It’s finally Friday July,7 2007. I’m excited because Zuly and Jessica are coming over to my house for a sleepover. They’re both my favorite cousins in the world. We acted like sisters pretty much. It’s 8:00 p.m Zuly arrives around 8:05 or so Jessica arrived at 8:15 because she forgot her toothbrush in her house. Once all of us together we decided to go party mode! we put on some music and danced for like an hour. Zuly wanted to watch a movie  we watched ‘’Madea’s Big Happy Family’’ It was a hilarious movie but when we turned around Zuly was sleeping and I was thinking to myself ‘’It’s 10 at night and your sleeping already like dude come on it’s supposed to be a sleepover”. Well I guess she didn’t want to stay up late like Jessica and I were planning to.

Yeah, I’ll admit that the sleepover was starting to get really boring.It was 5 a.m already and neither one of us was sleppy at all. Jessica had money with her and so did I too and both of us were bored I suggested to go to the store she said “ARE YOU CRAZY IT’S 5 AM WHAT STORE OPENS AT THIS TIME OF DAY LIKE SERIOUSLY!” I looked at her and said “Yes there is Sally’s Dollar Store is open 24/7.” We both had $50 dollars together the dollar store was in between the shoe store and the chinese takeout place. We left the house and bought some junk food and a whole lot of it because in that dollar store everything was literally a $1 and plus since it was in Maryland they didn’t charge tax for the things we bought.Then,I told her to why don’t we dye our hair. After 5 minutes we decided what color we both wanted which was pink we headed back home and climbed back inside through the window and into my room.

Okay, then fine I chickened out at the last minute.I told Jessica why don’t we dye Zuly’s hair.Now both of us knew that whatever the consequences were that we both would have to take the blame no matter how bad the consequences were.Thank god Zuly’s was like a rock when she would sleep.Honestly,we didn’t know how her parents would react to this new hair change.At first I thought that people would just pour it on and it would be pink but no you have to bleach it first.For some people out there who probably think that we used real bleach like clorox we didn’t okay we used a special type of bleach for your hair which turns it blonde and then you start the dying your hair the color you want after you apply the bleach on your hair because if you don’t apply the bleach then the color is going to be uneven which sucks because it’s mixed and really uly at the end.Jessica was like an expert at this she worked her magic threw Zuly’s hair thank god she was like rock when she slept.We were done finally!

She woke up at 10:00 a.m she went to the bathroom and really loudly she screamed “MY HAIR IS PINK!” Zuly’s screaming woke everyone up. Her face was red and they called her parents.Jessica got grounded for 2 weeks and i was never allowed to have a sleepover ever again which really sucks,Zuly doesn’t like us anymore pretty much. At Least it was the cheap kind which only lasts for 1 month.Jessica still talks to me, that’s enough for me.That’s what I get for doing stupid things and still knowing it was wrong.Honesty, she looked good in pink,Jessica did a nice job on Zuly’s hair she should thank her for the nice job done on her hair.Zuly should thank god for not letting me to do her hair because if I would of then it would have been trifling.

“See, this is how you put it on,” said my stepfather Rich, “Is this too tight?”.

“No, it feels snug,” I replied. It was my first time skiing and Rich was teaching me how to put on my gear.

“Good because that’s how it is supposed to be,” he replied. We were in the locker room(except for the fact that no one was changing) and we had just gotten our ski boots. The inside of the locker room looked like a warehouse that people would brew beer in. The only difference was that there wasn’t any beer, there was skiing equipment, and there were about two hundred over-sized lockers in the room. Once we all had our boots on(my mom, Rich, and I), we went to go get our skis. Rich was the only one who didn’t get skis because he like to snowboard more than he likes to ski. Next up on the list of getting ready was to get our poles.

I was really excited because I love doing things that I haven’t done before (if they aren’t extremely dangerous). After my mom, Rich, and I got outside, we each got our poles and went to the meeting place for lessons. I was hoping that my instructor would be my friend’s dad because I knew he worked here. “Man,” I said to myself,” this is going to be a fun day”

My mom said we had to aim to get to Ski Liberty a little early so we wouldn’t be late. I was a little annoyed but I knew I would forget about it in a little while after I slept. Once most of the instructors were here, the highest ranking one spoke. “Hi, my name is Erik. I will be some of your guys’ instructors. If you all will turn around, you will see signs that say level 1-7.” Everyone turn so I did too. But I wasn’t really paying attention because I was admiring how big the mountain was. It was magnificent. It was snow covered from top to bottom with superbly tall evergreen trees. But, I was getting impatient.

Not able to keep my mouth shut for any longer, I asked my mom “When will we be able to start skiing?”

“ I don’t know. I only know as much as you do,” she replied “You’ll just have to wait.”

“Now you may all go to your instructors.” the head instructor said. Finally, I thought, I can go skiing!

   Once we got to our signs, I found out that I was in luck. My instructor was my friend’s dad! When he got over, it was time to start the lesson. ”Now I know that this is a beginner lesson, but I want to ask, has anyone here ever skied before?” Nick, my instructor asked. Only one person raised their hand. “Good. I can have someone demonstrate some things.” Nick replied. Once he showed us how to “duck waddle”(walk up the hill side ways), he said it was time to learn how to turn.

“Now to turn, you have to make your skis a triangle but without a base. The skis should also be pointing toward the the base of the hill.” he said as he was showing us what to do. “Now when I get to the bottom of the hill, it will be your turn to try.” We only went up about a quarter of the way up because we had to walk up and it would have taken a while to get all the way up.  Once it was my turn, I couldn’t do it well enough. We kept practicing it be I still couldn’t do it. He tried to give me more tips, but nothing was working. It was a bit annoying.

