Alpha One- A story from Terah Kathryn Collins

Occasionally, I write a story about my experience on the beach, where the improvisational theater is fabulous…. Enjoy!

Alpha One

Grandfather gull surveys the beach from the air and lands to join ten of his brethren. They form a…

loose circle around a little boy sitting on a pile of cobbles eating pizza. Inching closer, they tighten their circle while the boy sits quietly and watches them. He chews each bite thoroughly, upholding the Golden Gull Rule. Don’t give them food and they will remain civil. Grandfather gull’s thinning head of feathers makes him easily identifiable amongst his clan. They step forward then backward in their two-step gull dance; mine, mine, mine. The boy finishes his meal and returns to his family picnicking some distance away, leaving the gulls to check for crumbs.

The camp of picnickers includes 8 young teenaged boys. They are a tribe, a gaggle, a clan with a distinct pecking order. Alpha One is beautiful like a girl with all the mannerisms of a boy. Androgynous, he tosses his long sun-streaked hair and rules with a cool tone and flashing smile. He focuses on one boy in the clan and ignores the others. Those he ignores vie for his attention by copying his every move – the way he shifts his towel on his shoulders, the cock of his head – they are visual echoes of their leader. The boy he attends to ignores the others too. They are a clan of 2 “haves” and 6 “have-nots” looking for something to do.

They wander over to the pile of cobbles where pizza boy sat with the gulls. Alpha Two surprises everyone by introducing a game. He is assertive and ready to rule. His game is to throw a cobble as hard as possible to make something interesting happen. He demonstrates by slamming a rock into the pile and shattering another. Pieces of stone shrapnel fly, exciting everyone but Alpha One. Rocks start to explode. Between throws, the boys slap and kick each other, holding their towels up so as not to get hit by flying shards of rock. Alpha One acts disinterested, and then joins in. Their game escalates as cobbles are slammed into the pile with increasing speed and enthusiasm. The sound is like heavy hail, attracting the attention of one of their mothers who, with a couple of threatening shouts, quickly brings the game to a halt.

The clan slinks back to camp, kicking sand. Alpha Two veers off and chases a flock of gulls with his towel. All the have-nots follow suit. The gulls whirl away as Alpha One considers the scene, his clan now under the rule of another.  He flips his hair out of his eyes and grabs a piece of pizza, throwing pieces of it into the air. The gulls return with gusto, screeching and circling around him. The rest of the boys grab pizza and rip it into bite-sized pieces, throwing them as high as they can into the air churning with birds. Rocks beating the earth become manna thrown to the heavens. The sun dives headlong into the ocean, Alpha One reclaims his clan, and grandfather gull grabs his piece of the pie.