Beach Day

“Elijah let’s go! You don’t need to pack your entire room. We’re only going to the beach!” I yell at my brother. 

“OKAY ELLIANA!!! Let me just pack my floaty and my goggles and my-“ 

“ELIJAH YOU’RE DONE! NOW LET’S GO!!!” 

“Now, now kids. Let’s not fight. We’re going to have a day full of fun, so don’t waste it,” says Dad. 

“Well then tell Elijah he doesn’t need to pack everything in his room!” I tell him. 

“Elijah, we’re leaving without you,” my dad says. 

Yeah, that should get him to finally come out of his room, I think. 

“Alright, alright, I’m here. By the way Elliana, you’re not the boss of me. You heard the

‘not’ part, right?” Elijah says in my face. 

“EW! Get a mint, dude!” I tell him. 

I’m pretty sure I watched him eat an onion bagel for breakfast this morning. 

“Let’s get in the car, everyone!” says Mom. 

“Want to race?” asks Elijah. 

“No, no I do not want to race. Ask dad, I’m sure he’ll say yes,” I tell Elijah.

***

We’re looking for a spot to set up all of our stuff when Dad says, “Over there! That’s a really good spot!” 

We all run over to where Dad points. The ocean isn’t too far from it, but it’s not too close either. All of us drop our stuff onto the sand while Mom and Dad set up the umbrellas and towels. 

“Elliana, can you-” 

“No, I’ll go in the ocean with you later,” I say. 

“You take the fun out of everything. Party pooper, over here!” Elijah says. 

“Like you don’t,” I tell him. 

He has the nerve to roll his eyes at me. 

“Elliana, go play with your brother, please,” says Mom. 

We go into the ocean and start splashing each other.

***

“OWW!” I yell. 

My foot burns really bad and I don’t know why. I watch my brother run out of the ocean so I decide to follow him out. 

“What happened, guys?” 

“I don’t know. My foot burns a lot. And why did you run out of the ocean, Elijah?” 

“I saw a jellyfish!” he says. 

“Oh. So that’s why my foot burns.” 

“Elliana, why don’t you find a bathroom and…you know what to do, right?” says Mom. 

I sigh. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Eww,” Elijah mutters. 

“Hey, I heard that!” I say as I walk toward a bathroom.

***

I had a really fun day except for the jellyfish sting. I’m actually surprised I didn’t cry. But anyways, I’m back at my house with a Band-Aid on my foot, watching TV. And Elijah is right next to me, eating popcorn. But he’s chewing with his mouth open. 

“Okay, can you like not?” I say. 

“Not what?” he says sarcastically while laughing. 

“You know what I mean! Now stop that!” I say. 

“Fine.” 

I hope that jellyfish sting heals up fast.

Shayna Khutorsky is a 12-year-old from South Florida. She loves to read, write, paint, and play the piano.