“Alright everyone, I think that everyone is ready,” Nick said, “ to go all the way up the hill. I was freaking out. I had no idea how I would get down the hill without falling down. Once we got off the lift, we stopped at the start of the hill. “I know this is your first time skiing for many of you, but I believe that you are ready. Once I start, I want you to make a line and wait five seconds then go, wait five seconds then go and continue doing that until you get to the bottom. Don’t forget to follow my tracks. But if you don’t, you could hit a snow maker, a pole, or even someone else.” I got really worried. If I don’t do what he says, I could end up hurting myself or someone else and I would be responsible for it. Suddenly, the hill looked like it went on forever. It was my turn to go. “It was now or never” I told myself. As I went, I wondered what he would say and if I would hit anyone because I certainly didn’t want to do that and hurt them or me and get in trouble for it.

But when I got to the bottom, I got an unexpected surprise, he said I was turning how a professional would! After that, I had a really good day and I told my mom and Rich everything. They said that they were really proud of me. Just before we left we decided to go down some of the other Greens (the easiest slopes). Overall, I had a really fun day that day. I had nothing to complain about. When we were done with all of the slopes that I could do, we went back to the locker room (which still looked like a warehouse) and returned our gear and went back to our car to go home.

But there was also another surprise, I got to go to the Wegmans for lunch! They have a really awesome lunch buffet.  they had sushi, mac n’ cheese, egg rolls, a a lot more. They even had one of the Coke Machines! The machine had SO many different types of Coke. They had regular, vanilla(YUCK!!!), lime, lemon, cherry(YUM!!), grape, and a whole bunch of others. So after we finished lunch, we got back in the car and headed home.

“I’m starving!” I exclaimed.

“Me too,” replied Luke.

We were on our way back to our campsite after a long day of sailing around the harbor in Annapolis.  It had been fun, but it was time to return so we could eat.  Soon after, we pulled into the grassy clearing that was our campsite.  From our tent, we a beautiful view of the sun-sparkled harbor.  The sun was setting, but it was no time to admire the view.  I was starving, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

Shaan, a new member of our patrol, was the cook, as he needed a cooking requirement.  During the previous camping trip, some older boys had brought steak, and the delicious aroma had enticed us into bringing hamburgers on this one.  It was exciting to imagine a bite of juicy, succulent burger while on a camping trip.  However, the results were not as good as I imagined.

Shaan began cooking immediately.  My stomach growled as I watched and waited, mess kit in hand.  After a few minutes that seemed incredibly long, Shaan proclaimed, “They’re ready.”  I made sure I received one of the first ones.  The burger looked cooked perfectly, as it appeared completely brown but not at all charred.  In order to maximize the delicious flavor, I added a glob of ketchup, which I spread around with my bun.  I took a bite, and the taste was amazing.    I savored every bite.

Once I was finished, I told Shaan “I wish I could have another, but I’m too full.”  Then I loudly asked “Does anyone want to split another burger?”

    “No,” came the chorus of replies.  readier

I decided it was not in my best interests to have a second, even after imagining the delicious flavor.   However, Brendan, another patrol member, asked for another, which Shaan quickly cooked.  But when it was ready, Brendan could not be found.

“Where is he?” I asked Shaan.

“I don’t know,” he replied.  He handed the burger to me and began to clean up.  I walked around the whole campsite multiple times, but Brendan had apparently disappeared.   I was worried his burger was getting cold, and I still wanted a little bit more, so I eventually gave in to myself.  I tore the burger in half, and took a bite.  Surprisingly, there appeared to be ketchup on the inside, even though I didn’t remember Shaan or myself adding any.  Oh well, it’s saving me time, I thought.  But why can’t I taste it?  I would have never suspected the “ketchup” would lead to quite a bit of discomfort.

“Alex,” I said to a fourth patrol member.  “I had to eat it, it was getting cold.”  I felt as if I  needed to defend myself, even though my decision was relatively responsible.  “I couldn’t find Brendan,” I added.

    “Brendan’s right there!” he exclaimed, pointing to where Brendan was standing about 20 feet away.

    Uh-oh, I thought.  I’m in trouble now….

    I gobbled down the rest of the burger, then ran over to Brendan and handed him his half.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out before he could say anything.  “I couldn’t find you!”

    “What the heck, Mark!  Why did you eat my burger?”  Brendan angrily asked.

    “I’m sorry,” I repeated.  “I couldn’t find you and I was worried the burger was getting cold, so I ate half.”

    “Fine,” he replied.  “But I’m still mad.”

  I was starting to feel bad, but we quickly forgot about the incident.  I prepared for bed, and soon were all sound asleep.  Unbeknownst to me, however, during the night Luke vomited in his tent.  Everyone else in it was was woken up, and they had to clean up the mess in the middle of the night.  None of them had any idea why it had happened.  I slept through the whole incident.  In the morning, I was quite surprised when I heard the news.  As we talked it over, I thought back to the burgers.

    “It must have been the burgers,” I said thoughtfully.

    “I guess,” replied Luke.

    But why would these burgers make Luke sick?  They appeared to be completely cooked, and I know they stayed in the cooler until we were ready to eat them.  Maybe the cooler wasn’t cold enough….

  Suddenly I had an epiphany.  If my life was a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over my head.  “I just realized,” I exclaimed, “why Luke threw up.”  Luke’s body had been battling with bacteria the whole night, and it was all because of the “ketchup.”

    “Why?” asked Alexander excitedly.

