We were both sixteen and had been boyfriend and girlfriend for a little bit, but I hadn’t really taken her on a real date yet. A couple buddies and I were going fishing that day, so I invited her. I grabbed an extra fishing pole and picked up some Minos. My friend got permission for us to fish this good sized pond. We got down there and I asked her if she knew how to use a fishing pole. She started sassing me saying that she had been fishing before, so I thought to myself, she’s a keeper. I still had to bait her hook for her though.

Timed past and we were all catching fish, talking and joking around until I caught this turtle. With no hesitation one of my buddies runs to his truck, grabs his baseball bat and takes a swing at this pretty big turtle. The first blow misses the creature and puts an indention in the muddy pond bank. The second blow hit its target and the turtle was done for. I remember seeing the look of horror on my girlfriends face and thought my friend had screwed up my date. I gave him a “come on man did u really have to do that?” then when she looked away I gave him a grin.

I threw my line out into the water again and stared at my bobber. It started bounces up and down a little, so I got ready. Right when that thing went under I gave it a good jerk and started reeling in my catch. Before I even got it close to the bank the hook came loose. The tension in the line sent the hook flying through the air. I could see it in slow motion.

She’s never going to go on another date with me again, I just knew it. The line had wrapped around her head several times and the hook barely got her neck. I was so embarrassed, my friends were cracking up. I froze, so my friend came over to her and freed her from my line. After all that mess she still wanted to stay with me. I think I was the one that was caught that day.