Nels was on the beach, per usual. He’d do this on purpose-
show up on the days I worked just to annoy me. He wanted me to meet him on my
lunch break and I did, walking toward him as the Nathan’s settled uneasily in my
stomach, the coffee cup warming my frigid hands. Should’ve gotten the churro.
The sand was solid beneath my feet, cold and stiff. Nels
stood on the shore, avoiding the chilly grey abyss of the Atlantic by hopping
near the water’s edge. As I got closer, I noticed he was poking something with
a stick. My stomach churned at the thought of what it could be. Should’ve
gotten the churro. “Fucker’s prehistoric,” Nels rasped, his breath coming out in wispy puffs. “What’s the deal with jellyfish, anyway? They’re the ones with the ink, right?”
He rattled off some more, jabbing at the jellyfish with his
stick the whole while. I watched, enthralled, confused, disgusted. Should’ve
gotten the churro.
“Cut that out, man,” I told him. “It’s octopuses, or octopi,
I guess, that are inky. Not jellyfish.”
I coughed and could taste some coffee lurch upward in my
throat. My head ached, the sun was too damn bright, reflecting off the sad
beige sand.
“Whatever, Dr. Aquaman,” Nels puffed, continuing to jab at
the fish. I watched the stick puncture the thing: sad, blue, dirty. Plastic.
Another lurch, this time it was kosher.
“That’s a goddamn shower cap,” I gurgled before staggering
closer to the water and vomiting. The foamy puke merged with the foam water. I
bet the whole ocean is full of it, hotdog puke and black coffee. My frozen
hands still on my frozen knees, I heard Nels ask for money.
“In the mood for a churro,” he said. 
N.d. Photograph. Finding My Feet in NYC. Http://sidewalksandsubwaysnyc.tumblr.com, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. <tumblr.com>.
I’m really interested in the relationship between the author and Nels. I’m curious as to whether the narrator really dislikes Nels or loves him but finds him irritating at times. I find that the two characters have distinct personalities, which is great because it makes the story very real for me. The fixation on the churro is great, but I want to know more about why the narrator is so insistant on it. Sure it may be less greasy than the hot dog, but would the churro have made the narrators stomach feel any better?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of puking in the ocean really got to me. The ocean and the beach are typically very romanticized places, but when the narrator pukes in the ocean, my image of the romantic seaside was thrown out. I thought that image was really neat because of how it surprised the reader.
As for the layout, I like the font style and color because it’s simple, much like a beach/pier should be. The color of the font brings out the color from the background picture, which I think really enhances the text and the picture at the same time. I am only critical of the picture that actually goes with the post because of the contrasting colors. I’m trying to get a sense of time, and the picture in the background is telling me sunset because of the color of the clouds, but the photo that goes with the post is giving me a daytime feel. The text hints that it is either nighttime or a season that is chilly because the narrator is holding coffee to warm their hands. I would want a more established sense of time for this post because there are already so many other questions I have about the characters.