Jack, Claire, and the

Great Sandcastle Competition

            by Melissa Wee

 

            Once there was a boy named Jack. He was a good-hearted boy, who always paid close attention in class and always followed instructions precisely. When Jack’s teacher asked him to write about his weekend, he wrote a ten page, detailed description of his weekend, from what time he brushed his teeth to what color socks he wore. When his teacher asked him to draw his table partner, he sketched him precisely, from freckles to unibrow (which seriously offended his partner).

 

In his class was a girl named Claire. She was a good-hearted girl, but always found herself day dreaming instead of paying attention in class, and could never quite follow instructions. When Claire’s teacher asked her to write about her weekend, she wrote a ten page story about fairies in a magical world. When her teacher asked her to draw her table partner, she drew sea monster (which seriously offended her partner).

 

 

Every April, Jack and Claire’s school went to Golden Sands Beach for the Great Annual Sand Castle Building Competition. Students were paired up to compete with other pairs in their own grade for the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream. The Golden Trophy of Ice Cream was just that, a golden trophy filled past the brim with ice cream. But the ice cream wasn’t any ordinary ice cream. Mrs. Phillips, the school cook, made it herself, from a secret recipe passed down from generations in the Phillips family. Only winners of the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream, and members of the Phillips family of course, had ever tasted Mrs. Phillips’ famous ice cream and they declared it the “best ice cream in the whole world.”

The day before the Great Annual Sand Castle Building Competition, Mrs. Mary, the third grade teacher, asked each student to write his or her name on a sheet of paper and also the name of one other student he or she would like to build a castle. A chorus of whispers filled the classroom as students asked their favorite friends to be their partners. Jack, however, wrote only his name on the sheet of paper. He had a precise way of doing things and preferred to work alone. Claire, however, was looking out the window, day dreaming about what life would be like if she were the size of an ant, while Mrs. Mary gave instructions. Claire did not write her name on a sheet of paper. Mrs. Mary collected the papers and in a few minutes created a list of partners.

            “Jane and Samantha,” Mrs. Mary announced. Two girls with matching dresses squealed in joy. “Cody and Erica.”

            “Eeew, I don’t want to be with a girl!” Cody, a freckly, red haired boy shouted. Erica, on the other hand, only smiled and blushed.

            Mrs. Mary continued reading off pairs until only Jack and Claire were left. “And Jack will be working alone. Is there anyone who wasn’t paired up besides Jack?”

            Claire’s glazed over eyes suddenly became clear as she woke up from her daydream. “Oh!” she said, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head, “I’m sorry, did you call my name earlier? I’m sorry to say, I wasn’t paying attention.”

            “Fantasizing again, Claire?” Mrs. Mary said warmly, “Well, let’s see. No, I didn’t call your name. I don’t think I got a sheet from you.”

            “Sheet?” Claire asked, blinking.

            “I’ll have to put you with Jack, if he doesn’t mind.”

            Jack shook his head no, he didn’t mind. But of course, Jack was very unhappy to hear he’d be working with that silly girl Claire, but said nothing because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Likewise, Claire was very unhappy to be working with that serious boy Jack, but said nothing because she too didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

            The following day was the day of the Great Sand Castle Making Competition. All the students, from the kindergarteners who were barely the size of their backpacks, to the rambunctious, towering fifth graders, lined up onto the bus. For the entire bus ride, all the students could talk about was the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream.

            Sarah, one of the big kids who won the trophy last year, had an entire circle of eager listeners surrounding her seat, including Jack and Claire.

            “It was the most amazing ice cream ever. Rich in flavor,” Sarah said, eyes closed, “sweet, creamy, delicious! Like nothing you can even ever dream of! Timmy and I gobbled the whole thing down in two minutes! We even licked the trophy clean!”

            “It’s true!” Timmy, Sarah’s partner, said, “It only took us two minutes to eat it, even though the trophy was so big and full of so much ice cream it took the two of us to carry it. I’ll never forget how happy the ice cream made me. Now normal ice cream tastes awfully dull in comparison.”

            “Why should we want to win the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream if all normal ice cream will taste dull afterwards?” Cody asked.

            “Because the two minutes of the most amazing ice cream ever is more than worth a life time of mediocre ice cream!” Sarah exclaimed.

            After listening to Sarah and Timmy’s description of the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream, Jack and Claire each decided they needed to taste that ice cream more than anything else!

            Finally, they arrived at Golden Sands Beach. They couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and the crisp sea breeze refreshed everyone.

