And that’s when he gets a black eye, courtesy of the more bloodied right fist. Today didn’t start that way though. It was just like any other spring day, eating unfortunately fatty cereal while getting dressed, already daydreaming of afternoon plans to hang out by that huge vintage shop on the corner opposite of your middle school. Catching the bus with Jonathan, your irritating, skinny and blonde next-door neighbor and cousin, you continue daydreaming about the not-so-distant future.

When you arrive you head straight to first period history, catching up with Halima, her brown hair and eyes several shades lighter in the morning, and Yoko, whose black curls bounce as she skips, the two best friends in the world. After a long weekend apart, today still seemed like any other; while you whispered about the latest My Chemical Romance album, the teacher droned on about the buying and selling of land in the early 1500’s and all was right with the world. Until he announced the field trip to some interesting rock formations for science class that would be starting in approximately half an hour. Jolting upright in your seat, you whisper-shouted “WHAT?” “Remember, that field trip we had the meeting about respecting nature for? We all turned in the permission slips ages ago,” Halima assured you. “At least we’ll have time during the bus ride to study for that English test you probably forgot all about,” she chided. “Wait. English and test? Together? WHEN?” said Yoko. “You see, I’m not the only one who forgets things,” you responded. Right after that, Jonathan takes your attention by climbing on top of his desk to demonstrate what the history teacher is talking about. It looks like he’ll be too busy in detention to ride the bus home with you. Thank God. After you stop at your locker to grab your camera, you head to the bus, while fervently hoping there will be something there worth photographing.

You finally arrive at the site and get off the bus, and what you see makes all three of you gasp out loud. Sticking sharply out of the green blue water are two craggy boulders the size of your two story house, no more than ten feet apart and each perfect for climbing; one connected to the white, flat beach seems to reflect the light of the full sun. After busily snapping pictures, you turn around to pay (some) attention to the teacher and start writing the account of this morning in your journal.

The brown and beige-striped sheer cliffs around you are draped with shrubbery and what your old, practically blind, but sharp-eared science teacher tells you to focus on. Apparently, the layers show how more dirt piled on top each year. As you look around, you see Hamila is with the small portion of the class taking notes on this, even though you have similar notes from class, and Yoko, like half the class, is already reading the book she brought from the school library.

When you look back up, the teacher is finishing, saying, “Don’t go into the water, but you now have some free time to roam around.” Then he says, “and don’t climb up those boulders, because there’s a whirlpool between them and one huge wave could knock you into it. Shame, you think, I could have gotten some great shots there, but even though the waves are small right now, you don’t want to risk it. You look around to see Jonathan, knowing that you will probably have to explain high tide and the probability of freak waves to him to keep him from accidentally killing himself. You realize that he isn’t there. Oh, Crap, you think. He probably ran away the second the teacher said, “Free time.” As you scan the beach for him, you realize you know exactly where he is and just don’t want to admit it.

You start running to the land bridge connected to the boulders, where Jonathan’s climb is in progress. At first you try shouting across the strip of land, but Jonathan merely turns around and waves, signaling that he doesn’t hear you. Although you don’t want to ruin your brand-new teal and black poodle skirt that matches perfectly with your black top and offsets your grey eyes, you grudgingly determine that your cousin as a human being, however irritating, is more important. You ditch your flats and Polaroid, unwrap some cherry gum and start chewing for good measure, and head off to get to Jonathan. As you draw close you shout warning after warning: “Stop! It’s dangerous. There’s a whirlpool!” Finally he turns around, nearly at the peak of the boulder, and waves, the little idiot. Then you see it and stop moving, even breathing. Just behind him is the top of a huge wave, not yet cresting, that could blow you both into the water. All of a sudden, you hear, “GET DOWN!” In Yoko and Halima’s voices, While processing this, you instinctively duck and grab onto a rock sticking out, just as the wave washes over you.

Luckily, you are still on the land bridge, and while you feel a small tug towards the whirlpool as your feet get into the water, you are able to hang on. The second the wave pulls out, you shoot up and send an okay signal to Yoko and Hamila, who are bounding up the beach towards you. But what is occupying your mind is not them, or the stinging cuts and scrapes all over your face, limbs, and hands, but Jonathan. That wimp can hardly lift his backpack, much less hang on to a rock twenty-three feet above sea level. Charging up the boulder you scan, searching for a sign of life. Finally, you see his mop of white-blonde hair sticking out like a beacon on the dark rocks. Jonathan is barely hanging on to a ledge, just above that beautiful, swirling green whirlpool, quickly losing his grip as he looks down while screaming. Knowing there is no time to get help, you plop down and grab his hand, strands of your red hair whipping your face in the wind. The second you grab on you realize that something is wrong. You are slipping yourself, inching closer to that mesmerizing death trap. There is no way he weighs that much. “What are you carrying with you?” You shout down angrily.

He responds over the sound of rushing water. “My backpack! It has my laptop in it. I just downloaded Deadpool on it with a month’s allowance. There’s no way I’m gonna lose it!”

“Just toss it!” you say.

“No way!” he whines. During his reply you inch closer to the edge. You can’t hold out more that fifteen seconds, and that’s not enough to pull him back up. All of a sudden you feel something— wait, no— someone pulling you up. It’s Yoko!

“Jeez, let us know where you’re going next time,” she says. With Hamila and Yoko’s help, you manage to pull him up and get him to the beach. Once the four of you catch your breaths, uou, Yoko, and Hamila send synchronized glares in his direction. He just shrugs sheepishly although all four of you just almost died, and says, “Thanks for saving me, but man, did you see how high I climbed!”

Looking back, you will never be sure what was your breaking point: his idiotic grin, the words out of his mouth, or how he stood like he had just saved himself and all the rest of your friends as well. You silently thanked your kickboxing teacher and bloodied his nose.