don't go near the water!

don't go near the water chapter 6

I couldn't stop thinking about Melody and what she told me. I drove all over town to try to find a journal, but I came up unsuccessful. I decided to just go to Target and get a notebook. I got some swimsuits while I was there. Just because I wasn't going in the water at the lake house, doesn't mean I couldn't look cute. Josh and Julie had boat licenses, and jet ski licenses. So they could take us to do various activities. I loved them for that. I was paying when I heard a voice behind me say "You know, I really like those swimsuits." I hated when random strangers said stuff like that to me, so I turned around thinking I was going to face a pervert that I would eventually punch in the face. "Josh!" and we hugged and then he kissed me on the cheek. "Hey Els." "How was vacation?" "Well, one of my brothers lost a tooth. And since we were on vacation he was afraid that the 'tooth fairy' wouldn't be able to find him. But 'she' did. He got a dollar." we both laughed together and then I looked at the checkout lady, who was scowling at me. I didn't know I was at the front of the line. I always lose track of time when I'm talking to Josh. I moved forward to the credit card machine, and gave the lady a smile. "How are you today?" she said something under her breath that I didn't catch, but I did catch the word 'teenagers' in it. I paid for my things and waited at the end for Josh. He grabbed his things with one hand, and my hand with the other. We walked out together. We got some weird looks. Josh is a very good looking guy and I'm not very extraordinary looking. I don't wear makeup, except for lipstick and concealer when I'm with Josh. I'm just another blonde in the mix of blondes. 

Josh was telling me more about his trip when we walked. He walked me all the way to my car. "Hey Josh, I have a question." "Yeah, Els?" "Me, Julie, Sal and Sal's friend Toby are going to Julie's family lakehouse the first week of summer. Her parents will be in Florida." "Who's Toby? I've never heard Sal mention Toby before." "You know how Sal's family volunteers a lot?" "Yeah?" he questioned, raising one eyebrow. "Toby's family volunteers a lot too. They see each other a lot during volunteer sessions so they hang out sometimes. He just hasn't mentioned him before because Toby is home schooled." I felt bad for lying about who Toby is, but I didn't want to tell him the truth. If I told him the truth, then I would have to tell him about the kiss. And he just got back from vacation with his family, so I don't know if he would take that news very well. "Oh ok. Well, I'll ask my parents tonight. I'd love to go though. We can go on a boat ride together and watch the sunset" I smiled at this thought. He was such a romantic. But then I got a text from Melody, which quickly wiped the smile off my face. "Great! Well, I have to go. Let me know if you can go!" Then we kissed quickly and I got in my car and drove away. Josh was standing there rubbing the back of his head. I'm surprised he didn't ask about the boot, but I wouldn't have had a good explanation other than the truth anyway. 

The text from Melody read "Help! In school pool! Legs cramping! Can't move them! Hurry!" I called Toby as soon as I read the text. He picked up on the third ring. 

"Yes?"

"Toby! There's a girl in the pool who can't swim and is about to drown if we don't save her! Meet me there! I'll be there in 5 minutes but you need to be there as soon as possible!"

"Ok. I'll meet you at the front entrance of the school. Calm down and drive safely. Bye Elsa."

"Bye Toby"

I got to the school, and parked. It wasn't a very good parking job, but I didn't care. I needed to get to Melody. I looked at the stairs and knew I would never get there in time with this boot on. Toby saw me as soon as he got there, picked me up, and put me on his back. We raced to the pool room. We didn't see Melody struggling like me. We didn't see her at all. Oh no, what if someone found her? But then I saw her long brown hair at the bottom of the pool. That was even worse! I didn't even think, I just jumped in. Clothes and all. I grabbed her tiny body in my arms bridal style and swam to the shallow end of the pool where the stairs were. Toby grabbed her at the top stair. She didn't seem to be breathing. "Ok, Elsa, you need to listen to me. Very carefully. Put your hand on her heart and think about her heart beating again." I did as he told me. I looked at her face while I did this. She looked very different without glasses. But her lips were blue. She was pale, and her freckles had seemed to disappear. She started breathing about 10 seconds later. She spit up a lot of water, but I didn't care. At least she was breathing.