Teresa A. DiNicola -
“I’m going fishing! I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Tori said.
“Take me with you?” Kat begged.
“No way, you’ll only be in the way as usual.” Tori grabbed her fishing gear and bolted down the dirt path that led from the lake house to the dock.
Kat grabbed her life preserver and knapsack and dashed after her big sister. By the time Kat reached the dock, Tori was already lowering her fishing line into the waves. Usually the lake was calm, but today the water swayed like a seesaw.
Without turning to face her, Tori snapped, “I don’t have time to baby-sit.”
Kat bit her lower lip. “I don’t need a baby-sitter.”
The faint roar of thunder rolled in the distance as Kat fastened the buckle on her life jacket. She removed her jump rope from her knapsack and began to skip. The swishing of the rope scraped the wooden planks of the dock.
Tori held onto the rod with her right hand and pounded her left fist on the dock. “Stop jumping. You’ll scare away the pike.”
Kat frowned, but immediately put away her rope. Waves began to pound against the legs of the dock. As a light drizzle began to fall, she plopped herself down alongside her big sister and gazed down at the water. It must have been at least a four-foot drop to the waves below.
“BOOM!” A loud clap of thunder rumbled as the drizzle turned to pouring rain. “It’s time to go,” said Tori. As she jumped to her feet, her rod began to jiggle. She whispered, “a nibble.” Swiftly, she struggled to wind in her catch. “I’ve got a big one.”
What happened next seemed to take place in slow motion. Tori lost her footing and slipped shoulder first into the lake. “SPLASH!”
