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The next morning, Chad was happy to wake up without the help of the local wildlife. He took a long, hot shower in a private bathroom attached to the master bedroom of the suite. He didn’t care since it was a complimentary upgrade, but Chad was enjoying his new accommodations. He tossed on some shorts, a black t-shirt and sandals that didn’t hurt to wear anymore. As he walked out into the living room between the two bedrooms, Frankie was already awake and watching sponge bob on the massive television.

“Morning,” Frankie called out.

“Hey,” Chad said, “Let’s get my foot cleaned again at the infirmary and then get some breakfast.”

“What about my parents?” Frankie asked.

“Let them sleep in,” Chad advised him, “They’ll find us when they want to.”

“Fair enough,” Frankie said, “But I’ll need some new things.”

“I go you covered,” Chad said as he pulled out one of the credit cards from his wallet that had some of the money he got from the soon to be mayor. “We can use this and hit a local mall and grab whatever you need.”

Frankie was surprised and his face lit up. “Cool!”

“After that we’ll hit the beach and just relax.” Chad said, “That’s why I want to hit the mall. I want to get a bigger beach towel.”

“Can I grab some toys?” Frankie asked.

“We’ll see,” Chad said, hesitant to the idea. He would have to see what kind of toys the kid wanted before making the decision. “Let’s get going.”

They went back down to the main floor, hitting the infirmary as Chad said they would. The nurse was expecting him, cleaning the wound and changing his gauze without protest. Chad then took the young man back to the dining hall for the first meal of the day.

“Do the rules still apply?” Frankie asked.

“No, eat whatever you want.” Chad corrected him, “Carbs in the morning is good because we need the fuel to keep us going all day long. Let’s get some pancakes.”

“Yes!” Frankie cried out as he followed Chad to the buffet.

After a hearty breakfast, it made sense to spend the rest of the morning walking around and buying stuff. When they got into a cab, it was hard to tell the drive they wanted to go a mall. Finally, the driver looked back at them when they said they wanted to go shopping.

“Walmart?” he asked.

“Yes!” Chad called out, “That will do.”

“Really?” Frankie asked, wanting to see more at a mall.

“This will be good for us,” Chad said, “I was starting to get homesick. This will be the perfect place to quell that feeling.”

“Seriously?” Frankie asked.

“Whenever I travelled to Japan or Korea,” Chad explained, “Whenever I got homesick, I’d got to a fast food joint like McDonalds. The place looked the same and made me feel relaxed and eased my anxiety. This will work too.”

Chad was right because when they arrived at the island’s only Walmart, except for the staff it was a carbon copy of every Walmart both of them had ever been to. There were a few differences in the products, but overall, it was like they had just walked back into a building back home. Chad grabbed a cart and was eager to pick some stuff up, to make the best of their day. On Chad’s instructions, they picked up some basics so they wouldn’t have to risk going into the Anderson’s current love nest. Stuff like shorts, jeans, shirts, underwear and even sandals. As they were searching through the aisles, Frankie came back out with something that surprised Chad, a toy gun that was bright orange and shot out small sponge like bullets.

“Where did you get that?” Chad asked.

“Follow me,” Frankie said, leading him to the toy section of the massive department store.

When they reached the third row of the toy section, there was plenty those orange toy guns and suddenly Chad was the one who felt like a kid again. He walked over and picked up a bigger version that looked like a toy sniper rifle. He looked back at Frankie with a wide grin on his face. “This one’s mine. Grab enough ammo.”

Frankie did as he was told, grabbing the small packs with twelve sponge bullets in each one. Chad them grabbed what he came there for, which was a few shirts of his own and a few beach towels cause the ones at the resort were too small. Chad didn’t like having his feet in the sand, so he wanted a towel that covered the sand from head to toe. Frankie seemed very excited as they approached the cash out.

“What are we gonna do with these things?” he asked.

“We’re going to hit the beach,” Chad said with a wink, “Create some drama.”

“What?” Frankie said, unsure what that was.

“It means we’re going to have some fun,” Chad answered, “Most likely at someone else’s expense.”

