-1989-

Fishing. Oh, how I hated it. I hated it so much that it wasn't even a condolence that Gus got to come along. Not that he wanted to be there either, but I couldn't stand going with just my dad.

It was already scorching hot when we got into the car and it was only 10 o'clock. I'd begged Dad to let me stay home, but he'd all but dragged me into his truck. Gus followed, clearly more afraid of my dad than fish guts.

"Dad, it's a million degrees out. Why are we doing this?" I moaned.

"Stop your whining, Shawn. We're going because I said so." Dad gave me a look when I opened my mouth to protest. "End of discussion."

I rolled my eyes at Gus and leaned my head against the window.

For the next hour and a half, I baited hooks while Gus tried not to look. Dad was the only happy one - this was his favorite pastime. Leave it to him to pick such a gross hobby.

Gus finally couldn't take it anymore and went to sit farther away. I joined him soon after, ignoring my dad yelling at me to open another can of worms.

"We've been here for hours," Gus complained as I sat next to him on a fallen tree branch beside the lake. "When do yu think he'll finish up?"

I sighed. "I have no idea. He could be ten more minutes or two more hours. There's no telling with him."

"It's so hot!" Gus said, shaking his sweaty shirt and wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Wanna borrow my baseball cap?" I asked. "For shade."

Gus smiled. "Sure."

As I took it from my own head and reached over to hand it to Gus, a gust of wind caught it and flung it out across the lake.

"Oh no!" I breathed, watching it float down and land on the water's surface about five or six feet out. After staring at it for a moment, I looked around the side of the tree we were sitting behind and glanced at dad. He was fumbling with a few hooks and some tangled fishing wire.

I got up. "I'm gonna have to go after it, Gus," I said.

Gus grabbed my arm. "Are you crazy? Don't you ever listen? Your dad always tells us not to wade out in this lake. He said it's not safe."

"Gus, first of all my mom gave me that hat," I said as I ripped off my sneakers and socks. "Second of all, since when did I ever listen to my dad?"

With that, I began wading into the water slowly, trying to see through the murky water. With each step the water rose: to my knees, my waist. So far, so good. The water was cooler than I expected, but but it felt good on my hot skin. I was getting close to the hat, so close. Or at least it looked like it. Just a few more steps. I inched forward, wincing as I began to step on sharp rocks with my bare feet. The water rose past my chest, almost up to my neck. I wasn't worried about the depth - I could swim pretty well. But I didn't want to make a lot of splashing in case my dad should happen to look up and see me. I took another step - and my foot slipped on a rock and I went under.

I forgot to hold my breath and inhaled a mouthful of water, causing me to choke. I tried to kick out with my legs, but a sharp pain ran through my right foot and I realized it was stuck on something, pinned down painfully.

I had to breathe. I was beginning to panic, windmilling my arms above my head, groping disparately for the surface. My hands found air, and I felt a surge of hope. kicking out with my left leg, I managed to press it into the rocky silt on the bottom of the lake and I pushed hard. My head rose a little and I tipped my head back, getting my mouth and nose above the surface.

I began coughing almost immediately and then gasped a few short breaths. A second later, my foot slipped and I went down again, arms flailing. I struggled until my foot hit the ground again and and I got my face back up to the air.

I thought I heard someone yelling my name and I tried to call out but water filled my mouth, making me choke. A second later, I hand grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling my head a bit higher out of the water.

"Shawn!" a familiar voice gasped in my ear.

"Gus?"

I opened my eyes and saw my best friend's worried face looking down at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, gripping my arm tightly and treading water.

"Foot's stuck," I coughed, clinging to Gus.

"Shawn! Gus!"

I'd never been so happy to hear dad's voice in my life.

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TBC!