   “The burgers were really raw.  They were so red it looked like they had ketchup on the inside.  They were barely cooked at all,” I explained.

    Everyone stared accusingly at Shaan.  “Ummmmmm…” he said.  “Oops.”

    Poor Shaan, I thought.  It’s not fair to blame him.  I had been in similar situations before, and I knew it was unpleasant.

    “Guys,” I said.  “It’s not really his fault.  Now we know not to bring meat.”

    “Yeah,” agreed Luke.  “Blaming him doesn’t solve the problem.”

    “Let’s have a vote,” I suggested.  “All in favor of banning hamburgers, at least until we’re better cooks, raise your hand.”

    Everyone raised their hand.  Since that day, we have not brought hamburger on a camping trip.  Not once.

“Get back, get back!” my coach yelled as a small scrawny girl with hair down to her waist kicked the ball almost all the way down the field, the sluggish forward waited for the ball to get back down to the ground so she could take two or three dribbles and score.

“Tweet!” the whistle blew calling the striker offside!  We could not afford to have that happen again, it was the championship game in a tournament we had been waiting to compete in for months. I wanted to win this game more then anything. Soccer is my passion, my life, my everything!

“Come on guys lets do this!” Sophie shouted as Caroline passed the ball to Mikaela. There was a small gap in the middle of the field that Mikaela thought she could dribble through, she was beating players left and right until a girl who towered over everyone, even the ref, knocked her over.

“Ahh! Ahh” Mikaela let out a piercing screech. The ref knew Mikaela must of been injured by the way she was crying.

“Coach, come on the field.” The ref yelled with an almost raspy voice, this was his 12th game of the weekend and his voice was almost gone.

   Coach Jed jogged on the field, you could tell he was worried by the way he was cracking his fists. He knew that with Mikaela injured it would be a bigger, more aggressive battle.

Her knee had been bothering her for the whole tournament but having a direct fall on it made it so she could barely walk off the field without the help of  coach.

“Good job Mikaela, stay strong!” Claps and encouraging remarks came from the crowd of cheerful, hopeful parents.

After Mikaela got to the bench the ref resumed the game, now back to the battle.

“ Go Liese, go!” I heard many shouts faintly, I was so focused on the game I started to tune almost everyone out. Defenders couldn’t catch me when  I was speed dribbling through almost all the players, I was in the box but there were no open shots or passes, except for one opening I noticed. I was winding up my leg so I could get the most powerful shot when all a sudden I’m on the ground and everyone is stopped. Did I score? What happened? Why is the game stopped? All I knew was that I was about to shoot then somehow got knocked on to the ground. I didn’t feel any pain though, I was fine but it must of been a dirty enough tackle that we got a penalty shot because the next thing I knew was Caroline was getting ready to shoot.

“Come on Caroline you got this!” I yelled when she was placing the ball on the white spot. Caroline has the most impressive most powerful kick on the team. Even though she does have the most excellent shot would the pressure get to her? I mean it was the championship game in a tournament that we have dreamed of winning, right then it was up to her to help us reach victory. On both teams the players, coaches, and parents were all at the edge of their seats, gnawing on their fingernails anxious to know what the outcome would be. Nobody could bare to watch, but you know everyone did.

Caroline took about four steps back, so she could get the most possible force out of her shot. If I was feeling that apprehensive then I wonder how she must of felt being the one taking the shot, the winner of this tournament depended on her. I would crash and burn if I had that much pressure on me, I would not be prepared. What if we win, that’d be so awesome! But what if we lost, the team would hold it against us forever. How much more nervous could I get. I could barely stand still, Caroline needed to shoot soon or I would of lost it.

She started running towards the ball, her foot wound back. I was expecting a huge forceful shot in the upper right corner but instead Caroline surprised all of us. Her shot was powerful and on the ground straight into the left corner, the goalie dove but she knew she had no chance.

I was finally at ease, I could not believe this, we were one step closer to being the champions.

Yeah Caroline! Wooh!” cheers filled the field and everyone was praising Caroline, her beautifully placed shot was perfect! After the penalty shot, the other team gave up, they knew that there was no way that they could score. There was only 5 minutes left and nobody would get through our defense, we hoped. We had so much momentum and hype but the other team was ready for the game to end, who knows what would’ve happened if they never gave up.

The final whistle blew and our whole team shrieked in excitement. We won! We were the champions!

“Great job girls I knew you could do this!” Coach Jed shouted with pride. 12 girls

drenched in sweat had the biggest smiles on their face. We all tasted the great victory and it was the best thing that any of us had ever felt. For the first time, my team was victorious.

Imagine flying off a cliff, arms spread wide with ski poles in your hand. Being able to look around and be the height of some trees. Being able to look far away and see white, fluffy snow all around. You know this is being watched by friends so you will have proof that it happened. Then, all of a sudden, you drop, all of your sights to see and everything else, just gone but you know it was a great experience. That’s what happened to me over winter break.

Every year I go skiing in Squaw Valley, California. My family and my grandparents and my cousins own a couple of condos at a lodge right next to the mountains. We have a perfect view of the mountain. After I finish my skiing for the day I sit down at my bed and watch the night skiers ski under the night lights and race down the mountain at speeds I don’t even go at, they do all sorts of tricks like turning around and skiing backwards. Also, skiing in general is a bunch of fun and there are numerous amounts of activities to do. You can go bungy jumping on trampolines and you could also go to a restaurant. Or you can ski down one of the 3 ski areas that are 15 minutes away from each other.