“I see,” Frankie said, looking at all the things he had filled the cart with. “I hope this won’t be too expensive,”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chad said as he opened his wallet to reveal the cards he brought with him, “I’ve got fully loaded plastic. These bad boys could buy twenty full carts if I wanted to. And you forgot the pit stick.”

“The what?” Frankie asked.

“The pit stick,” Chad said, looking back at him. “Under arm stuff; you do put stuff under your pits, so you don’t reek like a skunk, don’t you?”

“Oh, that’s a thing?” Frankie asked, “I just thought I needed to take more baths to get rid of it.”

“Oh dear,” Chad said, turning the car around, “Follow me.”

Frankie followed Chad as he lead the young man to the row in the massive store that sold toiletries as well as other bathroom items. He grabbed a few toothbrushes, some soap, and then a few sticks of anti-perspirant. “This is what you need.”

“What is it?” Frankie asked.

“This is anti-perspirant,” Chad answered, “Don’t touch any of this stuff. Deodorant doesn’t take care of sweat; it just masks the smell. This stuff takes out the smell and minimizes your sweat. So, this is what you need to put on every morning before you go out for your day. Okay?”

“Okay,” Frankie said, taking a look at one of them. “I get the feeling this is rather important.”

“Do you want girls to talk to you?” Chad asked.

“Eventually,” Frankie answered, “I’m not ready to get annihilated.”

“Very good,” Chad replied, happy to hear the young man was paying attention. “But you need to start now, so you won’t gain a reputation of being a dirty kid. No girl goes near that guy, and you’ll automatically be a late bloomer.”

“Alright,” Frankie said, “Thanks for pointing that out.”

“No problem,” Chad said tossing in a few more pit sticks for himself. “That is after all what friends should be, honest with each other.”

It took less time to get back to the resort, where they took the many bags of stuff they bought up to Chad’s new suite.

“You can stash your stuff in the guest room,” Chad instructed, “Then get ready to hit the beach.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Alright,” Frankie said, taking his bags to the guest room and closing the door behind him.

Chad also went to his room with his own bags and closed the door. As he was looking through his bag, he noticed something he didn’t see before. There was a shirt that he never laid eyes on before. Chad assumed it was Frankie’s until he realized the shirt was in his size, which meant Frankie tossed it in there for him to help him blend into the resort a bit more. He turned it around to realize it was a shirt from a hit television show about zombies. Chad laughed and then put the shirt on. He also prepared a bag for the beach, packing essentials like sunscreen, bug spray, and a few of the sponge ammo kits for their toy guns. He also bought a scope from the sporting goods section and a roll of duct tape that he was going use to make his toy rifle high power to shoot sponge darts from a distance. Chad couldn’t help but smile at the fun he and Frankie were going to have at the beach. When Chad emerged from his room with the toy rifle with the scope taped to it and the bag of the other necessities, Frankie was already out there waiting for him.

“Whoa,” Frankie said, looking at the toy gun, “You put a scope on it!”

“We can’t go too far back,” Chad informed him, “I think anything further than thirty feet and we lose accuracy to wind.”

“Good point,” Frankie said as he had his toy gun stashed in his bag too.

“Got your towels?” Chad asked.

“Check.” Frankie confirmed.

“What about the pit stick?” Chad asked.

“Applied,” Frankie informed him, “But it feels weird.”

“You’ll be thankful later,” Chad told him, “When everyone else is a sweaty mess and you look cool and calm.”

“Fair enough,” Frankie said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Chad said, doing the same with his own bag.

The two men took their gear, left the massive suite, and walked back to the elevator. Chad liked to take the stairs whenever possible but his foot was still sore so he was going to use the lift for the time being until the bite and the swelling went down. As they rode the lift to the resort lobby, Chad could tell Frankie Junior was thinking of his parents.

“Don’t worry about them,” Chad told him, “This quality time will take the edge off and make life easier for you.”

“I get it,” Frankie concurred, “Just miss them a bit.”

“I’m sure they do too,” Chad said, “I’m sure we’ll see them before supper.”

“Cool,” Frankie replied, “Let’s go have some fun.”

