The Water to Freedom by Eric Murray

​After getting scorched by the sun all day my uncle and I thought of a good way to cool off.  We had been sitting on a beach in the Cape and it was time for a change of scenery.  This beach we were on had a channel next to it, and on the far side there was a private beach that was on hotel property.  We had both looked over at it and had the same idea.  There was a dock off the beach that cuts straight into the channel.  Also, near the dock, there is a large pipe that has a walking path of sand going over it.  This pipe is like a bridge that allows people to walk over rocks that line the jetty.  Also besides creating an easy walking space, the pipe brings water into a nearby pond (that is behind the beach in its own space, kind of like a swamp) from the ocean.  We both stood up and knew what had to be done. We jumped into the pond and started swimming towards the pipe.  We swam through the large silver pipe, fighting the current of the wild ocean water that was rushing in.  It was fairly shallow water inside and we had enough room to breathe.  The hard part was keeping your feet up so the crabs didn’t bite them.  Soon after a tiresome swim we were onto the other side of the tube.  We casually floated to the dock that was calling us near. Then we pulled ourselves up onto the dock and out of the ocean water.  Once we were up, we took a minute to catch our breath and think about what we just did.  
​“Did we really just do that?” I asked while sucking in three large breaths of air.  
​“Yeah, I can’t believe it either, c’mon let’s keep goin’ while we have some energy left.”
​“Okay I’ll go first.”
​“After you.”  My uncle says while pointing to the end of the dock.  
Then I sprinted the length of the dock and jumped as far into the channel as possible.  I was a flying squirrel gliding through the air.  Splash!  I landed in the water violently.  I then turned to see my uncle right behind me also in the water.  We timed it to wait until there were no boats crossing of course, and then we rushed to swim across to the other side of the channel.  I felt like Michael Phelps swimming as hard as I could so I could get past before a boat came.  Minutes later my uncle and I dragged our exhausted bodies up onto the beach that started it all.  We were there.  This was the beach that no one dared to go to.  It was a nice beach with a playground at the entrance of the hotel.  After looking around and seeing where we were, we slowly walked to the swings at the playground.  We sat on those swings, relaxed, and enjoyed the view.  
​“We did it.” I said quietly.
​“Yep, we’re here.”
After enjoying the view for a little while we wandered around the beach looking for cool stuff to find.  We just walked around like we owned the place and no one bothered us about being there.  This was a great way to cool off on an extremely hot afternoon.  Also this was the first time my uncle and I had done something really fun and adventurous together.  I felt like I really got to know him a lot better from this once boring afternoon to one I’ll never forget.        

Deadliest Catch by Ian Webb

I leapt down into the surf and grasped the squirmy beast as it tried to wriggle free. It was a billion degrees on a summer day not too long ago. I was on the beach at Cape Cod with my family and a few cousins. I was in the water snorkeling around when I saw something swim in front me like a flash of grey from the murky depths. At first I assumed it was a small fish only a few inches long, but then I realized it was the tail of a foot long baby sand shark darting past. Quickly, I surfaced and yelled,
”Dad, I just saw a shark!” I paused then added, ”a small one” 
so as not to cause alarm. He didn’t even turn. but just said, 
” That’s fantastic Ian”,
and returned to playing with my little brothers. Many people heard and it turned out one of my cousins had seen the same thing. I walked back to the to get something to eat when I saw a bunch of people gathered at the waters edge with nets. A few of my brothers, my dad, and I walked down to see the commotion. My uncle Dan, who was down there said, 
“Isn’t this strange? I’ve been here every summer since I was a kid and I’ve never seen this before.”
I looked down and saw more small sand sharks playing in the surf. The people at the waters edge were using nets but kept coming up empty. I ran down the beach to a spot where the sharks were, but far enough away from other people to try and catch one. I dove and dove but always missed them by a hair. Then there was a large commotion at the end of the beach where everyone was. They had caught one. My older brother Charles, who had caught it, was just as surprised as everyone else and, not having a good hold on it, accidently flung it back in. At that moment something touched my foot; I looked down and saw one of the sharks sitting still in the water. I dropped down on it and to my surprise felt it wiggling in my hands I brought it up and found that I had caught it.  
My little cousin Kate who was only six years old and had had multiple knee surgeries was not able to catch one so I brought it up to her and let her hold it.
” Here ya go”
“Thanks Ian!”
She said as she stared at the shark wide eyed. We held it out of the water for a while, but soon enough the time came to let him go. As I was letting him go I held onto its tail loosely and let it wriggle free realized that I had caught a shark. 

