Lazy River

Dear Dad,

My feet dangle in the water and I hold on tight to my raft. My friend is on the shore in their perfect chairs. She grabs my raft and leans over and snaps a shot. 

“Oh that one's bad” says Anabel.

  Anabel goes in for another shot. Her arms are completely leaning on my raft. I can’t resist. I pull back fast. She splashes onto the raft while taking a photo. Anabel starts to pretend to cry because she is worried her phone is wet. We look at her phone and it is fine. The photo is great and she posts it right away. Since she was wearing a bathing suit, we laughed together about what I did. She was super splashed. Can you tell why she is my friend?

  We jump in the middle of the raft and I pull my legs from the water. The air is colder then the water so we shiver together. Everyone else on their rafts shiver too. Maybe the water should be colder so we are already used to the cold?

Life guards surround the river. Every so often they honk at an annoying kid. They did not catch us though. Should I be worried that they are not looking? But Anabel is looking at them. A certain look on her face tells me I should kick off.

The currents eventually pick us up. We move along fast now and we both know what to do. Holding on to the raft we lower our feet in. 

“Ahh so nice” I say.

“Did you pee?” she asks with a wink?

“No” I respond and I give her a little shove. 

The warm water goes up to our hips as we slide down. This is the best part of the river. The waterfall. It is not so big but it is still cool. The temperature shifts to a freeze and the ground dips dramatically. We hold on for dear life.

“Yasssssssssssssss” we yell as we go down. 

Other rafts look at us while we yell. We don’t care one bit. At the end of the waterfall we holler again and take another photo. Then a video for the rest of the river

Our (only) follower (mom) wants new content so we post. 

“The lazy river is always fun” Anabel says. 

The ride is coming to an end. As I am midway replying I get splashed in the face. Thanks Anabel.  

We go again. This time our little sister is with us. Her name is Dalila. I would not need to tell you that because she is the most famous girl in her whole grade. We have to steal her from this months friends. 

She sends an air kiss to her “friends”. The wave and take photos like paparazzi. Her friends are only there for the popularity. Me and Anabel roll our eyes at each other and hope Dalila did not see. 

On that ride Dalila screams the loudest. We roll our eyes again. The friends laugh and hoot back. They take a bazillion (is that even a word) photos. At least Mom will have some content if we can convince Dalilas friends. 

At the end of the lazy river Dalila gives us a quick hug. Again for the fame. Another eye roll.

Anabel and I go again. This time without Dalila. Being the middle child is better then they say. At least I will have a friend so I can roll my eyes. 

The pool park is closing soon so I am writing this fast. I am guessing you will never read this though. I just wish you were here so writing makes me feel closer. 

See you in heaven dad.

From, Alex

Dear Alex,

You were wrong. I did read the letter. Throwing it in the lazy river was not helpful though. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean you can litter. 

Also your letter was going so well why did it get so sad. Stop being such a debbie downer

From, Dad

Ps: Please write  back, this is fun.

PPS: You just got a new subscriber. 

Dear Dad,

How is this possible. I thought you were dead. Life is not just some magic tale where you are actually alive in hiding. 

From, Alex

Ps: I found your letter under my pillow. Also you're not a great liar. I didn’t even lose a tooth. 

Dear Alex,

This is a book. So I am alive in hiding. I will see you soon. 

From, Dad

Ps: I am in the lazy river you were talking about so I saw you littering.

PPs: Also just tell mom you lost a tooth.

PPPs: Remember to do music practice.

Dear Dad,

I am going to write you more because I need at leat 1,000 words. These quick letters are way to short and are not helping my word count. If you write more then I can get this assignment in on time. 

Also when I showed mom our letters she fainted. Okay not really. She actually cried and then we went to the lazy river. While mom looked around for you we went on the ride 2 times. Tomorrow we are going to go again. 

After tomorrow can you tell me where you are? If you are born in July then you get free popcorn on July 4th. Mom, Anabel,Dalila and I all have birthdays in July. If possible can you meet us there?

From, Alex

Dear Alex,

You need to do your assignment.

-Dad

Dear Dad,

What was your last letter?? It should be long and lengthy. Tell me about hiding. 

Also I don’t your swim trunks. When we were at the lazy river you where so weird dressed. By the way no one wheres tuxedos to pools.

From, Alex

Dear Alex,

I didn’t like your swim trunks.

-Dad

Dear dad,

I was wearing a bikini.

-Alex

Dear Alex,

You want to play this game???

-Dad

Dear Dad,

Almost done. Four three two one

-Alex