life is just a phase i'm going through

The First Time (Sarah)

I was going to post this to "Gooosebumps Book", but then I came up with a  bunch of different ideas for similar stories and what the heck.

Book: The Curse of Camp Cold Lake, with a small cameo from Monster Blood

Summary: Camp Cold Lake wasn't the first time Sarah almost drowned.

The sun beat down on eight-year-old Sarah Maas. Even the huge wide-brimmed hat she wore, comically large for her small head, didn't shade the rest of her body. Her arms and lower body felt like they were being burnt to a crisp. She was reading a book cross-legged on the sand, a frown of concentration etched in her face. She was a an advanced reader for her age - at least, that was what the teachers at her school told her. Sand was getting into her dress, but she didn't notice nor care.

She heard a shrill, high-pitched laugh before her book was knocked out of her hands, landing face-first in the sand. She looked up and saw her seven-year-old brother Aaron. He was beaming and dressed in his swimsuit, dripping wet, drops of water falling off him onto the sand.

"Sarah, why don't you take a swim?" he said. "It'll feel great!"

"I'll just stick to my book, thanks," said Sarah, starting to edge towards her book.

"C'mon, Sarah!" pleaded Aaron. "You can't spend all day just reading! We're supposed to be relaxing."

"This is relaxing," Sarah insisted, picking up her book.

"The water's great, I promise," said Aaron. "Once you get in, you won't be able to get out!"

"Well..." Sarah sighed. "Alright." It was almost worth saying that for the huge smile that broke across her little brother's face. "But wait, I didn't pick my swimsuit-"

"Actually, you did," said Aaron. "I saw Mom packing it for you."

Sarah sighed. She should've known. She would've been perfectly content spending all day reading, but her mom always insisted that she "do physical activity". Sarah personally thought that her mom should be glad that she was reading this much at her age.

Sarah put on her swimsuit and slowly waded into the sea. The cold water felt good on her sunburnt legs. She kept walking until she was up to her torso in the cooling water. She had to admit, it was a refreshing change from being burnt to a crisp.

She kept walking until she was up to her neck, and then tilted her hair back. She smiled as she felt her hair fill with water. Her hair always got horribly tangled when it was really sunny, even though it was very thin and fine and scraggly, almost like straw.

"Hi," said a voice.

Sarah looked behind her to see a girl that looked around her age, except that she was much shorter than her (and by now, Sarah was starting to realise that she was taller than most of the girls her age.) The girl had brown hair, almost black, and brown eyes. She was wearing a bright yellow swimsuit that matched Sarah's.