Title: take me .a w a y }
Description: tag-- jacob.
jennifer linkin - July 23, 2007 03:31 AM (GMT)
Jenny’s arms moved alternately over her head as she propelled through the water, her legs fluttering beneath the surface. She certainly wasn’t a star swimmer, and had never really been interested in the activity as anything but that- an activity. The school swim team never had much appeal to the girl, when she actually attended school, that is. Swimming back and forth from one end of the pool to the other, over and over again, seemed rather boring to her to put it simply. And there was no way she could be competitive about something she wasn’t passionate about. Thus, Jenny limited her swimming to recreational purposes only. Her mother forced her to take lessons as a child, for safety reasons, and somewhere along the lines Jenny was taught how to do the basic crawl. At first, her version of the stroke was borderline pathetic, arm movements never in sync with her flailing legs. But, over the years, she became a fairly strong swimmer. After all, Jenny loved the beach, and she was well aware of the Cavern’s existence. As kids, Jacob and Scott would always challenge her capability of actually reaching the spot, to the point where Jenny just had to prove to her friends, and herself, that she could do it. Whether or not she was a strong enough swimmer to make it to the Cavern back then, Jennifer wasn’t sure. In order to better her chances, she began to swim more than she sun bathed at the beach, slowly but surely strengthening her skills. Finally, Jenny invited herself to join Jacob and Scott one day, as they set off to swim to the cavern. For the boys, it was more of a race between the two of them. Jenny didn’t care who was the first one there, though, just as long as she reached the spot; and she did. Ever since the first time she swam to the cavern, Jenny’s made it a point to visit there whenever she’s at the beach. Sometimes she’ll go off by herself, but this particular day, Jenny asked Jacob to meet her at the beach. She forgot to mention that she’d be at the Cavern, but assumed he’d figure it out on his own. it was low tide, after all.
Giving it a rest, Jenny rolled onto her back, floating. She closed her eyes, squinting a bit, and allowed the summer sun to warm her damp skin. Although the beach was a popular summer spot, Jen had strayed far enough so that she couldn’t hear the sound of the crowd. All she could hear was the crash of the waves against the jetty and the occasional lap of water on her cheeks. There were also the gliding seagulls above, which for the record, Jennifer had never liked all that much, though they weren’t disturbing her at the moment. It was such moments of serenity that always drew forth Jen’s deepest thoughts. Her mind traced back to the summer she swam to the Cavern with Scott and Jacob, which automatically brought a small smile to her face. She remembered how proud she was, and how much fun she had rubbing her accomplishment in her two best friends’ faces. Jennifer’s mind lingered there for a moment, recollecting old memories of past summers; her birthday weekend at her friend’s lake house, working at the local ice cream shop, sneaking out at night, being offered a modeling gig, to name a few. As she floated there, Jenny’s mind soon covered her more recent memories; searching for her father’s face at the airport and not finding it, accepting her engagement, and then regretting it. This shift seemed to wipe the smile from Jen’s face, whether or not she realized so herself. With no intentions of focusing on the times Jen was less fond of, she quickly turned over and started swimming again. The more powerful she made her arm movements and the faster she kicked her legs, the sooner she’d reach her destination. With her goal in mind, there was no room for Jenny to think about her worries or mistakes. That was just the sort of mindset she had, being so ambitious, even when her goal was as insignificant as swimming to the Cavern.
As Jen neared the sandbar, the water grew shallow, and she was no longer swimming, but wading through the water until she hit the shore. She collapsed onto the sand, careful that she had enough room between the rocks, and lay on her back. Her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath she took, feet planted firmly in the ground, knees bent toward the sky. After she caught her breath and regained some energy, Jenny palmed the ground and sat up, feeling that slight satisfaction of accomplishment. Her gaze scanned the surface of the surrounding water, undoubtedly searching for Jacob. Jenny had only told him that she would be at the beach, but deciding to make things more fun, she impulsively set out for the Cavern. Hopefully, realizing Jen wasn’t technically at the beach beach, Jacob would know where to find her. Then, there was a good chance he may conclude that Jenny was late, which wasn’t unheard of, or that she stood him up, which she would never do. Considering the possibilities, Jennifer soon regretted not waiting for Jacob. Sure, they had always liked coming here together, but it had been a while, right? Enough time had past for Jake to forget, or for him to grow out of the little habit, or anything really. It hadn’t even been that long, and yet in the course of about a year, so much had changed.
[ Crap, sorry. It's late & I suck at opening. xD]