They scooted through the lobby without issue, and while Chad was tempted to drop by the infirmary again, his foot was feeling better. Since he wasn’t going to swim or take his shoes off for that matter, a cleaning seemed unnecessary. It took them ten minutes to walk to the ocean and the massive beach that was located behind the resort. There were hundreds, maybe even over a thousand people on the white sands as the sky was huge that day, clear and not even too hot with cool winds coming off the ocean. When he saw how many people were on the beach, Chad knew there were plenty of opportunities for him and Frankie Junior to cause a little mischief. Chad lead the little kid behind him to a spot that was in the middle of the beach, but just behind the lifeguard tower, which could potentially block someone from seeing them. Chad laid out one of the massive towels he had just purchased, tossed the bags and the toy rifle down on it before sitting down and relaxing on the beach like everyone else. There was no need to rush, as Chad also wanted a chance to scope the beach and look for specific targets. He had sunglasses so no one could tell where he was looking, and he tossed another towel on top of the toy gun so that no one could see it. Once he was comfy, he turned to look at Frankie who was still standing up to look around.

“Take it easy kid,” Chad said, yawning and stretching his arms. “You do not look for a target. You wait for the right target to come to you. With this many people, I have a feeling you will not be waiting too long. Sit down and stop drawing attention.”

“Alright,” Frankie said, sitting down on his own massive beach towel that he laid downright next to Chad’s.

The two of them sat there, people watching behind their sunglasses when Chad realized their silence was look too suspicious. They needed to toss in some small talk.

“So what grade are you in,” Chad started, “Or what one will you be starting when the summer is over?”

“Seven,” Frankie Junior replied, “Not looking forward to it.”

“Why not?” Chad asked.

“Kids are assholes,” the kid answered, “All they want to do is play sports, chase girls or bully smaller kids. High school is even scarier, and that’s just two years away. I don’t think I can handle those bullies.”

“I know the feeling,” Chad said, “But I hate to break it to you: bullies have been around since the dawn of time.”

“They have?” Frankie asked.

“As long as there has been one person bigger or taller than the next,” Chad explained, “There were always bullies taking things away from the smaller dudes to demonstrate their dominance. Life in itself is a competition, and as long as there are winners and losers there will always be people who can and those who can’t. Is it fair? No, but victory tastes a lot better to those who have already eaten crow.”

“What are you trying to say?” Frankie asked.

“Don’t be afraid to fail,” Chad informed him, “Like that guy said about love and being annihilated, if you are not willing to risk everything then perhaps you are unworthy of the reward. A line from one of my favorite movies was that the sweet tastes much sweeter if you’ve had a bit of the sour first. Basically, it means if you fail and win later in life, that victory will feel better than if you just won everything.”

“I think I get it.” Frankie said, but he seemed confused.

“Let me put it this way,” Chad continued, “I played a lot of sports when I was your age, and I was good at most of them except one. I was terrible at high school wrestling. I lost most of my matches, but I had more fun doing that than all the other sports cause I never lost the others. I lost almost all the time in wrestling, and it was that challenge that made it more fun for me. Winning isn’t everything and can even become boring if you do it too much.”

“That’s a weird way to look at it,” Frankie admitted.

“The key isn’t to win,” Chad rephrased, “You’re young, so there’s plenty of time to win later. Right now, all you should worry about is challenging yourself, because if you don’t feel challenged you will move on to something else every time. Boredom is your enemy right now, and nothing else.”

“Fair point,” Frankie said, “And right now I’m very bored.”

“Alright, check this guy out.” Chad said as he pointed to this big guy who was less than forty feet away to their left. He was a big hairy man that should have left his shirt on for the sake of all the women on the beach. “This guy needs to learn to keep his shirt on. The bugs are going to bite.”

He took the toy rifle and laid it on his left leg, slowly aiming with his toe instead of the scope to keep it hidden. Chad took a deep breath and then slowly squeezed the trigger as he exhaled, sending the small sponge bull over to the hairy man, where is connected with his shoulder and falling back to the sand.

