The New Lifeguard
by M.C.
Teenage girl becomes a summer lifeguard, and has an interesting first day.


Cindy Smith smiled as she drove up to the main lifeguard station. Ever since
she was a little girl and began watching " Baywatch " on T.V. she wanted to be
a lifeguard. She had applied for a summer job at the local beach. The
powerfully built, extremely athletic 19 year old college freshman easily
passed their rigorious tests with flying colors and was accepted. There was
also another reason that she wanted to become a lifeguard - his name was Mark.
Although he was several years older than she was, Cindy had always had a
'thing' for the strong, handsome - but very shy - lifeguard. Now her fantasy
was coming true and, with a little bit of luck, she might even get a chance to
work with him. As the pretty, vivacious teenager pulled up into the parking
lot, she paused and took a deep breath of the fresh salt sea air; " it's going
to be a great summer ", she said to herself.

Rodney Jones, the head lifeguard, sighed when Cindy walked into the main
station. For several weeks now there had been reports of a huge Great White
Shark prowling the area and Rodney knew that it was only a matter of time
before someone would be attacked. The last thing he needed today was a new
lifeguard to train, and a teenage girl at that. He stared at Cindy 's resume'
in disbelief. Her test scores on the difficult lifeguard examination seemed
incredible. In the swimming , physical strength, and endurance tests, Cindy
was so far above the other applicants - some of whom were football players
from the local junior college - that he found it impossible to accept. As he
looked down at the five foot - seven inch 150 pound girl the thought came to
him," this must be some sort of joke. That's it; somebody's trying to put one
over on us. Maybe those sticks in the personel department want to see if we're
on the ball down here." A smirk came to his face and he said, " Cindy, since
this is your first day on the job, you'll work with Mark, one of our most
experienced lifeguards." It was only with the greatest amount of restraint,
that Cindy was able to supress her joy at hearing this. Rodney issued her the
bright red lifeguard swimsuit ( he had to admit that she did fill it out
extremely well ) as well as her other gear. Together, they began walking
towards Mark's lifeguard tower.

"Mark, this is Cindy, our newest lifeguard. She'll be working here this summer
and I want you to train her." Cindy smiled up at the handsome man. " Pleased
to meet you," she said as she held out her hand. Mark avoided direct eye
contact as they shook hands - though he was amazed at the strength of her
grip. " Weightlifting ", Cindy replied after she noticed the surprised look on
his face. "Anyway, I'll leave you two now," Rodney said, " and good luck
Cindy." He winked at Mark as he left. For the entire morning, as he explained
what the duties of a lifeguard were, Mark couldn't bring himself to look at
Cindy's pretty face. His shyness was legendary among the other lifeguards. He
didn't relate well with them and, although he was considered one of the very
best at his work, nobody really liked to work with him. As a result, he often
worked alone. After six years of lifeguarding, he came to think of this
particular beach as his own turf. He was responsible for it. Cindy first
noticed Mark when she was 15 years old and started going to the beach with her
friends. As often as she could, she tried to sit near his station and get him
to notice her." What in the world do you see in this guy ?," her friends would
ask , " he's so wierd." Cindy would just smile and say, " no, he's not
weird...just shy that's all."

As the day wore on, and the summer heat increased, the beach became very
crowded with bathers. Cindy and Mark had to keep a constant vigil on the
people in the water. All of the lifeguards had been warned of the shark
sightings and were on high alert for any sign of danger. A Great White Shark
could devour a child with one single gulp. So far though, everything seemed to
be going smoothly. Then, all of a sudden, a mother came running up to Mark and
Cindy with a look of sheer panic on her face. " Please lifeguards, you must
help me. My children are way out there and can't come back. You have to save
them." Sure enough, way out beyond the breakers was a group of children trying
frantically to swim to shore, but seemed unable to. " It's a riptide," Mark
exclaimed; refering to a strong current of water that moves away from the
shore; pulling unsuspecting swimmers along with it. " You stay here Cindy,
I'll go out and bring them in ". " But I want to help too," she replied. "
It's much too dangerous for a girl, you stay here !!! " Without another word,
Mark dove into the water and began swimming towards the imperiled children. As
she watched the experienced lifeguard bravely swim out, Cindy's keen eyes
spotted something else, something that made her heart stop...a very large
black fin was moving ominously towards the struggling children. Mark was
oblivious to the danger as he swam to the rescue. Cindy felt she had to do
something...... but what ? She was, afterall, just "a girl."

