Ethan – “The Pool"

Swimming. I’m finally going to start my swimming lessons. Our neighbor's children, a 17-year-old, offered to teach me to swim in their pool. They have a pool as big as a lake with a zipline that goes right over the pool so you can cannonball right into the middle of the pool. On top of that, they have a circular hot tub. Excitement coursed through my veins as I prepared to start my first day. Will I get as good as Michael Phelps? Will swimming become my sport? As my feet touched the water, my mom stopped me. You’ll need to swim with a life vest, my mom said to me right before I could jump into the water. Life vest? Okay, I’ll wear one just because this is my first lesson. My first lesson went smoothly, and I built confidence as I learned how to breathe and kick.

The days flew by in my friend's pool, and I gained more and more confidence. By the 5th lesson, I felt confident that I wouldn’t need a life vest. Oh no, you need one, my mom reasoned with me. Everyone else around me didn’t need life vests, so why should I wear one? My friends didn’t need one, the other kids didn’t need one, and I was the only one who had one. All I wanted to do was fit in with everyone else at my swimming lessons. However, I agreed with her because, after all, she is my mom. As the time came to an end, we got to play with water guns and other toys. I grabbed one of the water guns to play with and started to play in the hot tub. Do I need a life vest, I wondered. This pool’s not that big or deep, and I feel like I can swim well. Before my mom could see what, I was doing, I took off my life vest and jumped into the pool. My body was being swallowed by the abyss. Adrenaline circulated through my body, and I flailed my arms. While I was under the water, I saw an arm reaching for me and pulling me out. It was my swim teacher. My face lit up as bright as a tomato. “Are you all right,” everyone asked. Yes, he’s fine, my mom said. I should’ve listened to my mom, I thought.