The man turned around but didn’t notice the sponge dart the fall to the sand. He touched the shoulder that was hit, had a strained face as he tried to reach it behind him but eventually went back to what he was doing.

“Nice shot.” Franked said.

“Wasn’t what I was aiming for,” Chad corrected him, “I need to compensate for wind, even for a light breeze.”

He slowly repositioned his leg and fired again, this time hitting the same hairy man, this time in the back, where one of his kidneys would reside. There was no chance of damage to any organs, since the bullet was a sponge like substance and the man had plenty of his own cushioning as well. As the hairy man spun around to see what was going on, Chad placed the gun between his legs for cover and then started to point at something on the other end of the beach, acting like he was trying to show something to his young companion, which made they both look innocent of any kind of wrongdoing.

“What are you pointing at,” Frankie asked.

“Nothing,” Chad replied, “Just making us look normal.”

“Don’t try too hard,” Frankie suggested.

“Fair enough,” Chad said, putting his arm down. He then noticed something that looked too tempting to resist. “Volleyball game at two o’clock.”

Frankie looked over to his right, and there were four super hot women in skimpy bikinis playing volleyball. They were playing rather competitively, as if they were competing in the Olympics.

“You’re going to shoot them next?” Frankie asked.

“Yeah, but timing is crucial,” Chad said as he leaned over, placing the barrel of the toy rifle between his big and index toes for stability. He leaned over so he could keep looking through the scope, taking careful aim. Then he waited for someone, anyone to walk within arm’s reach of one of those beauties. Then just as a rather fit man strolled past the woman playing volleyball, Chad again exhaled and squeezed the trigger, sending the soft sponge bullet flying just past the man, missing him and hitting the hot chick in the ass.

“Uh oh,” Frankie said, as he noticed where it hit.

“That was the intended target,” Chad said, smiling. “Now we sit back and see how she responds.

The woman who got hit in the ass immediately turned around and standing less than a few feet from her was the fit male who just walked by and it took her only seconds to assume what just happened. She assumed the man who walked by had just tapped her ass and it infuriated her. She walked away from the game and strolled up to the man she assumed just slapped her cute behind. She tapped him in the shoulder and waited for him to turn around. When the man turned around, rather than ask for an explanation or an apology, the woman reared back and cracked the man upside the head with a closed left hand. That punch was a hefty haymaker, knocking the man off his feet and sending him crashing to the sand. It was a punch that would make Rocky Balboa blush.

“Whoa!” Frankie said, witnessing the brutal roundhouse punch.

“Damn,” Chad said, also watching. “That’s gonna leave a mark!”

The lady didn’t appear satisfied as she mounted the shocked man and started to drill him with more punches, alternating hands with each shot.

“What the hell?” Frankie cried, “Who is she?”

“I have no idea,” Chad replied, “But she appears have some type of mixed martial arts experience. Her ground game is incredible.”

“She’s beating him up!” Frankie cried out.

“No shit Sherlock,” Chad concurred, “He’s taking more punishment than a Narc at a biker rally.”

“Do something!” Frankie ordered, “Before she lands him in the hospital!”

“Alright,” Chad said, picking up the toy rifle and aiming it again, “But I suggest you pack up and get ready to run, kid.”

“What?” Frankie cried out.

“Once I make this shot,” Chad said, still aiming. “I’m pretty certain she’s going to run over and pound us next.”

Frankie scrambled to clear their stuff back into his bag, while Chad squeezed the trigger of the toy rifle and fired again. This time the soft sponge like bullet sailed back at the women beating up the innocent man, this time slapping her in forehead. It didn’t hurt her, but the fact that it was the exact same feeling she had on her ass, it didn’t take her long to put two and two together. She looked up and saw Chad with the rifle and stopped beating the man underneath her as she rose back to her feet.

“Abort!” Chad called out to Frankie. “Back to the resort... Go! Go! Go!”

Chad jumped to his feet, grabbed his bag and the big beach towel slung it over his shoulder as he started to run away. Since Frankie had packed up already he had a head start and was faster than Chad, which didn’t matter. Chad was making good time as they both bolted for the path leading to back to resort with Ms. Mixed Martial Arts still hot on their trail.