The Movie that Changed Our Lives (Elijah Wood/LOTR FanFic)

Boat Exercise

I put on my gear and grinned at the others who were also preparing for our game today. Jackson decided to give us a break from filming a bit, so that we could all learn about boating for our next set of scenes. Today each of us would be set with a partner, and then we'd go into boats to practice and play. I knew that it was going to be interesting, since some of us already knew how to canoe and stuff. I had just done it once with Maryam, and we both epically failed at our attempt. This time, I was hoping that my partner would excel above us and help us win. I was definitely going to lose if my partner had even less experience than I did.

Everyone huddled by the lake nearby the site, pumped up for the challenge. Jackson and a couple of safety canoers stood at the front, clipboards in their hands. He went on to explain the rules of the game and the safety precautions we definitely had to follow. I don't think anyone was listening in the midst of the excitement that hovered over the lake. My eyes scanned the obstacles in the lake, hoping that my partner would be good at manuvering around those. As the only girl there, I felt a sort of duty to kick those boys' butts and show them who's boss.

At last Jackson named our partners. Billy and Dominic laughed and high-fived each other, Sean and Viggo immediately started planning out their strategy, Orlando and John raised their eyebrows at each other and shook hands, and Bean and Gimili's double, who was going to hang aroud with us a little more than John was, grinned at each other with a goal to win. And of course, Jackson paired me with Elijah. Elijah, the one who knew even less about boating than I did, was now my partner. Mischief flickered in his blue eyes as he turned to me, and I groaned. When Jackson got everyone to quiet down, Elijah boldly announced that we were going to win the competition. I guess the idea that we both barely had any experience didn't faze him.

"Yeah right," scoffed Billy.

"Yeah!" shouted Dominic, "we're gonna kick your asses!"

"I'll have you know," Orlando began, "I'm really good at this."

"Oh yeah!" interjected Bean, clearly in the moment of the hustle and bustle, "we'll see, pretty boy!"

Arguments filled the cool autumn air, bringing excitement and warmth to a pleasant day. Without listening to another word from Jackson, everyone pushed, shoved, and jumped into their assigned canoes and impatiently waited for Jackson to give the GO signal. "Okay," Elijah panted, giving me one oar, "you do the left and I do the right?"

I sighed in agreement. "We better win," I grumbled.

Elijah flashed an all-knowing and optimistic grin at me. "I know we are! We got this!"

I sighed and suddenly, Jackson gave the signal. The water exploded into a mad dash of waves coming from the hurried canoes treading on the water. Most of us were able to dodge some of the obstacles, and after about five minutes of doing what we were supposed to do, we thought it would be better to try and sink the others. And so the crazy competition of sinking began, Sean and Viggo beginning to become the first victims in our crazy exercise. Elijah and I did what every other person tried to during the race-steer the fastest we could while taking our oars and trying to hit the boats and their owners. Billy and Dominic were able to dodge the obstacles in the lake, but they weren't able to dodge a hit from my oar. I took us to the left of their boat and Elijah smacked it, then he took us to the right of the boat and I smacked it. Screaming in fright and anger, they both almost went tumbling down out of the canoe, until Billy was able to get them back in balance. Laughing at us for failing, they rowed ahead of us. I huffed and moved us along.

Bean and Gimili's double were having the most trouble with their rowing, even if they were well ahead of the others. We surpassed them, still trailing and chasing Dominic and Billy. One could easily see the tired beads of sweat that ran down their faces, and Elijah and I were closing up on them. With one swift, unexpected twack, Dominic and Billy lost their balance and fell into the water, held afloat by their life-jackets. I cackled at their loss and we moved along.