Beach Bully, page 2
Isaac nodded and tried to say “Yeah,” but ended up coughing some more.
The lifeguard shook his head. “You really shouldn’t be out here so early,” the lifeguard said. He turned and headed back for his chair. “If you’d hit your head, you could’ve drowned.”
“Sorry,” Isaac said. He headed for the sand, dragging his surfboard behind him.
“Don’t be sorry,” the lifeguard said. “Just don’t be stupid. If there’s no lifeguard on duty, don’t surf — especially if you don’t even know how.”
The lifeguard pulled out his phone and started poking at it. A moment later he was chatting away.
“Hey, Canada!” a voice suddenly yelled from up the beach.
Isaac groaned. Glancing up, he saw Jackson and his whole crew stomping along the sand from the harbor, right toward Isaac.
“My name isn’t Canada. It’s Isaac,” Isaac said. He crossed his arms across his bare chest, suddenly very aware of how pale his skin looked compared to the tans of the local surfer boys.
“I don’t care what your name is,” Jackson said. He came to a stop right in front of Isaac. “You’re on my beach.”
“I am not,” Isaac said.
“Didn’t we go over this yesterday?” Jackson said, glancing over at his friends. “Because I thought we did.”
Isaac shook his head. “Your beach is over there,” he said. He pointed over Jackson’s shoulder. “That’s where you guys were all surfing yesterday.”
“Ah,” Jackson said with a grin. “I see. You’re still confused. When I said ‘my beach’ I meant the entire beach. All the way from the Mexican border up to your home country of Canada. Get it?”
Isaac looked at his feet. “That’s not fair,” he said quietly.
“What?” Jackson said. “Speak up, Canada.”
“I said that’s not fair,” Isaac repeated, speaking much louder this time.
He stared at Jackson, clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt. He realized he was struggling not to cry.
“Too bad,” Jackson said. “My beach, my rules.” He reached out with both hands and shoved Isaac’s shoulders.
Isaac wasn’t ready for it, and he fell backward, dropping his board and landing on his back in the sand. His elbow landed on a ragged rock.
Jackson’s friends cracked up. With one last look at Isaac, the crew of local boys grabbed their boards and headed for the water.
Isaac sat there for only a moment. Then he grabbed his stuff and walked home as fast as he could, his surfboard under his arms.
CHAPTER 7
THROWING IN THE TOWEL
Isaac’s mom was outside when he got home. She stood next to the family car with a soggy and soapy giant sponge. The car was covered with suds and water.
“Hey, Isaac,” she said as he got closer to the house. “What happened to your arm?”
Isaac tried to look at his arm, but it was impossible to do while he held his surfboard.
“I guess I scraped it,” he muttered.
Mom dropped her sponge into the big bucket next to the car and stooped at Isaac’s side. She took the surfboard out of his hands and leaned it against the stoop.
“Did this happen while you were surfing?” she asked, inspecting his arm.
“I guess,” Isaac said. “I must have scraped my arm on a rock underwater or something.”
“You didn’t feel it?” Mom asked. “It looks like it hurt.” She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Come inside. Let’s get it cleaned up and find a bandage.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Isaac sat at the dining room table with his mom. He had a fresh bandage on his arm. A plate of cookies sat in front of them.
“So do you want to talk about what really happened?” Mom asked. She nibbled her cookie and looked Isaac right in the eye.
“What do you mean?” Isaac asked. He looked down to avoid his mom’s gaze.
Mom leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her shirt was still damp from washing the car.
“I mean you were only gone for fifteen minutes,” she said. “Why’d you come home so quick?”
Isaac shrugged and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m all done,” he said, hopping up from his chair.
Mom grabbed his wrist. “Hold on a minute,” she said. “Tell me.”
“It was just some kids at the beach,” Isaac said. “It’s not a big deal.”
“What did they do?” Mom asked.
“Nothing,” Isaac said. “They’re just not very nice. One of them shoved me.”
“And that’s nothing?” Mom asked. “Is that how you hurt your arm?”
“I guess,” Isaac said, shrugging. He explained how he’d met Jackson his first day in town, and how Jackson had claimed the whole coast as his own. “Can I go now?”
Mom sighed. “Yes,” she said. “But do you know any of these kids’ names?”
“Mom,” Isaac said, “please don’t do anything. It’s not a big deal.”
“He hurt you!” she said.
“I can handle it,” Isaac insisted. “I’ll toughen up.”
Mom reached out and grabbed Isaac’s hand. “Honey, it’s not an issue of you toughening up,” she said. “This boy is going to keep doing this. You won’t be able to surf anymore.”
