Aquaphobia

Chapter 6

[WALKER MURPHY]

Candice Murphy is very well-known on the Insula Islands. A lot of people know her for her shop, and many others because she's so darn good at fishing. Out of all the people who know her on this island though, I would say I know her the best, because she is my mother.

When she told Scott she was going to set him up for fishing, she said it a bit overenthusiastically, and I think she might have scared him a little. Don't get me wrong here, my mom's an awesome person, she just gets a little too excited about things she's passionate about. One such thing is fishing, so it isn't odd that her enthusiasm would be nerve-wracking to a non-water type like Scott. Then again, it is very odd for someone to come to Insula and be scared of water. Now I've met people who are scared of drowning, but I've never met anybody scared of the water itself.

Mom has a plethora of names given by the community, but one of my personal favorites is "The Fishing Queen." It's just sort of a funny title that sounds weird, therefore I like it. I'm pretty sure Ian likes it too, because he knows my mother just as well as I do. To the Murphy family, he's basically the second son. He's been to our house probably more than his own, he always joins us on our family boating trips, and he holds the record of longest wave break in every one of our surfing competitions.

So he casually stands by as my mother goes into her stock room to retrieve a fishing rod for Scott. She returns holding three different-sized rods that each have their own distinct handles.

"All right, Scott. Let's see which one is right for you! First I must ask: Do you have any previous fishing experience?" Mom asks."No ma'am. I've never done it before in my life," Scott replies, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Oh that's not a problem at all! There's a first time for everything! Now about your rod size, how tall are you?"

"5 feet, 7 inches."

"Perfect! Assuming you have no prior experience with angling as well, we're going to start you off with a spincaster rod."

Scott looks ultimately confused, but it also sort of looks like he's trying his hardest to keep up.

"First things first, I need you to lay your palms on the counter," Mom laughs.

Scott doesn't stop to question the oddness of Mom's request, and instead does what he's told. I guess he feels too nervous to not do it.

Mom places her fingers in his palms and feels the center of his hands.

"The skin on your palms is softer, so we're going to go with a fiberglass rod. Rods of fiberglass are typically softer on the hands and somewhat lighter to handle versus something like a wooden rod," she says matter-of-factly.

"Yes ma'am," Scott agrees.

"Now as for your stance type, there's a few questions to determine that."

"I'm ready when you are, ma'am."

"First, how good are you at throwing a football?"

"Um, well, I guess I can throw hard, I'm just not well-coordinated."

"All right, all right. Second, how long can you hold a fifteen pound dumbbell above your head?"

Scott looks like he doesn't know how to answer, so Mom reaches behind her desk and pulls out a fifteen pound dumbbell she keeps for people who don't know the answer.

"I always have it ready just in case," she laughs as she hands it to Scott. She places it into his right hand, and instructs him to hold it as high above his head as he can. With his arm as straight as it can be, he holds it up with all his strength.