The Frog Pond Massacre by Joe Dargon

Christmas Eve; a time of excitement and our fun-filled annual trip to The Frog Pond. It is a pond in Boston during the summer, but it freezes and makes a perfect skating area. I am so excited while we walk through the park. Jack is also excited but he was at that age when you hate your younger siblings; your first year as a teen, 13 that is. It was a chilly night, my lips clang together like a nutcracker. My blood rushes throughout my 9 year old body as we draw closer; hoping I don't embarrass myself as I skate. Jack says,"Hey, I bet ya I'm not gonna fall today." "Fine 10 bucks then." Another dumb bet by me. Jack is a cheetah on ice, but has the balance of a gymnast on the beam. As we walk through the park, the white snow plummets off the trees and lands on the ground. I get skittish as we wait in line. I examine the frozen pond and the young couples; the boy always seems annoyed when the girl looks like a cat in the water. That's not a good sight. When it is our turn to pay, as usual says I am younger than 6 to save some hard earned green paper. We run to a wooden bench, they're so old you can see pieces of the wood sticking out, pointy as knives. I tie my skates so tight that I can see the tongues flap over the strings. My brother and I have our own skates since we played hockey, but my dad gets 3 girls' skates from a run down shack where they are sold for my sisters. Jack and I have always been very close to each other. As in every older brother, younger brother relationship though, the younger one gets beat up, and forced to do things they don't want; of course that kid is me. We don't get into many fights though, but he still pounces on me and I attempt to fight back. Jack has short hair, gets curly when it grows. He isn't too tall, but he is very tough and stronger than he looks. Jack is sensitive, so like every immature kid, I talk bad to him and it never pays off. I do this because I and many other 9 year old boys have no common sense and don't know when we have gone too far and do too much. Jack and I race onto the ice and fly past the young couples struggling as usual. I only hear kids screeching as they hit the ice, skates slamming against the ice, and the annoying Christmas carols in the park. The fresh aroma of sweet Italian food runs through my nose. My brother spots this guy; dancing like a ballerina on ice; he was totally embarrassing himself. He was pretty tall, lanky, and extra tight skinny jeans a furry, white jacket. He wears these small headphones, playing classical figure skating music. My brother told me to start following him, so we did. My brother forces me to to copy the man; I cant say no because I was afraid of him like all little brothers. He just told me to do it and since I don't want to get beat up, I do it. We copy all of his spins and other moves while we are right behind him; he doesn't even notice. He does a jumping spin; my brother does the same thing, and he stops short. Crash! My brother hits the manMy brother's face is priceless. His eyes are closed and he covers his face as he tumbles to the ice. Jack yells, "Oh crab apples! Joe, help me up! Lets get out of here!" We skate our hearts out, my heart is pounding so fast I can't breathe. We skate through the crowd; avoiding the fellow skaters as they look at us in complete terror. We race off the ice and run towards my dad and mom; who wait on the bench for a short break; it was a war zone out there. We elude behind them; making sure the man won't see us as he looks around for us. My dad looks suspicious; looking around for the  victim of our accidents. My dad says, "Jack, what is going on?" Of course he says,"I don't know what your talking about." The cold air has reached inside me and ripped out my lungs; I can't catch my breathe as I try to talk to my dad. I never fell that day, and of course Jack toppled on that man; I never got my 10 dollars.