Chapter 8

 

 

“It’s summer,” Veronica pointed out bluntly, and a little sarcastically. “We are obligated to go to the beach at least once while on summer vacation. It’s a law or something.”

Hannah wasn’t so sure. She didn’t feel comfortable in her swimsuit, even if it was a one piece that covered everything it had to. Looking around at all the perfect bodies with not one wobbly bit in sight, she didn’t think she would be able to take off her light cotton wrap.

Veronica obviously didn’t feel the same way as she peeled off her dress and showed the tiniest bikini Hannah had ever seen.

“You’re wearing less than underwear,” she said in a panic. She had to fight the urge to cover her with a towel before anyone saw.

Veronica just shrugged. “I guess it depends what kind of underwear you wear. It’s not smaller than mine.” She looked Hannah up and down pointedly. “Probably smaller than yours.”

“Smaller than half of mine,” Hannah giggled, she would have liked even a tiny fraction of her friend’s confidence. “What are we going to do here?”

Veronica sighed dramatically. “Relax, that’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to sit here, enjoy the ocean, the seagulls, the sun, and the boys.” She nodded towards a group of boys from school as they kicked a ball around – shirtless.

Hannah tried to relax. She leant back and stretched her legs, feeling the warm sand run through her toes. As she looked out at the sea, all she could think of was the last time she had been there. It was with Harry when they were on their first date. They had been completely saturated by that ocean water and then giggled uncontrollably about it. The thought still made her smile.

No matter how much she tried not to think of him, he always found a way to worm inside her head again. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she blamed him anyway. If he hadn’t told her he wanted her back, she would have been able to move on. At least, that was her theory anyway.

“Earth to Hannah, come in, hello,” Veronica’s voice forced her way into her daydream. Hannah shook her head and gave her friend her full attention. “Check out the clown.”

“You shouldn’t call people clowns, it’s not very nice.”

“No, seriously, check out the clown.”

She followed her pointed finger and spotted the man dressed as a clown halfway down the beach. His bright orange hair was twice as wide as his shoulders. Even in the hot sand he was wearing oversized red shoes that were bigger than flippers.

“Clowns are creepy,” Hannah said, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight. He was getting closer as he handed flyers out to people.

“I know, right?”

“Whoever came up with them was weird. I wonder how they even thought that a guy dressed like that could entertain people?”

“Freak, right?” Hannah shrugged, agreeing. They continued to watch the clown until he was standing in front of them. Up close, his white face makeup was cracked and dripping in the heat. He looked like a melting wax candle.

“Hey girls,” he greeted them, shoving a flyer in each of their hands. “The Big Top Circus is in town, come along and enjoy the spectacular acrobats, animals, and clowns.” He squeezed his bulbous red nose which honked before leaving.

Hannah scanned the flyer, having no intention of seeing any more clowns. Even in their own habitat with festive music and acrobats, they wouldn’t be any less creepy. Still, she couldn’t help feel sorry for the poor guy, he must have been sweltering in that outfit on the hot sand. She carefully folded the flyer and slipped it into her bag.

After another few hours of spending the obligatory time on the sand, Hannah was ready for home. “Want to grab some lunch?”

“I could eat,” Veronica nodded. They packed up their things and started the walk into the town centre. It was normally only a short trip, but in the heat of the midday sun, it was taking way too long. Hannah tried to stay off the road, taking shelter in the shade of the trees.

“What are you doing? You’re going to get yourself lost,” Veronica warned, obviously not feeling the effects of the sun like her friend.

“I need some shade, I’m going to burn.”

“A tan never hurt anyone.”

“Yeah, actually skin cancer kills thousands of people every day,” Hannah shot back. “I think that classifies as hurting people.”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes and subtly moved into the shade with her.

They continued walking along the quiet street, the only cars being the occasional beachgoer either coming or going.

As she walked, Hannah thought she heard footsteps. She couldn’t tell where they were coming from exactly, but there was definitely rustling amongst the trees.

All of a sudden, the rustling was punctuated with a high pitched screech, making both the girls jump. “What was that?” Veronica squealed, jumping closer to Hannah.

“I don’t know,” she replied, stopping to look around. She ignored Veronica’s tugging on her arm and headed toward the noise.

They crept along together slowly, all their senses on high alert. Hannah couldn’t even imagine what had made the sound but she would put her money on some kind of animal. Hopefully a species that didn’t hurt humans.

Something moved amongst the trees, making them stand as still as a statue. The figure stopped too, just as scared of them. A little brown creature with huge brown eyes stared at them.

“It’s a monkey,” Hannah said in disbelief.

“What’s a monkey doing in Mapleton?” Veronica asked, standing slightly behind her friend for safety. She wasn’t the one who loved all creatures great and small.

“I don’t know, but he might be hurt.” Hannah took a slow and deliberate step forward, making no sudden movement to scare the poor thing.

The huge eyes watched her every move, not letting her get away with anything. She continued on, trying not to startle him. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Are you hurt? Are you lost?”

The monkey didn’t have any answers for her. However, as soon as she got in reaching distance, he took off running in the opposite direction.

Hannah ran after him, there was no way she could leave him in the suburban area by himself. Monkeys didn’t just turn up in Mapleton on their own, just like snakes and iguanas didn’t.

“What are you doing?” Veronica called out.

“We can’t let him go!” Hannah yelled back, trying not to lose sight of the little scamp. She ran through the trees, slowly closing the gap between her and the animal. A few times she made a jump for the monkey but each time he eluded her grasp.

In a desperate hope to escape, the monkey hurried up a tree. It clung to the branches, holding on for dear life. Hannah stood at the bottom, trying to remember the last time she had climbed a tree. She wasn’t sure she ever had.

Veronica finally caught up, puffing. “Now what do we do?”

“We get him down, his little hand is injured. Look, it’s bleeding.” She pointed to the monkey’s left front hand. “We have to get it to a vet. It’s probably hungry too. Hold my bag, I’m going up.”

She shoved her beach gear into Veronica’s hands and made sure her sandshoes were secured to her feet before starting the climb. The bark of the tree was loose, the leaves scratchy, and she knew it definitely wasn’t designed for people to climb up.

Still, she pushed herself onwards, not looking down. If there was one thing she hated more than climbing the tree, it was falling from the tree. She gripped a little tighter with the thought.

Finally, with no skin left on her knees and hands, she reached the branch she needed. The monkey was trapped, he couldn’t go down or up. “Hey there, little guy, I’m going to get you some help. You can trust me.”

The big eyes just stared at her, shaking a little with fear. Hannah slowly reached out and grabbed him, cradling the little bundle close to her chest. He didn’t struggle much, which only made her certain he was more injured than he appeared to be.

Sitting on the branch, there was one thing Hannah hadn’t considered – how to actually get down while holding the monkey.

“Vee, can you please empty my beach bag and throw it up? I’ll put him inside,” she called down. Veronica did as instructed and dumped the contents of the bag onto the ground. It took a few throws, but Hannah eventually caught it. Careful not to hurt him any more than he already was, she gently placed the monkey into the bag and zipped it shut. It was made of cotton and would allow him to breathe for a while yet.

Hannah secured the bag over her back and climbed down. It was a relief to be back on solid ground again. “We need to get him to the shelter, Cory will call the vet.”