Smooth Sailing

May 29, 2018

May 29, 2018

When I arrived home from school on Tuesday, most of the yacht club was crammed into our living room. Only the Sterling-Staffords and a few of their friends were absent when my dad told everyone who had arrived for the Keep Clearwater Clear cleanup where to go and what to do. Eden, Brooke, and I struggled to find a spot in the ongoing discussion - we had just come home on the bus, and none of us knew what we should be doing. I could only hope that Dad would let me clean up the lake with my friends.

To my disappointment, Dad decided that I would help pick up trash on the beaches on the north side of Clearwater Lake, along with the rest of my family. Although I wasn't exactly happy that I had to work with Everett, I was glad that I could participate in the cleanup. I personally didn't know that we would get such a great turnout, and I noticed Dad beaming every time he looked out over the small crowd that had gathered in our home.

Eden, Brooke, and I all went our separate ways, and I ran back into my room to put on my rain boots. My athletic shorts, bright yellow Keep Clearwater Clear T-shirt, and boots weren't the most fashionable outfit in the world, but it was practical for picking up trash on the beach and wading in the murky water of Clearwater Lake. Then, I went outside to meet the rest of my family.

"Dad, do I have to do this?" Everett complained.

"Don't you want to clean up the lake?" Dad said.

"Your father is right," Mom said. "This is going to be a fun bonding experience."

"You guys clearly don't understand the meaning of 'fun,'" Everett whined, but he still followed Mom and Dad to the beach.

For the next several hours, the four of us walked along the beach, collecting whatever garbage we could find. It was scary how many people littered on our beaches, and I found everything from perfectly functional pencils to styrofoam boxes to soda cans floating in the water. Everett complained the whole time about how he would rather be skateboarding, but all of his friends were cleaning up the lake too. He wouldn't have been able to have fun even if Mom and Dad didn't make him help out.

By the time the sun went down, the beaches on the north side were looking a little bit better. The lake still wasn't perfectly clean - that would be impossible to accomplish in a single afternoon - but there was less garbage on the shores, and that was certainly an improvement. The dozens of plastic trash bags that our team had filled was a testament to the cleanup's success.

I headed back towards my house with filthy, waterlogged boots, but I was still proud of myself, my family, and my yacht club. We had accomplished a lot in a few short hours, and as I looked back over the Clearwater Lake shoreline, I could see that it was even more beautiful than usual. As the sun set over the beach, I slowly walked back into the house.

I glanced towards the Ogdens' old house, and all of a sudden, I spotted something unusual. Our new neighbors had set up a hammock, and there was a girl around my age lying in it. The girl had brown skin and light purple hair styled into a pixie cut, and she was wearing a long sleeved purple shirt and black skinny jeans, despite the warm weather. A pair of rectangular glasses perched on her nose, and she was playing with her phone, looking quite bored.

This girl had to be Véronique Arkoun. I wanted to find out more about this already fascinating girl (who came to Clearwater Lake with dyed purple hair?), but I couldn't approach her like this. She probably had no idea who I was, and I didn't exactly like the idea of Véronique seeing me for the first time in a dorky T-shirt and soaked boots. I tried to sneak into the house without attracting Véronique's attention, promising myself that I would talk to her another day.

It was too late. Véronique's head turned, and she locked eyes with me. If I didn't want this to be the most awkward moment of my life, I had to say something. "Hi there," I said. "I...I'm Sylvie Morrison. I live next door. You must be Véronique. My old neighbors told me about you, and I'm very excited to meet you..."