Slice #31

The plane lands and people stand up slowly and walk down the aisle of the plane like zombies.  It feels like forever before it is time for us to get out.  I stand up about to walk out of the plane and someone from the row behind me cuts in front of me, blocking my way.  I sigh but say nothing.  Eventually he walks forward and I am able to get out of my seat.  I move forward enough for my sisters to get out and then we walk off the plane together.  Our parents follow us out.  We leave the airplane and then start walking to customs.  We wait in the line for a while and then someone directs us to one of the little stations. When everything has been checked we move on to baggage claim.  We get our bags quickly and then go to get our car.  We drive for a long time and then get out of the car.  I take a deep breath of the cold air.  Finally we are home.

Slice #30

I run out into the water to get past the place where the waves break.  I am not quick enough and a wave crashes on my head, soaking my hair.  I spit out the salt water that got in my mouth and go farther out into the ocean where the waves are calmer.  I float along with some of the waves but then I see a big wave coming.  It is starting to break and I dive into the water before it crashes.  The next waves are calm again.  I call to the beach for my sisters to come and join me.  They run into the water and make it out before any waves break on them.  We float over the waves, diving when we see really big ones.  The water feels wonderful after being in the hot sun all day.

Slice #29

After my episode on the day of my grandmother's funeral my mom decided it was time to get help.  That's how I wound up sitting on an uncomfortable couch in a psychologist's office.  I sat on the edge of the couch as if preparing to run at any moment if necessary.  I looked at my watch.  The lady was eight minutes and 26 seconds late.  Perfect. She runs in four minutes later looking ridiculous with pieces of hair blowing out of her ponytail and wearing clothes that don't even come close to matching.  

"I'm sorry" She says.  

I roll my eyes.  She looks at me but says nothing.  Then she sits in the chair across from me and crosses her legs.  She stays silent as if waiting for me to talk.  When I say nothing she sits up farther as if uncomfortable and says

"Hello, I'm Laurel.  Thank you for meeting with me today!" in the most annoyingly perky way.  This is going to be a long half hour.  

Slice #28

I attach a the chord to my ankle and grab the paddle board.  I walk out into the water and sit on the paddle board on my knees.  The waves are bigger than I thought they would be.  I struggle to paddle around a pile of rocks and out to sea.  Once I am out there I stop to wait for my dad and sister.  When they get there I stand up.  It is really hard to balance at first but I get the hang of it.  My dad tells my sister and me to follow him and out to a rock in the ocean with several birds perched on it.  The surf tries to pull me back to shore.  We make it around the rock and then just paddle around for a while.  I almost fall off a couple of times but am able to stay standing.  We kneel to paddle back into shore.  What a fun experience!

Slice #27

The cool water laps at my feet. It is crystal clear.  The sand brushes past my toes as it is sucked back out to sea with the wave.  I run into the waves and dive.  The water washes over my head.  It feels wonderful.  I swim out a little deeper and then come up for air.  I tread water and gesture for my sisters to come join me in the water but they are busy playing on the beach.  I swim for a little while and then my dad calls me in and asks if my sister and I want to go snorkeling.  I nod and smile.  My sister and I swim out to a rocky area.  There are so many fish.  All of the different colors are incredible.  Then we see my favorite fish so far.  A giant purple pufferfish!  We swim for a little longer and then go back to shore to tell everyone what we saw.  We spend a little while playing in the sand and then go back to our hotel room for diner.

Slice #26

The cold, crisp water wraps around me like a blanket.  I dunk my head underwater to escape the hot, sticky air.  I come up for a breath and I can hear my sisters jumping in behind me.  My youngest sister shrieks when she feels the cold water but then she laughs and goes underwater.  I grin and follow her.  She can't touch the bottom so she swims around the pool, holding the edge when she needs a break.  My twin sister and I practice our handstands.  The pool is so long that it takes forever to get all the way around it.  Once we've made our way around it twice we take a short break in the shallow end and then play Marco Polo.  I am not great at this game so I end up being Marco for a long time before I finally tag one of my sisters.  We play until each of us has been Marco and then we get bored.  We get out and sit in the hot tub for thirty seconds and then jump back into the pool.  It is freezing cold but also kind of refreshing.  After that our mom gives us a five minute warning until we have to leave so we swim around the pool one more time and then get out and dry off for dinner.

Slice #25

What to do on a plane for three and a half hours:
First five minutes: Look out the window before you take off and get really excited about your trip.
Takeoff (5 minutes ish): Panic a little bit as you worry about crashing.
Next five minutes: Realize you are safe and start fishing around the bag for magazines.
Next fifteen minutes:  Read People magazine.
Next five minutes: Sit in complete silence with your eyes closed and wish for everyone to shut up.
Next 10 minutes: Realize that will never happen and look around in your bag for snacks/lunch.
Next 30 minutes: Find snack/lunch and eat.
Next 30 minutes: Listen to all the songs you have whether they are good or not.  (If they are not good you can laugh about them and question why you would buy such a terrible song).
Next 1 hour 10 minutes: Watch a movie on your iPad.