Smooth Sailing

May 19, 2018

May 19, 2018

Sometimes, I think that I might be an old lady at heart. I drive at least five miles under the speed limit at all times, I can't stay up past nine o'clock at night even as a sixteen year old, I wake up with the rising sun, and at least half of my friends are retirees. I suppose it's not a surprise that I had to be out the door at the crack of dawn to say goodbye to the Ogdens when their children visited Clearwater Lake to help them move into a retirement home, but what did surprise me was how much my life changed after the Ogdens moved away and Véro Arkoun moved into the neighborhood.

I couldn't sleep that Saturday morning with the sounds of trucks driving down the narrow, winding road going past our home and leading to Beatrice and Bernard Ogden's house. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but nothing could make me fall back asleep now that I was awake. After failing to count sheep, I climbed out of bed, took a quick shower, and threw on a blue and gold Clearwater Lake Yacht Club T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Then, I walked out to the kitchen, where my younger brother Everett was on his phone.

"Why are you up already?" Everett asked. "It's only seven o'clock!"

"Why are you awake then?" I asked him as I made myself a bagel.

"I've been up all night texting Louis," Everett explained.

"That's a terrible idea," I told him while spreading cream cheese on my bagel. "You need to get your sleep."

"Sleep is overrated," Everett said as he continued to play with his phone.

"What have you and Louis been talking about anyways?" I asked.

"We've just been exchanging memes," Everett said. "Louis is kind of lame anyways. His meme collection is way too small. Oh, and we're still in the midst of an argument over whether a taco would beat a grilled cheese sandwich in a fight."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Those are both food items. Neither of them could fight."

"That's not true at all!" Everett exclaimed. "A taco would totally beat up a grilled cheese sandwich because it has a hard shell. Louis says that the grilled cheese sandwich would win because it has more calories, but that's an awful argument."

"You're stupid for even caring about this," I said as I took a bite of my bagel.

"You're stupid for not caring, Sylvie!" Everett shouted. He snapped a picture of me with his phone, and he started to type something, but I was able to snatch the phone away before he could send the picture to Louis.

"My sister is the worst," I read as I deleted the photo and its caption. I shrugged, gave Everett his phone back, and finished off my bagel before Mom entered the kitchen.

"Can you two please stop arguing?" Mom asked. "It's Saturday morning, and your father and I would like to catch up on our sleep."

"Okay, Mom," I said. "We'll quiet down."

"Thank you, Sylvie," Mom said. She returned to her bedroom, while Everett grumbled something to himself and stared at his phone.

"I'm going to head next door to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Ogden," I told Everett. "Would you like to come along?"

"No thanks," Everett said. "I might go skateboarding later if it doesn't rain though."

"Make sure you tell Mom and Dad this time," I said. "You don't want them to go into a panic again." Everett rolled his eyes, while I put my dishes into the sink and then headed out the door. "See you later, Everett."

"Bye Sylvie," Everett said.

I took the long route to the Ogdens' so that I could go past the lake. As I walked along the Clearwater Lake shore, I watched a family of ducks swim through the muddy water, while my sailboat, Dory, and my parents', Seaclusion III, waited next to the pier. My grandparents' house was on the opposite side of Clearwater Lake, and I could spot it from the shore, along with the Culver's nearby. I wanted nothing more than to go sailing and enjoy some time on the water, but I had to visit the Ogdens first. I continued down the path away from the lake and towards their home.