Challenge of the Summer

Kate Martin

I step out of the van, trying to catch my balance after winding around the back roads of Marshfield. The air hits my skin; it’s a change from the cool inside of the van. I look down onto the water that is a sparkling blue. A boat whizzing by, a water skier trails behind twisting and turning. That will be me in a few hours.

We arrive at the Fowler’s camp. The Fowlers, Ed, Nancy are longtime friends and Lauren, Felicia and Kristen are their three daughters who my sister and I have known since we were born. Kristen greets us, her bright smile on her face.

“Where are the Cheetos?” she asks.

“Right here,” I reply as I retrieve them from the grocery bag.

It is a tradition to bring Cheetos every time, it just wouldn’t be the same without it.

We greet everyone and venture inside. Our parents talk about the usual, as us kids hurry outside with our bathing suits on. The day is stunning, not a cloud in the sky. It’s the perfect day for a short dip in the pond. The summer air fills my nose as I venture to the dock. My feet dance on the sizzling hot dock. I slowly step into the pond, but eventually I courageously dive in.

“Just jump in, it’s not that cold,” Kristen says. Even though it’s a hot day, I can see the blue start to creep onto lips.

“But it is!” I replied.

I finally find the heart to jump in. The peer pressure is too much.

The water startles my skin; it jumps as slip into its cool blanket. It cools it down from this hot summer day. Lauren, Felicia my sister and Kristen all swim and play around in the water, using noodles to swim to the middle of the pond. I duck under the water like the many beautiful rare loons that make Martin’s Pond their home. Our parents eventually make their way out of the camp and onto the deck to soak up the rays of the beautiful sun. Our legs are tired from the paddling and we drift in towards the shore. In only a few minutes we would be flying around the small pond by the back of a boat. Many summers before, we had spent hours tubing; this year it would be different. Instead of the small power boat with it wooden sides and hot metal seats, we would be using their brand new boat. It is a magnificent white with red stripes and cushy leather seats like in the doctor’s office. It is also a lot more powerful and perfect for water skiing. All of the Fowler’s had tried skiing, now it was time for me to try.

Nancy was ready in the boat with my dad by her side. We buckle ourselves in to our life vests, Lauren jumps into the water and I get into the boat. I wring my hands and bite my nails in anticipation for my ride. She shows me how to put my feet into the black rubber bindings; it seems hard due to the water and floatability of the skis. My nerves are like rubber bands ready to snap. The rope is slowly reeled out so that there is no slack. I take a deep breath and am glad that Lauren volunteered to go first. Nancy hits the throttle and full blast ahead, my hair blows in my face. My stomach drops and I lift myself from the sticky leather seat to see her take off. Lauren rises, but falls in her first attempt. We circle back around. We take off again and Lauren is up.

“I was getting nervous,” I told my dad, “ If she couldn’t get up, I don’t know if I could.”

“You just wait.” He says as he smiles.

Her skis ever so lightly glide along the water and she looks as if she is flying, and her red hair is streaming out from behind her like a beautiful scarf in the wind. The rope is whipping around and occasionally sprays us with water like a misting bottle. It looks like she is having a blast, but a lot of things look like fun until you try them. I like a challenge, especially with sports. The first corner is coming up, my hands are sweaty and slippery. I am nervous for her and myself. She wobbles, but regains herself

“That was good”, my dad said as he raises an eyebrow.

“Yes it was. I hope I can do it”, I say warily.

“You will”, he replies.

We are on the straightaway; on our way back to camp. It won’t be long before I was behind the boat. I almost forget that I am going next and my nerves are on high alert once again. Lauren lands smoothly and everyone from shore claps. It was finally my turn. As I help Lauren onto the boat, my mind is bursting with many thoughts. What could happen to me? Will I get up? I take a deep breath and jump in. The water feels colder than before, maybe its just because I’m nervous.

“Ok, when you are getting up, its like you are rising from a chair,” Nancy directed me. “Just straighten slowly, and make sure you bend your knees.”

