could stand here. Why is she so afraid? She stares wide-eyed at the churning water as though she watches her own death. Her eyes catch the water’s reflection and send a display of sparkles across my skin.
With a deep breath, I back out of the water again.
“It’s a good thing I like you.” I set her feet on the dry sand, my hand brushing against her soft skin. The moment her feet touch the ground, she bolts up the beach.
Well, that couldn’t have turned out any worse. Glancing around to find no one, thankfully, noticed our scorched first date, I follow after Iris. She slips into a wooden changing room and locks the door behind her. She bustles behind the closed door, banging into it a few times.
How had I screwed this up so badly? I rap on the door a few times. “Iris, are you okay? I’m sorry, I was just messing around.”
She doesn’t answer. Instead, a towel falls on the ground. I step back and tip my head to the side as her hands tear the towel off the floor. She scrubs at her dry legs.
My heart leaps into my throat as the door unlocks and swings open. Blood rushes to my cheeks—spying on Iris in the changing room. Although, the gap between the room’s door and the ground really doesn’t give anyone a whole lot of privacy.
Iris rests the door on its latch behind her back. Her brown eyes catch the sunlight—dark, calm, normal.
“Hey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you hated the water that much.” I step toward her and she presses her back against the changing room.
She stares at her painted toes almost shameful. “It’s okay. It’s weird for someone to live here and not get in the water at the biggest beach party of the year.”
“Only a little.” I offer Iris a smile and she relaxes. “Want to try again? Not the water, but our non-date?”
Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Iris nods. Our gait is slow as we wander back onto the sand. Iris wraps her lacy cover-up tight around her waist and folds her arms. Her dark hair falls across her chest, brushing her elbows.
“I have an idea. Lie down.” I gesture to the sand.
Iris narrows her eyes at me. “Mmm, why?”
“Trust me, it’ll be fun.”
Unsure, Iris lowers herself to the ground and lies on her back. She flinches a little as I toss handfuls of sand on top of her; but within minutes, she disappears underneath it all. I press the damp sand together so it sticks in a shell around her body.
I step back, admiring my work. “You know? I can get payback for your nonstop mockery of my near-death experience last night besides throwing you into the ocean.”
“Oh, you mean when you foolishly went out into the ocean mid-storm where you obviously had a two-percent chance of living? Yeah, I remember that—”
Dropping to Iris’ level, I place my hand over her mouth and sit on the mound of sand rising from where her body used to be. She squirms but makes little progress breaking through the barrier of sand.
“You, Iris, are trapped.” I curl my hands together maniacally and laugh, “Muahaha!”
She stops squirming and furrows her brows. “You are so weird.”
“Hey, you brought this all upon yourself.”
She wriggles underneath the sand until her hands break through. Pushing herself up, I leap off her and the sand encasement crumbles.
“That was fun.” Iris brushes sand off her cover-up. “Your turn.”
“Uh, uh, I don’t trust you that much.”
She points to the spot where she’d just lain. “I had a turn and now it’s your turn. I can do payback, too.”
She touches my shoulders and pushes me to the ground. It takes her longer to build her sand shell, mostly because I keep moving to make it
fall. A few times she sighs in frustration and even threatens to bury my face if I don’t hold still. Finally, she finishes.
“Hang on.” Iris darts away.
“What? Why?” I call after her, but she doesn’t answer. I lift my head to check out her handiwork and my jaw drops. Not only did Iris bury me but she gave me a whole new body: a female body. A few seconds later she shows returns with another guy in tow, Tomas from my math class.
“Kay, stand right there,” she orders Tomas. She lifts her foot onto the mound of sand and then raises her arms and flexes her muscles. I glance at Tomas just in time for the flash of a phone.
“Ah, man!” I pull myself up and out of the sand before he has time to take another photo. Iris dashes to Tomas and takes the phone, thanking him.
“Hand it over.” I hold out my hand.
“No way, this is my blackmail on you if you try anymore payback for my ‘mockery of your near-death experience.’”
I lunge for the phone, but she smoothly pulls it out of my reach. She glares at me jokingly, “Uh, uh, this is mine.”
“You’re evil,” I say.
She raises her brows and smiles. “You have no idea.”