Isaac pulled his hand away and headed toward his bedroom. “Who cares,” he muttered. “I don’t like it anyway.”
CHAPTER 8
DOOMED
Isaac lay on his bed after dinner. It had been a quiet meal. Dad asked about what happened at the beach earlier, and Isaac repeated the story as quickly and briefly as he could. After that, no one really said much.
As he flipped through his comic book, there was a knock at his bedroom door.
“Come in,” he called, and Dad stuck his head through the open door.
“Hey, bud,” Dad said as he sat on the bed next to Isaac. Isaac closed his comic book and sat up.
“I wanted to talk to you about this bully at the beach,” Dad went on.
“Can’t we just forget about it?” Isaac said, sitting up and rolling his eyes.
“That’s the last thing we should do,” Dad said. “Bullying isn’t okay. If we forget about it, then the bully gets a free pass.”
Isaac stared across the room at the bare walls. He hadn’t even put up his snowboarding posters yet.
“Now, what’s his name?” Dad asked.
Isaac sighed. He knew his dad wasn’t going to give up. “It’s Jackson,” he said. “I don’t know his last name. Actually, that might be his last name.”
Dad nodded slowly. “Well, I’ll have to look into this,” he said. “And I’ll be speaking to his parents.”
“Dad, don’t!” Isaac said. “He’ll think I’m just some whiny baby.”
“I’m sorry, Isaac,” Dad said as he got to his feet. “I know it feels unfair to you right now, but this boy needs to know that what he’s done is unacceptable.”
As Isaac stood up, Dad left the room and closed the door behind him. Isaac let himself fall backward onto the bed.
Great, he thought. I’m doomed.
CHAPTER 9
HANGING TEN
Dad made good on his promise to find out who Jackson was. He made some phone calls, took a walk around the neighborhood and the beach, and eventually found Jackson’s parents. He told them what had happened.
Isaac didn’t hear the conversation, but he didn’t have to. He was mortified. There was no way he could go back to the beach now.
That’s the end of me surfing, Isaac thought.
Weeks passed, and Isaac continued avoiding the beach. Now he wasn’t just scared of Jackson. He was also too embarrassed to show his face there.
Since surfing was out, Isaac spent most of his time at the comic book shop on the main street. He managed to make a few friends there.
One day toward the end of the summer, Isaac and one of his new friends, Ben, headed to Isaac’s house for lunch after a trip to the comic shop.
After they ate, the boys headed to Isaac’s room to read their comics. Isaac’s surfboard, which hadn’t been in the water in weeks, still leaned against his bedroom wall.
“Cool!” Ben said. “I didn’t know you surfed.”
Isaac shook his head. “I don’t,” he said. “Not anymore. I tried once or twice and totally failed.”
“Once or twice?” Ben said. He ran a hand over the board. “And you just gave up? That’s pretty dumb. It takes a long time to really learn how to surf.”
Isaac shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he admitted. “The truth is, there’s this guy down there I’m avoiding. His name is Jackson.”
“Yeah,” Ben said. “He’s a real jerk.”
“You know him?” Isaac said.
“Sure,” said Ben. “You’re going to see him plenty once school starts next week. He’s in our grade.”
Isaac hadn’t thought about that. If he was going to have to see Jackson at school all the time, avoiding the beach didn’t make much sense.
And I really do want to learn to surf, Isaac thought.
He stood up from his desk and grabbed his board. “Come on,” he said to Ben. “We’re going to the beach.”
* * *
“Aren’t you worried about Jackson?” Ben asked as they walked up the boardwalk toward the beach.
“I am,” Isaac admitted. “But I’d better get used to it if he’s probably going to be in my class anyway.”
“Or you could switch classes to avoid him all year,” Ben said with a grin.
“That sounds a little too complicated,” Isaac said.
When they reached the beach, Isaac scanned the crew of surfers in the water. It was crowded. It seemed like the entire neighborhood was out to catch a few waves before school started.
“There he is,” Ben said, pointing at the water.
Jackson was under a huge cresting wave, about to be swallowed up by the barrel. The two boys watched as Jackson finished his run and surfed into the beach like a pro. He hopped off his board, picked it up, and immediately spotted Isaac.
“Uh-oh,” Ben said. “He sees you.”
Jackson handed his board to a friend and walked toward Isaac.
“Oh, man,” Ben whispered, sounding nervous. “Here it comes.”
Jackson’s jaw was clenched as he stepped right up to Isaac and Ben. Isaac narrowed his eyes, not sure what to expect. He didn’t know if Jackson was going to shove him or hit him or tell him off.
