A+Helping+Hand

__A Helping Hand__ ** “In the blistering heat, the two walked,” I murmured, unconsciously reading aloud to myself. “What a way to describe today.” The heat was getting to me, and I found it impossible to concentrate on reading, with the words on the pages themselves seeming to rearrange over and over again. I watched my friends as they played, splashing and chasing each other around the pool. “How I wish I could cool off too…” I mused, pondering over whether I should join them in the water. Just then, I remembered why I was not already there beside them.
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Back when I was five, I used to play at this exact same pool everyday. My childhood friend Victor persuaded me to run around the whole length of the pool for the first time, only having dared to run the shallow half before. “The other end of the pool isn’t that deep,” He reassured me, giving me a playful push to get me running. I darted off, with him hot on my heels, determined to catch me. Rounding a corner at full speed, I felt my feet skid over a puddle of water, losing control. My arms flailed wildly, desperately trying to keep my body balanced. Despite my efforts, I fell into the water, my speed plunging me below the surface. Gasping for air only made things worse, the chlorine tainted water burning my throat as more and more of it found its way down my windpipe and into my lungs. The last I remembered was pitch black and a total feeling of helplessness as I ceased breathing.

“Splash!” The harsh cold of the pool water jolted me back to reality. I looked up, glaring at the only person that could be responsible for this. Edward. He stood at the edge of the pool, grinning maniacally,” Sorry, did I wake you up from your daydream, nerd?” He sneered at me, clearly trying to provoke me into an altercation. I seethed with rage, but kept silent, settling on giving him the evil eye, which sadly, seemed to have little effect on him.

“Oh wait, are these yours too?” Edward held up his right hand, a bunch of keys dangling from it. Not just any bunch of keys, but my keys, ones that I couldn’t get into my house without.

“Give me my keys back! You… you idiot!” I snarled at Edward, lunging at him to try and snatch my keys from him. Being taller than me by a fair amount, he easily held it out of my reach, smirking as he did so, “Go and fetch, doggy!” Edward taunted, flinging my keys into the deep end of the pool. I watched, frozen, as the keys broke the surface of the water and sank to the bottom of the pool. I did not dare to leap in and save my keys, fearing the danger that the water reminded me of, afraid that history would repeat itself.

Watching my hesitance, Edward laughed cruelly, “Oh, so now the doggy is a scaredy cat too!” This time, everyone else laughed with him. I felt ashamed, wishing that my hair were not tied up so that I could use it to hide my face. I looked around the pool, hoping to find a kind soul to help me retrieve my keys. No one wanted to step forward. In fact, it seemed that they rather enjoyed my despair. I started to get more desperate by the second. “Won’t anyone help me?” I pleaded, glancing frantically around in hope of finding a volunteer.

“I’ll help.” I whirled around to face the person that the voice belonged to, that familiar voice that I knew so well – Victor. Before I could thank him for his offer to help, he held up his hand to silence me, “There’s a catch. I’ll help you, but I won’t retrieve the keys for you. That you’ll have to do yourself.” I stared at him, open-mouthed. When I managed to fully comprehend what he had just said, I protested, “ But you remember what happened the last time… I can’t. I just can’t bring myself to—“ Victor cut me off, taking my hand in his, “All I ask is that you trust me.” I nodded, realizing that his was the only way I could get my keys back.

“Take a deep breath, hold on tight, and whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand!” Victor instructed, as we stood hand in hand at the edge of the pool. Squeezing my hand firmly in his, he plunged into the water, dragging me along with him. Once under the surface, I could feel his hand guiding mine downwards. To my surprise, only a few seconds had passed and my hand was already touching the bottom of the pool. Only then did it feel safe enough for me to open my eyes to take in my watery surroundings. Through my blurred vision, I spotted a glint of metal just to the left of my hand. Quickly snatching it, I forcefully tugged on Victor’s hand, having an urgent need to surface and breathe. We broke the surface of the water simultaneously, gasping for air. Then, I remembered the keys, wet, but nevertheless, safely back in my hands. Triumphantly, I punched my fist into the air to showcase my victory. All around the pool, cheers and applause erupted. “Thank you,” I whispered as I turned to Victor, pulling him into a bear hug in the water. True friends really do help you overcome your fears, no matter how big they seem to be. Tan Ai-Ling [12] 3/2 Completed: 3:00am, 15/04/2009 Word count: 931 words