Sailor's Choice

Chapter 1 - Fish Bites.

As the cold morning breeze whistled past my freezing ears, the trees moved with it. I arched my back forward, and cast my rod, hoping to catch something before dinner. As the bobber hit the water, the vibration caused the water to move but moved so little as not to disturb the fish. I repositioned myself. "My ass hurts.." I mumbled. I was sitting on an old fishing boat, as usual. It's all we could afford. I chuckled to myself. "Maybe we could get a better boat if I didn't buy my guitar."

The cold wind, followed by the rustling trees, made me smile. Watching the way the water moved, and seeing a rod in my hands, was all too pleasant. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful thing. As I watched the water move, I felt a tug... then another... then a pull. The fish in this body of water bit hard. I pulled back fiercely, and so did it. I tugged and tugged at my rod, hoping the string wouldn't snap. As I tugged, it got closer, and closer. "Gotcha," I mumbled. With a final tug, the creature fell onto my boat. "A bass!" I exclaimed in pure excitement. "You'll be worth a lot!". I unhooked my hook from the bass's mouth. "God, you'll get me some serious cash." As I dealt with the fish, placing it in my bag after rehooking it to an exterior hook for placing fish on, I continued.

Fish, after fish, after fish. I couldn't have been happier. By the end of the day, I had at least 5 basses on my hands. This was impressive for someone like me, a new fisherman. I had only started fishing myself the previous month before. I started to dismantle my rod; I was done for the day. I turned on the roaring engine of my boat and made a drive to the docks. The engine didn't just roar, it screamed as I turned it on. "I need a new boat.." I mumbled to myself. The boat, although struggling at the start, soared through the waves of water. While it soared, the water hit my face, blinding me temporarily, like usual. I can't get enough of this. As enjoyable as the drive was, it ended too soon, and the boat stopped at the wooden dock. The dock looked as if it were to fall and collapse soon, yet it didn't. The local fishermen, like myself, were too astonished at the strength of this dock to even begin questioning it. We all have the mentality that if we do, we may jinx it, and it'll fall tomorrow, so no one did. We just kept our mouths shut.

I grabbed all my things and placed them off the boat. Once everything was off, I stepped out; almost falling over in the process. I picked up my belongings and began to walk to the local store. They accept freshly caught fish, so I was always there. As I walked, some people stared. Not everyone knew, but some knew. Some knew who I was, or used to be. Some people knew I was different. Luckily, most believed it was just a pure teenager rumour, that I was a "girl". I used to be, but I'm not now. My uncle Tony helped me look like the other guys. He's the only man, let alone a person I could trust. He lied to his local pharmacist. He told them he lacked testosterone, and they believed him. Idiots. Ever since then, he's been giving the medication to me. I fit in well with the other guys, thanks to it.

I walked into the store. Jeff's head perked up from the customer he was serving. "'Evening, Jesse. What do you have for me today?". "Good evening, Jeff. I caught 5 basses earlier today. What do you suppose I could get for these?." I placed the catches on his table. "You did good today, little buddy." He inspected the fish. The man he was serving previously, looked over to me. He was close to my height. He looked to be 5'5, in shape, with bleach-blonde straight hair, a serious face, and beautiful blue eyes, and he looked serious. It was obvious this hair wasn't straight. Must've been to follow a trend. You could see his curly hair sticking out of the blonde hair he had poorly dyed. He only looked quickly, before focusing his glare on himself. He didn't seem angry but focused. The more I glanced at him, the more I recognized his face. He goes to my high school. I thought to myself. I go to Mira Costa High School, and it's massive. 2,500 kids, on average. I didn't know his name, but I think his last name ended with something I couldn't possibly remember.

"So, Jesse. I just took a look, and I can run you by 20 dollars. You caught big today, little guy," Jeff said as he met my eyes. "Jeff, I'm 17. I'm not little, but that sounds great." "17? I thought you were 3." Jeff chuckled. "How old are you, buddy?" Jeff said as his direction shifted towards the man. He looked at Jeff with hesitation for a mere second then spoke. "I'm 17. I turn 18 in a week." 'What grade are you two in?" Jeff asked us. "12," we say to him. "So, do you know each other? Go to the same school?" "You ask a lot of questions, Jeff," I say to him. "But I think we go to the same school. I've never met him before though." "Yeah, I've seen him around." The man says. "Well, Jesse, this is Frank. Franklin Navetta." The man interrupts "It's just Frank." "Hahaha Franklin." Jeff laughs. "I said it's Frank." "Jeff, if he says his name is Frank, then it's Frank," I say. "Well alright. Frank, this is Jesse." Frank looked over at me. "Oh, hi." "It's nice to meet you, Frank," I say. "Yeah, nice to meet you too,"