“Hey, Iris. Jace. What are you doin’ out of the water? It’s perfect today!” Chase shouts as he runs into the oncoming waves.
I ignore him but Iris’ stare burns into me. “You can go get in, you know. You don’t have to sit out here for me.”
The water laps the shore as though calling to me. “Nah, I’ve already been in today. I’d rather hang with you.”
Iris tucks her hair behind her ear exposing her flushed, almost sparkling, cheek. She stares out at the water as though she’s dying to get in, to just give in to some internal pull.
“Are you sure you don’t want to get in? You look like you’re dying to.”
Iris’ head snaps up as though I had interrupted a serious conversation in her head. “Oh, no. I can’t swim.”
“Ah.” I nudge her side. “I do believe I owe you swim lessons.”
She laughs lightly. “No thanks.”
“What? Don’t you trust me?” I ask, feigning offense.
“Of course I trust you. It’s just not for me.” She wraps her arms around herself, shutting herself off from the conversation.
I don’t believe Iris can’t swim. I saw her; I’m positive I saw her dive off the dock last night even though she denies it. But why would she lie?
Chapter 10
JACE
The rest of the weekend blurs together, nothing able to compare to my first non-date with Iris. We’d stayed at the beach until the sun set and most of the remaining visitors stumbled around drunk. I offered to drive her home—the entire day together not quite long enough—but she preferred to walk.
After suffering through Math, I race to Mythology. Luckily, Candee put herself in charge of bringing the mosaic. I totally spaced it was due today.
“What do you think?” Candee snaps her gum while holding the mosaic up for display.
“It looks sweet,” I say. “Did you finish it over the weekend?”
“Yes. Well, I was completely stressing out yesterday when I remembered it was due today. And then, out of nowhere, Iris shows up on my doorstep offering her help. I would’ve said no, in fact I should’ve said no; but I was nervous about it not looking pristine in time so I let her in. We finished it in a few hours. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
I nod. Every piece of sand, ornament, whatever, is securely placed in the perfect arrangement. The dried flowers Iris brought in to use as the Lotus Blossom fit into the mosaic better than I originally expected. The petal’s deep red makes it almost disappear into the background as it floats along the water; but like the rest of the mosaic, the closer you look, the more details you find.
“Yeah,” I say. “Hello A-plus.”
Candee squeals and claps her hands together. “We make a good team, you and I!” She holds her hand up for a high five.
“Yeah, and Iris.”
“Oh, yeah, Iris, too.”
I slap her hand.
“Alright, now quiet down, class,” Mr. Demonas calls over the chattering voices. “I hope everyone has remembered to bring their mosaics because today is your only opportunity to present them.”
I scan the room; everyone seems prepared for the most part.
“Each group will come to the front,” Demonas continues. “Tell us the materials you used, the image you intended to make, and the meaning behind your project. Every member of your group needs to participate and present a portion of your project.” Mr. Demonas scans his roll list. “Cameron,” Mr. Demonas says abruptly, “how about your group goes first?”
Cameron sinks in his seat and glances at his group mates. Together, they rise and shuffle to the front of the classroom.
Cameron clears his throat. “Well, as you can see, we did our mosaic on the Cyclops, Polyphemus.”
Two of the group members hold the mosaic high for the class to see. A giant eye stands out on the page pieced together from a shredded baseball, the center of which is a giant hole leading into darkness. Cameron explains how they hung a dark cloth behind their mosaic to make the eye of Polyphemus appear to go on forever.
“This,” Cameron explains, “represents the blindness Polyphemus suffered when Odysseus shoved a stake through his eye. His darkness went on for forever and made it impossible to contain the crew.”
As I look closer at the mosaic, small details behind the eye come to life. Small balls of cotton cover portions of the page, representing the sheep Odysseus used in his escape. But what actually catches my eye is the massacre Cameron and his group have created at the base of their mosaic. Having used red glass, red glitter, and some sort of red dye the group depicted the corpses and bones of the men Polyphemus ate before Odysseus led the great escape. I shudder at how real it looks.
The group tells the story of Odysseus’ encounter with Polyphemus, quickly lists the materials they used and the symbolism, and then they take their seats. Mr. Demonas scratches some notes onto a pad of paper and then calls up the next group.
