The Beach

by Alex Garland

“I want lots. And that’s why’—again he pushed his face into the netting—‘I won’t leave you alone.”

I began a short mime of mopping down the windows before sticking my imaginary mop into the light. Then I began jerking around, electrocuted.

I don’t know why I did it. I knew it was a fantastically stupid thing to do, but I went right ahead and did it anyway. I simply needed to tell someone what I was doing.

At the guest house the silent heroin addict sat in his usual seat. When he saw us he drew a line with his finger over each wrist.

If Etienne was the one who turned the idea of finding the beach into a possibility, it was Françoise who made it happen. The odd thing was, she did it almost accidentally, simply by taking for granted that we were going to try.

On the landing of my level I passed the heroin mute on his way down. A double surprise, partly to see him moved from his usual seat and partly because it turned out he wasn’t mute after all.

He smiled. “Of course you’ll try to have a safe trip. I’m saying, actually have one.”

The fact is, I’ve never grown out of playing pretend, and so far there are no signs that I ever will.

“I can’t do it. My hands are too sticky. The rizla…The rizla keeps falling apart.”

RIZZLER??

It was a bit of a shock. Having been around lots of tanned skin, I’d somehow assumed I was also tanned, but the ghost in the mirror corrected me.

I loved their straightforward weirdness, the strange area they occupied between plant and animal life.

“You hang on to the joint for ages. Us Americans take a toke or two and pass it on.”

neeeeed to smoke with a british person so they can confirm or deny

I only say it to make a point…. Fuck knows what the point is, but…”

“Seven!” Sammy shouted and thumped the ground with his fist, spraying everyone with sand. “Jesus! That makes me so fucking mad!”

Etienne’s response had been so charming that it would have been cruel to reveal the truth.

i hope he doesn’t die man 😭😭

“Show me the map,” he said, trying to sit up. “Etienne,” I replied between gasps for breath, and pushed him back down. “We’ve done enough. We’re staying here tonight.”

Glow-stars are strange. They make the ceiling disappear.

Hidden in the bushes, shivering with fright, I learned that if the devil you know is the guard of a drug plantation, then all other devils pale in comparison.

“So near and so far.” “So near and yet so far,” I corrected vacantly.

“Maybe we can jump from this waterfall,”

forget that real life isn’t like minecraft sometimes cause wdym maybe

I was suddenly sick of how difficult this journey had become.

Fucking New Guy? Yea, though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherfucker in the valley. New to what?

I tried to nod politely, but I overran the motion forward and the nod turned into a little bow.

batman

love

“I’m the addict’s addict.”

It seemed so belittling. I had ambiguous feelings about the differences between tourists and travelers—the problem being that the more I traveled, the smaller the differences became.

As Leo hears the tapping he blurts, “I’m toast.” He says it quickly, with resignation and understanding. If he were driving down the highway and saw a car spinning into his path I think he’d react in the same way.

There’s this saying: In an all-blue world, color doesn’t exist. It makes a lot of sense to me. If something seems strange, you question it, but if the outside world is too distant to use as a comparison, then nothing seems strange.

Assimilation and rice. These were just things to accept—new aspects of a new life.

There wasn’t much to be done after dark, apart from get stoned.

I found myself almost hoping for another meeting with Mister Duck. I wanted to shake him by the hand.

A typical pattern is illustrated by Dr. Robotnik during his first incarnation in Sonic One, Megadrive version, Greenhills Zone.

The boss that distracted me from Etienne and Françoise was none other than Wario, nemesis of Mario.

“Don’ta pausa on thata platforma.” (I’m abandoning his Italian accent from now on.)

The Game Boy was always slippery after he’d used it, and smelled of fish, but I considered that a fair price to pay for his expertise.