The Beach

Up until then it had been one of those great days, the kind of day that someone would write a song about in years to come. The gang had gone to the beach with a guitar, a ball, a create of ale, lashings of suntan lotion and that gorgeous feeling of not having to study anymore. 8 people who could live for the moment, forget about exam results, forget about the fact that gap years and university would soon send the gang to all corners of the globe

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Joe had spent the day digging a hole, he’d joked about reaching Australia. But the others began to think he was serious after seeing the dedication he was putting into it, if he’d worked that hard on his exams he’d be going to Cambridge not Milton Keynes technical college. 

‘We could bury you in that’ laughed Tom.

‘Like to see you try’ said Joe – it was a challenge that Tom couldn’t resist, he nudged Eddy and between them they started filling the hole Joe was standing in.

Everyone was laughing including Joe, he was giving only token resistance. It was almost as if he had dug the hole hoping that someone would then bury him in it.

Before long only Joe’s head was visible, Emma lit a cigarette and popped it into his mouth, while Eddie put a sunhat on Joe’s head. Camera phones were clicking and laughter filled the air.

But then the gang became aware of screams and shouts from the promenade, they looked at what the fuss was but the bystanders seemed to be waving at them.

They felt the problem before they saw it as cold water started lapping at their feet. So engrossed had they been in tightly packing sand around their friend that they hadn’t noticed the tide rushing in.

The girls screamed as the boys panicked, they all dug at the sand with their hands while Joe wriggled trying to free himself. The sea was beginning to lap Joe's neck more regularly, making the sand he was buried him more gloopy and gluey. Digging it was just causing it to fall in on itself, each handful dug away would reform around the stricken teen. Laughter had turned to tears, fun to fear and the song to a potentially sombre newspaper article. 

They were powerless, nothing that the gang were doing was helping the situation, their frantic efforts were fruitless; Joe’s body was still immersed in the sand and the sea was now regularly enveloping their friend who was really beginning to panic, tipping his neck back to stop the water getting into his mouth and nose.

Just when all seemed lost, two burly men appeared from nowhere and pushed the two hapless, breathless boys out of the way. They were dressed in lifeguard gear and were built like Olympic swimmers. Within seconds they had delved their hands in the sand, located Joe’s armpits and then, with a one, two, three yanked a very relieved young man from the muddy sand.