            Before the students were allowed off the bus, Mrs. Mary stood at the front with a mega phone, trying to speak over the childrens’ chatter. “Quiet please! May I please have your attention? QUIET!” The megaphone screeched and the bus went quiet. “Now, I’d like to welcome you all to the 23^rd Annual Great Sand Castle Making Competition. You have three hours to build your sand castle starting… now!”

            All the students ran off the bus and started looking for the perfect place to build their sand castle. The fifth graders, who were fastest, claimed the best spots, where the sand was smooth and there were very few rocks.

            “Here is perfect!” Jack said to Claire, “The ground is flat and stable. And it’s far enough from the water so that the tide won’t harm it, but close enough to get water to create good, wet sand.”

            Claire pursed her lips. “I suppose it’s good, but wouldn’t it be grand to build it over there?” Claire pointed to a sand dune. “That way whoever lives in our sandcastle will have a magnificent view!”

            Jack squinted as he looked at the sand dune. “I don’t think so. We’d spend hours just hauling water. And, besides, no one is gonna really live in our sandcastle.”

            Claire thought for a moment. “Fine,” she said. “But if we build here, we’ll have to make up for it with a truly amazing sculpture!”

            “Sculpture?” Jack asked.

            “If we want to win, we’ll have to do something truly original and creative!”

            Jack shook his head, “We’re supposed to make sand castles! Mrs. Mary didn’t say anything about views or sculptures. Maybe if you weren’t daydreaming all the time, you’d know that.”

            Claire blushed. “I can’t believe Mrs. Mary put me with the snobbiest bore in class!”

            Jack also blushed. “Well, I didn’t even want a partner. But now I’m stuck with the silliest weirdo in class!”

            Claire blushed a brighter red, “FINE! I’m going to build a castle with an amazing view up there and win the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream all for myself!”

            And with that, Claire stormed off to the sand dunes.

            An hour went by and both Jack and Claire were utterly lost. Jack had already made a perfect sand castle, with four perfectly equal-sized towers, strong, perfectly straight walls, and a moat, perfectly uniform in depth. But when he stood up to examine his work, brushing the sand off his hands, he saw that everyone else in his class was making the exact same castle!

 

 

            “How am I going to win the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream if my castle looks exactly the same as everyone else’s?” Jack said, sitting down.

            Meanwhile, Claire too was having trouble. The sand on top of the sand dunes was too dry to build anything, so she’d have to carry buckets of water all the way from the ocean’s edge, up the steep, sandy slope only to find the sand she wet before nearly dry and herself very, very tired.

 

 

            “How am I going to win the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream if I can’t even make wet sand?” Claire said, out of breath, throwing down her bucket of water and collapsing with exhaustion. Claire realized she couldn’t build her sand castle on top of the sand dunes. Finally, she decided to ask Jack for help.

            Meanwhile, Jack tried to think of a way to make his sand castle unique, but couldn’t! Finally, he decided to ask Claire for help.

            Jack and Claire met midway between their castles and said, at the same time, “You’re right!”

            Jack sighed, “You’re right: to win the competition, I have to make something truly original and creative.”

            Claire nodded her head, “You’re right, too. The sand dunes are a bad place to build a sand castle. I’m sorry I called you a snobby bore”

            “I’m sorry I called you a silly weirdo.”

            Jack and Claire shook hands and went back to Jack’s sand castle to work together. While Claire thought of twisting towers, indoor waterfalls, elaborate gardens and other ideas to make their sand castle unique, Jack scaled down her ideas and made them realistic. They both worked hard and when Mrs. Mary’s voice came over the mega phone saying, “Time’s up!” they both collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

            The three judges, Mrs. Mary, Mrs. Phillips, and the school principal, went from sand castle to sand castle. Finally, they reached Jack and Claire’s sand castle, nodding their heads and jotting down notes on their clip boards as Claire bounced around, explaining that this balcony is the fairy landing zone and that this high tower is for the watch guard eagle, to spy enemies from far away.

            Finally, after the judges had seen every sand castle, it was time to announce the winners.

            “The kindergarten winners are Jose Q. and Lily L.” The two children started screaming in joy while some of the other kindergarteners started crying. “The first grade winners are Lee S. and Devon T.” Lee and Devon jumped in the air and hugged each other while the other first graders kicked down their sand castles. “The second grader winners are Ashanti T. and Laurel W. The third grade winners are…” Mrs. Mary cleared her throat and Jack and Claire crossed their fingers, “Jack D. and Claire C.!” Jack and Claire looked at each other and beamed. They really won!

            Mrs. Phillips handed them the Golden Trophy of Ice Cream. It was huge, and the two of them could barely hold it up. Jack and Claire sat next to their castle with the ice cream, each with a golden spoon. They looked at each other, smiled, and dove into the best ice cream of their lives.