How Far We've Come

Chapter 8

The pop quiz really brought my grade down, but luckily I had something the next week to cheer me up. Sinetic Falls.

This was our first single day trip of many, so I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, I wasn't as ahead of schedule with my school work, unlike Justin's Ferry, so I had to finish a lot of the work once I came back. It felt odd going to school only carrying my dull gray backpack with a global journal, a lunch, a jacket, and my phone in it. But, I would do the same thing too many times to count in the next four years.

When we waited in the parking lot, the cool fall air chilled me to the bone. Wind blew my hair back, exposing my neck which was quick to rise to goosebumps. I placed a hand on my face, surprised to feel it ice cold. It was barely fall, but I was already freezing in my North Face jacket.

"It's so cold!" I complained to Clary and Lina. Jessica was not on this field trip with us- she was in group A.

Clary rubbed her arms. "Gosh, I'm freezing. I didn't know it would be this cold... I should have brought a thicker jacket." Her teeth chattered.

I looked her up and down. She looked like she was wearing three layers: a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater, and a jacket, in contrast to my two: a t-shirt and a jacket. This was one of the few times I actually was cold, and I was not surprised that people wearing more layers were colder, especially Clary.

Brett walked by wearing a red t-shirt and jeans, his shoulders shaking from the cold. "How are you alive?" I asked him, referring to the short sleeved t-shirt. He shrugged. "I just clench my fists and plow through it!" he answered, showing me his tightly clenched fists, which had previously been in his jeans' pockets. I laughed.

Soon enough, the bus arrived. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked up to the fence, filing in behind the other students. And then, we were off.

The drive was far shorter of a drive than Justin's Ferry and we were there faster than I could imagine. Sinetic Falls was rather close to my house, closer than Prestwall, so when we passed the neighborhood, I pointed at it and showed my friends.

"That's my neighborhood!" I pointed out. Next to me, Clary craned her head and looked through the window. "Nice place."

Suddenly, we were pulling into the dirt path surrounded by tall trees, some of which I immediately identified as Tulip Poplars and Red Maples. We got off the bus and walked down the trail, quietly whispering to our friends and hearing the birds chirp. The trail was not long, but it wasn't short either. After a bit of walking, the narrow path opened up into a clearing. Even from this far, I could hear consistent rush of water and flow of the stream near the falls. When we got closer, I began to recognize the area.

Memories flooded back, and soon I knew where I had seen this place before. When I was very little, a family friend and my family had come to these exact falls. We had walked down this very dirt trail, singing as loud as we pleased. When we reached the falls, my dad and I climbed up the steep rocks and stood at the top.

I had always been a daredevil. I loved roller coasters and water slides. I climbed trees high above the ground for fun and went on zipline obstacle courses over one hundred feet in the air. My ultimate goal in life was to go skydiving one day. My mom was never one to come with me on my crazy adventures, but my dad was all for it. I had gotten my recklessness and bravery, along with my love for the adrenaline rush from him. Ever since I was little, we would always go on terrifying rides and adventures together. It was our bonding activity.

So, at the tender age of seven, I climbed the rocky falls with my dad. I slipped multiple times, but he always caught me before I fell. And when I reached the top, I looked down and saw how small the world seemed. I had come so far. I looked around and felt so powerful, so high up, above it all. Below me was my friend, craning up to see me. It was the start of my daredevil adventures.

Mr. Rickman's voice shook me out of my daze, as he explained our next journal entry. After he had finished talking, I raised my hand and asked him, "Can we climb the falls?"

He shook his head. "I will be climbing the falls, just for the heck of it, but you guys are not allowed to. We didn't make you sign waiver forms, so the law prohibits us from allowing you to do dangerous activities," he gave me an apologetic smile. "But, I'm sure you can climb them if you come here again with your family."

I nodded, understanding why. After a moment, the teachers released us to complete our journal entries. Unfortunately, I had no idea what those entries were. I leaned over to Clary as we walked closer to the falls and asked her.

"Um, what are we supposed to do for the journal entries?"

She laughed. "Were you not paying attention?"

"Um," I stalled, looking at my feet. "It's not like that."

Clary gave me an amused look. "Suuuuure," she replied, sounding so convinced. "We're supposed to draw the falls."

I nodded. We often did entries that involved drawing. I didn't understand why- I mean we could just take pictures, but I did it anyway. Who knew? The teachers could be right. I walked across the wooden bridge, taking one step at a time due to the unsettling creaking noise and jumped over the railing onto a large gray boulder. The boulder felt like ice when I sat, but I firmly planted my feet at the edge and took in the view.

Trees loomed over us as always, but the birds chirping weren't the prominent sound this time. The sound of the falls rushing down the rocky cliff and clashing against the tall rocks were. As they clashed on the rocks, they slowed into a bubbling stream, a crevice below my feet. I leaned down and brushed my hand across the ice cold water, feeling the liquid run between my fingers. A tiny fish swam through, rushing to some place, some time. I took in a deep breath of the sweet air and crumpled a leaf between my hands. It fell into a million tiny pieces on the boulder.

Taking out a pencil and my journal, I began sketching. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a moving figure at the top of the falls. It was Mr. Rickman.

I let out a throaty laugh that cut through the silent air. Mr. Rickman waved down at me and I grinned, wishing that I could climb too. But, rules were rules and it was not my place to question them. Looking at the intricate shading of my sketch, I drew a tiny figure at the top of the rushing water, between two tall willows. I leaned closer to the journal, which thankfully wasn't made of lined paper, and drew a smiling face with a few strokes of my pencil. I looked up at the bright blue sky and saw a flock of birds flying above me, which I quickly reflected onto my sketch.

So this was nature. This was what all the environmentalists were fighting to protect. A beautiful place where we all came together and met with our roots, our one heritage. It was an amazing place which could never be replicated by tall steel buildings or marble structures. It was one of a kind.

In that moment, I decided to help. To help protect the environment and preserve places as beautiful as this one. Kids today grew up thinking a park was a metal, painted structure with plastic slides and rubber swings on steel chains. A manmade structure. But this was a park. A place where kids could run around and let their imagination run wild. Where adults could sit and just talk. Where teens could channel their inner daredevil and climb slippery rocks. It had something for everyone, and I wasn't going to let some greedy businessman take that away.

But soon, we were boarding the bus and I felt like I couldn't do anything. I quietly added small details to my drawing for the rest of the ride.

A sudden notion cheered me up. It was November 21st, meaning my birthday was only a few weeks away. When we pulled up into the school, I turned to Clary and Lina.

"Hey, I'm having a birthday party on December 15th," I invited. "You guys want to come?"

Clary took out a pencil and jotted down the date. "I'll check if I can."

"Me too," agreed Lina. "I'm probably free that day... But I'll have to see."

I grinned at them. "Thanks! I'll send you an email with all the details. It'll be at my house, and I'll send you the address."

That afternoon, I walked home, not being able to wait for the party of a lifetime.