In the distance, some people waded into the bay. They floated on their backs. They floated slowly towards the ocean, picking up speed once they were in the aisle between the two wharves that split the beach.
"No, you're not."
Three lifeguards were on the double wharf. One sat relaxed in the chair strategically placed to see both sides at once. Two lifeguards stood at the far end, one on each wharf, beside the ocean, ready to jump in the ocean at a moment's notice.
"Mom, I'm 12 now. Everybody does this," the girl pleaded.
More people crowded along the two wharves. People lined the bridge that connected the two wharves. Whoops and cheers grew louder.
"I don't want you to do this." The mother's forehead …show more content…
Laughter filled the air. Splash. People dove head first. People twisted and turned. People cannonballed. People jumped foot first. One after another, sometimes in close succession, they jumped over the wharf's edge. They jumped from the bridge.
"I have to do this. I have to," said the girl to no one in particular. She looked over the bridge. It was a good 50-foot drop to the water.
"How's the water?" she screamed down to someone who had just finished his dive.
"It's fantastic!"
"Are you going to need any help?" a lifeguard shouted down."Nah, I'm good, thanks. Woo-hoo!" he said as he swam with the current towards the open ocean.
"I am going to do this," she said. "I have to do this."
Like lemmings, people threw themselves over the edge into the ocean water.
"How's the water?" she screamed down to someone who had merely floated in from the bay.
"You know, warm, cold, warm, cold. Keeps changing. Perfect for a hot day like today."
She nodded her head as if she understood what he meant by the changing water temperatures. People lined up behind each other to get their turn to jump off the bridge.
"You know," said a boy who was right behind her. He couldn't have been more than 10 years old, "It really is a lot of fun. Just relax and