Chương 32: Ch 20a - Memory: Seagulls

It brushes over the top of her head. Cara lets out a squeal that Jenny echoes with her own as she snaps the lid shut on the takeaway box. The seagull soars skywards. Another circles to the left seeking a new approach. Cara brushes a worried hand over her head, checking to see if the seagull has left anything other than ruffled hair.

"Look out!" Jenny yells as a fourth bird waddles straight up to their chip box and starts pecking at the Styrofoam. She waves a cautious hand at it, "Shooo."

"Rarrgh!" Cara launches at the bird, doing her best impression of a lion. The seagull opens its beak and answers with a long caw-caw squawk. A blur of white and grey swoops past her face. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"They're dive bombing!" Jenny exclaims, somewhere between alarm and giggles.

"Girls!" Gran calls behind them.

"Come inside!"

"Get the blanket, I'll take the chips," Jenny orders. Cara scrunches a handful of the picnic blanket.

"Ready?" Jenny clasps the takeaway box firmly in her hands just as another seagull descends fast and low on a fly-by.

"Go!" Leaping up, Jenny sprints towards the beach hut, her feet launching missiles behind her as her shoes seek traction on the pebbled beach. Cara's progress is slower, her laughter doubling her over as she tries to rise to her feet. Slipping and sliding on the shifting stones beneath her trainers, she scrambles to gain momentum, half lifting, half dragging the picnic blanket behind her. Above, seagulls squawk in high pitch calls.