Diving Off the Edge Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: Lake Owens

  CHAPTER 2: Two Surprises

  CHAPTER 3: Off to the Races

  CHAPTER 4: Distance Swimmer?

  CHAPTER 5: There’s Still Time

  CHAPTER 6: Friends?

  CHAPTER 7: Something New

  CHAPTER 8: The First Meet

  CHAPTER 9: Back to the Lake

  CHAPTER 10: Rescue

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Water Safety Rules

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Internet Sites

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  CHAPTER 1

  LAKE OWENS

  Riley peered out over the edge of the cliff. Far down below, he saw his friends splashing around in the water.

  “Come on, Riley!” one of them yelled. “Jump already! Everybody else did!”

  Riley knew his friend was right. One by one, all of his friends had leapt off the cliff that hung over the bay in Lake Owens. One by one, they had splashed happily into the water below.

  Riley was the only one of them who had not done the big jump before. Now, he was the only one still standing on the cliff.

  Riley inched his toes forward and peered down toward the water. It’s so far down there, he thought. What if I hit a rock under the water or something?

  He tried to calm down, but he could not get his brain to stop worrying.

  “Do you need me to come up there and hold your hand?” yelled Riley’s friend Blake. Riley could hear all the other guys laughing.

  For years, Riley had watched people jump off the cliff into the lake. It was something people did every summer once they were teenagers. Riley had never done it, but it seemed like everyone he knew had.

  Blake had started jumping the year before. This year, he’d convinced Riley to try.

  Riley had never seen anyone get hurt, but he had heard the stories. There was one kid in the 1980s who dove head-first, hit a rock underwater, and was paralyzed. There was another kid who didn’t jump far enough to land in the deep water. He broke three bones.

  When he was a little kid, Riley never thought he’d be afraid to make the leap. Everyone’s parents said to stay away from the cliff at Lake Owens. But that never stopped anyone. Every year, people headed out to the lake, ready to take their chances jumping off the dangerous cliff.

  His friends had started planning their jumps as soon as the weather warmed up.

  That’s when Riley started to get nervous. When the plans finally had been made the week before, Riley was scared.

  Riley hadn’t said anything, though. He didn’t want his friends to think he was a chicken.

  When Riley and his friends reached the cliff, Blake was the first one to jump. Riley wasn’t surprised. Blake always had more courage than everyone else.

  That wasn’t always a good thing. For as long as Riley had known Blake, Blake had always been the kind of guy who got in trouble by trying things he shouldn’t have. Sometimes it just seemed as if he liked acting tough or cool. Riley was much more cautious, but he and Blake were still best friends.

  Down below the cliff, Riley saw Blake get out of the water. He started to climb up to the cliff again. Riley was sure Blake was planning to push him off.

  Riley sighed. He didn’t want to jump. He just wanted to get down into the water. He loved swimming. Being in the water was one of Riley’s favorite things.

  Blake was getting closer. Riley inched to the edge of the cliff. Slowly, he closed his eyes and bent his knees. Then he jumped off the side of the cliff.

  CHAPTER 2

  TWO SURPRISES

  Riley felt the air rush up around him. He heard his friends’ excited yells from the lake below.

  Down, down he fell. The fall seemed to last forever. He kept his eyes squeezed shut. But as he felt the water getting closer, he opened his eyes. Just as he did, he felt the pain. It was sharp, like a knife, but it covered his entire back. Riley heard the horrible smack!

  If he hadn’t immediately sunk into the water, Riley would have thought that he had landed on solid ground. The pain across his back felt like a thousand sharp little pins.

  Riley popped back above the water and gasped for air. He let out a horrible groan. All of his friends swam over, laughing hysterically.

  “That was awesome!” one of them said. “I’ve never seen someone land flat on his back in the lake before!”

  “I’ve never heard a noise that loud!” another one said. “It was like a gunshot!”

  The pain from hitting the water started to go away. Riley tried to smile along with his friends. Mostly, he was just really glad it was over.

  Riley had finally jumped off the cliff. Now his friends would stop making fun of him, and he could just have fun swimming in the lake.

  Riley and his friends spent the rest of the day clowning around in the water. Blake jumped off the cliff a few more times, but nobody asked why Riley didn’t want to jump again. It was a perfect spring day.

  * * *

  The next morning, Riley headed to school. His gym class was the first class of the day. It was his least favorite class.

  Riley didn’t think he was any good at sports. He hated basketball and football. He hated baseball and soccer. And as much as Riley loved to be in the water, he hated swimming at school.

  That day was the second day of the swimming unit in gym class. Riley was not looking forward to it.

  Riley and Blake were in the same gym class. It was the only class they had together. They met at Blake’s locker before class and walked to the pool together.

  “I really hate gym class,” Riley complained to Blake. “We don’t ever get to play any games in the pool or try diving or anything. We always have to learn all these stupid strokes and practice them, over and over. It’s like Mr. Casey doesn’t want us to have any fun, ever.”

  Mr. Casey was the gym teacher. He was also the swim team’s coach. Riley figured that was why the teacher always made them practice the boring stuff.

