"Humiliating Picnic"
Story by Raja Ummi
,
for Jung Eun South_Korea
REF#_p20-4/jungeunK1.GIF
It’s holiday! It was mid-year holiday. We first planned to give a visit to an island and go scuba-diving. We almost got the preparation ready when at the last minute my father said that we couldn’t go, because he had a very important business to do, and he wasn’t going to postpone or cancel this work. He said that if the project was unsuccessful, it’s going to be his fault.
I was having a tiny sulk then, because being an only child, holiday would just be totally boring without a trip to somewhere. Malaysia, where I live had absolutely everything for tourism; tropical forests, islands, historical places and beaches to choose from. It’s a shame that we couldn’t visit even one of them. Hey, did I mention beaches?! Yes, beaches! It’s going to be a perfect place to go to, as it didn’t require much time for the journey. There are some beaches in our state.
So there we were, planning about our picnic. After a while, we finally got our plan ready. We were going to the nearest beach, PCB on Saturday, when my dad was having a day off from work. I day-dreamed of helping a drowning kid and brought him to the shore. I then gave him respiration help, and when he was conscious, I got some worthy money from the grateful parents…
As planned, it went really well. Dad drove us to the beach. We brought along a mat, a basket of snacks, some books and some board games. Dad was also bringing his walkman and mom with her unfinished knitting. I wasn’t really going to swim or to splash about alone! Besides, I don’t really enjoy having wet sand in my clothes. My family and I were just going to spend time together, relaxing our mind and sun-bathing.
When we were doing our own business, suddenly there was yelling and screaming, and I heard someone shouting for help. To my surprise, there was someone drowning! This time it wasn’t my imagination, it was real! ‘Well, now, this is my chance,’ I thought as I ran towards the edge of the water. Using my swimming ability, I quickly swam to save the boy. When I finally reached him, I grabbed his arms and tried to drag him to the shore. But he all of a sudden, jumped to his feet and squealed, “What the hell are you doing?!” Huh? In not a minute, a lady rushed towards us. I thought that this must be his mother. But she said to me, “You were on shot, we’re filming this action, and you swam in front of the camera!
God, it was so humiliating, especially when I found out that both my parents were at my side, curious at what was happening. I burst out crying although I know that was a stupid thing to do in the public, but I just couldn’t help myself.
We went home immediately after this embarrassing incident. My parents were laughing at me all the way home, while I pretended to sleep, considering that there’s no point on laughing at myself. It was my worst holiday ever. Hmm, well, better luck next time…
The End
Story by: Raja Ummi, age 13, Malaysia
