You'd barely made it ten steps past the wooden path entrance before the feeling set in. The way the fabric sat too high on your hips. The way the strings felt loose at your neck, like they might slip at any moment.

A group of boys further down the beach went quiet as you passed. One of them nudged another.

You followed, your feet sinking into softer, drier sand as he led you toward the less crowded end of the shore.

A few more steps in silence. Then he stopped, reaching up to pull at the collar of his light green overshirt.

He held the shirt out to you, the fabric swaying gently in the sea breeze. When you didn't take it immediately, he stepped forward. Close enough that you caught the faint scent of sun-warmed fabric and something like cedar.

He draped it over your shoulders himself, the material settling light and loose. His fingers brushed the collar once, smoothing it flat, before he pulled away.