I squeak out a nervous, “ok”. It was now or never, there was no turning back. I carefully slip the large rubber bindings onto my feet and grab the rope. My legs bob up and down like a buoy in the ocean as I try to get the rope in between them. I’m finally set and ready to water ski.

“Ready,” Lauren shouts from the boat.

I take a deep breath in, “Ok,” I shout back.

The boat lurches forward, the last minute thoughts are still ringing through my head. The rope slinks out of the water and tightens. I feel it jerk on my hands and slowly get up. I’m up, but down again in a flash. I hit the water and it feels like concrete burning and scratching my skin. I find myself half floating, with one ski in the water and the other one nowhere to be found. The time I was up was like nothing I have ever felt before. The wind was blowing and I was just gliding effortlessly. I feel the water moving around me and I see that the boat is circling back around to get me.

“Don’t lean forward as much, lean back father, but not too much,” Nancy says.

“Great job,” says my Dad with a thumbs up.

I struggle to swim to the deserted ski. The one I have on right now isn’t really helping. I drag it back with me and put it on again. I think about getting up, like a chair, slowly, bend my knees and lean back. The rope was in my hands again and the boat takes off. I was leaning back and it was too far this time. The ski was out from under me quickly. I let go of the rope and hit the water again, this time even harder. Frustration sets in. My emotions are flying around like a roller coaster. One minute I’m on top of the world and the next minute, I’m plunging headfirst into the dark depths of the pond. I have to do it this time, I can’t let myself or anyone else down. With confidence, I take the rope in hand, getting a good grip on it this time.

“Ready,” I shout.

“All right, here we go!” Nancy shouts as the throttle is hit.

The rope quickly gives up slack and my arms snap into place. I rise, remembering all the things I was taught. Third time is a charm, without noticing I’m up! I look down at my feet to make sure I’m not dreaming or hallucinating. I’ve never felt this great in my life. A smile finds its way onto my face and I’m grinning from ear to ear. The wind touches my face and wipes away my tears of frustration. My hair is wet from falling, it soars behind me. I’m up now, and falling is behind me. I keep my skis parallel to each other to avoid getting them mixed up and bend my arms. I look around the pond, people are watching me whiz around skillfully. All eyes are on me now, I feel as though even the trees are watching, branches outstretched waiting to catch me if I descend into the water.

I look ahead, the first turn is getting closer, haunting me with a childish look of “ride me if you can”. A look of determination sets over my face, my stomach gurgles, orange Cheetos swishing around. I try to lean into the turn to get my body going tin the right direction. I lean too far over and crumble into the liquid sky. I hit the water even harder this time with the images of me having a perfect ride smashed. The tape of my ride is playing over and over in my head. I feel like a balloon that was blown up too big and popped. Both of the skis came off and I am left bobbing in the waves like a seagull.

“That was great. You went farther than Lauren and Felicia on their first runs” Nancy said, circling the boat back around.

Hearing this helps my confidence. I did do fantastic for a rookie, I thought to myself. I got all the way to the other side of the pond without falling once. My hands found the rope again and we took off. We were at the very end of the pond, I had gone a long way! I struggle to take to the water again, my legs tired from the constant bending motion. I try two more times, but I just can’t do it. Frustrated with my ending, I swim to the boat and climb in.

“You did great,” everyone says at almost the same moment.

“Thanks, it was great. I liked it a lot, its tons of fun.” I say as I bundle up in a towel for the short ride home. The sun beats down and gets extra bright. I think its trying to say, “Thanks for the show, you were great kid.”

We return to camp and everyone is thrilled that I got up and took a spin around the pond. My parents are proud; they couldn’t even get out there to do that. The rest of the day is filled with laughter, tube riding and summer fun. I leave satisfied and tired. My day was fun filled and well spent. Even though I failed at my first attempt, I used persistence, determination, and a positive attitude to succeed. I am proud that today, I accomplished my challenge of the summer…to water ski!