"Stay calm, don't panic!," Mark yelled as he approached the children. " We're
in a riptide. We'll have to swim with the pull until it subsides. I'll stay
with you and we'll all get out of this together." Suddenly, one of the kids
started to scream. Mark turned around and stared in shock at the largest teeth
he had ever seen; the dagger - like teeth of a twenty foot long, two ton Great
White Shark that was quickly baring down on them. Mark looked around; no help
in sight. Turning to the children he shouted, " you kids try to make it to the
shore. I'll attempt to hold off the shark for as long as possible." Though he
knew his chances against the shark were nil, he had to try in order to give
the children time to escape. But as the giant jaws closed in on him, Mark
thought to himself ," this is the end, there's no way out. I just hope the
kids make it to safety." Just as the monsterous shark was about to attack the
helpless lifeguard, a pair of muscular arms came up out of the water and held
the powerful jaws open. Mark stared in disbelief... it was Cindy. " Mark, you
get the children away from here and safely to shore; I'll 'take care' of this
shark." Mark started to say something but before he could get out even a
single word Cindy yelled, " JUST DO AS I SAY, NOW !!! " When Mark started to
move the children towards the shore, Cindy turned and faced the massive Great
White Shark. " Threaten helpless children on my beach will you. Well, we'll
see about that."

Cindy reared back and sent a powerful punch straight into the shark's lower
jaw. Such was the force of her blow that the shark's huge head was sent
backward and several of his teeth went flying out. Enraged, the two ton
killing machine quickly attacked again; only to be met by another powerful
punch from Cindy's right fist, costing him several more teeth. She then took a
deep breath of air and dove under the water, with the shark in hot persuit. "
You and I will settle this thing underwater, tough guy ". Despite the shark's
tremendous size advantage - over two tons against Cindy's mere150 pounds -
Cindy proved to be a much faster swimmer and was easily able to maneuver
around his massive body. She began to pummel him from all sides and underneath
with her rock - hard fists. As improbable as it seems, the mighty Great White
Shark - most feared predator in the ocean - seemed to be getting his
come-up-pance, from a 19 year old girl. His huge size made him an easy target
for her surprisingly strong punches, and when he attempted to bite her, she
simply wasn't there. Cindy's small but powerful fists struck with tremendous
force, penetrating deep into the shark's body. As the battle continued, her
punches began to take their toll.

Meanwhile on the surface, Mark had finally gotten the children to the safety
of the shore; and their mother's arms. He frantically searched the ocean for a
sign of Cindy but all he could see was the turbulence coming from the spot
where the brave girl and giant Shark were battling it out underneath. He
pleaded with some of the other lifeguards that had come over when they heard
of what was happening. "We've got to go out there and help her, Cindy's
battleing that giant shark by herself. The poor girl doesn't stand a chance."
Rodney, however, wouldn't allow it. " Mark, I'm afraid there's nothing we can
do about it. The Great White Shark is the fiercest animal in the ocean. Even
if we were able to reach her in time, what can we do, fight that monster with
our bare hands ? I can't have any more of my people to risk their lives on a
lost cause. I'm afraid Cindy died a noble death." Mark sadly gazed out at the
sea where the water was still very turbulent. There was blood coming up to the
surface. Mark's heart sank as he remembered Cindy's selfless bravery. She had
sacrificed her life to save him and the children.

Meanwhile, under the sea, the tenacious life and death struggle was continuing
between the huge Great White Shark and the19 year old girl. As Cindy
relentlessly proceeded to batter the shark's body with her powerful punches -
slowly but surely reducing him into pulp - the fierce predator realized that
he'd bitten off more than he can chew. A retreat was in order. Turning around,
the outmatched shark began to flee. " Oh, no you don't ", Cindy said to
herself, " I'm not quite through with you yet, big boy." Using her powerful
legs to propel herself, the mighty supergirl rapidly swam after the fleeing
shark and soon caught up with him. " I'm afraid you're not going anywhere."
She grabbed him by the tail and began to whurl the giant fish around and
around ( those watching from the shore, swore they saw what looked like a
whorl pool coming from that spot in the ocean ) before slamming him down on
the seafloor. Cindy then straddled the shark, pinning him to the seabed with
her muscular thighs. She began to pound him again with her mighty fists and
this time there was no escape for him. " Your days of intimidating the
beachgoers around here are over, tough guy . There's a new girl in town. "

