The Spin of the Ball

Let’s Dance: I have always wanted to be the centre of attention. There must be people who hate me for this, and that’s fine. I think I can remember when I first realised this. When I was in Grade Prep, we rehearsed a song and dance number called By the Beach (Sha-Na-Nah-Na) to be performed at the Grade Prep to 6 assembly.

On the day, when it was time, my teacher put on the backing track and I was ready to go. But it turns out I was the only one ready to go. On our entry (“By the Beach!”), it became clear that I was the only one singing and dancing (wearing my mum’s Laura Ashley outfit). The rest of the class were cowering with fear at the back of the stage. I f-ing loved it. My first dance solo. I’ll never have a thrill like it again. I sang out of tune and I danced out of time but I believe I put on the performance of a lifetime.

Somewhat ironically, I grew to dislike the beach. It’s like the desert and you can’t drink the water. It’s a scary place to be. And the sun. As I’ve come to say: hours of sunscreen, minutes of fun. I’m glad you like it but it’s not for me.

Beauty Routine: I don’t wash my face with soap. I feel like that dries it out. I’m just a water guy.

Back to the Beach: There are things that I like about the beach. I like the beach at night time or in winter because there’s nobody there. No screaming or people having fun. I also like the rock pools. I search them for signs of life until someone eventually says, “Ok, let’s go back.” I’ve noticed it’s never me saying that. I could spend a very long time at the rock pools. The ultimate find is the starfish.

Another cool part about the beach is the beach house. I like to spend most of my time there. I love watching movies at the beach house. Playing video games at the beach house. The best memories are at the beach house. As soon as someone says, “Right, let’s go to the beach!”, I freak out. I just want to stay at the house. The cricket’s on. The beach is just an idea. We don’t need to actually go there.