There are many different types of skiers. There are speed skiers that race down mountains at superb speeds. There are trick skiers that  can do numerous sorts of tricks in the terrain park that include grinding on rails. There are also terrain skiers that do skiing as a sport in a certain terrain, for example some skiers in the Olympics train to ski in moguled terrains. Last but not least there are skiers who just try everything and ski for the fun of it. I am definitely a kind of skier that does everything and that skis for the fun of it. For example every year I try to progress as a skier in a certain area of skill. I have accomplished many feats including going on a run that is called KT-22, that is the hardest mountain to ski in in the Squaw Valley area.

I was skiing down a moguled terrain when suddenly, a skier comes flying right above me as I ski down the mountain. I immediately look up to see where he came from and I see a giant cliff. Then another person comes from the cliff.  I look at their faces and they look like they are having the most fun anyone could have while skiing. I then come to a recognition in my head, that is the only thing I have not tried as a skier. I then think to myself, “ I am definitely going to accomplish that feat this year.”

Later in the day I go skiing with my uncle. We are going on some black diamonds (the second hardest type of skiing terrain).  The whole day I had been skiing with my younger cousins and I had found no cliffs that looked decent enough for me to go off of. I had my eyes peeled and as I was scanning the ski run I see it. Right as I am skiing by it I see a 7 foot cliff that would look so fun to go off of. I was too far away currently to go off it so I will have to do the run again if I want a chance at going on it.

As we were getting a ride up the chairlift I projected my voice so my uncle could hear one chair away from me and I said, “You see that cliff over there, I am going to go off that on this next run”. He nods in recognition and then I wait for him once I had made it to the top of the ski run. We were up at the top of the run and immediately I just went flying down the run. I had to slow down as I approached the cliff. I was about 30 feet away when I saw the cliff and I stopped. I wanted to make sure I planned the route just right so I didn’t miss it. Then I took off, I wanted to have maximum fun so I tried to build up as much speed as I could. Then I came upon the cliff and I just kept on skiing. I angled my skis upward a little bit and then I flew off the cliff, I could see for miles around, suddenly I dropped and I came to the ground and rolled over, I used the momentum to pick myself back up and I kept on skiing all in one swift motion.

 About half an hour later, I was skiing down a run called squaw 6, it is a hidden run that goes through some powder snow in trees, and I saw a cliff. I know I could already jump off cliffs and I thought to myself, “I am a pro at this and I can go off this”. I was not able to tell how high it was and I just kept on skiing. I was skiing and I just flew right off as if I was still skiing, except on air. This was an amazing feeling, if I was near some trees, I would’ve been high enough to touch them. My poles were outstretched and I felt like a leaf. Just lightly falling through the air. Yet again, I dropped and I rested on the ground safely and just continued to ski.

Later that day I went down a run that takes you all the way down the mountain. I saw another snow cliff and I went off that. When I got all the way down the mountain I went inside my condo. Then I told my grandfather about the cliffs that I went off of. He said, “You were skiing today with a pro, he used to go off cliffs all the time when he was your age and he did it so much that he broke some pairs of skis”. I never had known that before and that made me realize how good of a skier he really is. I thought back on what I had accomplished that day and now know that I had accomplished something that a pretty good skier had accomplished at the same age as I was.

“Are you ready?” Mary Ellen asked me.  Her voice was unsteady, enough for me to tell she was just as scared as I was.  We were standing in a circle, 4 girls in my group and I, deciding what our plan was.  Ana and her dad Mr.  H were more than ready to go, so they were already in line, saving us spots.

“I don’t want to do this. I don’t think I can,”  I uttered while racing back and forth.

“C’mon, you’re going to love it!  Also, if you’re not going, I’m not, and that won’t be any fun!” Mary Ellen made a good point.  I care about others a lot, and I wouldn’t want to ruin it for her just because I’m scared.  Emma and Mica were more prepared than me, but I knew that they wouldn’t go if the rest of us weren’t.   And then there was Olivia.  If I started naming the reasons I didn’t want to go, it would make her more unsure, and I knew at this point she wasn’t going.  I took a deep breath.

“Okay… let’s all get in line.  It will be so much fun!” I tried to be enthusiastic, but it turned out half-hearted.  Olivia look at me, confused.

“Are you sure?  You really think we’ll enjoy it?”

“Yeah!  Definitely!”  I started walking to the line, and soon the others followed, after what I could tell was further discussion of “really”s and “are you sure”s.  I raised my head to look at the towering 305 foot roller coaster. The glare of the summer sun blinded my eyes so I had to squint to see where the group before us was.  They were at the highest point of the Intimidator 305. I jerked my head away so I wouldn’t have to watch.

I started having second thoughts again, but I was silent about them this time.  I got a stomach ache and my heart seemed to be thumping out of my chest. I knew about this Kings Dominion trip with my orchestra months before now, so to prepare myself for these roller coasters to lessen the suspense, I had seen the Youtube video of every single one. I had done so much for this moment.  Why was I suddenly not ready?  The doors in between us and the Intimidator opened dramatically. There was no turning back.  The operator told us,

“Okay, sit down in these rows of the car.”  I sat down next to Mary Ellen and closed my eyes.

How was this happening so fast?  It was all so unreal.  I heard the automated voice I had seen in the video,

“Gentlemen! Start…your…engines!”

Oh, right.  I forgot that this roller coaster was designed by a race car driver.  Suddenly we were lurched at almost a 90° angle. The noise and feeling began. Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick.  My eyes were shut as tight as possible. I was about to open my eyes to see the view, but then my mind switched to the reality of what would happen in that situation- I would freak out. We were at this incline for what seemed like an eternity.  Then it stopped and we turned back upwards.