But Jackson didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he took a deep breath and held out his hand.
Isaac just stared at it a moment, unsure what to do. Then he reached out and shook Jackson’s hand.
Jackson let go of Isaac’s hand, nodded once, and went back to get his surfboard. A moment later, he was out on the water again, paddling out to catch another big wave.
“Uh, what was that all about?” Ben asked, looking confused.
“I think that’s the end of it,” Isaac said.
Ben stared at him. “What are you, a ninja or something?” he asked.
Isaac laughed. He had a feeling it was his dad’s talk with Jackson’s parents that had really made the difference.
“Come on,” Isaac said. “Let’s try this surfing thing one more time.”
With that, the two boys headed for the water and joined the rest of the surfers, taking turns on Isaac’s board until the sun came down over the water.
AUTHOR BIO
Eric Stevens lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is studying to become a middle-school English teacher. Some of his favorite things include pizza, playing video games, watching cooking shows on TV, riding his bike, and trying new restaurants. Some of his least favorite things include olives and shoveling snow.
ILLUSTRATOR BIO
Aburtov has worked in the comic book industry for more than 11 years. In that time, he has illustrated popular characters like Wolverine, Iron Man, Blade, and the Punisher. He lives in Monterrey, Mexico, with his daughter, Ilka, and his beloved wife.
GLOSSARY
accent (AK-sent) — the way you pronouce words
access (AK-sess) — a way to enter or an approach to a place
complicated (KOM-pli-kay-tid) — something that is difficult to understand
cresting (KREST-ing) — reaching the highest point
dismal (DIZ-muhl) — gloomy and sad
dune (DOON) — a sand hill made by the wind near the ocean or a large lake or in a desert
nervous (NUR-vuhss) — fearful or timid
shallow (SHAL-oh) — not deep
unacceptable (uhn-uhk-SEP-tuh-buhl) — not good enough to be allowed or accepted
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Isaac doesn’t want to tell his parents about the bully at the beach. Do you think he made the right decision? Talk about why or why not.
2. If you had a choice, would you rather surf or snowboard? Talk about your choice.
3. Why do you think Jackson was so mad that Isaac wanted to learn to surf? Talk about some possible reasons.
WRITING PROMPTS
1. Isaac isn’t excited to move from the mountains to the beach. Have you ever had to move? Write a paragraph about how you dealt with it.
2. How would you feel if you were Isaac’s parents? Write about what you would have done if you were in their shoes.
3. Write a paragraph about some other ways Issac could have handled the problems he was having with Jackson.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT SURFING
• Some surfers want to ride very tall waves. They have jet skis or boats to pull them far out into the ocean. Then they ride the waves all the way back to the beach.
• Some surfers like to windsurf. They use a special kind of surfboard with a sail attached to it. Wind catches the sail and pushes the surfer forward.
• White water that gently flows onto the beach is referred to as “soup” by many surfers.
• Some of the tallest waves in the world are found off the islands of Hawaii.
• Hawaiians invented both surfing and bodyboarding.
• There are three different types of surfboards: minimals, short boards, and long boards.
• Minimals are good surfboards for beginners. Long boards and short boards are for more advanced surfers.
MORE SURFING TERMINOLOGY
• Catch a wave — to start a ride
• Hang ten — hanging all ten toes over the nose of a surfboard
• Ride the tube — to surf the space underneath a curling wave
• Wipeout — falling completely off the board
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maddox, Jake.
Beach bully / by Jake Maddox ; text by Eric Stevens ; illustrated by Jesus Aburto.
p. cm. -- (Jake Maddox sports stories)
Summary: Isaac and his parents have just moved into a house by the ocean, and he is willing to try surfboarding, but there is a bully among the local boys on the beach who seems determined to drive him away.
ISBN 978-1-4342-5973-8 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-4342-6206-6 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-4342-9833-1 (ebook)
1. Surfing--Juvenile fiction. 2. Bullying--Juvenile fiction. 3. Moving, Household--Juvenile fiction. [1. Surfing--Fiction. 2. Bullies--Fiction. 3. Moving, Household--Fiction.] I. Stevens, Eric, 1974- II. Aburto, Jesus, ill. III. Title. IV. Series: Maddox, Jake. Impact books. Jake Maddox sports story.
PZ7.M25643Bec 2013
813.6--dc23
2012049367
Art Director: Bob Lentz
Graphic Designer: Veronica Scott
Production Specialist: Laura Manthe
Jake Maddox, Beach Bully
