Paddleboarding: A Short Story

As the "unsinkable paddle" sank down through the gloomy water, I sprang off my paddleboard. I went 3 feet down, 6 feet down, 9 feet down, but could not even make out the silty bottom of the murky lake. Out of air, I threw my arms down and shot up through the water. Breaking the surface, I turned my head to Jack. Answering his raised eyebrows, I shook my head in defeat. Paddleboarding was something that I had tried for the first time ever that day. While I was reluctant, Jack's aunt, Brenda, had insisted, and we rented the boards and paddles. I was confident that I would be able to easily master the reach, catch, power, and recovery phases of paddleboarding. We began our route at a leisurely pace, calmly rowing across of water. I passed logs with turtles sunbathing on the warped branches and sighted small fish skimming under the surface of the water. Of course, it

They brought out a black one with a cracked lense and dull rubber. “Will these do?” “I guess,” I responded, grabbing them out of her hands and jogging back to the shore. Ignoring Brenda’s glare, I maneuvered back out to the site of the disappearance. Sliding the goggles over my eyes, I hopped into the water and again swam down through the murky water. I searched for my remaining rental time finding only drifting plants and mud. When the time came to return, I slowly climbed back on my board and paddled with my stiff arms back to the shore, where everyone waited. What I thought would happen next would be that Brenda would go into the rental place and pay for the lost paddle, then we would leave and forget about. After all, I had tried to find the paddle. But what actually happened was that she turned to me and said “You’re paying for it,” then swiftly walked away. My mouth dropped. I began the slow walk back to the car with my head down. I climbed in and sat in the silent car, staring out of the window in a