‘Ow, that’s tender.’ Joshua brushed aside his mother’s caring hand laid on the bump on his forehead.
‘Sorry, sweetheart. I’ll fetch the frozen peas.’ She sounded more efficient than sorry. ‘You really should be more careful,’ she added. ‘I mean, the potential of those older boys to knock you about is pretty obvious.’
Joshua secretly agreed, but he wasn’t going to confess it. ‘I have to play hard, get in there and show what I can do, Mum,’ he said. ‘The talent scouts are out all the time at the moment, and coach says they’re going to cream off the best of us.’
His mother returned and gently pressed the bag of frozen bags to Joshua’s bump. ‘Well then, when you’re a rich and famous football player, I guess we’ll be able to afford a proper ice pack instead of having to make do with peas.’
Josh’s pain fled in a dreamy vision of fast cars, exotic holidays, and adulation.
‘Yeah, I guess we will.’
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Find Cheryl’s flash fiction and short stories, including audio versions of some, here!
Good luck with that dream!
My contribution:
The cream didn’t really do much to relieve the sunburn pain. His skin was already so tender from prolonged exposure and Reggie, your typical redhead, knew that he shouldn’t have been out in the sun for so long without adequate protection.
However, he desperately wanted to be a lifesaver and the try outs for the Bondi Lifesaving team were arduous, with many hours spent outdoors training and competition tight with dozens of others for a spot.
Reggie knew he had potential – for starters he was a strong swimmer who had no difficulty dealing with the rigours of the famous beach’s sometimes gigantic surf that rolled in from the Pacific Ocean.
For another, his ability to handle the surf lifeboats and jet skis they used these days to rescue swimmers in trouble, was second to none.
The one thing against him was his skin, so fair (from his mother’s side of the family) that most of his bronzed colleagues believed he would never be able to survive prolonged sun exposure without severe risk of skin cancer or some other affliction.
Reggie knew how they felt and sometimes his frustration would boil over in verbal and physical confrontations that would only end up making him feel worse.
Surely, there was something that could be done so he could realise his dream of helping others while remaining safe and healthy.
He would never be able to look like your stereotyped bronze Aussie, but Reggie didn’t really care about that.
Despite various discussions about his problem, no one could come up with a satisfactory solution.
Then, one day, while visiting his local GP for some antibiotics for a chest infection, he happened to mention his dilemma.
The doctor smiled and told Reggie he had the perfect solution.
“It’s a special skin-tight suit that covers your entire body,” he explained. “It will keep you safe from the sun while enabling you to swim through the water at the speed of light.
‘Not even the fastest shark will be able to get near you. You’ll be like an aquatic Flash Gordon!” He almost fell on the floor laughing.
Reggie couldn’t believe his luck. He even thought of a name for his new persona.
“Aquaman”. Lifesaving would never be the same again, he thought with a huge grin.
Sounds like a potential best seller!