Clam Girl

Victoria stomped on the tiny clam that had tried to escape back into the sand. She smirked at me. “Oops.”

Her two friends giggled like deranged hyenas.

I frowned as a gust of salty air blew my dress. That clam was one of my friends. Not a close friend, but we would say hi to each other now and then. At least I would say hi. The clams and I understood each other to an extent. We both kept to ourselves, hung out at the beach, and avoided conflict whenever possible. But as the circle of life goes, conflict was bound to show up, whether it was in the form of a seagull digging for its next meal or a bully with self-esteem issues and too much eyeshadow.

Victoria stomped on another clam and waited eagerly for my reaction.

The roaring waves crashed upon the shore, echoing my disgust but compounding their anger. How dare you hurt our own without cause! Like a lion, the waves charged at Victoria and her friends, but they only managed to reach a little above their ankles. It was probably for the best. Victoria and the others couldn’t swim, and I didn’t want to have to walk away as they drowned.

I walked around the troublesome trio and kept going. I could feel their eyes on me, but they didn’t follow me.

Angered by my indifference, Victoria said, “You’re just a weird Clam Girl!”

I scoffed. Clam Girl. That was all she and the other kids in town could come up with. Ever since one of them caught me talking to a clam, they wouldn’t let me forget it. I knew bullies lacked imagination but seriously? If someone had told me that I would be teased for asking a clam how he was doing, I would have made sure no one was watching while I did it. I wonder if there’s a way to travel back in time.

I walked for a minute and turned around. Victoria and her friends were now leaving the beach. Once out of sight, I ran back to the place where they had stepped on the clams.

The ocean’s roar egged me on. Hurry, hurry!

Once there, I knelt down and gently dug at the sand. I sighed in relief. Two little pink clams were there, and they were perfectly fine. Of course, they were. They were clams and Victoria was an idiot wearing flip-flops. “Sorry about that.”

Strangely, the clams didn’t immediately go back in the sand. They turned up to me for a few seconds as if saying “Thanks for caring,” and then dug back to safety.

Did they really talk to me? I shook my head and stood up. Maybe I was crazy. 

As a wave rolled in, a sparkle caught my eye. There was something in the water. I snatched it up before it could be carried away in the receding tide. In my hand was a silver bracelet with charms in the shape of clams! It was like a gift from the sea or a gift from God Himself. 

I smiled and put the bracelet on. It looked nice. I strolled along the shore as the ocean applauded me. Another wave rolled in upon Victoria was right. I am a clam girl, and I’m proud of it.