Conquering the Dive at Tejas

The way I stared up dizzily at it, it may as well have been Mount Everest. With the both of them floating in the water beside me, not saying a word, egging me on with their eyes and grins, I knew that this was the day I had to conquer it. It was the sturdy, wooden high dive located in the middle of pissy, shitty Lake Tejas. I say pissy because nobody would hesitate to wade out far from everyone else and relieve ourselves when we had to. I cannot back up the shitty part, but I didn’t object when someone told me it was true.
Lake Tejas was the spot of a great deal of wet, sandy excitement for people of all ages, and the go-to summer hang-out for middle and high school kids like me. Before you came home and found out that you got an ear infection, it was a good time and you were always glad you went. The corn dogs were decent and the inner tube rentals were cheap. And at this barely post-pubescent stage, a bikini was more than enough to get you off. Not that any of us would ever try to “make a move” on one of those girls.
By “us”, I mean, principally, myself and my good buddy ol’ pal Garrett. We were close in those days, still a year or two before we met new people and drifted apart. Garrett was not as tall as me, but not as fat, either. He had blue eyes that took you aback at first sight, and long blonde hair that never stayed to the side, always flinging in front of his eyes at the slightest shift of his head. To this day, I have not met another person more comfortable and confident in their own skin. Even his profuse acne had a charm. He had kindly asked me to tag along on a trip to the lake with his family, saving me from a reclusive day in front of a video game.
Several members of Garrett’s family accompanied us. Jake was ...

... middle of paper ...

... a shattering splash upon arrival. He resurfaced and slung his hair from his face and motioned his hand backward, beckoning us to come down.
The white sun was beating down and I held up a hand over my eyes to see Kristen stepping forward onto the board, stretching her arms out and loosening her nimble fingers. She tip-toed to the edge and stood there like a statue. Her head turned to me and the whites of her eyes were clear. “I’ve never done this before either,” she said, failing to hold back laughter as she talked. With that, she dropped, and I hurried forward, almost reaching my hand out to grab her. She’s dead. I could have talked her out of it. I could have saved her. She’s gone.
Oh no, she wasn’t. I watched her bubble up and float on her back, stroking away and showing off her belly. Garrett wasn’t too far ahead of her. “COME ON, BRANDON!” I heard him call.