Coco turned a page in her book. She sat in her chair at the beach under an umbrella to give her shade. Beach reading days were the best days. She loved to hear the waves rolling in the background as she dove into her book.
She turned another page. Coco was nice and comfy in her beach chair as the sun shone and the breeze flew by. But Coco wasn’t really paying attention anymore, the book was starting to get really interesting. The hero had finally begun his quest and ran into a terrible monster just as the journey began. Was he going to be ok?
SMACK.
A shovel hit Coco’s leg. “Oh, sorry!” yelled Penny, “I was trying to dig out a rock from my perfect sandcastle spot.”
Penny ran over to check on Coco as she rubbed her leg. “Are you ok?” Penny asked Coco. “Do I need to run home and get a bandage?”
“I’m fine,” replied Coco, “Have you started your sandcastle yet?”
“Almost,” replied Penny, “I’ll call for you when it’s done.”
Coco settled back down to find the place she left off. But wait, how many pages until the end of the chapter? Coco flipped the book, read the page number of the new chapter, and checked the page number she was on. It was about 10 more pages. A seagull called out in the distance, but Coco wasn’t paying attention anymore. She found her place and continued the hero’s journey. Was there a way for the hero to win?
A gust of wind blew her towel onto her face. Then sand blew everywhere, covering her and her book. When the wind finally died down, Coco spat sand out of her mouth and rubbed it off her face. She shook her book, sand flying everywhere, and looked around for Penny’s sand castle. “Oh no!” cried Coco, “Your sand castle has been blown over.”
A small mound remained from that strong gust of wind. Penny laughed. “That gust of wind was so strong!” she shouted, twirling around, “It nearly knocked me off my feet! Are you ok?”
“I’m fine,” replied Coco, wiping the sand off her book, “My book is so sandy now!”
After a few minutes, most of the sand was gone, and Coco was ready to settle into her book again. But wait, the hero’s friend is in terrible danger, is he going to make it? Coco flipped to the end of the book to see if she could find the friend’s name. After a quick glance, she spotted him. Thank goodness. Relieved, she started reading again.
Mr. Snaps scuttled by and knocked on Coco’s chair to say hello. But Coco wasn’t paying attention anymore, for the monster was about to be defeated. Coco kicked her feet in delight as the monster faced his doom. Mr. Snaps frowned and looked around. In the basket nearby was a bag of cookies. Mr. Snaps scuttled over, snapped his claws onto the bag, and made his escape with them. Mr. Snaps was sad he didn’t get to say hi to Coco, but he was very excited for his find of the day.
Coco turned another page. She couldn’t believe what she was reading, the monster came back?! She just had to know what was next. The shade had moved and now her armrest was exposed to the sunlight. Coco wasn’t paying attention anymore, the hero had to make a second attempt to defeat the monster before it was too late!
“Coco!” Penny called out, “It’s finished!!”
Coco turned another page. Penny looked around because she hadn’t heard from Coco yet. “Looks like she’s still reading,” thought Penny.
She walked over and called again. There was still no answer. “Hmm, it must be a really good part of the book,” she thought.
She saw Coco engrossed in the book, looking so excited to read what was next. “I’ll just wait until Coco is finished,” thought Penny.
Then she went off for the final touches, and maybe get some seashells.
Coco finally finished the chapter. The monster had been conquered and the hero could continue his quest with his friend. Coco put her book down and looked around. The waves shimmered in the sunlight. Coco noticed part of her leg was exposed to the sunlight. She’ll have to apply more sunscreen later.
She looked around for Penny, but couldn’t find her. However, she did find the sandcastle. It looked amazing. The three towers were perfectly sculpted and the whole structure stood tall and proud. Penny was getting really good at sand sculpting. “Hey!” called Penny, holding some seashells in her arms, “How was your book?”
“It was crazy, Penny! There was a monster that the hero had to fight!” replied Coco, standing up.
She walked over to take a closer look at Penny’s sand castle. “Wow, Penny, your castle looks great!” Coco said.
“Thank you!” Penny replied, “I brought some seashells to decorate it. But now that I think of it, I’d like some lunch first.”
Coco agreed. Penny and Coco sat down under the umbrella to eat lunch. The sandwiches tasted great! After eating their lunch, Penny reached in the basket for the cookies, eager to have one, except they weren’t there. Uh oh, someone must have taken them while Coco was reading. Hopefully they enjoy them.
