The Dive

• Nekeesha (Seyrah) Jayasinghe, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

Creak!
I was standing 10 meters above the local swimming pool. The diving board creaked against me. I took a step towards the edge of it. “Do it! Do it!” my friends cheered. What would you do if you had to dive of the highest diving board in town? A couple of days before, I got an invitation to one of my friends’, Angela’s, birthday party at the local swimming pool.
My breath became shallow. I could feel sweat prickling across my back even though it was mid-winter. I could literally feel every single eye staring at me, wondering if I had the guts to dive off. I took my hands off the rails and looked down. Woah! I thought. It looked terrifyingly high. Also, from what I could see, I saw the water rushing about and forming a circle in the middle instead of floating calmly. Forget about it, your eyes are just probably playing tricks, I said to myself. 3…2…1. I took off and could feel gravity pulling me down. I was getting closer and closer to the water.
You may be asking, why would I do something like this? Well, last Friday, the entire class of 6MH was playing truth or dare at lunch. I couldn’t protest, as Kayla, my best friend, practically begged me to come. So, I eventually gave up arguing and tagged along. After all, I would like to see the dares that other people had to deal with. Little did I know that the biggest dare of all would be aimed at me. To jump off a 10-metre diving board. I was too shy to say anything, so I meekly nodded and agreed. Inside, I was groaning. Why did I have to be so timid at times?
Back to the present, remember when I said that I was diving off the highest diving board in town? I was meant to add that this pool was the deepest in our town too. I was less than 1 meter away from the water.
Splash!
I landed in the water. Luckily the water felt warm (no, it wasn’t you-know-what), not cold. I kept holding my breath as I tried to swim to the shallow. But I kept sinking down instead of going up! What is happening!? I thought in alarm. I tried to push away the strong current of the water, but I knew it was no use. The current was too strong for me. I knew that it was a matter of time before I lost my breath. I was sinking in deeper and deeper…