First of all, I would like to say I hate swimming. It scares me to death. You never know when you can be swimming and your feet will touch a dead body or your head goes under and you start sucking in water and drown.

Well, one day in summer my friends convinced me to come and swim in the lake with them. I hated the way I looked in my swimsuit, a swim tank top and shorts, but I wore it anyway.

When we got there I was surprised by the surge of excitement that ran through me as we walked towards the lake holding our towels and swim bags.

"Race you!" Glinda yelled as she dropped her stuff and raced towards the lake. Glinda was tall and athletic and had shoulder length brown hair that she currently had back in two small ponytails.

"Not fair!" Halley called as she set down her bag and towel. "You're taller!" Halley was the shortest of all of us and had dirty blond hair that she kept in a long braid down her back.

"Not racing," Chryssa and I called after them in unison. Chryssa was also short and could be called a couch potato and she would agree. She had a black pixie cut.

"You guys are boring," Glinda called as she dove into the lake.

"Should we join them?" I asked Chryssa as we set down our stuff and I put my goggles on.

Chryssa whimpered in a complaint but followed me to the lake.

"Hold up!" I called to Halley as I did my best to swim out at her.

I had taken swimming lessons and was rather good at it but my fear crippled me.

"Shakespeare, to the dock!" Glinda called as she swam towards the dock that was used to launch boats.

I swam towards the dock. Chryssa had skipped the swimming part and was sitting on the dock.

We began taking turns jumping off the deck High School Musical style.

When it came to my turn I did a slick dive that didn't cause any ripples. I didn't come up at first, just swam around until I needed air. When I surfaced it was winter. I shivered. What was going on? Something bumped against my back and I gasped.

I turned around to find Halley floating face down in the water. Time stopped. Chryssa floated by the dock and I could only spot the top of Glinda's head and the heels of her feet occasionally bobbing above water.

I choked out a gasp and desperately kicked towards the dock. It became further away and I was suddenly yanked under water. I struggled to get to the surface but I couldn't. My lungs began to burn.

I was dying.

Things began to fade...

**

"WAKE UP!"

I gasped as I started up and started to cough.

"Girl, we thought you were dead!" Halley said as she lightly touched my cheek.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You hit your head when you dove and it knocked you out," Glinda told me.

Chryssa was hyperventilating.

I groaned.

"This is the last time going swimming."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Chryssa asked.

"No, I'm fine," I decided.

"Cookie?" Glinda offered.

I smiled.

"Sure."