‘This,’ I thought to myself, ‘is it.’ Then we dropped.  Down, down, down.  I counted the seconds on the video for the fall.  4.  4 seconds of emptiness in my body.  How could someone enjoy this?  It was clearly a form of torture.  I screamed unwillingly and felt a bit better.  If you ever want to relive what it feels like, it feels like you’re dying.  I have no idea whether this is how everyone else feels during these drops, but I don’t think about that in the moment.  The only thing that fills my mind are regrets.  I hate the feeling of regrets. Then a realization comes across me.  It stopped.  We stopped falling.  I open my eyes. We drop again.  What? I was so confused. In my mind, I beg for it to stop.  Then  I remembered that the big drop was only the beginning.  I immediately shut my eyes and we drop again.  We keep falling to the side and down.  Over and over.  Again and again.  Finally, we slow down.  I open my eyes.  I look over at Mary Ellen.  I am so stunned I just did that, even though I’m scared of roller coasters. I smile and then start laughing.  It is as if the the Intimidator brainwashed me, because I feel as if I kind of… enjoyed it, even though I obviously did not.  We fully stop and the worker tells us to take off our seat belt.  I step off and find I can barely walk.  I am in a state of euphoria. I feel invincible and weightless and I start laughing again.  I feel the feeling of dropping again and I stop laughing.  I hated that.

“I think Ava’s an Intimidator girl!” Mr.  H exclaims.  I laugh more, now harder.

“Are you sure that you’re not scared about this? Do you really want to do this, Dayvee?” My mom asks me in Chinese while she heaves my giant green luggage onto the belt. The sun had not yet risen, since it was still 2 o’clock in the morning. She always called me Dayvee, instead of David. It never bugged me, however. “You’re only eight years old, so no rush. You can always go when you’re older, of course.”

The floor was still ice cold, or maybe it was just that I could just feel myself shivering on the gray patterned marble floor. I was already thinking of the problems that I might have. Where should I go once I am on the plane? How should I identify my assistant? Can there be another person to assist me, or should I just abort the whole thing? “Dayvee, you better make a decision, either now, or never!” Sure, I’ve done it last year, but this year, it could most likely be different. “Mmhm,” I say that might sound a bit sarcastic to my mother.

As she gives me some directions on what to do, where to go once I’m off the plane, and what I should do when I need something, I stare off into the distance, finding myself seeking how many strangers there will be. I am told my assistant’s name, what his gender is, and she shows me photo of him, but I don’t pay attention, blanking out. My mom also explains where I should be able to meet him, and what I should do if he does not appear.

I go through an area that seems like a door that scans people. I get commanded to walk down what I think is a jet bridge. Once the entrance to the plane is in sight, I start getting nervous, because I get forget the directions on where I should wait for my assistant. Was it at the jet bridge? Or was it inside the plane? Didn’t she say something about searching someone myself?

When I walk into the entrance of the plane, I see a slight opening where the plane and the jet bridge connect. I look down into the crack, and I get scared because I am so high, while I am only eight years old. I get woozy, and I snap back into reality. Didn’t she say something about standing next to a door? Then, a stranger in a non-formal clothing meets me and asks me, “Are you David Hank?” Of course, nobody ever gets my last name correct, but I thought it was close enough. “I am your assistant.”

Should I accept that he is my assistant? If he was dressed more formally, I might have accepted it. But, he isn’t dressed formally, so he might not be actually my assistant. I do know that he just said my first and last name, but it seems he still cannot be trusted. Should I ask someone that works at the airport to confirm my suspicions? Should I ask the people standing at the entrance? Or just be passive and accept my “fate”?

I chose to accept that he is my assistant, although it could be a very dangerous risk, if wrong. Anything could happen to me, I could probably get kidnapped or even get killed, I thought. I wanted to play it safe, so I walk a couple steps behind him. I observe that there are 3 rows of seats. He takes a seat at the middle row, while I take a seat on the left. All that separates us is the aisle.

After 2 days of sleeping, eating and playing on something I think is an iPad, we arrive at China. I rush off into the jet bridge, but then I remember my assistant! Oh, dear. He must be looking for me inside the plane! I rush back, saying “Excuse me” and “Pardon me” along the way. I observed that he was looking for me, and once again, I forget that he is still a stranger.

As we walk into the airport, I see a luggage belt. My assistant sees his luggage and rushes over to get it. My assistant passes me over to another assistant, and I butt in asking, “Do you know him?” It was a man in a formal airport suit, and again, he was a complete stranger to me. But should I trust again? Or confirm my answer? “Yes, of course. I will guide you to your… grandparents.” It was true that I had to goto my grandparents, but I was scared to ask more. How did he know? I thought thoroughly. If he knows, then… he must be my assistant, or a stalker…

After my first assistant left, the second one acted much more formally. It seemed he could be trusted. “What are we doing now, or where are we going?” I ask curiously as I stand right next to the luggage belt, seeing all sorts of luggages. My assistant smiles at me and replies, “We’re getting your stuff, David.” I quickly spot my bag down the belt and point politely. He nods his head and starts walking toward the bag.

We get the bags and quickly find my grandparents. “Thank you… sir.” I say with maturity, although I am still eight years old. I can hear the clunking of my assistant placing the luggage next to my grandparents. I feel so relieved once I run into my grandpa’s arms.

“Now you are truly a mature boy, David.” I felt so proud, because for the first time, I finally understood what he means by it.

 “AHHHHHHH!  ” I screamed as Anna Jane and I in a one person inner tube start going in circles at 60 mph.   But before I tell you how I got into that position I have to tell you the full story.  Last summer I went to my best friend  Anna Jane’s,  lake house.  That’s where this all started.

