Story #22: Untitled

Untitled

Fred closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped…

Back in April, Fred was just a normal guy. He lived in a small town where everyone

knew everything, that’s just how he liked it. He was an above average student, starting

quarterback on the football team and did everything that was asked of him, till Noah.

Noah moved into town just before school started. No one knew much about him, they

knew he was from a big city and thats about it. So when school started Fred decided to

show him around the school and introduce him to some people. Noah was shy and

didn’t make many friends, he hung around Fred a lot and tried to fit in. Noah and Fred

hung out outside of school, after practice, and on the weekends. They did regular guy

things together. They went to the movies with girls and to different parties. Fred

learned things about Noah along the way. A bunch of different things, but there was

one thing that he learned that worried him, Noah was an adrenaline junkie.

One night after attending a huge party Noah and Fred walked out to the local bridge.

They had both been drinking that night and Noah wanted to show Fred what he used

to do for fun. Fred was unsure about Noah’s idea, he wasn’t sure it was safe or smart

but he went along anyway. Noah walked up to the edge of the bridge and looked down

at the water then back at Fred with warning eyes. Fred felt a shiver crawl up his spine

and he took a step back. Noah looked at him and said, “Come on, jump. Don’t be a

chicken.” Fred walked up the edge, he looked from Noah to the water and froze in

place.

“I can’t”, Fred whispered, his voice shaking in fear, “I can’t”

“Yes you can”, Noah taunted from behind him. “Just close your eyes and jump,

you’re going to love it. Do you not trust me?” Fred took another step toward the edge

still looking a little uneasy about the idea. “Just jump”, Noah said again. Fred closed

his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped. He felt his stomach jump to his throat and

he felt sick, but he also felt free as he plummeted toward the water. He was waiting for

the cold water to swallow him up but he felt like he just kept falling.

Finally hitting the water his toes touched the hard sand at the bottom of the river and

pushed up fast. He reached the surface of the water and tilted his head up just in time

to see Noah diving from the bridge, head first. He swam fast trying to evacuate the

area so him and Noah wouldn’t collide, he swam to the water’s edge and pulled

himself out of the frigid water. Fred thought to himself how cold it was, he didn’t pack a

spare change of clothes or a towel. He had a blanket in his car but what about Noah.

He saw Noah wading over to him looking possessed, he had a huge smile on his face

and he looked at me like he was high. “What did you think?” he asked Fred.

“That was interesting I guess. I’m never doing that again though.” Fred replied.