Role Reversal

9. Stubborn Refusals

It didn’t take long to trudge down the grassy hill and walk along the stone-paved path to get to the golden beach. As soon as we were at ground level, I took off my sandals and held them in my hands, and ran straight towards the sea, enjoying the feel of my feet sinking in between the soft grains of sand that separated the land from the water.

Continuing to sprint at full speed under the hot summer sun suddenly lifted my spirits and I let out a yell of happiness. Such freedom was almost like a rare gift, considering that I always had school and homework to occupy my time. I don’t think people realised how much stress, pressure and hard work that teenagers have to deal with.

Because of our age, we’re ignored and underestimated; our problems tucked away in a box labelled the ‘Awkward Years’. Although the cliché of our how our parents ‘don’t know how we feel’ is overused and stretched and rinsed so much that its lost all meaning, it doesn’t make it any less true. And even though the phrase ‘we were teenagers once too, you know’ has been heard so many times it’s almost unbearable, parents can’t seem to understand the fact that so many things have changed since they were teenagers. Society, technology, music, the world.

Nothing’s the same anymore.

I stopped running and bent over, putting my hands on my knees, and panted hard, trying to catch my breath. But even though I was already sweaty and hot, and gasping to take in as much oxygen as possible, I couldn’t wipe the delighted smile off my face. I’m free. For a while. Collapsing onto the burning sand, I pulled off my sunglasses and squinted out to the sparkling sea, breathing it all in. I blew out a satisfied breath and started to pull off my shirt.

“You’re so pale. And skinny. Why would I ever pick you to be my boyfriend?” Megan’s pointed statement temporarily broke me out of my dazed reverie, and brought me crashing back to the reality of why I was even at this beach in the first place.

Although I was confident in my body - pale I may be, skinny I was not - Megan’s snide comment had struck a chord in me. Not only had she broken one of the rules of our ‘contract’, she had also insulted my abs; my guns. The Adrian juniors!

Folding my shirt neatly in a pile and placing it on top of my towel, I stood up and stretched, flexing as much as possible. Not to prove a point to Megan, just so that I wouldn’t get a cramp in the water, and risk drowning. “What did you just say? ‘Cause all I heard was you begging me to tell your parents the truth,” I retorted, while pulling my arms high above my head and arching my back.

I watched Megan’s face as various emotions flitted across her face until she understood the meaning behind my words. I chuckled darkly and ran a hand roughly through my hair, bringing it back to my forehead to check out the sea. “I’m gonna go for a swim. Wanna come, darling?” I asked teasingly, already walking away from her, knowing she was going to say no.

“Nope, I’m good here.”

I knew it.

“Chicken!  You’re such a coward. Or are you afraid of messing up your precious hair?” I joked, now walking backwards and shouting back at Megan at the same time. And people say men can’t multitask.

“I can’t swim, asshole!” came the tart reply.

I almost tripped.

Well I didn’t know that.

“Are you serious? What are you, three? Just get in!” I cried, turning around and jogging towards the inviting water lapping at the edges of the sand.

“No way! I don’t want to drown, so I’m staying right here! And don’t you dare make me, or I’ll-“. She cut off mid-sentence, probably realising the mistake she was about to make, and corrected herself. “Just leave me alone,” she muttered, barely audible, and crossed her arms.