Can I Get A Break?

• An Nguyen, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2015

Imagine this. You’re on Santa Barbara beach, laying on a towel in the sand with your best friends on summer vacation. Sunglasses? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Cool drink? Check. Disgusting goo? Check. You rethink that last one. Disgusting goo? Where did that come from and why is it starting to sting? You take off your sunglasses and open your eyes. You know where the disgusting goo is from now. It’s from the giant dragon standing at your feet. Welcome to my life.
I wipe the goo off my chest before I get up. “I just can’t catch a break can I?” I mutter.
Spencer scrambles to his feet. “Noah! Wait up! We’ll fight with you. You can’t kill this one on your own.”
I unzip my bag and pull out my sword wielding it with my right hand. The dragon backs away at the sight of the weapon despite its size. It’s huge at least seventy feet tall, a bright green colour (I’d call the dragon pretty if it wasn’t ruining my day), humongous teeth which could probably chew all three of us in one motion.
I look at Spencer oddly. “Alright, but don’t get yourself killed.”
Jamie comes up beside me holding her bow to her side and rolls her eyes. “Thanks. I’ll try not to die."
I assess the situation. At least the people are gone, no chance of them getting hurt in the process. The dragon spits acid. I wonder why it can’t spit tropical punch instead. It’s three against a seventy foot dragon. No big deal. Not.
I take my stance at the front and make eye contact with the dragon. “Are you guys ready for this?” I say without moving.
They nod behind me. We count down. “One, two, three.”
I charge straight towards the dragon screaming my lungs out. Its maw opens up to a size of a truck ready to devour me. Jamie knows what I’m planning and she sends a stream of arrows into the beast’s throat making it gag violently. I take my chance and jump onto the neck of the dragon, holding onto its scales so it doesn’t fling me straight into the ocean.
“Spencer! Do it now!” I yell.
Spencer nods and multiplies (no, this doesn’t mean he has kids or does math). There’s suddenly multiple Spencers scrambling around the place tying up the dragon’s feet and wings. The dragon is desperately trying to spit acid at them only to have them disappear and then reappear the next second.
Spencer gives me the thumbs up telling me the dragon won’t fly away or throw me into the sea now. I make my next move and drive my sword through its skull. The screeches and thrashes about making it hard to keep hold. I swing off its neck before I’m thrown off and land with a roll. I face the dragon and with one last charge I send my blade straight through the beasts’ heart. With its legs and wings all tied up the dragon can’t go anywhere and rolls over to breathe its last breath.
I nod towards Jamie. “Send it off.”
She kneels beside the dragon and does the ritual before giving the dragon a single kiss before it disappears in a flurry of gold dust.
Spencer whistles. “What a beast.”
I shake my head. “You’d think flying across the Atlantic Ocean would help, but no. They manage to follow me from England.”
“You think it flew behind our plane?” Jamie jokes.
If I could say one thing about my life at least it wouldn’t be boring.