Unmistakable Bleach

Fear comes in many different forms. You can taste it, smell it, sometimes-even touch it.

I sat, waiting patiently for the fear to overcome me. Water was rushing around my body, pushing at it. I held on tightly, but water gushed through my fingers. My hand slipped, and I plunged downward unwillingly.

Right then fear smelled like a cloudy, cold, but rainless day. It tasted like unmistakable bleach. It felt as though I was watching myself being drowned to death, but having absolutely no control.

I turned an unexpected sharp corner, and screamed. It was kind-of a yelp, actually. Bracing myself for the next turn, I held my breath. But the water wouldn't stay out of my mouth. Soon the corners came faster and faster, until I couldn't even tell if I was drifting left or right. Hard, sturdy plastic slapped my body. I shut my eyes and squeezed them tightly. That's when I fell in.

I was spitting that contaminated unmistakable bleach when I came up. My vision was blurred but at least I could touch the bottom of the pool. I waded over to the edge and pulled myself out. Looking up, I rubbed my eyes and noticed a lifeguard lady glaring at my with an evil hawk stare.

"Do not go until he tells you to," she informed me, then went back to her walkie-talkie.

I had a great urge to yell at her. I wanted so badly to tell her that I couldn't stop. The water had pushed me. I had had no choice. But I didn't.

Soon I saw my best friend, Sierra, slide quickly into the water and bob up and down, just as I had, from the same water slide. She waded over to me.

"That was awesome!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'm going again!" She pulled herself out of the pool and started walking up the long concrete path that led to the peak of the three water slides.

I chuckled and followed her. "I'm not going on that one ever again!" I proclaimed.

"It sure was a corkscrew, just like its name!"

The three slides all had names. That one was called the Corkscrew. One was the Whipper Snapper and the last was the Bucking Bronco.

"Is the Corkscrew your favorite?" I asked her.

"Of course!" she cried. I should have known.

A few more slides and mouthfuls of unmistakable bleach later, we decided to go on the White Water ride. We rented yellow and blue inner tubes and waited in line for quite a while.

The more I examined the ride, the more I was scared of it. It was fat, with lots of room, but lots of bumps. There was a small pool at the top where you could get situated in your tube and then slide down. It was long and twisted.

Finally it was my turn. I climbed into the tube, with my feet hanging out one end and my hands clasped to the handles. A lady waded over and pushed me off the edge.

At first, it wasn't so bad. Thing is, it wasn't so good either. At some point, I noticed there was a very large man in an inner tube not far behind me. He was going much faster than I was. By then, I had gotten to the very twisted and bumpy part of the ride. I was looking backwards when my tube hit the wall strongly and then bounced back. That snapped me into reality. I tried not to look back, but I feared the man so much that I couldn't help it. I fell into the pool at the end very suddenly. The man tumbled after me.

Coughing out unmistakable bleach and gasping for sweet air, I swam to the surface and found my inner tube. I climbed out and pulled it with me. Throwing it into the pile with the others, I grabbed a towel and sat down to dry on a chair next to Sierra.

"I didn't like that one," she told me.

Finally, we agreed on something.

There was one good thing about that ride, though. The pool at the end was fairly big, and the wipeouts that took place were quite amusing.

As we left the Water Park, I dried my hair and wiped down my body. I could touch the unmistakable bleach that had seeped into my golden locks and the unmistakable bleach scent that blew thick in the breeze filled my lungs. Even now, my mouth still stings with the taste of unmistakable bleach.