Fiction | The Rocket Pod | Adapted Book Chapter

On The Beach

GiaB prompt #2–4: the beach

Simon jogged along the water’s edge, his arms stretched out like the wings of a sea-eagle. He swooped and swerved to miss the reach of the incoming tide.

Rocket trailed after him, lolloping and splashing in the shallows.

Out further, waves were breaking on the sandbar. Up ahead, the rocky reef was in full sunshine. There was still time to explore the rockpools, each one a mini water-world of make-believe.

Simon clambered onto the rocks, leaving Rocket to play in the water and chase seagulls along the beach. The heat of the day had warmed the rocks. A cooling breeze blew across the water and fanned his face.

Simon leaned in low over one of the rockpools intent on finding midget monsters lurking among the sea urchins, cockles, corals and kelp.

He didn’t hear Rocket approach from behind.

He wasn’t ready for the spray of seawater Rocket showered over him with one almighty head-to-tail shake-off.

“Fizz-but!” snapped Simon, spinning around to face his playful mate. “That does it!”

He scuttled across the reef, grabbed a long trail of seaweed, and took off down the beach.

“Are you coming?” he yelled over his shoulder.

A grey and white dart bolted past him and kept going. In no time, Rocket was the length of a football field away.

Then he stopped.

Head down. Nose to the ground.

Simon knew what that meant.

Last time it had been a rotting shark’s head. Just thinking about it made Simon’s guts churn.

He let the seaweed drop to the sand and mooched along the beach towards his dog. He was in no rush to discover the source of Rocket’s latest smellathon.

“What’s got you this time?” Simon asked as he drew near.

Apart from a flick of his tail, Rocket remained nose-first in a dense mat of seagrass. Simon steeled himself for what he didn’t want to see. Swollen human foot. Maggoty rat. Squishy blobfish. Headless cat.

He was tempted to grab Rocket by the collar and haul him away from whatever it was that lay in the seagrass but instead he held his breath, stepped in, and looked.

“Toss it, Rocket!” he growled, a mix of relief curdled with disappointment.

The subject of Rocket’s smell-fest was nothing more than an empty charcoal chicken snack pack.

Simon laughed. “How about this?”

He kicked the snack pack clear of the seagrass and onto the sand.

“In-a-hurry-curry,” he shouted.

Rocket pounced after the box, but Simon was quicker. He batted the box away with his foot. The two of them chased it with Simon yelling, “In-a-hurry-curry,” every time he kicked the box. Rocket joined in, barking and scrambling in the sand.

Before long, the snack pack was ruined.

“Game over,” Simon announced, flaking out on the sand, arms spread wide and his chest heaving.

Rocket trotted over to Simon. His body cast a shadow over the boy’s face. He panted loudly, a big toothy grin splitting his face and his tail slicing the air.

Simon patted the dog’s chest. “Yeah, that was fun, wasn’t it?”

Rocket’s tail beat the air even harder. Simon propped himself up on one elbow.

“What’s that? You want more?”

The words were barely out of Simon’s mouth when he noticed a flock of seagulls flying over the headland at the end of the bay.

“Look at that, Rocky. It’s your lucky day.”

Simon sat up and draped his arm across the dog’s shoulders. They watched as seagulls landed on the craggy rocks at the base of the headland, others fussed about on the sand, and a few circled overhead.

Simon felt Rocket tense.

“Steady boy,” he whispered, gripping the dog’s collar.

Another minute passed. The seagulls settled into sea-patrol mode.

Rocket strained.

Simon released his hold.

“Go for it,” he urged.

Rocket shot off at full throttle. He was among the seagulls before they knew what had happened.

Simon hooted in delight as a fluster-bluster erupted on the sand. A grey and white whirlwind of feathers and fur, whirring wings and lanky legs. The seagulls screeched and screamed in protest.

The scuffle was over as quickly as it had begun.

Rocket was left sniffing feathers left behind in the birds’ panic to escape. The seagulls were already lost against a backdrop of dark clouds building on the horizon.

Simon knew they’d had the best part of the day. It was time to head home.

© Carolyn Hastings 2021

This is an abridged excerpt from my forthcoming middle years novel, The Rocket Pod. When I read Victor Sarkin’s latest Genius in a Bottle writing prompt: the beach, I knew the time had come to share a snippet from my book. How could I not when the story is set in a coastal town and the beach is one of the tropes?

For those of you who read my spin-off short story response to GiaB’s last prompt, first crush, the answer is yes. Yes, the Simon in this story is the one Clare falls for on her very first day at her new school. Simon and his sidekick, Rocket, are my main characters.

The beach scene that I describe here is one of the early chapters of the book. It’s basically working to showcase the relationship Simon has with his dog and their familiarity with their surroundings.

And the answer is again, yes, if you’re thinking there’s some similarities between the rockpool scene and a poem I wrote earlier in the year, The Rockpools of Marengo Reef, for yet another GiaB prompt: being in nature.

Thank you, Victor and the editorial team at Genius in a Bottle for the opportunity to respond to this prompt. 🙏 ✨

Thank you also to Chloe Paulina Hawes, Esq., J.D. for tagging me into the prompt. 🙏 💕 You can read her wondrous poem, Mother Ocean, here –

Thank you all for reading. 🙏 💕

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