Into Battle

• Jy Bubb, Grade 9, Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School
• Short Story
• 2014

Excellence Award in the 'The Text Generation 2014' competition

The salty sea breeze caressed my face, soothing and silencing all of my worries. The tides were calm, and the open ocean beckoned such adventurers as me. It was a serene morning, but I knew that this peacefulness would not- could not- last for long. I raised a hand and gingerly brushed the patch I wore over my left eye; a cold reminder of the last time I fought the ruthless tyrant known only as Captain Jakbeard. As if my thoughts had been transmitted to the open air, I look up to see the nose of a ship penetrate the gentle sea mist; Jakbeard’s ship. It was at this point that I realised that the fight had begun. I called out to the crew, positioned my ship and readied the cannons; it was time to see just who the most nefarious pirate of the oceans was.

My thoughts broke abruptly as a glass marble managed to skip over my ship, crafted from the finest pillows, and strike my forehead. It had seemed that Captain Jakbeard had fired the first cannon, then. Not to have my priorities go awry from the slight concussion, I sent over a barrage of cannonballs in the Captain’s direction. My eyes peeked over the pillows to inspect the damage I had dealt. It seemed that the spread of marbles had completely taken out a part of Jakbeard’s ship. No sooner had I let out a smug, “Hah! Got ya, Jak!”, than a ferocious bombardment of cannonballs struck my ship. My eyes widened in horror as I witnessed the walls of my ship implode from the impact of the marbles, leaving me to flail about in the open seas, vulnerable to any sort of attack the Captain might inflict upon me.

“I’ve got you now, ye yellow bellied scumbag!” I heard Jakbeard cry as he sent the mother of all cannonballs my way. I watched as a marble the size of my fist hurtled towards my face. In an act of desperation, I ducked my head, dodging a potentially deadly glass projectile. I whipped my head back up, a mocking smile spread all the way across my face to my ears as a secondary cannonball smacked square into my face with a brute force that knocked my whole body backwards, sprawled out on the carpet floor.

It was this particular incident, nine stitches and a harsh scolding from my parents that made me rethink my dreams of becoming a pirate, and maybe teach me not to have marble fights with my older brother.