Falling

• Paco Forsyth Lacrampe, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2019

Have you ever felt like nothing will go wrong? Well, I have and that’s what I'm feeling like right now.
Anyway, hi.
My name is Ben Johnson. I am ten years old and right now I am in the Canberra Olympic Swimming Pool eating my favourite ice cream with two scoops of Oreo flavour.

Just then they started to announce the people who had signed up to jump off the fifteen-metre diving board. I’ve got a fear of heights so it would be silly for me to do that sort of thing. Some of my friends were doing it but I thought that they were crazy to do it.

Then they announced all of the names.
Suddenly, I heard my name.
I stood there frozen at what I had just heard.
My jaw had hit the floor.
So, trembling, I went to the board.
Climbing up the stairs was one of the hardest parts: they were so steep and high and seemed like they would go forever.
When I arrived at the top I felt like I needed to get out of there.
Then the microphone said "jump".
But I didn't want to, all I wanted to do was to go down the stairs safely.
Just then the person before me in line pushed me off the board and sent me falling through the air. "Aaaaaaaaagh!!!" I screamed.
Things flashed through my mind. I was still falling but two seconds later I was in another world.
Had I gone back in time?
Then a portal appeared in front of me. I didn't want to go inside but I jumped through it.
What had happened?
I appeared in my first dance concert.
I was lining up to get on to the stage.
Unfortunately, I was getting teased about my costume.
I had the worst costume in the whole dance school.
I went to tell the teacher about it and as I told it to her she burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA!" laughed the teacher.
"It wasn't me who chose this dull costume!" I exclaimed hotly.

Yep, I had gone back in time.
I remembered this.
A girl from the dance just before mine had run off the stage into the second-last wing.
That was the wing I was in and she saw me getting teased.
Then she crouched down and whispered in my ear, "Ignore them and do your best on stage."
When I got on stage I felt different.
I felt like I could dance through this dance without making any mistakes.
And so I did.
When I ran off the stage my teachers were really amazed at my awesome dancing.
And everyone wanted to be my friend.
Then the portal from before arrived in front of me. I jumped through it and then I found myself falling through the air screaming my head off.
Then I landed in the water.
I looked up and saw the 15-metre diving board.
I had jumped off the 15-metre diving board.
Yay!!!