BooksBarbecue
Back Big Boned Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Big Boned
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. One Month Later
  60. Acknowledgments
  61. About the Author
  62. Copyright
  63. About the Publisher
  64. Backad 1
  65. Backad 2
  66. Backad 3
  67. Backad 4

I regarded the beach. I wasn’t a massive fan of walking on it. When you’re fat, walking on soft sand usually just feels like walking on a hamster wheel—you don’t go very far. And also, you have to think about things like chafing, a pain no thin girl would ever know. But I agreed and took my shoes off. We ambled onto the beach—the sand was soft and cool, and the feel of it slipping between my toes was nicer than I’d expected. We walked in silence for a while; the only sounds were the waves crashing against the shore and then racing up onto the sand only to disappear into it. The beach was so much nicer at night, and I wondered why going to the beach at night wasn’t a thing. If it was, I might even go. There was something peaceful and beautiful, almost mystical about the sea and the beach at night. The water was a deep, rich gray color and in patches it was turned brilliant silver from the moonlight reflecting off it. And the sky was so black. Sure, there were stars, but between those stars was a blackness so intense that it felt like the sky had been painted Vantablack, the darkest color known to man.

“What are we looking for?” I asked, finally breaking the silence between us.

“Let’s walk around that corner.” He pointed at a large group of rocks. “And if it’s not there, then you win and city trumps sea.”

We walked up to the rocks and I noticed that if I was to go around them, I would have to wade through ankle-deep water. I looked down at the cold, dark water and took a deep breath. Did you know you can drown in an inch of water? I closed my eyes and took my first step. The cold water hit me like sharp blades around my ankle and I inhaled sharply and flicked my eyes open. Panicky terror welled up inside me, but I tried to push it down. This was the most water I’d been in since the incident; I only showered now. I made it around the corner and when I saw what was there, my mouth fell open and a loud gasp escaped it.

31

Blue. Turquoise, electric blue. Brilliant and luminous and glowing and flickering as if it were alive inside the waves. The sand looked like it was dotted with millions of bright blue stars that had somehow fallen from the Milky Way.

“Wha . . . what is that?” I asked, staring at the shore in front of us.

“It’s called bioluminescence. It’s created by algae lighting up the water.”