Close Out by Todd Strasser Page B

something strange. Lucas had not gone into the water. Instead he was standing at the tidemark and staring down at the sand.
    â€œWhat’s he doing?” Booger asked in a low voice.
    Kai looked more closely and saw that the sand near the water was dotted with jellyfish. Most were either clear shapeless blobs, or clear and flat like a see-through pancake. But here and there were larger ugly jellyfish with reddish brown centers and short tendrils. Now Kai knew why Lucas had not gone into the water.
    Bean continued to wax his board.
    â€œUh, Bean?” Kai said.
    â€œDon’t sweat it,” Bean said as if he knew what Kai was going to say. “I know it’s kind of disgusting, but the clear ones won’t hurt you.”
    â€œWhat about the big ugly red-brown ones?” Booger asked.
    â€œTry to stay away from ’em,” Bean said.
    â€œThat’s easy for you to say,” Booger said. “You’re on a board most of the time. But I’m in the water.”
    â€œSorry, Boogs.” Bean strapped on his leash and headed for the water. “But neither rain, nor snow nor gloom of night shall stay this noble courier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds.”
    â€œWhat’s he babbling about?” Booger asked.
    â€œI think it’s like the post office motto, or something,” said Shauna.
    â€œHe’s postal, all right,” said Booger.
    Meanwhile Kai finished waxing and, trying not to think about the jellyfish, followed Bean into the surf. It felt great to be back in the water again, and the first few paddles were okay, but then Kai felt something gelatinous brush against his fingertips. He automatically jerked his arm out of the water. Looking downhe saw four or five small clear jellyfish, barely visible below the surface. It was gross, but so far Bean was right. Unlike the small blue-and-purple man-of-wars that sometimes appeared around Kauai, and could deliver a searingly painful sting, these jellyfish seemed harmless.
    Kai continued to paddle, occasionally feeling that eerie gelatinous sensation of a jellyfish brush against his fingertips or palm. Finally he got outside where Bean was sitting on his long board, waiting for a wave. Straddling his short board, Kai was in the water up to his rib cage. Jellyfish floated around him, and now and then he felt one slide past his legs.
    â€œI guess you’ve surfed in these things before,” he said to Bean.
    â€œEvery August, dude. Look, they’re not so bad.” Bean dipped his hand into the water and actually picked up a clear, pancake-shaped one. “These guys are pretty cool. Watch.” Bean pulled his arm back and whipped it forward, throwing the flat round jellyfish like a Frisbee.
    â€œI’m not sure whether that’s cool or completely sick,” Kai said.
    Booger joined them. On his bodyboard only his shoulders and head were out of the water. The rest of him was submerged, andliable to come into contact with jellyfish at any moment. “This … is … so … freaking … gross,” he groaned. “I swear, if it wasn’t for the fact there’ve been no waves for the past week, I would be out of this freaking water so fast.”
    Shauna was the next to arrive. Once she got outside, she lay flat on her board with her arms and feet completely out of the water. “I can’t believe I’m out here. There must be something seriously wrong with me.”
    â€œIt’s called stoke,” Bean said.
    â€œâ€˜Psycho’ is a better word,” Shauna said.
    Bean scooped up a small round clear one in his palm. “I told you guys, these things are harmless.”
    â€œSo’s toilet water, but I wouldn’t go swimming in it,” Booger shot back.
    Lucas was still on the shore, his hands on his hips, staring down at the beach as if he couldn’t meet their eyes.
    â€œYou can bet that if Buzzy was around, Lucas would be out here