By now a large crowd had gathered around the shore and anxiously looked out
towards the sea. The turbulence subsided and the sea became calm. The area of
the sea where the shark attack occured was red with blood and everybody feared
the worst. An eerie silence came over the beach. Mark, despite his discipline
and self-control, began to weep. Then, close to the shore, a head began to
emerged from the water, Cindy's. As she approached the beach, the crowd began
to cheer wildly. Cindy smiled back at them. She had both hands behind her and
appeared to be dragging something.....something very large. All of the sudden
the spectators let out a great gasp as they stared in disbelief. It was a
sight none of them would ever forget. Cindy Smith, the pretty new 19 year old
lifeguard, emerged from the ocean, comely dragging behind her the lifeless
body of the two ton, twenty foot long, Great White Shark. All the people broke
into spontaneous applause as Cindy placed the battered corpse on the sand. She
put her right foot on the dead shark's carcass and flexed her muscles. The
children that she saved all ran up to her. " This mean old fishy won't be
bothering you anymore," Cindy told them. " As long as I'm here, this beach
will be safe." Then, looking over at the stunned Mark and Rodney, she smiled
and added, " not too bad for a ' girl ' is it ? "

All the people on the beach then mobbed the new heroine. Some posed for
pictures with her on the shark's lifeless body, others just wanted to see her
flex her large muscles. A few were even heard to say, " who needs that
deadbeat Mark now that Cindy is here." Although Mark was glad that Cindy was
safe, he also had to accept the fact that she had outshone him; had done
something that he could never do....even in his dreams. That his time had
passed. From now on she would be ' the man...err...the girl '. The one people
looked to when they needed help, the one they had confidence in. For him,
there was only one thing left to do...gracefully resign and move on. There
were other beaches that needed experienced lifeguards. He'd just have to find
one. As he slowly turned and started to walk back towards his lifeguard tower
he heard someone behind him call out, " Hold up Mark, just where do you think
you're going ? "

" I'm going to my tower Cindy ", he said dejectedly. Cindy knew what was
bothering him. She also knew that if she was going to make her move, now was
the time. Her woman's intuition told her that this would require her to use
'feminine persuasion' with him. "Oh no your not !!! ", she said firmly, "
You're coming with me. You were going to sacrifice your life to save those
children. You're as much a hero as I am and it should be acknowledged in front
of everybody here." Mark looked down at the sand," h-how can you s-say that
after what you just did ? You killed that huge shark with just your bare
hands." Cindy walked up to him, grabbed him firmly by his shirt, and forced
him to look straight into her eyes. " Now you listen to me, Mark and you
listen good. Yes, I killed that two ton Great White Shark with my bare hands
so you don't want to cross me !! I've had a crush on you since I was 15 years
old. There's no way I was going to let that shark harm you or the children.
Yes I'm strong ...DAMN STRONG , and I'll use my strength to protect those who
are close and important to me....like you. That you were willing to die so
that those children could escape shows me what kind of person you are and I
don't want any of your macho bullshit to get in the way of our relationship.
I've waited years for the opportunity to work with you and nothing, not even
your ego, is going to get in the way of that." Cindy stopped scolding Mark and
wrapped her powerful arms around him. She then gave him a long, passionate
kiss. When she finished, two minutes later, Cindy released her grip and Mark -
nearly unconscious - collapsed on the sand. "Oooops, sorry about that," Cindy
giggled, " I guess I'll have to be a bit more gentle with you next time, tee,
hee, hee."

Cindy helped Mark to his feet. " Since I saved you from being shark food
today, I think the least you can do is take me out to dinner. I'll expect you
around 6 P.M. at 715 East Miller Drive. And don't be late...you don't want to
be around me when I get too hungry," she winked. Mark, slowly accepting the
way his life had been irrevocably changed by the events of the past hour,
could only respond with a meek , " yes Cindy." She kissed him again - on the
cheek this time - and said, " well, we still have our shift to finish, and you
still have a lot of this lifeguard stuff to teach me. There must be more to my
job than just beating up sharks ", she giggled. The rest of the day went by
uneventfully. After they showered and changed their clothes, Cindy walked Mark
out to the parking lot. " Remember Mark, 6 P.M. ", she said with mock
sterness." I won't forget, Cindy," Mark shyly responded. As she started up her
car Cindy yelled out," and if you think I'm tough on Great White Sharks, you
should see what I do to men that show up late for dates with me." Cindy drove
out of the parking lot, satisfied that that her first day as a lifeguard had
gone well. "Yes ", she thought to herself, " it's going to be a great summer
indeed ".