Trapped (Hattie P., Grade 3

So I unrealed my last line of the string and for the last five minutes no fish latched on. Then suddenly I felt a tug then a bigger tug then splash a fish came flying up! I yelled, ’’Finally.’’ What do you want to do with it? Can we give it to a seafood restaurant? Great idea. So me and my dad got some treats on the way back home. I said, ’’I love going fishing with you dad.’’ He said,’’I love going fishing with you too.’’

Trapped By Hattie P., Grade 3

“Ack!” I screamed water spraying my face so hard it felt like concrete. Wind whistled by whipping my sopping hair around my ecstatic face. Bam! The tube slammed down onto the distorted water so hard we were flung around like popcorn in a microwave. I slammed into my brother and we both nearly flung off in the split second that our hands were of the handels. “Ahhh!” We shouted our voices lost in the rushing wind. I noticed no matter how loud we screamed no one could hear us over the water rushing by. We were alone. The thought alone of the parents not noticing if we sank made me uneasy. The boat looked so far off I thought worriedly. No, I'm just being paranoid. I've got to relax, I told myself squaring my shoulders clenching my jaw. I forced myself to smile and laugh with my cousins. Just then the tube slowed just enough for us to see and talk without biting our tongues off. “This is so fun!” I exclaimed, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as I felt, shifting out from being jammed in the tube side. I let my shoulders relax and smiled. I've got to stop worrying about this, I thought. We're going to be fine. I didn’t think of it again as I sat back into the tube and enjoyed the ride.

“This is so fun!” I exclaimed, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as I felt, shifting out from being jammed in the tube side. I let my shoulders relax and smiled. I've got to stop worrying about this, I thought. We're going to be fine. I didn’t think of it again as I sat back into the tube and enjoyed the ride.

“Let’s do it again!” My brother declared. I shifted my weight again and suddenly the tube lurched forward so fast we couldn’t even scream. I jolted upright shock pulsing through my veins. My eyes grew as wide as quarters and my heart beat faster than the waves rushing by. We were going so fast I couldn’t keep my eyes open to the wind. My eyes watered from the wind rushing by and my hair whipped my neck so hard it felt like bee stings. Suddenly the tube jolted to a stop so fast we were thrown up into the air. I tumbled to a stop at the edge of the tube with my legs in the water. The water flew by holding my legs in the water like a cast. My legs were forced backwards and my eyes watered with pain. I thought I was going to slide right off the tube right into the water! Then the tube dipped and shook like it was trying to shake us off. I clutched the handles so hard my knuckles went white but they were the only thing keeping me from sliding right off the tube. “Arrgh!” I cried water rising rapidly past my chest. The tube dipped down like a million ton boulder was strapped to it and my legs were still pinned in place just trying to move them against the current felt like my legs were breaking down bit by bit. My cousins yanked me up and out of the waves. But it was too late the water was over our mouths! I wondered if the water would engulf us

before our parents noticed. But even then, what could they do? I slipped into the freezing cold water but the life vest did no good. Bam! The tube sank like a stone. And I was plunged into frigid cold water. Then the dark watery shadow of the tube passed over me. I was trapped! Time seemed to slow. It was probably only a second but it felt like hours.The cold waves of the rushing current pushed against me like the water was trying to shoot me across the lake. I screamed into the water letting all the air in my lungs out. My lungs burned like fire was inside them. I gasped against my will choking out water. I felt like I choked and hacked out the entire lake. The water pricked my eyes like needles. The water seemed to press against me like it was a coffin. In one second I was blinded by the sudden bright watery light. I gasped like a fish out of water while wiping water out of my eyes. The water in my eyes blurred my vision. All I could see was bright, almost white light burning my eyes. When my eyes adjusted all I saw was light blue on dark blue blending together. When my eyes adjusted I took in the dark blue lake and the light blue sky. Still gasping, choking, and spluttering I gasped for air wiping even more water out my eyes. My hair was tangled as seaweed as I attempted to paddle towards my Brother looking just as wet and air ridden as I was. “Shoot!” I moaned, “Where is the boat?” I turned around in panic, seeing nothing but a brilliantly blue lake twinkling in the sun as if it was laughing at us. No boat. No reachable land. No help in sight. We were officially doomed. Our cousins joined us in swimming as far as possible towards the horizon. No matter how far we swam towards the horizon it kept going further and further with no sign of anything for miles and miles. I started to shiver more and more the longer I stayed in the water. Whether it was the fact that my adrenaline was fading or the fact that the water was freezing! Yeah it’s definitely the freezing water I thought in exasperation and frustration. A low hum fell over us and the water shook and vibrated. “Shoot!” I gasped for what felt like the millionth time today. A jet ski flew by so fast my hair flew out behind me. And the waves headed over us and slammed down. The waves covered are heads in cold icy water. For the second time today I was trapped under the water! I held my breath paddling up and out of the waves. I was now severely annoyed to be trapped under the water again!

When I resurfaced I was overcome with relief as a tiny dot on the horizon came closer and closer. The closer it got the more my hope swelled like a balloon. The boat cut through the waves like they were butter. A metal ladder was flung down and we raced up the ladder so fast we nearly slipped off. I ran towards my mom hugging her so hard she winced. She obviously was more than a little annoyed about me getting her wet but she hugged me back anyway. “Hey can we do it again?” I asked, a small smile growing on my face.

Hattie tubing with her cousins.