Ocean Blue • Open to all

Hazel looked up to the sky as a wind picked up from the ocean. The sky was still this perfect light blue it had been for the past few days, but for the first time in days, small gray clouds mixed with the puffy white clouds that formed a nice pattern on the blue sky. The red-haired girl took a deep breath and the salty air tickled her inside her nose. She and there was something more in the air than just the salty smell. It smelled like it was going to rain soon. Hazel shrugged her shoulders. Since she wanted to go swimming, she didn’t mind the rain.

The sixteen-year-old girl walked out of her parent’s house and down to the beach. Because her parents, well, mostly her dad, were pearl divers, the little house stood right by the ocean, so it was only a short walk down a few wooden stairs until Hazel’s feet met the sandy beach. As always, she walked barefoot on the beach and enjoyed the feeling of sand between her toes.

The beach was nearly deserted. Hazel was able to spot a few fishermen in their small boats just off shore. The waves caused by the steady breeze coming from the sea pushed the little boats around but the men on board didn’t mind. They had grown up in District Four, with the ocean and knew the sea better then anyone else did. A little breeze and small waves didn’t cause them to rush back to shore and neither did the upcoming rain.

As Hazel looked around, her eyes fell on a girl standing all alone knee deep in the water, looking at the wide ocean that spread out in front of her. The girl’s name was Callie, this much Hazel knew, because even though the two girls were almost neighbors, they had never talked much. Hazel didn’t even know if Callie was her real name or if it was just short for something else, like Calliope or Callista or something along those lines. Thinking back, the only times Hazel had seen Callie outside was, when she was playing with a stray dog that lingered around her house or when she went to school.

Hazel dropped her towel in the sand and walked up to Callie. When she stood next to the light brown haired girl, the waved splashed up to Hazel’s thighs. The water was cold but not unbearably cold. “Hey Callie, you’re going to get soaked if you stay down here.” , she greeted her with a smile on her face and pointed up to the sky, where the grey clouds now started to cover almost every piece of blue sky. Only a few bright blue spots remained between the rainclouds. It was always fascinating how quickly the weather was able to change in District Four. It was sunny one second and rain was pouring down the next.

Word count: 486

„Oh yeah, I’m fine, I just like swimming with my face, that’s all.“ , Micah answered Hazel and Callie’s question with a huge grin on his face which caused Hazel to giggle some more. “Swimming with your face… now that’s interesting.” , she said and rolled her eyes, still grinning. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that sometime.” , she added. Hazel looked at Callie as the brown haired girl started joking along the same lines. “Right, because everybody loves to swim with their faces. It’s the latest fashion trend.” The red haired girl started giggling some more. She always thought, from the little she knew, that Callie was more of a serious person so it was nice to see she had a good sense of humor.

Hazel jerked as the cold water, which Micah splashed at her, hit her chest. Normally, she was used to cold water and didn’t mind it but being surprised by it like that made her jump. “Hey!” , she screamed and started splashing water at Micah in return. Not that it would bother him, since he was all wet already after his head first dive, or should Hazel call it fall into the ocean. “Not the best weather for a swim, still planning to go Callie, what about you Hazel?” Hazel looked up to the sky again. The last few blue spots were covered with dark clouds now. “Well, who cares about water from above while swimming?” , she said and threw herself into the waves. The water was cold, but this time, she was prepared for it. Callie must have said something else, but Hazel didn’t hear it because at this time she was submerged in water. When her head broke through the water’s surface again she smiled a broad smile. Being in the water just made her feel whole, it made her feel at home. “Come on, Callie. It’s not even that cold. It’s gonna be fun!” , she called out to the other girl that still hadn’t moved a bit.

Word count: 341