Pearson 1

Joanna Pearson

McCarter

H English

30 May 2023

The Pool As Deep As the Ocean

I’m diving into the water and my feet hit the bottom of the pool. I trudge through the

water to Anthony but I am too slow, the splashes he was exerting were now dimming. He’s

losing energy and breath. I go under the water and I swim to him. I open my eyes and see that he

isn’t too far. I want to touch the bottom of the pool to regain my stamina. I start sinking. Im

sinking and it feels like it’s been a matter of minutes, too long. I reach, hope, pray for the ground

to hit my feet. I’m sinking deeper. The pool is too deep.

I’m chilling in my house watching cartoons on Cartoon Network. “Joanna!” my mom

shouts from across the house.

I take my eyes off the screen and respond, “Coming!”

“We’re going to your cousin’s house soon for a barbeque, go get ready,” my mom

explains with a smile.

I arrive at my cousin’s house to realize that I haven’t seen any of them in actual years. I

impatiently stare at their front door. I’m finally getting out of the car and I walk up to their front

door and I ring the doorbell impatiently. The doorbell echoes throughout the house, and I can

hear multiple kids run up to the door to open it. The door basically flies off as it flings open and

hundreds of kids run out as if being chased. Parents are yelling to try and get their kids back

inside but all I can hear is the music in the house. My favorite song is playing, Baby by Justin

Bieber. I rush inside to find 7-foot-tall dads. Their wives are out trying to gather all of their
 Pearson 2

young ones. I only know so many people so I look for my favorite cousin. I'm sitting on the

couch swinging my feet, waiting. Someone walks by, then another, then another. Someone asks if

I’m okay but I don’t reply, I just wait. My mood is slowly declining like an elevator descending.

I’m slowly losing hope like she won’t be here. I want to do something with my cousin but she

isn’t here yet… I have to wait. My eyelids feel as heavy as bricks and I’m bored out of my mind.

I watched 3 episodes of Spongebob before I finally feel this tap on my shoulder. I turn to my left

where I felt the tap and my favorite cousin appears on my right, “Let’s play somethin’ fun.”

I always thought her accent was weird and I didn’t know how she sounded like that

because she was born in San Diego and she grew up in San Diego. I think it’s fake but I reply

without discussion, “Let’s do it.”

We play games with the little-er cousins until we all decide to go into the pool. I don’t

know why but I don’t want to go in. The pool has a wide slide that could fit multiple people

which is exactly what all the young ones do. It looks so dangerous, I go to get my mom but there

isn’t an adult in sight. I feel alone. And to make it worse, my cousin now has to leave. Her dad

comes out of nowhere to tell her to get her things.

I decide to dip my feet in the pool. It feels like ice. I don’t mind it, it feels refreshing. I

throw my head back to look up at the foggy night sky. The gloomy night and the bright

moonlight glare at my frown. I can’t stand being here alone. The stars are so bright, I squint my

eyes as if I were staring at the sun. The moonlight pierces my skin, escaping from the clouds that

were trying to capture it. I notice a sound. Other than little kids playing around me, it’s as quiet

as a sleeping cat so the noise is awkward. I look to my left. My cousins are playing tag, running

through the grass, across the backyard, trying not to trip and scrape their legs. I go to turn to my

right but I feel the water under me sloshing around, bouncing up and down. I finally look to my
 Pearson 3

side and see someone splashing water around. I didn’t think, I just move and my adrenaline kicks

in. I see my little cousin Anthony drowning.

I’m diving into the water and my feet hit the bottom of the pool. I trudge through the

water to Anthony but I am too slow, the splashes he was exerting were now dimming. He’s

losing energy and breath. I go under the water and I swim to him. I open my eyes and see that he

isn’t too far. I want to touch the bottom of the pool to regain my stamina. I start sinking. Im

sinking and it feels like it’s been a matter of minutes, too long. I reach, hope, pray for the ground

to hit my feet. I’m sinking deeper. The pool is too deep.

I give up on the idea of touching the bottom of the pool and I swim up feeling my arms

get heavier each stroke. I can’t breathe. I finally reach the top of the pool and go right back

under. I take a breath but it feels like nothing. I reach for Anthony and I push him up over the

water but I start to sink. Even though he’s smaller than me, he feels like a thousand pounds. I

don’t want to but I let go of him and swim up to the surface of the pool. I dive back in and give

him a big push to the side of the pool. I drag myself through the pool with heavy arms and finally

reach the side of the pool. I grab onto the edge and pull myself over the water taking a deep

breath and I reach for Anthony. I grab his arm and pull him towards me trying to keep his head

over the water. I hold him next to me, over the water, on the side of the pool, clinging to the edge

as if life depended on it. I start to lose grip and I can only think about how I’m going to get my

cousin out of this pool. I try to push him up but my arms give out. Suddenly, I feel his weight

being lifted. His mom’s dragging him out of the pool, away from my grasp.

Everyone’s here. I didn’t notice before, but everyone ran outside to see what was

happening and now everyone’s here, watching. I feel a little embarrassed. I feel like I could’ve

done better to save Anthony. But I hardly acknowledge this feeling because I am in such shock
 Pearson 4

that I feel like I can’t think properly. My mom runs over to me as I hoist myself out of the water.

I’m sitting here coughing up water. I didn’t know I swallowed so much water but I can feel the

sloshing in my stomach. I turn around and see my little cousin Anthony doing the same,

coughing, choking over water. Thank goodness. I feel so relieved that he is mostly okay. He

starts crying and then his mom picks him up. She is patting his back as she takes her son inside.

My mom tries to speak to me but I can’t really hear or understand her. “Honey? Are you

alright?”

“I’m okay. I’m c-cold,” I chattered through my teeth.

We’re leaving the party and I feel so tired. I have goosebumps all over my body and my

hair feels heavy from the water. I still feel out of breath and I can hardly see, my eyes burn from

the chlorine.

After my experience of saving a life, I learned to trust my gut and to be brave. I learned

to push through because the outcome will always be worth it. And now, I always pay attention to

my surroundings just in case something bad were to happen. The thought that keeps me

“unbroken” is that I knew in my head that I was going to get my cousin and I out of that pool in

one piece… so I did. Also, seeing Anthony in present day helps me feel like I did a heroic thing.