“Misery Queen” by Matt McDonnell

Our carʼs clock said 11:05. The radio was on and Ryan Seacrest was talking about something I didnʼt care about. Outside, the leaves were the color of Thanksgiving, golden, brown, red, and orange on the balding trees. We passed a sign saying “Go Cotuit Kettleers!” Cotuit is a small town in Cape Cod. I asked, “Can we stop by the candy store?” I knew that going to the candy store was going to be a long shot, but I had nothing to lose. My mom replied, “Maybe, weʼll see.” We were going to Roche Brothers in order to feed our rather large family. I started staring out the window, when the song came on. It was “Dancing Queen” sung by the cast of Mamma Mia. This song would haunt me for the next year whether it be sung by someone I knew or the catchy beat got stuck in my head like candy in your teeth, you try so hard to get it out but it will not budge. I disliked this song very much. It reminded me of a girly, annoying musical, like the one my mom took me to when I was six. My mom took me to a Disney on Ice, which was heavy on the princesses. Throughout the entire thing I complained because the princesses of every Disney movie were singing every minute throughout the two hour performance.

Trapped in the car, I changed the channel four times, and the same song was on three of the four channels. “Itʼs like the radio wants me to die!” I exclaimed after changing the channel a third time and finally a fourth time.I finally found a “Dancing Queen” free channel. I sighed in relief.

My mom said “I love that song!” and changed the channel back to the upbeat song and turned the radio up.

"Youʼre crazy!” I shouted over the radio. I turned it down and changed it to yet another channel. “How do you even like that song?” I questioned her.

“It is catchy and fun” my mom said in an annoyed voice. Before I could argue with her, she quickly said “My car, my rules” and just as her hand was about to change it back I swiftly shut the radio off.

“Now we are both happy” I said with a grin.

"Okay, fine”, she simply said, “but I get to sing it out loud.” And unfortunately for me, my mom had a recording-device like brain when it came to music and she heard enough of the chorus of “Dancing Queen” to play it back through her mouth. She sang all the way back from Roche Brothers. It annoyed me like a thousand mosquitos would, and it seemed to take forever but we finally got back to our house. I never did get to go to the candy store.

The Red Bullet by Seamus Eagan

​The icy cold of winter bites at my face. I can barely feel it from excitement. After weeks of waiting for this day, my new sled is ready for its maiden voyage. It is a red, plastic sled. It is about 4 feet long and 1 ½ feet wide, and it is shaped like a bullet. It is just the right length for me to lie down in at the age of eight. I put it into position and get ready to enter. As I climb into the sled, my older brother walks over to me.
“Hey can I ride with you”, he says.
“Um, no. It’s my sled.” I reply.
“But there’s room for two”
“Sorry it’s mine.”
And with that, I push myself of the top of the hill. I shoot off faster than a supersonic jet. As I shoot down the hill, I feel a rush of excitement. I finally reach the bottom, but I don’t stop. The bottom of the hill is unusually slippery. What I thought to be a mound of soft snow was actually a layer of ice with a thin layer of snow on top. I overshoot the landing area I was aiming for by a long shot. Instead, I go through a gap in the bushes that is only a little bit bigger than the sled itself. After about a minute, I manage to get out of these bushes and back into the clearing. I sprint up the hill as fast as I possibly can, with a big smile on my face.
“That was the best” I say to my dad.
“Can I go with you this time?” my brother asks.
“Fine” I reply unwillingly.
After many more rides down the hill like this, my father walks over to me and asks me if I am ready to go home now.
“Are you kidding?” I say, “I am just warming up!”
It was the first sled that I ever owned by myself. I have never thrown it out to this day. These memories are the reason that this sled is special to me.