I had heard tons of stories about this lake house and all the fun Anna’s family has had there.  That summer they invited me along.  “ You are going to love it at our lake house!  We do such fun stuff like wake boarding and tubing!  ” Anna told me on the last day of fifth grade when we left class.  I was so excited to get to go on the motor boat and get to ride a inner tube.  We left on the last day of school, and we were in the car for four hours.   “When are we going to get there?  ” I thought.  When we got there I saw the house.  It was  nice and cozy, with 3 bedrooms.  I loved it, and I was really excited about being at the lake.  It was also nice and warm outside and not many bugs: and as soon as I got there, I loved it.

The next day I got up really early and woke up Anna Jane.   “Come on I wanna go for a swim!  ” I said.  She groaned but I got her out of bed.  We walked into the kitchen to see Anna’s grandmother in the kitchen.  As soon as I walked in I smelled pancakes on the stove.  “ hi lazy heads” she said.  We sat down and ate quick breakfast.  “ Anna, eat faster” I said gazing at the water through the window.  She gobbled down her food and we were ready to go.

We found a floaty tube in the garage, and threw in in the water.  “ you get in first.  ” Anna said.  “no, you get in first!  ” I said as I pretended to push her in the water.  We decided to jump together.  “one, two, THREE!  ” we screamed.   We splashed into the water.  The water was nice and cool and I loved it.  Later that day we decided to go for a motorboat ride.  I was so excited! When we got out on the water I jumped into the tube ready to go.

That time it was just me in the tube.  As soon as the boat started to move I didn’t know if I was ready for this.  All I could see was water and the forest, and I didn’t want to fall into either.  ”Can you go really, really slowly?  ” I said pleadingly.   “ Sure just tell me when you want to stop. ”Anna’s dad yelled over the noise of all the other motorboats.  Then the tube started to move.   My heart was pounding and I was so excited, until I realized how slowly I was going.  It wasn’t as fun as I imagined because I was going so slowly.  I just couldn’t get myself to ask to go faster, I was afraid of falling off.  At the time, I had a bright green waterproof cast on my wrist, and I didn’t want to break anything else.  This was a battle for me.

If you know me and Anna Jane very well you’ll know i’m not scared of most things, and Anna sometimes is.  But in this story its the opposite.  Anna was pumped up and ready to go when I wanted to get out.   I was surprised she wasn’t scared.  “phoebe, guess what happened last time I was on the tube?  ” Anna said as I retired from the tube, “what? ” I said, scared to know what happened.   “ I went over the wake and almost fell out!  ” she said with a gleam in her eye.  Just that story from Anna made me nauseous.  I wanted to go fast, but I was scared.  “ hey phoebe.  ” said Anna’s dad, ”If you’re too scared to go alone why don’t you go with Anna?  ” I thought that maybe it was a good idea, and as soon as I got into the tube with her, I knew I wasn’t.

 Ok now I caught you up.  “AHHHHHHHHHHH!  ” I screamed as the motorboat starts speeding through the water, with me clinging on to the tube for dear life.  I looked over and saw Anna screaming in delight and I decided I wouldn’t get that hurt if I fell its just water.  I decided to calm down.  But I couldn’t calm down!  All I saw was water spraying into my face and a motor boat going 60 mph!  So I closed my eyes and calmed down.  After I got over my fear it was really fun!  “WHOO HOO!  ” I screamed as we went over the wake.  It was such a beautiful day and we were having a great time at this point, I was all laughs.  There wasn’t any more fear left in me.

        Then we started going in circles.  I started to get really scared.  “ Anna?  ” I said wearily, “I don’t think this is a good idea.  ”  “lighten up.  ” she said “nothing bad will happen even if we do fall off.  ” I didn’t want to get hurt.  But I knew something bad was going to happen.  This part of the memory is a blur.  We hit a wake from another boat.  Because I could only hold on with one hand because of my cast, I flew off the tube and hit  Anna in the head.  We both fell off the tube and our heads colliding.  When I opened my eyes I was under water.  I didn’t know were I was.

When I broke the surface of the water my head hurt a ton.  “ PHOEBE?  ” was what I heard when came above water.  “PHOEBE!!!  ” Anna screamed as she swam over to me.   “ I thought you had drowned!!  ” The adults circled the boat around to pick us up.  After that wipe-out I was fine.  I did have a bump on my head but I wasn’t scared of hurting myself anymore.  When I think back to that moment now, I realize how scared I was and how I shouldn’t have been.  I got over my fear, and today I love tubing.  If I hadn’t had my wipe-out I don’t think I would have ever gotten over my fear and i’m glad I did.

   It was a couple weeks before my graduation . I was so nervous because I have stage fright .I hadn’t wrote my speech yet.  I still haven’t figured out what to wear and I felt like there was so much pressure on me because everybody was counting on me .

A couple days went by and I wrote my speech and studied . My music teacher was picking dancers for the musical in our graduation . I was so nervous because I really love dancing and I wanted to be picked to be a dancer  . When he started to call out the names and I heard my name and I was so happy. I jumped up and down screaming with happiness . When i got home I told my mom she  said “ i’ m so proud of you “ .Then we went out to dinner to celebrate .After that we went out for ice cream .Later that night when we got home we went to sleep.

 The next morning I went to school so happy dancing in the hallway .Acting silly and so proud of myself . Then all my friend congratulated me . After school I went home practiced my dance ,speech , and choir songs . After that I  did my homework studied for SOLS and tests . Then I got a call from my grandma and she said “ I will be coming to your graduation to support you” . I was so excited and happy because i don’t get to see her a lot since we lived so far away from her .

