It was a summer day in Cupertino, considerably warm for the season. I changed into my swimsuit and felt the rays of sunlight hit me as I shyly walked towards the pool. I didn’t want to embarrass myself. There were a couple of people already in the glistening water learning how to swim, each of them had their own instructor helping them float on the surface, while they kicked the water. I had an instructor too, but I couldn’t find her. I sat on the edge and put my feet into the water, making little kicks, waiting. I looked further into the pool and finally spotted her. My instructor was waist deep into the water having a nice conversation with her friend, while adjusting her goggles. Her long brunette hair almost touched the surface of the water. I slightly waved, trying to get her attention, but she didn’t notice. So I decided to get closer. I put my goggles on, tightened my cap, and waded into the lukewarm pool. “So, she was like why are you late? And I was like, I was watching TV and lost track of- oh hey,” my instructor stopped mid sentence when she saw me and rolled her eyes. She turned to me and quickly said, “Let’s start in five minutes.” I sighed and went back to the edge waiting for her to finish. After ten minutes she came back with an annoyed expression on her face. “Let’s start.” She said. I did all the basics. Kicking on the surface of the water, and practicing the strokes. We repeated what we had already done during the beginning of the week. I was bored. I asked the instructor if I could go to the deep end, where most of the people in my level were. She said yes. She didn’t really care about what I did, as long as I was safe. She probably didn’t care about that either, maybe as long as she got paid. When I got to the deep end, my instructor immediately turned around and swam over to continue talking to her friend. I was fine about that, I can do this on my own. Her leaving just boosted my confidence. I floated around in the middle of the pool, doggy paddling in a small circle, splashing the water a couple of times. Then I got tired. I was a 6 year old, and my endurance wasn’t good. I thought I was quickly swimming towards the ledge, but I was just slowly inching forward, while water poured into my mouth. When I got close to the edge, my energy was drained. I couldn’t bring myself to grab it. I started drowning.

As I submerged in the water, I started having a panic attack with useless kicking,  muted screams, and flapping hands. But none of those actions got me back to the surface. My instructor didn’t notice. She was still talking with her friend. I’m going to die. My feet skimmed the floor, and my heart started beating faster. I couldn't hold my breath anymore. Suddenly, I felt like my energy was back. My first reaction was to kick the floor. It got me to the surface. When I managed to pop my head out of the water, I immediately started doggy paddling towards the ledge. I took a few deep breaths, and reached to grab it. My energy was drained again as my hand went closer and closer towards the edge. I grabbed it- but it slipped.