David and the Dreaded Black Diamond by Will Anderson

 
​“Of course I want to go on that black diamond!” I lied, as panic and fear consumed me and begged me to answer honestly. My uncle smiled and responded “Sounds good. Let’s go!” My uncle is my role model when it comes to skiing and I was dying to impress him, even if it meant doing something that I wasn’t at all ready for. Up until this point I was what one might call an average, if not cautious, skier. Whenever we went to get new equipment for me, I would always be asked my skiing type, a one, two, or three. I would happily classify myself as a level 2 skier, not a beginner and not a diehard, fearless expert, just simply average. My uncle was new to the family having just married my aunt, and the minute I met him I knew that I would like him. He reminded me of an older version of me with the exact same interests. We watched the same shows, played the same video games, and more importantly we both loved skiing. When offered the chance to go with him on a skiing trip, I almost fell over in excitement. I spent the week before wondering what we would do and I asked almost daily if we could go any earlier. I was always met with the firm reply of “Will, you asked this yesterday and the day before. No David has not said he wants to go sooner and I doubt he will, seeing as this is a school and work week for everyone.” I, barely able to keep the excitement out of my voice, would always respond, “Okay, let me know if he says he wants to go earlier.”
 
​When the awaited day finally came I was ready for it. We drove to the mountain, talking about what games we had played recently and how we liked them the entire ride there. We got ready, put on our skis and we began the day. We got on the first chair lift, one that would take us to the top of the mountain, and I watched people skiing from above. We began playing an easy game of I Spy, looking for certain color ski jackets. We found out that many people had an interesting taste in color, the best being a magenta and pinkish mix (there may have even been a hint of sky blue). We finally made it to the end of the lift and dismounted it. The sun beat down on us, offering us no warmth, but sparkling and dancing on the snow. We looked at the trail map and decided on some easy blue squares, the second easiest trail. David was a great skier and had many helpful tips for me, all of which he was happy to share. We laughed at the prices of the ski lodge food, comparing them to that of a very high-end steak restaurant.
 
​We went back up the mountain again, and my uncle spotted a black diamond on the trail map. “Will, how would you like to try a black diamond?” He wondered. I quickly agreed, without hesitation, and panic pounced on me like a lion on a gazelle. I was terrified at the idea, I had only gone as high as a blue square and I had a deep fear of getting hurt. There was no way I can do this, I thought to myself. Yet, I still followed David to the trail. We managed to get to the start of the black diamond trail without me passing out in fear. I read the name of this black diamond, “Ripsaw”. I almost did pass out then. My uncle brought me back to reality and out of the world of my own fear. “Do you want to go first?” he asked.
​I couldn’t even open my mouth; it was clamped shut like it was filled with glue. I finally managed to choke out “Yeah, I will go first.” He smiled and gestured for me to go right ahead. I took in the staggering sight of the pure white, snow covered hill, and something inside me willed me to go on, forced me in fact. Before my brain could react my body had decided for me. I sped down the hill, going fast, yet in control. I stopped wallowing in the fear and reveled in the excitement of the wind speeding past me and the snow kicked up by my skis. All this time I had been afraid of a hill, a hill that felt like every other trail I had gone on. I reached the bottom well ahead of my uncle and looked around, I had conquered what I had previously thought unconquerable. My uncle finally made it down and stopped next to me. “What did you think?” he said. I replied, with pride in my voice and fire in my heart, “Can we try a double black diamond now?”