 Later that night I thought about my graduation and prayed for god to give me strength and take away my nervousness . Then I went to sleep . The next morning I got up I went to my my mom and asked her “can we could go to the mall to look for something to wear “ . She said “yes” so, when I got home I did my homework very quickly so we had enough time to look around and buy my outfit. When we got to mall we looked around and I didn’t find anything so we went to the stores around my house .First we went to Ross and I found this really cute dress it had pink and white stripes that was strapless but I wanted to see if there was anything else  . I didn’t find anything else so i bought the dress from Ross .

  The next day everybody  was talking about what they were going to wear all the girls were wearing dresses and all the boys were suits.School was hectic all the teachers were getting everything off the walls and trying to empty the rooms . All the kids trying to get all there work in so they could have good grades . Also they were trying to do good on their SOLS . After cleaning up the classroom we had  D.A.R.E . The teacher  told us that we had to write a end of the school essay and a couple out of each class would read ours at D.A.R.E. graduation but it had to be about D.A.R.E. As i thought to myself i said “ even more work that i have to do” . After that the announcements came and we were dismissed.

  When I got home I told my mom and my sisters and they said “ good I hope you are one of them that are chosen “ . I was writing the story about drugs , peer pressure , and more . Then I just started writing about  how my Uncle smokes and more . then started practicing everything my dance , speech, songs , and more .Then I took my shower and went to bed . The next morning I got up did my  usual routine .At school we took a long SOL I thought I was about to die from sitting and being quiet because I am a loud person . Also it was really hard .

   When everybody in the 5th grade was finished we went outside and ran like a wild animal . Then I saw a couple of my friends and i ran to them and we talked for the rest of the time we were outside . When we went back inside we just relaxed, talked, and ate candy . Then the announcements came and it said “ Monday will be last SOL in 5th grade and in two  days til the graduation” . We all got up and started screaming , we were so happy to be going to middle because nobody liked Elementary School . Then i remembered ITS FRIDAY !!!!!!.

   Later that day I did my usual routine snack, homework,talk, shower , eat , then bed .  Saturday morning  I woke up really late because that’s just what I do on the weekend . We relaxed the whole day . Then we went to Ledo’s Pizza for dinner and we had pizza , cheese sticks , and french fries . When we got home we took our showers then played phase 10 till we got  tired then I went to bed .

   Sunday morning I got up early for church a couple hours later we headed out to church. When we got there not a lot of people were there this Sunday . That meant that we had to sing  for praise and worship. I felt like we did horrible but everybody else said we did pretty good . Then Pastor McPhearson preached and then we closed after church we had snacks then we went home. When we got home I changed my closed got my Ipod and listened to music . My mom and dad had left to go get Popeyes for dinner.After dinner my dad made us go to bed .

    Monday morning I was still tired even though I went to bed early . Still had to go to school even though i begged my mom . After I got dressed , ate , brushed my teeth, and got my book bag ready . I sat down and watched TV with my mom till it was time for me to go . When I  got on the bus all thought about was food  because I love to eat  .

      When I got to school I so loud as usual . We were some last minute learning on math and science . Then we went to history we had a test on all the 50 states. She told us she  would tell us our scores tomorrow and we would get our awards from the teachers . After that we went to lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly , chips, and a Gatorade .After lunch we had recess with all the classes instead of one class . After recess our D.A.R.E teacher came and she named the people that would be reading there speech I just sat there cause i thought  she wasn’t  gonna pick me . Then when she called my I was like “ OH MY GOD!!!!!! I thought my essay was horrible “but she said “it was fantastic!!”. That night when i got home I practiced my speech and dance so much because i wanted to do so well then I took my shower and went to bed .

     The next morning I woke up excited and nervous because I knew that today was my graduation . Today’s routine was slightly different , first I ate. Then my mom curled my hair and put a pink bow in it . After that i got dressed and put my shoes . Last but not least we took pictures , before I left i went in my room and thought to myself  “ lord please let me do well with everything  . Then I prayed “ God give me strength and take away my nervousness in Jesus name I pray amen “ . Then I headed off to school .When I got school everybody complimented me on my dress “ oh my gosh Rachael your dress is so cute !!!” said some of my friends . After that we went to our classrooms our teacher was telling us “ I am so proud that all of you guys passed 5th grade and I hope you continue to improve” .

     Then we went to the gym so ,  could get started . First we all got called up in alphabetical order  . When I got called up  they said “ thank you for being a great student “ . I shook there hand and said “ thank you “ and sat back down . Second my music teacher came up and said “ hello parents these fifth graders will be dancing and playing the recorder to this song “ . I spotted my parents except my dad I really wanted him to be there but I knew he had to work . Then the music started and we started dancing . I was so nervous at first . Then a couple seconds later all my nervousness went away . In the middle of the dance my dress was falling . I just kept pulling it up til it stayed . After that it was time for the bridge and star . I yelled to my fellow dancers “ come on guys lets do this right “ . We messed up a little but we fixed it and kept going . Then we did the finally which was the star then held it up . After that we put it back down and took it apart .

     Next my D.A.R.E teacher (Deputy Curtis) came up and started talking . As she was talking I

thought to myself “ Rachael you can do this come on “ . Then she called my name and I went up . I started talking with my head down . Then I remembered what she said “ look at the audience and put the microphone to your mouth and speak loud  “ . Before I knew it I was done reading and everybody was clapping . After that she gave me a pin , freezebee , and a D.A.R.E. water bottle . Then we all got our certificates for passing DARE . Later we went back into our classrooms and had ice cream . Then me and my grandparents left . We went to Crackle Barrel for brunch . I had french toast and as I ate I said to myself “ I did really good today and I made  a great accomplishment “ . My grandma interrupted my thinking and said “ here is a little something for doing so well in school “ . After we ate and talked we went home. I went home happy and very proud of myself. Also knowing I can do anything .

