Chapter 10
"We can get my guitar and then go up to Jill's house and I can talk to Shannon," I said.
AJ just stood there slowly shaking her head no while saying nothing.
"I'm sure your father won't mind if I borrow his car for a short time. Come on," I continued as I made my way over to the garage door. She followed me but there was hesitancy in her walk.
After entering the garage, I walked over to the car that was parked in the third bay. Starting at its front end, I grabbed the protective cloth covering and pulled it off. An overwhelming feeling of joy surged through me as I realized what I was staring at! It was a rosso corsa or "racing red" colored Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole. I couldn't believe it! This was my second all-time favorite car! I had fallen in love with this car when I had first seen it on re-runs of the show "Magnum P. I." I glanced over at AJ but she would not come any closer. It was as if there was an invisible line about six feet from the Ferrari that she refused to cross.
"My mother told us we were never, ever to go near this car," she remarked with apprehension in her voice.
"It's okay, AJ. You don't have anything to worry about concerning your father or your mother. They won't even know that we've borrowed it." But she still refused to move. "Look, I need to get my guitar and I want to talk to Shannon. I’m sure your mother would understand, so I'm going to take it with or without you. It will only be for a couple of hours. I would prefer that you come with me. I’ll even put gas in it if that makes you feel better."
I walked back to where she was standing, gently took her by the arm, and then walked her over to the Ferrari. "See, nothing bad is going to happen." I opened the passenger door and helped her get in. Then I unlatched the targa top plate and placed it back behind the seats. I searched around for the ignition key but to my dismay, it was nowhere to be found. "Do you know where the keys are?"
She shook her head no.
"I'm not going to let that stop me."
"What do you mean?"
"It means I'm going to hot wire it."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Only if I was stealing it." I reached under the steering column and pulled out some wires. Then it occurred to me that I was going to need something to cut them with. "You wait here AJ; I'll be back in a minute."
Upon returning with my multi-tool, I cut the necessary wires and then re-spliced them. The car roared to life as I stepped on the accelerator. Fortunately, it was equipped with a GPS unit. I programmed the address for LAX into the GPS, and then I backed out onto the street. While flooring the gas pedal, I released the clutch. The back tires screeched and spun wildly as I laid a 30 feet long patch of rubber on the road. We shot forward while a plume of thick, white smoke trailed us. Both AJ and I were thrown back against our seats!
"I can't believe I'm driving this car! It's incredible!" I excitedly exclaimed while glancing over at her. However, she looked terrified! She was clutching the edge of her seat with both hands and her face was pale with fright! "Come on AJ, relax!" I encouraged. "Find us a radio station with some good cruising songs."
She began to play with the radio and she eventually found a station that played some classic rock and roll. This soon helped her to relax.
At a red light a late model Corvette convertible pulled up alongside us in the left turning lane. The young, attractive, female driver looked over at me, grinned, and then remarked, "Sweet ride!" I nodded yes. Her passenger, another cute girl, eyed me over the top of her sunglasses, smiled, and then said, "Hot driver!" I felt myself blushing and she laughed. I watched them drive away and as the car behind me blew its horn in impatience, AJ kicked me and sarcastically remarked, "The lights green, hot driver."
After arriving at the airport and retrieving my guitar, I then programmed the Galeto address into the GPS unit and we made our way out onto Highway 101. As we drove, I admired the beautiful interior and fine Italian craftsmanship of this stunning automobile. I noticed a carefully concealed radar detector and came up with the idea of adding a little excitement to the trip. I scanned the road ahead of us—waiting for the right opportunity. One finally presented itself, so I switched on the detector while warning, "Hang on, AJ! I'm going to open her up!"
I floored the accelerator and the engine roared in delight. The speedometer needle began to rapidly rise and we were soon doing 100 miles an hour. I could feel the outside air pressure compressing the car onto the road. I kept on accelerating, and the speedometer hit 130 miles per hour! "WE'RE DOING A HUNDRED AND THIRTY!" I shouted to AJ; my voice barely discernible above the noise of the rushing wind and the whining motor. AJ raised her arms and screamed like she was going downhill on a roller coaster with a huge smile on her face. I saw a curve in the road as well as on-coming traffic rapidly approaching and so I safely decelerated. "Wow, that was incredible, eh?" I said while looking over at her.