I glance at the clock; a quarter after the hour and Iris’ seat is still empty.
Each group has chosen a different topic, and luckily none have chosen the sirens. They each get up, explain their piece and then sit back down. Four groups go before Mr. Demonas says, “Alright, Jace. Your group is up.”
“Okay,” I hesitate. “Actually, Iris isn’t here yet. Could we go last so she can present with us?”
“I’ve already spoken with Iris; she will not be in class today. She’ll make up this assignment at a later time. Please proceed.”
Candee and I make our way to the front of the class.
“We wanted to do something really unique,” Candee starts. “So, we have chosen to portray the sirens in their natural environment.” Candee steps aside and stares at me as though I know what to say. I widen my eyes at Candee, but she faces the class and smiles.
“Yeah,” I say. “Sirens are dark creatures. Creatures who feast on mortal men and lure them in with lust. Their plan of murder is dark and so is the world around them. In our mosaic, we surrounded the sirens by this darkness. Our siren looks up to the moon, the one natural element that will make her even more beautiful. The moon reflects her beauty, making her stand out. She’s the first thing you notice when you look at our mosaic, and that’s the same as the men who she imprisons.
“If you look closer, you’ll notice gold ripples shimmer in the water around her island. Although she doesn’t move, the ripples show something is off; something’s not right with these beautiful creatures and it disturbs the water. Although these creatures look like perfect women, they hide their deepest secret: their true purpose, the death that surrounds the island of the sirens.” I point to the skulls littered around the edge of the island.
“We thought, maybe, the sirens work with the island of the Lotus Eaters to draw in their prey. Look into the river. What do you see?”
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The class leans forward in their desks, searching the mosaic. After a few seconds, I point to where Iris’ flower sits.
“This Lotus Blossom is also hidden; it’s something you don’t notice when you first look at the mosaic. All the sense and reason men typically have is completely forgotten as they give into the siren’s song. The siren acts like the Lotus Blossom forcing men to surrender themselves to the song, to the island.”
My gaze drifts across the class; everyone’s eyes glue to our piece. To Candee’s credit, doing the sirens was a really good idea. She steps forward taking her place to speak, and hands me the mosaic.
“In creating this mosaic, we used crushed up shells for the skulls and ornaments for the ripples in the water, the siren’s hair, and the reflection of the moon. The moon is made out of gum wrappers to give it a shimmer and make it reflect the siren. Her body is made out of tiny blue beads and her tail is done with tinsel. The main material we used, however, was magazine clippings.” She shrugs when she finishes and the class breaks into an applause.
“Very impressive combining two elements into your project,” Mr. Demonas says. “You portrayed the siren very well. I’m especially pleased you captured the death and destruction which follows a siren. For if you were ever to meet a siren, it would have been better for you to have opened Pandora’s Box.”
Did Demonas just give us praise? Too bad Iris missed this because getting his praise is probably a once in a lifetime event. I hope she’s okay.
The rest of the groups present, and we finish class with five minutes to spare. Mr. Demonas gives a final clap as he makes his way to the front of the room.
“I want you to know I’m extremely impressed by the amount of work you have all put into your pieces. I am very satisfied with the results this year.”
A loud creak interrupts his wrap up as the door cracks open. A girl with bouncing blonde curls walks in. “Excuse me,” she whispers to Mr. Demonas. “I just have a quick announcement.”
Mr. Demonas nods his approval and steps to the side.
“Hey, everyone!” The girl’s cheery voice fills the room and every head turns in her direction. “I’m Makayla, the Senior Class Vice President; and I just want to make sure everyone knows about the school talent show. It’s in about a month and a half and you can do anything. We have some people signed up to do musical pieces, others are doing comedy. I don’t know if any of you know Mike Billinger, but he’s showing off his talent to balance objects on his chin; and let me tell you, you’ve never seen anything like this before. You won’t want to miss this or your chance to participate. There are auditions just because the assembly can only be an hour, but we invite any talent to come and try out. Signup sheets are on the bulletin boards around the school. Just sign up for a time, and we’ll see what you’ve got—thanks guys!”
