Today was officially the first day of summer vacation. Lex smiled to herself in the mirror, her long dark brown hair up in a messy bun. She quickly checked her left eye. Last week she had gotten a small infection and the doctor told her to keep using the eye drops until she didn't see any redness or irritation in it. Pulling back her eyelid to check her leafy green colored eyes, she grunted to herself. Pleased. 

"No redness," she mumbled. She blinked a few times and looked different directions. "No irritation." She nodded to herself and opened her bedroom door. She's been planning the entire summer since finals. Every day, a new book at the beach and chilling. 

While she didn't consider herself to be a bookworm, she was during the summer. The beach was such an amazing place to read and relax. If you found the right spot. Lex dodged her dog, Buttermilk, an older cream and white pit bull, as he barreled his way up to her open bedroom. His favorite spot to nap around noon was her bed on her pillow. The sun hit just right and he could have the entire space to himself. 

She snagged his tail as he passed in a quick pet. He stopped momentarily and wagged his tail at her at the door before heading inside to pass out the rest of the day. She grew up with that dog, did not know a time without him. He was actually a year older than her in human years. She turns 18 this year so he'll be 19 in October. He was at least 90 years old in dog years. 

"Mom! Dad! I'm heading to the beach!" Lex shouted as she slipped on her sandals and grabbed her keys and beach bag she packed last night. It had her towel, a large umbrella, a couple different books if she finished one, an extra bathing suit in case something happened to the one she wore under her clothes, an extra change of clothes and shoes, even her eye drops and sunglasses with sunscreen. She did a mental checklist and snapped her fingers. "Snacks and drinks."

She dropped her bag and jogged to the kitchen. She got her large cooler and put a couple water bottles, a soda, juice box, a couple apples, bananas, and small bags of chips in the cooler. It was originally her dad's but he got a new one and let her have this one for her beach days. She grunted and threw in another apple and couple water bottles and zipped the bag up. Her dad had just come down the stairs as she picked her beach bag up again at the door. 

He leaned against the back of the couch, groggy, and looked at her. "A little early to head to the beach, isn't it?"

Lex shook her head. "No, earlier I get there, the more spots are open."

He nodded with a grunt. "Okay, be careful." 

"Always. I got my battery pack, my phone, pepper spray, and whistle. I'll be back around 4 when mom gets home from the hospital," Lex explained with a smile.

Her dad worked nights at the factory across town, her mom worked all hours at the hospital. Sometimes she was here all alone at night and got herself to school the next morning since she was 13. It didn't bother her. Sometimes she preferred to be alone. Today was one of his days off and mom had a earlier shift than normal. "Love you!"

Her car was in the yard spot heading out into the street. She usually parked in the yard and left the driveway to her parents. She didn't want to block them in if they had an early or late day. While her car wasn't anything special, it was a 2014 Chrysler 200. Not terrible on the millage either. 

She texted Bea that she was heading to the beach if she wanted to meet her there. Bea lived right next to the beach, so it would only be a five minute walk for her, but a fifteen minute drive for Lex herself. Before she started to drive, she checked the message from Bea. Her brother was about to die, so she'd secure their special spot. 

The drive over to the beach wasn't a bother. A straight shot passed the school and the mall. After Lex parked, she spotted her purple haired best friend. She was under the only group of palm trees on this side of the beach complete with random coconuts falling from time to time. Bea was a perky, upbeat, oddball. She loved dying her hair, bubbly music, and anything happy. She was Lex's personal ball of happiness. 

Not many people were there yet. Since it was only eight in the morning, only a few people were here. A couple families, a half dozen couples or single people just wanting some quick peace swimming before the rush gets here around noon. "Bea!" Lex shouted from halfway across the beach. 

"LEX!" She responded, louder. 

When they got to each other, they hugged tightly and giggled. "What's your brother done this time?" Lex asked as she dropped her stuff in the shade and opened the umbrella. Even though there was shade under the trees, they put the umbrella up to protect them from falling coconuts. Any that fell they would take home. 

Bea growled and spread their towels out. "He hid my journal!" 

Lex looked shocked at her best friend. "What?!" 

She nodded, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, and mom and dad just told me to get a new journal. I JUST BOUGHT THAT!"

"You'd think that he'd grow up," Lex said, getting her book out. 

Bea scoffed. "He's in college acting like a foolish idiot. He loves to prank, thinks its the best thing in the world."

She settled down on her own towel and inhaled deeply. Black sunglasses covering her blue eyes and a slight ghost white tint to her skin after the sunscreen. She was a stickler for sunburns. Five minutes in the sun and she was redder than a lobster fresh out of the boil. While Lex had put on sunscreen, she didn't burn easily. Mostly she just tanned instead of burns. Something that Bea always hated about Lex. 

They spent the next week tanning and enjoying the salty breeze of the ocean. Every other day, Bea would entice Lex away from her books and out to the ocean to actually swim, the whole point of the ocean in Bea's opinion. Several times there would be a douche bag guy who would try to make a move on Bea or Lex and the other would get extremely violent and shove the guy under the water and hold him down for ten seconds. 

The teenage boys that came to the beach to 'scope out babes' started calling them the 'ten second girls'. They'd see the two enter the water and there'd be a five foot radius around them while they swam and enjoyed the warm water. Bea thought it was fairly hilarious. 

"I've gotta get home," Bea stated one afternoon after they just came out of the water. 

Lex looked at her phone. It was three in the afternoon. Her brother would be up and ready to prank. He's been grounded for putting flour in the hair dryer and catching his mother's ends on fire. Lex couldn't believe it when Bea had told her. That guy was a disaster all over. Luckily it was just the ends of her mother's hair, so the split ends were just cut off. However, it could have been so much worse. 

"Why?" Lex asked as she used her spare towel to strain her hair of water. 

"My dad is coming home early today and he and him are going to go to the mall to get him a tattoo. I get to pick the spot and help the tattoo artist design it." She sounded so happy about it. "I'm thinking something that reminds him of me. Maybe a purple and black bee with a bubbly smile."

Lex nodded with amusement. "That does remind me of you, yeah." She smiled at the picture in her head. "Somewhere everyone can see?"

"Yeah, he's already gotten one that mom got to design and pick on his left forearm. Tyler picked a clown face on his calf, and I'm thinking I'll get the other forearm," Bea said seriously. 

"I agree. That sounds like a really good place for it. That way, every time he looks down at his arms, he can remember you and your mom and smile." Lex smiled at Bea as she jumped a little. 

Waving good-bye, Bea headed to her house further down the beach. Lex sighed and closed her eyes to enjoy a couple of hours to herself. She pulled her cooler closer to her and used her beach bag that had her important stuff in it as a pillow to prevent theft as she laid back. A nice beach nap sounded very nice for her at the moment.