Out on the Water

“Come on girls, let’s head out,” my mom yells to me and Paige.

We dart out of my house and into the truck. Excitement rushing through our bodies.

Sitting in the back seat raring to get out on the river, we have to find something to do to keep ourselves occupied. Paige digs out her camera from her beach bag, and begins to capture every moment.

“Smile! Strike a pose,” she says. Thus, in every picture we have a different facial expression.  

The trip doesn’t take long. Before we know it we are arriving at the docks.

My dad cautiously backs the boat into the sparkling water while we are on the docks ready to hold the boat from drifting away.  In a rush to get on the water, we all try to get things ready as quick as we can. As we sit there clutching the ropes, my dad hops into the driver seat. This is obviously our cue that it’s “go time.”

 The engine revs up and the propellers spin. We don’t realize how windy it is until we get out in the open water.  My head already is starting to hurt from bouncing all over in my seat. I can tell exactly when the trip is going to get a little wild because I can see the big wave coming.

The boat plows through the wave, sending itself further in the air. Finally, the boat comes to a halt, and my dad hurls the tube over the edge.

Paige and I buckle up in our life jackets, just to be safe, and leap onto the tube. We try our hardest to not get touched by the cold water before it’s absolutely time.

I give the signal to my dad, meaning that we are ready. The tube jerks back into the straight path behind the boat. We start off slow, and then the acceleration starts to elevate.

 I’m gripping the handle so tight I feel blisters already starting to form on my thumb. I look down quickly to get the water off my face and, as soon as I look up, I’m instantly scared of what I’m seeing.

Creeping past to my right is a massive houseboat. No matter how fast or slow we hit their wake, it is going to hurt. Here it is, right in front of my eyes. I fly through the air and skip across the water. Suddenly I am submerged into the cold water.

 Popping out from underwater like a bobber, my last breath is trying to escape from my lungs. But something’s saying no because there’s no way out.

 I realize the twinge that’s running up and down my legs like a thousand needles. I look into Paige’s eyes, and I can almost feel her pain along with mine. We are both trying to hold in the tears and not show our lack of strength.

 I feel the tops of my cheeks rise and my smile grows right along with hers. We glance back in what is now all memory and laugh at what just came to pass. The pain has a “feel-good” kind of hurt. The immense boat that was once tugging us is circling around to retrieve us.

One after the other, we climb up that ladder and back into the boat. We’re worn out and all for going back home.

After my dad takes his usual rounds around the lake, we head back to the docks to load our boat.

We finally get everything hooked up and head back to Wagner.

Now that we had had our fun for the day, we are exhausted and ready for bed.

Brittany Sik