I stood at the edge on the diving board quivering in fear. Shaking like a wet dog after a bath, I looked down into the pool and saw the endless depth of water. I gulped, my heart was thumping like a jumping kangaroo. I looked behind me and saw an old fat man with a big jiggly belly wearing a bright red speedo and a tiny little boy with long black hair in the line for the diving board. They must be wondering why a 9 year old kid is just walking back and forth on the diving board, and ugh, I will never get that horrifying image out of my head, I thought shaking my head.

What was my biggest fear of my life one might ask? As you may have guessed, it was diving off the diving board. The diving board was my greatest fear from the moment I learned how to float when I was 5.

"Jump, Sally, Jump!" someone yelled. I turned to the direction of the voice to see my bossy, annoying 13 year old cousin, Sophia. What is she doing here, I thought. She was only going to make things worse. Sophia flipped her long black hair as if she was a movie star and walked down the edge of the swimming pool toward me. What is she going to do ! I thought while panicking. She was probably going to do something terrible like she always does everyday. While Sophia walked, she looked like as if she was 17 and like a kabuki dancer because of all her makeup, her flashy bikini, and especially her evil smile. Ugh, I thought. I wanted to throw up in my mouth. When finally Sophia was standing right behind the diving board she exclaimed, "Sally, Jump, Now!" At first she said it gently, but as she said it more, it grew into a command and soon it sounded like a threat.

I just stood there like an idiot until suddenly Sophia walked onto the diving board. Everybody around us gasped in surprise. The lifeguard was sleeping and didn't have clue of what was going on. With a final "Jump, Sally, Jump”, Sophia carefully came to the edge of the board and pushed me. Once again, everybody gasped. With a splash, my worst fear was gone. I rose up to the surface and swam to the ladder. I wanted to kill Sophia , but I was actually secretly thankful toward her too.

I thank Sophia for getting rid of my biggest fear while nearly killing me. If it weren't for her, I might still be afraid to dive or jump off the diving board. My biggest fear, jumping off the diving board, vanished on that crazy day because of my crazy cousin. Next time I will definitely jump the first time Sophia says , “Jump, Sally, Jump”