  Blake shook his head. “We should just skip first period,” he said. “It’s so boring. We can just hang out until second period starts.”

  Riley rolled his eyes. “Swimming is boring, but I’d rather be bored swimming than be bored in detention after school,” he said.

  “Whatever, chicken,” Blake said. He smiled and added, “I guess you’re right.”

  I can’t imagine how much trouble that kid would get in if it weren’t for me, Riley thought, shaking his head.

  CHAPTER 3

  OFF TO THE RACES

  In the pool locker room, Riley and Blake changed into their swimsuits. Then they walked through the showers to the pool. When class started, Mr. Casey gathered everyone at the deep end of the pool.

  “Today we’re going to do something a little different,” Mr. Casey said. “First, you’re all going to learn how to jump off the starting blocks. Then we’re going to have some races.”

  Most of the class groaned at Mr. Casey’s announcement. But Riley smiled. For some reason, he actually felt excited. He was glad to be doing something other than practicing swimming strokes.

  Blake looked at him and rolled his eyes. “Oh, great,” Blake said. “We should have skipped class after all.”

  “Hey, at least we get to do something different today,” Riley said, shrugging.

  Mr. Casey taught them some different ways to jump off the starting blocks. Each student took a turn going off the blocks.

  “Don’t go too deep into the water,” Mr. Casey said. “Stay close to the top of the water’s surface. Then you’ll lose less energy before your first stroke, and you’ll be able to
go faster.”

  “What strokes do we have to use for the race?” a kid asked.

  “Our races today will be freestyle,” Mr. Casey replied.

  Blake blurted out, “Great! That means we get to do whatever we want!”

  “Actually, no,” Mr. Casey said. “Freestyle means you will be swimming the front crawl. That’s the most basic stroke in swimming. We went over it last week, remember?”

  A few of the other kids laughed. Blake shrugged. “Yeah, I guess,” he said.

  “How long are the races?” another kid asked.

  “The pool is 25 yards long. The shortest race will be 50 yards, from one end of the pool to the other and back,” Mr. Casey said.

  “Got it,” the kid said.

  “Those short races are called sprints,” Mr. Casey said. “Some races during our swim meets are as long as 400 yards. That’s a total of sixteen times across the pool!”

  “Sign me up for the sprints,” Riley said. “I want to go fast.”

  “Everyone will get a chance to try a short race and a long race today,” Mr. Casey said. “I’ll tell you more about the long race in a while. First, let’s work on turns.”

  Mr. Casey taught the class how to do a kick turn at the far end of the pool. A kick turn allowed the swimmers to spin underwater and kick off the end of the pool. Then they could change directions without stopping.

  To his surprise, Riley really liked the kick turns. When he was swimming for fun, he loved doing tricks under water. The kick turns reminded him of that feeling.

  After a while, Mr. Casey blew his whistle. “All right,” he said. “I need six swimmers for the first sprint race.”

  Riley and five other swimmers raised their hands. “Get on your blocks,” Mr. Casey told them.

  When the swimmers were ready, Mr. Casey yelled, “Three, two, one. Go!”

  Riley was the first one off the blocks. He swam as hard as he could. He quickly reached the end of the pool and turned around using a kick turn.

  Then he started to feel tired. His legs felt heavy, and it was hard to move his arms.

  Finally, he finished the race.

  Gasping for breath, Riley looked up. He was in fifth place. He slapped the water in disgust.

  CHAPTER 4

  DISTANCE SWIMMER?

  As Riley climbed out of the pool, Mr. Casey walked up. “Don’t worry, Riley,” Mr. Casey said, smiling. “Something tells me you’d be better as a distance swimmer.”

  “What do you mean?” Riley asked.

  Mr. Casey replied, “I think you could be a good long-distance swimmer. You’d just need to learn to pace yourself.”

  “Oh,” Riley said. “Well, I’ll see what happens in the long race, I guess.”

  Riley watched as Blake raced in the 50-yard race. Blake won first place.

  Riley sighed. Blake was really courageous. He always believed he could do whatever he wanted. Sometimes that got him in trouble. But other times, it helped him win.

  I wish I was more like that, Riley thought.

  Finally, it was Riley’s chance to try a distance race. “Let’s get started,” Mr. Casey said. “We’ll begin with the same group who started the short race. Each race will be 200 yards. That’s eight times across the pool.”

  Riley got ready on the starting blocks. Mr. Casey walked over and said, “Remember, pace yourself. Go easy at first. Save your energy so you can get through the whole race.”

  When the race began, Riley jumped off to a fast start. He took the early lead in the race. Then he remembered Mr. Casey’s words. Near the end of the first length, he slowed down a little bit, trying to save his energy.

  He was wearing goggles, so as he swam, he could see where the other swimmers were. By the end of the third length, Riley was in last place.

  This doesn’t make any sense, he thought. I’m way behind!

  He just kept going, though. At the end of the fourth length, Riley suddenly felt something change. He had developed a long, smooth stroke. His legs kicked easily. He was in a good rhythm with his strokes and his breathing. He felt relaxed.

  Soon, he was catching up to the other swimmers. Even better, it didn’t feel like he was really trying.