The pitter pat of feet against the boardwalk fills my ears along with the splashing sound of the water underneath us. “Ouch!” I mutter, wincing every now and then as my big toe meets with nails sticking out of extra wood. However, I notice none of this, all I can think about is my heart, pounding against my ribcage, and how in less than a minute my feet would be decamping the bridge rail and I’d be plummeting into the lurking water below.

I glance around and all I see is beauty, after all, this is Cape Cod. The sun sits peacefully, without clouds, shining down on the blue water and the rich brown mud banks. Later, it will melt into the sky, transforming the beach into a Van Gogh painting. With the sun sitting confidently in the sky, and the water a gorgeous shade of blue, it appears to be a perfect day to jump, I think to myself, but I know I’m just trying to convince myself to go through with the idea.

We walk by people crabbing, and watch as crabs scuttle to cling onto the meat, unaware that they are racing only to be pulled up out of their home, their livelihood. ‘Why are you nervous,’ I scolded myself, ‘you’ve jumped before.’ Which is true, I have. Today will be different, though. Because today, I am jumping off the rail.

When you walk along the boardwalk in Cape Cod, you’ll pass water, you’ll pass crabbing areas, some mud banks maybe. Eventually, it will merge into a bridge. Not a huge one, like the Golden Gate bridge, but a moderate one, a good 15 feet above the water. The bridge contains a platform, which most jump off of, and then a few feet higher there’s a rail, which for the first time ever, I am jumping off.

I remember whenever I would jump in the past years, my dad would jump off the rail. I would always watch him, thinking to myself about how crazy he is, it would be so easy to fall! But at the same time I was excited, excited for when the day would come when I jumped off the rail too! Well, now it’s finally here and there’s no way I’m chickening out.

I look up at my cousins, Chels and C. I am jumping with them, even though they aren’t nearly as worried as me. They’re both basically adults now, they’ve been doing things like this for most of their life. Behind us, my Aunt J walks with the rest of my family. She’s not jumping, but I’m pretty sure she’s just as nervous about me jumping as I am, if not more. She is constantly at my side, as if we are glued together, and her hands are grazing my shoulders in order to make sure I don’t trip, even before we’ve reached the bridge.

We reach the bridge, and as we stroll along it someone jumps, spraying us with an ice cold mist, and my stomach ties itself in a knot. As we find ourselves more towards the center of the bridge, the wood becomes damp and the kids become raucous, and I have to carry myself with a teeny bit more caution.

Chels and C climb up onto the rail first, with extreme ease. “Come on, E, I’ll give you a hand!” Chels says, offering her arm. My heart dancing in my chest, I swing a leg over the rail and push up with the other one, finding myself in a squatted position on the rail. As I slowly stand up my stomach leaps and my Aunt J stands behind me with her hands on my back, so I won’t fall backwards. I stare down at the water, and it feels like every second I don’t jump it gets darker and deeper, as if it’s staring up at me, just daring me to jump. I think back to jumping last year. It seemed so much shallower, and warmer. Overall it seemed a lot easier last year, but then again, I has been jumping off the platform. but Chels squeezes my hand, “You can count down E.” My voice quivering, I mumble, “3.. 2.. 1… JUMP!”

I screech a shrill, piercing sound as I plunge into the water. It feels as if millions of tiny icicles are surrounding me and grazing me with their freezing sharps ends. I push myself upward, inhaling the fresh air as I surface. Although I’m not swimming yet, my arms and legs are moving at a rapid pace, trying to keep myself warm, however it doesn’t seem to be working. I feel like water is seeping into my body, keeping me frozen my my insides to out.

Chels and C are starting to float and swim back to the beach, so I dunk my head back under and swim over, hoping this will heat my body at least a little. I love the feeling of flying and gliding when you swim, the thought that you’re swimming and sliding through a liquid, the feeling of your hair flying backwards behind you as if a plethora of water molecules are trying to grasp your hair, and hold you back from leaving the ocean, and the water wrapping  tightly around you like you’re the chicken in a flour burrito. Repeating this procedure over and over, I can feel my insides becoming a tiny bit warmer. My skin still feels frosty, but I know this will change as soon as we get out of the water and onto the sand.

As we reach the beach, I feel a sort of achievement. I look back at the bridge and my smile becomes just a little bigger. I jumped off the rail! As we step onto the beach and my feet hit the golden, burning, sand, for a second they hunger for the freezing temperatures of the water, but the rest of my body relaxes in relief, already feeling the difference in the temperature.

   We spend the rest of the day on the beach, using our sweet lime and blue raspberry icies to cool us off instead of the water. It goes by fast, and before I know it it’s time to leave. I look back on the beach. The sun has dropped from the sky, to the point where it looks like it is nesting in the trees. It’s colors spread across the sky as easily as paint, creating a pink and orange collage. The water shallows, showing off the mud banks with their rich burgundy color and dark green plants, and without the mud mixing with it, the water turns a beautiful shade of blue.

“E, come on,” my brothers whine, “we’re going to Seafood Sams and if you don’t hurry we’re leaving without you!” While I begin to run towards them, I focus on trying to take mental pictures while I still can. Gazing around the beach, I start thinking, I wish I never had to leave, this has turned out to be one of the best days ever.