Great. Another cruise. I wish my Dad didn’t work for that stupid company. Then I wouldn’t have to waste a week of my summer going on one.

My name’s Katie Hallsworth by the way, and I’m seventeen. My brother Chris Hallsworth is fifteen.

I’ve spent a week every summer to take a cruise. This year it was the Caribbean.

I’ll admit, it was nice compared to the chilly Canada weather, but I still missed Ontario.

I only get to see my Dad this one week every summer. He’s never in Ontario unless it’s Christmas. But he rarely comes home for that, too.

Since cruises go on all summer, he’s still working. So it’s a lot like having a single parent around.

My Dad doesn’t bring in most of the money for our five acre home. It’s my Mom. She is a very successful doctor, and she pays most of the bills.

My alarm clock blared. I groaned and reached over to shut it off, but my thoughts changed.

We were going to start driving to Florida today, and we were leaving at twelve. It was ten, so I would have some time to swim.

Yes, having a giant hundred year old house comes with some benefits.

All the land. We have four horses, one for each member of the family. Then there’s the large pond in our backyard.

It’s not a dump like most of those backyard ponds, it’s actually really nice.

Even in late June it’s still kinda cold, but I’ve swam in it in May, and that’s a long story. But I really didn’t care if they had to rush me to the ER again, I didn’t want to waste another week on a cruise ship.

I tore the covers off of me, revealing my thick sating pajamas underneath.

Even for late June, it still gets cold up here in the Great White North.

It must have been hot or something last night, because I noticed my pajama bottoms were on the floor.

I groaned, and remembered I had been awake until one AM, thrashing around in my bed. Even with my bed on high, I still got hot.

I sat up in bed and looked at myself on my dresser mirror. My hair was a mess.

I reached for my hairbrush, but when I saw the time on my clock I changed my mind.

It was ten thirty. I would still have time to swim in our backyard lake.

It’s more like a giant pond, but ponds are nasty and filled with crawdads. Our lake doesn’t have those.

I knew my mom would get mad at me if I went swimming this early, but I had this feeling that it might be a long time before I ever swam in that lake again. Little did I know I was right.

I jumped out of bed and charged towards my draws.

I yanked open the smallest drawer. Inside was one swimsuit.

I had four swimsuits. Where were the other ones?

Puzzled, I looked at the faded blue and green swirls. This was my oldest swimsuit. I wasn’t even sure it fit me anymore.

I groaned, but I would have to wear it anyways. My mom probably did something with them.

By the time my swimsuit was on, I could hear that annoying tune coming from the living room. Chris was up, playing his video games again.

Chris is the worst little brother ever.

When I was ten he jumped on my bed and smeared shaving cream all over my face, and when I woke up the next morning it was all over me. I had to take a shower, but Chris had replaced my shampoo with green and blue hair die. I noticed too late. So I had blue and green hair for my fifth grade picture.

Even for a fithteen year old, Chris acts like a baby. He hangs out with a bunch of thirteen year olds down the block, and he could pass for one if he wasn’t so tall. Chris could drive you mad if he tried hard enough.

I carefully opened the door, and looked down the hall.

Sure enough, there was Chris, sitting in my Dad’s leather chair and playing Halo 3.

I didn’t see what was so good about that game, but I never played them anyways.

I quietly shut the door behind me, and tiptoed down the hall on nimble-like feet.

I hardly made a sound until I stepped on the first step. Big mistake.

Considering how old my house was, those steps creak so loud you could have heard them in Mexico. And trust me, that’s a long way.

Chris paused his game and whipped around, doing it in a few seconds. When you play video games as much as he did, I guess it’s not that hard to do.

“Katie! What are you doing?”

“I was err…” I trailed off as I thought about what to say.

“You were going swimming,” Chris said, narrowing his eyes.

“Fine, I was. Just don’t tell Mom, okay.”

Mom hated me swimming in the lake. I’ll leave it at that.

Chris rolled his eyes, and then began playing his game again. I dashed down the stairs.

As I ran by him I yelled in his ear,” I’ll take that as a yes!”

I didn’t hang around for Chris’s reply.

I ran through the kitchen, the hardwood floors cold on my feet. I avoided the table with a quick turn to the right, and I was at the screen door. The early morning view was breathtaking.

Sunlight was just making its way over the distant mountains, illuminating the backyard lake with a bright orange glow.

I yanked open the door, but ended up hurting my arm. I had forgotten the door was locked.

I cursed, the unlocked the door. As I snuck outside, I heard Chris yell a cuss word as he died in his game. I shut off his racket when I closed the door.

Finally, some fresh air.

The birds sang and the sound of the waves lapping at the sandy shore of our lake echoed around, making it feel like paradise. I felt free. I was someone who loved the outdoors, unlike my brother Chris.

I sprinted down the deck steps and out into the cool grass.

It had rained over night. Wet mud was oozing through my bare toes, and it felt good. I hadn’t been outside for so long I didn’t even notice when I stepped on a rock.

It was a glorious morning, and anyone who said different I would probably strangle them.

Soon the mud between my toes became sand.

I was so close to the water.

Realizing I could jump in from where I stood, I ran and waited until I got about two feet from the water, then jumped.

I hit the freezing water with a splash.

Now it wasn’t as cold as my May incident, but it still felt cold enough.

I gasped, but tried to ignore it. One thing about the cruise was the water would be warm.

I paddled around for a while, completely enjoying myself.

I was about to dive under again when a angry voice stopped me.

“Katie Bianca Hallsworth! What do you think your doing?”

I turned around in the water to see my mother, Carol Hallsworth, standing there.

My mother has a hawkish like face. She has long, dark brown hair that almost covers her cold gray eyes.

She can be nice, but I’ve seen people who ran away just at the sight of her. And when she’s mad, she can be quite terrifying.

“I uh…” I couldn’t bring myself to face her. I was going to be in big trouble, that’s for sure.

Expecting to be yelled at some more, I was surprised when my mom ran down the deck and towards me.

“My goodness Katie! Your lips are blue.”

My teeth chattered as I realized how cold I was. “Ookkaay Mmoomm.”

My mom laughed. “You sure do talk funny when your teeth chatter.”

I didn’t laugh. I just hauled myself out of the water and collapsed on the beach.

When my Mom saw me, her stern expression returned. “Get inside and get dressed. We leave at one today.”

“For what?”

“The plane.”

I almost choked. I hated flying. It scared me really bad when I did.

“W…why are we flying? You know I hate it.”

My Mom sighed. “We have to get there early Katie. Your father got us on an earlier cruise.”

I wanted to start bawling right there, but I held it back.

I didn’t say anything as my Mom handed me a towel. “I’m sorry sweetheart, but we can’t drive if the cruise leaves early tomorrow.”

I sighed. I walked back up towards the house, feeling miserable.

But I still had that weary feeling that I might never see my home again.