"Let's do it again!"
"Well, technically it is breaking the law. But I'll think about it. Shannon doesn't know the fun she's missing," I remarked while smiling.
We continued driving, and the highway began to hug the coastline. As I gazed over on my left, I could see dark storm clouds in the distance forming on the horizon. The wind blowing in from the ocean had picked up with considerable force. Huge breakers were rolling in and crashing on the shore.
"See those waves," I said to AJ while motioning to my left. "They're caused by the wind pushing the water against the land. That makes it extremely dangerous for swimming. I wouldn't want to have to lifeguard on a day like today."
"What beach did you lifeguard on?" she asked.
"I was a lifeguard at a pool. I'm not qualified to be a beach lifeguard."
She looked at me with a surprised expression on her face.
We were soon approaching the address of Jill's house. The wind was blowing hard but the sun was still shining brightly. I followed a tree-lined side road down to Jill's driveway. We pulled in and I parked the car alongside several others. I followed AJ around to the back of the house. As I turned the corner, I was startled to see a half-dozen girls swimming in the water! We walked over to where Keith, Shannon, and other girls had congregated down on the beach. I scanned the ocean searching for any indications of danger.
As we approached the group, Shannon looked my way in surprise and then slowly moved closer to Keith. All of them were staring at my face.
"Shannon, I really need to have a talk with you," I said.
Keith shook his head incredulously and said, "Listen up, doofus. I told you to stay away from my girlfriend! What part of the term stay away don't you understand?"
"From what I understand, the two of you are not going steady. Am I right?" He did not reply but I could see his muscles starting to tense. "If you're not going steady, she's technically not your girlfriend and I'm free to do with her what I want."
Upon hearing this remark, a look of disbelief came over Shannon's face. All the girls standing near her also glanced at each other in surprise. I immediately realized that this statement didn't come out the way I had intended. Keith adjusted his stance, so I adjusted mine as well. All at once, someone came running up from the water's edge while screaming and motioning toward the ocean! I looked in the direction that they were pointing and to my horror, I saw a girl being swept out to sea. She was struggling to fight against the current, but it was too strong and she was not making any progress. Instead, she was being dragged further and further away. I glanced at Keith and Shannon and exclaimed, "That girl's in serious trouble! She's caught in a rip current! Somebody better call 911!"
Keith immediately took off running toward the water. "He'll help her," said Shannon calmly. "He's a champion swimmer." We stood watching as he dashed into the water and began swimming toward the girl who was rapidly losing her battle to return to shore.
"Who is that girl?" I asked.
"Her name is Lori Cheponis," Shannon replied.
"She should have known better than to be swimming in conditions like this. You
all should have," I scolded. Shannon stared at me but said nothing. We turned our attention back to Keith. It was evident that he was being overly cautious as he tried to make his way out to Lori. All at once and to my complete disbelief, he turned around and began to swim back to shore!
"Call 911 now!" I ordered. Shannon quickly nodded her head in acknowledgment. I pulled my shirt up over my head and discarded it. Next, I removed my sneakers and socks. I rushed down to the ocean wearing only my shorts. Keith was just coming out of the water and as I attempted to pass him, he firmly grabbed my arm. While shaking his head no he gasped, "Don't even think… of trying it. The current's… too strong. You'll never make it. Believe me!" I stared at him for a brief second, and then I pulled my arm free of his grasp.
I charged toward the rip current and when the depth of the water was deep enough, I dove headfirst into it and began to swim—all the while knowing that I was unprepared to handle this crisis properly. I did not have a rescue board or any other kind of floatation device. But a girl's life was at stake, and I had to give it my best shot—I just had to. The current quickly enveloped me. Keith was right; it was a fast rip—flowing at what I estimated to be between six to eight feet per second.
I swam as hard as I could and with the current carrying me along, I knew I was setting an unbreakable world speed record! I glanced up and I estimated that Lori was now about 200 feet away. She was also floundering—having exhausted all her strength. However, I was closing fast and I would soon be in reach of her.
Thirty feet from her, the current finally dissipated. I yelled to her—encouraging her to hang on. She looked at me with terror in her eyes and then sank beneath the waves! My heart sank with her.
