AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“The three of us would make a great Clairol commercial. A redhead, a blonde, and a brunette,” she said while pointing at each one of us as she said the hair color.
The wind got stronger and I shivered. All I had on was a t-shirt and my yoga pants. I’d left my hoodie back on the blanket where we’d been picnicking. It had been sunny, and the warm rays had felt good on my arms. In fact, that was close to what we all had on, except Lena wore a pale blue button-down, long-sleeved blouse instead of a t-shirt. But it was thin, and I could tell she was just a chilly as I was.
As Lena turned the boat around, the engine sputtered and then stopped.
“What happened?” Gabby asked.
“I don’t know. It just stopped.” She stood up and pulled on the cord to start it again. It came right back on.
“Whew,” I said, but I spoke too soon as the motor sputtered and stopped again.
“Dammit! What is wrong with this thing?” Lena whined and pulled on the cord once more; the engine cranked and whined but wouldn’t turn over. She tried again, and again, and again. Still nothing. “My fingers are getting raw.”
“Here, let me try,” Gabby pulled it a few times, but still nothing.”
“Wait. You’re flooding the engine,” I said. I didn’t know too much about boats, but I knew if you cranked too long on the gas peddle trying to start a car, it would make things worse.
“What?” They both looked at me, their foreheads wrinkling with bewilderment.
“If you try to start it too many times, the engine will flood from too much gas,” I explained then blew my warm breath on my fingers that were becoming numb from the cold. My arms were cold, my feet were cold too since my socks and Converse were still soaking wet. “Let it sit for a few minutes and then try it again.”
They nodded and Gabby sat down.
“The wind is getting stronger by the minute,” I said.
“It’s going to get colder, too. The wind is blowing all the cold air from the mountain down this way.”
“Are there any oars?”
“There should be one,” Lena said, glancing around the small boat floor, but none of us saw one. “It must have fallen out when we flipped the boat over. I didn’t notice it. Sorry.” Lena sank down and sat in the floor of the boat. “Come down here, it helps a little.”
Both Gabby and I moved to the floor. The sides of the metal boat weren’t very high, but they did help block some of the wind.
After about ten minutes Gabby said, “Maybe we should try again?” She stood and pulled on the cord to start the motor, but this time, it didn’t even try to catch. There was barely a sputter.
“Are we out of gas?” I asked.
“No. I checked it before we left. It was almost full. We haven’t gone that far, there should be plenty of gas still.” Lena got up and unscrewed the cap and peeked inside the tank. “Yep. There is plenty of gas.”
“God, what are we going to do? The water is too cold to swim to shore. We’re stuck out here in the middle of the lake. Did anyone bring their phone?” Gabby asked.
I shook my head, “I left it in my jacket. No pockets to carry it.”
“Same here,” Lena said. None of us had pockets, so all of our phones were back on the picnic blanket with the food and our jackets while we sat stranded in the middle of a freezing lake.
Great.
Gabby got up to try the motor again. “Someone give me a hand. Maybe if two of us pull it will catch.”
I got up since I was the closest and put my hand over Gabby’s.
“On three. Ready?”
I nodded.
“One, two, three.” We yanked on the cord and Gabby’s elbow hit me in the chest, sending me backwards. I lost my balance and fell into the lake. My ankle hit the side of the boat on the way in and I thought I would die from the pain, except the shock of the cold water made me completely numb within seconds.
