A Brutal Awakening on the Lake by Teddy Carnes

It was an average, hot summer day on Lake Winnipesaukee. I woke up sweating so much it looked like I had just run a marathon. Our air conditioning system was broken and my whole family was dying from the heat. Even with a good twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep, I was exhausted. I rolled out of my bed as if in slow motion and planted my feet firmly on the ground. I tried to hoist myself up, but suddenly my whole world started spinning; I was very dizzy. I came crashing back down on the bed with a loud thud for the solid memory foam mattress did not give in to my sturdy one hundred thirty pound body mass. I tried standing up once again and, this time, was successful. I trudged sleepily over towards my dresser and rummaged through the bottom drawer scavenging for the first bathing suit I could find. I hurled items of clothing left and right until I found what I was looking for. It was my favorite bathing suit; royal blue with white tropical flowers covering it. When I finished putting it on, I moped while descending down the rickety stairs, out the back door and onto the beach. The peacefulness and solitude was stunning. I could hear birds chirping in the distance and the occasional sound of motorboats zipping through the water. For miles and miles, all I could see was crystal blue water, gently rippling waves from the wakes of passing boats, and a bright yellow sun towering over it all. I could feel my feet slowly sinking into the millions of warm grains of sand beneath me. No one else in my family was up yet so I was all alone. I embraced the solitude and slowly laid back into the sand. I stared up at an endless bright blue sky. There were no clouds in the sky that day, which made the sky look empty, and even bigger. I felt like I was on top of the world. Suddenly, I heard a bustling noise coming from behind me and before I could get up and turn around my two younger sisters had surrounded me yelling “Teddy, Teddy, Teddy, come on get up!” I was trapped, and there was no way out. I now knew that my five minutes of peacefulness and silence was over. Now I became scared; I could see my dad running down from the house towards me yelling like a wild Indian charging into battle. He scooped me up under the arms, threw me over his shoulder, and sprinted ten yards towards the water. Every step he took hurt because I received a pounding shoulder into my stomach. I braced myself knowing what was about to happen. I was heaved into the icy cold water and plunged deep beneath the surface. I was paralyzed by the frozen water and stayed under the surface until I gathered enough strength the get back up. With a mighty kick my head popped out and I shivered. My teeth clattered like tap shoes of a solid wood floor and my arms shook viciously. I screamed at him in an angry tone, "What was that for! I was minding my own business, why'd you have to come ruin it for me!" He said, "Teddy, come on, I'm just having a little fun with ya." "Don't," I said, and turned my back for a second and wiped the frigid, clear drops of water off my chattering face. Out of nowhere I was struck once again by what felt like a truck and went plunging into the water again. My dad had decided he wanted a second go at me. The peacefulness of morning has now been replaced by the simple joy of enjoying the chaos of my family. I decided to join them in the family fun, knowing that staying grumpy would ruin the fun of the morning. After being doused in the water for a second time, I came up laughing with a huge smile on my face. I glanced at my dad and saw him staring right back at me with his deep dark brown eyes. I knew that I could not stay mad at him. We waded through the heavy water to the shore, snatched up our towels, and headed inside. After I was all dried off, I went back up to my room and laid down on the warm dry bed. I thought about the strange morning I had just had. The mood had changed from peaceful to chaotic in a matter of seconds. It was not the most normal morning I had ever had, but it was time I was able to spend it with my family, which made it all worthwhile.