An earthquake strikes the area, and Kyle remembers a report on tsunamis that he heard at school: big waves often strike the coastline after earthquakes. They caution Kyle and BeeBee to stay in the room. Kyle’s parents trust him to babysit BeeBee while they attend an awards ceremony aboard a yacht named the Elegant Empress, and they are left alone in their hotel room. After going to retrieve a camera to take a picture of his sea picture, Daren steps on the picture and ruins it. Kyle reflects that in his home state of Kansas, natural disasters include tornadoes rather than tsunamis. Kyle’s father tells them in the event of a hurricane or tsunami, they should move inland and uphill as far as possible. The family notices a sign on the beach warning that they are in a tsunami area. Unfortunately, Daren and his parents are staying at the same hotel.ĭuring a family walk on the beach, BeeBee collects seashells to sell back home, and Kyle looks for shells and bits of wood to create a sea picture. Kyle discovers that Daren’s mother works for the same real estate company as his parents and has also won an award. When the family arrives, they find that the Frontier Lodge, the hotel they planned to stay in, is still under construction, and they must stay in the older Totem Pole Inn across the street. Kyle has never flown on a plane before or seen the Pacific Ocean and is excited to experience both. The prize is an all-expenses paid family trip to the Oregon coast. When his father wins the Salesman of the Year award from the real estate firm he works for, Kyle is thrilled. Kyle lives in Kansas with his mother and father and eight-year-old sister, BeeBee.
Kyle prides himself for not telling anyone about the bullying, but lately, he’s felt like a coward. Since he is skinny and much smaller than Daren, Kyle avoids confrontation at all costs. Big and strong, Daren loves to pick a fight and has bullied Kyle since kindergarten. Kyle describes his goals for the summer: learn to pop a wheelie on his bike, improve his batting average, get his parents to increase his allowance, and make Daren Hazelton leave him alone. Kyle is finishing sixth grade and begins his story thinking about his last assignment––his teacher has asked his class to make a list of their summer goals.
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