I should have been marking ESSAYS…
But the holidays were so close.
In my head, I was already at Rainbow Beach, driving with open windows next to colour-soaked sand dunes and turquoise waves.
Fishing, swimming, watching my kids surf and run and worm… as in beach worms, to collect for bait.
How many kids in my class would know how to catch a beach worm? My mind wandered, while the to-be-marked pile of essays waited patiently. But you can’t mark analytical essays when you’re thinking about the art of beach worming.
They’re slippery little suckers and catching them is an incredibly frustrating skill to master. Usually around 50cm long, they bunker down in holes at the water’s edge, only poking their little heads about a half centimetre out of the sand to scavenge for food scraps. You wouldn’t even notice the sand bubble they create unless you know what you’re looking for.
My father tried to teach me how to catch beach worms. His father had taught him. You hold a scrap of fresh fish bait next to the bubble and then there’s a four step process:
Don’t let surging waves knock you off-balance
Hold the bait very still, tempting the worm to bite
Using just your index finger and thumb VERY slowly grip behind the worm’s head
Yank the worm out of its hole
I failed. Over and over again. I’d tried to pull the worm out before my grip was strong enough. The waves knocked me over. The wind was too cold.
But my kids were my Dad’s proud apprentices, mastering the skill with ease.
I’ve been visiting Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay since I was born. I grew up in Gympie, a quiet country town, where my weekends were packed with sport, study, and my part-time job at the Woolies check-out. But on free Sundays, my brother and I begged Mum and Dad to pack a picnic for the forty-minute drive to find cerulean blues blending the sea and sky.
Now, the drive from our home in Brisbane is longer, but my family and I still soak up every school holiday second, reliving my childhood memories. It’s the same beach road, the same surf club, the same bakery with the same delicious pies and sausage rolls. Just the way we like it.
How can I share this incredible place and people? How can I invite more kids to join us along the beach road to Double Island Point, salt air streaming through windows, friends’ voices crackling over two-way radios, enjoying and that first bite of a fresh ham and salad roll after a long surf?
Characters appeared in my head. They wanted to push limits. To joke and laugh, challenging and deepening friendships. They wanted to rely on each other, to have each other’s backs. They wanted to solve mysteries.
My pile of essays had to wait as the characters demanded me to listen. And I learned how to tell their story.
Carla’s debut YA Mystery We Saw What You Started is inspired by her country coastal childhood, where sports ruled and beach campsites were paradise. Relatable characters with heart, humour and action-packed lives navigate her stories, much like the high school students in her classes today.
