Waterpark Splash!

• Krishan Sharma, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2021

Splash! There he goes, off the plank and into the glacial water. I look up in horror not wanting to believe it’s real, but fortunately it’s very real. Now at this point my hearts racing, making its way to my oesophagus and out my mouth.12pm, 3 hours to go in this vibrant waterpark. Here I'm waiting to jump off a plank hundreds of metres up in mid-air, and then to be greeted by a massive pool of water.

I have a serious phobia of heights, (acrophobia) and let me assure you it does not help, especially when you’re not allowed to turn back because I’m going to get assessed on it. The assessment is for an all-boy-cliff-diving team that my parents are forcing me to get into. It is a lot of pressure on me, especially since they've been going on about this for months upon months, telling me to get off my game and do something productive to get somewhere in life. Ever since the latter school holidays took place they've never been so enthusiastic about placing me in the team. I'm a pretty smart student as I'm a C-B type of grade kind of boy. Splash! Another boy goes down, only this time there's a lot of there is an extensive splash radius that male the buoys squirm that mark the diving perimeter.

I'm not scared of tricks I'm going to have to pull off, I've practised my tricks many times to the point where they're impeccable. I've practised in my local in-door swimming pool where the plank is low, not millions of meters up in the sky. Oh did forget to mention that it’s incredibly cold up here: 13 degrees Celsius. The boy who recently jumped has now left the pool without being asked his first and last name. Poor guy.3 more contestants left before the educator gives me the nod and I'll plunge into my predestined fate. Splash! The next boy dived and absolutely nailed it. I can interpret this off the educator’s facial expression and the fact that the examiner asked for his full name.

He managed to do a perfect aerial, summersault and low splash radius. He was a ginger with freckles inhabiting his neck all the way to the top of his forehead with an average height. 2 more contestants left, now I start to get both anxious and nervous trickling all around my body increasing my overall heartbeat to speed I didn't even know it was capable of reaching. Even with both my legs and my hand on the railing I feel as if I'm about to pass out. Luckily the vivid colour of the waterpark caught me passing out and seems very therapeutic.


Splash-splash! It's my turn. "Don't worry you've got this mate, it’s only a second, "the educator seemed to sense my uneasiness. I bounce twice on the planks, two summersaults, a straighten in my fall and Splash!