  In the second to last length, Riley decided to speed up a little. His stroke stayed smooth. By the middle of the last length, Riley had passed everyone. He had won!

  Riley climbed out of the pool. Mr. Casey walked over and slapped him on the back. “See?” Mr. Casey said, smiling. “I told you you’d be a good long-distance swimmer.”

  “You were right, Mr. Casey,” Riley said. “That was awesome.”

  Blake walked over. “Nice job,” he said to Riley. “I was a little worried there for a while. You were way behind! But you definitely pulled ahead at the end.”

  “I have a question for you guys,” Mr. Casey said. “Have you ever thought about going out for the swim team? Blake, you’d be great at sprint races. And Riley, you’d be perfect for longer races.”

  Riley raised his eyebrows. It did sound pretty cool. But before he could say anything, Blake laughed.

  “Thanks, but we’re not interested,” Blake said. “Riley and I aren’t really into school sports and that kind of stuff. Right, Riley?”

  “Um, I guess,” Riley said.

  Mr. Casey looked disappointed, but he just shrugged. “All right,” he said. “Maybe next year, then.” He walked away.

  CHAPTER 5

  THERE’S STILL TIME

  After school, Riley and Blake walked home together. “Are you sure you don’t want to be on the swim team?” Riley asked. “It could be fun.”

  Blake looked at him and laughed. “Are you kidding me?” he said. “The only thing more boring than gym has to be swim team practice. I’ve seen those guys. All they do is swim back and forth. For hours. Besides, who wants to hang around a bunch of jocks, anyway?”

  “Okay, okay,” Riley said. “Forget I asked.”

  “Speaking of swimming, do you want to go back to the cliffs again this Saturday?” Blake asked. “We could do the jump again. Only this time, maybe you’ll learn how to land instead of doing a belly flop on your back.” He laughed.

  Riley felt a nervous, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. I never want to go back there, he thought. But he looked at Blake and smiled. “Yeah, sounds great,” Riley said. “I’ll definitely be there.”

  * * *

  On Friday morning, Mr. Casey asked Riley to stay after class. After he showered and changed back into his normal clothes, Riley found Mr. Casey in his office.

  “I want to talk to you about the swim team,” Mr. Casey said. “I know Blake doesn’t want to join, but I thought I’d ask you again.” He paused, and then added, “You know, you don’t have to listen to him about everything.”

  Riley frowned. “I don’t listen to him about everything,” he said. “I do what I want.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll think about joining the team,” Mr. Casey said. “It’s a lot of fun. You would be very good at it. And the other guys are really great.”

  “Blake’s a good guy too,” Riley replied.

  “I know he is,” Mr. Casey said. “I’d like Blake to join the team too. If he’s not interested, that’s okay. I just want to make sure you’re making this decision on your own.”

  Riley looked down at the floor. “Yes, I am,” he said.

  “Okay,” Mr. Casey said. “But just in case, practice starts Monday after school. So there’s still time to change your mind.”

  Riley nodded. “Okay, thanks,” he said.

  CHAPTER 6

  FRIENDS?

  On Saturday morning, Riley headed to the cliff at Lake Owens. Blake was already in the parking lot when Riley arrived. He was talking to a group of older guys Riley recognized from school. He wasn’t friends with those guys. They were the kind of kids who were always in trouble or in detention.

  “Hey, Riley,” Blake said as Riley walked up. “Guys, this is the kid I was telling you about — the one who lan
ded flat on his back in the water last week.”

  All the older guys laughed. Riley turned red, but he tried to shrug it off. After all, he was used to Blake making fun of him sometimes.

  “This guy actually wanted to join the swim team,” Blake went on. “Can you imagine? I would hate to be friends with a dumb jock, especially one on the swim team.”

  The older guys laughed again. “Yeah, the jocks are the worst,” one of them said. “I can’t stand them.”

  “Let’s get up to the cliff,” Blake said.

  Everyone turned and headed toward the base of the hill. “You’re going to jump, right?” Blake asked Riley as they walked. “You can’t embarrass me in front of these guys. I told them you were cool.”

  Riley shrugged. “I don’t really feel like jumping,” he said. “I might just get right in the water.”

  Blake shook his head. “At least come up to the top of the cliff with us,” he said. “Seriously, these guys won’t let us hang out with them if you act like a loser.”

  “Fine,” Riley said. “Whatever.”

  They climbed to the top of the cliff. One by one, the older guys all jumped, landing in the water far below. Soon, just Blake and Riley were left standing on the cliff.

  Riley peered over the edge. Then he looked at Blake, standing a few feet behind him.

  “You can go ahead,” Riley said. “Maybe I’ll wait until everyone comes up and jumps again.”

  “No way, man!” Blake said. “You’re just trying to get out of jumping. Go ahead, go!”

  Riley sighed. “Look, I really don’t want to,” he said.

  Blake looked at him. After a moment, he said, “Okay, fine.” He stepped toward the edge of the cliff. Riley moved to get out of his friend’s way, but as he did, Blake’s arm swung out. With all his strength, he pushed Riley off the edge of the cliff.