The class party was AMAZING! I bet it was better than you guys's.
First, it was a whole less expensive.
So we get there and it's this raft. This run-down dirty, burnt orange 'boat.' It was a lot bigger once you actually got on it, but I was disappointed. But it was two-story, which is really important to know.
Whenever everyone got there, the boat took off. Or, well, started moving. Very slowly. Very, VERY slowly. And it didn't speed up. When we finally got to an island, then tied the boat to a rock and opened the gates to let us out.
Three ways you could have gotten in the water-
- Gate/ladder where you could just easily go down into water you could touch with your feet.
- Waterslide from the second story which was a really steep curve and ended about a meter above the water.
- Also on the second story, just this gate that opened where you jump off the edge of the boat (we're talking about... 10? 12? feet up) and just free fall down into the water below.
I went on the waterslide first (which I admit was actually scary, and coming from me, that says a lot) and then I decided to do the 'jump.'
What was I thinking?
I wait in line (cause, of course, everyone wants to do this first) and when it's my turn I take my run and I get to the edge. THEN I see how high it actually is. Which is really really high, considering the fact that the water below is... who knows how deep.) I have no time to rethink this through. I jump--
and fall.
and fall.
and fall.
The freefall feeling hits my stomach really hard and I yell, "WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO??" and after more freefall, I hit the water. It splashes over me and shoves me down, then my lifejacket floats me back up.
I don't know what I was feeling. I think I was thinking, "Wow. Did I REALLY just do that? THAT WAS AMAZING!! Oh, here comes Hale!"
So I watched her, thinking, "She's not gonna like this." She fall, falls, SCREAMS, falls, falls... SPLASH. Comes back up... YES! She's alive!
"Wasn't that AWESOME, Hale?"
"Yeah!"
"THAT WAS WICKED!!"
So I kept yelling "THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!" all the way back to the ladder thing. I get back up, and, guess what? do it again.
Then I get the idea to go down the waterslide- headfirst.
Which no one did before.
I mean, these eight-grade guys are screaming, even going the right way.
So I get there, and Mike's just watching. Hale's behind me and I lay down... stalling... Hale's the only one in line behind me... gives me more time to stall... Uh-oh. The water's pushing me down. The slides's so steep that even at the top, I couldn't see the next part going down. The water nudges me forward even more... By now I'm gripping the sides, really regretting even trying it... Mike's just sitting there, laughing at me... And then boom, I just let myself go.
SCREAM!!!!!!
SPLASH.
"THAT! WAS SO! MUCH! FUN!!!"
And it felt good that I was the only one who dared to do it.
Well... That's stretching it. I was the first one to think up sliding that way. But by the time we left a lot of guys were doing it that way, too. They were also developing new ways to jump off the boat.
Speaking of which, I really wanted to go backwards off of.
But I though about it, meaning that my brain starts saying, "No, too crazy, don't." Seriously, though, even the 'Barbies' went off that way.
So I stalled and asked other people how it felt going down backwards... then I got to the edge... Held onto the sides... waited... looked down... AUGH! no.
More stalling. More. More. Then, finally, with more people cheering me on, I inched my way to the edge... I have to do this. I didn't let myself think.
Then I jumped.
NO! Dreaded freefall feel... WOOSH, I saw the bottom deck go past before I splashed into the water.
After the next couple of times I jumped (regularly, cause I figured backwards wasn't worth the anxiety before it) I just swam in the water with Syd and Ty. Then more sliding and jumping...
Then they made everyone come back up for a 'tour of the lake.' It was supposed to last thirty minutes, but it lasted about forty-five, and we didn't really get anywhere, considering the fact that the boat went super slow. Plus the captain was steering with his feet, so that didn't make it any better.
I just sat at the back and read the new Bear Wit and Lit. I liked it. Captain's story is... I bet it was a dream he had. The "Rue's Butterfly" one by Ash was really... It was like something I would've written. It was nice there. Just me at the back, listening to the motor run, with my barefoot feet almost touching the water, reading literature from our school. Then, before I knew it, we were docked again.
This was the time when it started hitting us that our time was almost over.
By the way, Syd's leaving to go to The School of Hiding, our basketball rivals, so everyone was crowded around her, hugging her and crying. Then they moved to me, and... I tried not to cry, but there comes a point where it gets you that these people who really care about you are going to be gone almost entirely from your life. Wow, I'm even almost crying typing this. I'm too emotional. My violin teacher tells me that. Anyway, it was kinda hard when Grizzly was crying her eyes out and hugging me... Same with Nikki, except I think she knew that I'd keep in touch with her.
And then we kinda just left. I went back with Hale... And her little brother was in the car.
"I'm forsty." (Translation- "I'm thirsty.")
"Okay, then we'll get something to drink."
"I'm forsty."
"Okay, we'll get something."
"Can I get a large?"
"I don't think you can drink that much."
"I want a large."
*rolls up to McDonald's*
"What do you want?"
"A large."
"No, what drink?"
"Large."
*facepalm*
"What DRINK?"
"Water."
*orders, he gets his drink*
"I think this is Diet Coke."
"Um... I'm pretty sure it's not. Check the color."
*opens cap, looks and sees the CLEAR liquid*
"Oh."
And that was the end of our AMAZING journey to the lake for our class party.
You know, now that I think back on it, I think that jumping off the boat was a little more thrilling than most roller coasters I've been on. All except two- Kumba and Montu.