I quickly swam to where she had last been. I began to dive under the water—desperately searching for her. The water was cloudy and visibility was limited to about two feet. I frantically began to swing my arms around while reaching out in all directions. Again and again I dove under water, but it was deep and I began to despair. No! Don't give up! Keep looking! Keep trying! I thought. I made one last mental calculation as to where I thought her body should be and then I dove down deep with my hands flailing out in all directions. Finally, my fingers came into contact with some hair. I pulled her toward me while trying to feel for the rest of her body. I held her close as I surfaced—now gasping for air! She was unconscious, I was nearly exhausted, and I was over 400 feet away from shore!
I held her body against mine, turned on my side, and then began to side-swim like a man possessed! My legs were like pistons churning the water and I motored myself in the direction of the beach. My adrenaline was also flowing freely and this gave me the energy to do what was seemingly an impossible task—get this girl on land and perform CPR on her before she died of oxygen deprivation!
I must have looked like a little motorboat leaving a trail in the water to anyone looking down from above. I had an estimated two to three minute window to save her. What could only have been seconds felt like hours as my legs and free arm propelled us along. My legs were burning from the kicking effort but the cold water was cooling the discomfort.
Then unexpectedly, I hit a wall of fatigue. My legs though trained and shaped by years of exercise, had been pushed to their physical limit and they were now quitting on me. "Keep going," I ordered them. But it was no use. My energy was spent. I had failed.
Anguish was filling my heart when I heard splashing in front of me. My feet touched bottom as I stood up and then realized that I was standing in water that was only four feet deep. Keith approached us and I handed Lori off to him. He took her in his arms and then hurriedly carried her to shore as I heard the wailing of an ambulance's siren approaching the house. I tried walking but it was more like a stumbling shuffle. When I was close enough to land, I collapsed on all fours and then I crawled out of the water and onto the sand. I toppled over onto my back with my lungs gasping for air. I stared up at the cloud filled sky and closed my eyes while still breathing heavily.
I was wet, cold, and now covered in sand as well. After a few minutes, I became aware of a presence standing above me. I slowly opened my eyes. Bending over and staring down at me was a paramedic.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I slowly nodded my head yes.
"You know," he remarked in a rebuking tone of voice, "If you kids insist in swimming on unguarded beaches, you should at least be aware of the danger of rip currents. More people playing in the ocean drown from rip currents than from any other reason. Think about that the next time you decide to go swimming in conditions like this!" And after having lectured me, he turned and ran back up to the house.
I lay there a good while. AJ finally came over and asked me if I was alright.
I nodded yes. "How's… Lori?"
"They took her to the hospital. She was awake in the ambulance. Keith rode with her."
"That's… great… news."
"I want you to know, Lance Rock, that I think you're an awesome lifeguard—pool or ocean!"
"Thanks, AJ. I appreciate that," I replied while sighing.
"They're having lunch in the house if you want to come up and join us."
"Sounds... good."
I made my way back up the beach to collect my shoes and shirt while brushing off sand as I walked along. My legs still ached. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. I bent over to retrieve my shirt and then shook the sand off of it. As I slipped it over my head, I realized that I could no longer feel the presence of the key around my neck. I reached up to touch it, but it was no longer there. It was gone! My heart felt like ice as a feeling of panic quickly engulfed me. I frantically began to scan the ground. I got down on my all fours and slowly and carefully sifted through the sand. I searched meticulously, but to no avail. AJ had come back out and asked what I was doing. I informed her about my dilemma and she began to help me look. She went inside the house to see if there was anyone else who'd be willing to join in. I got to my feet and began to slowly and carefully retrace the steps I had taken in my run down to the water. Minutes passed. At the ocean's edge, I stared out at the waves.
"If you lost it out there you'll never find it," she remarked sorrowfully.
I stared at her, now emotionally overcome. I plopped down on the sand with tears filling my eyes. AJ sat down beside me and put her arm around my shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Lance. There's nothing you can do. Come on back up to the house."
"You go. I've got to search a little while longer."
I got up and again, slowly retraced my steps back up to the house while kicking the sand and hoping the key would somehow appear. Finally, I went inside the house with my head hung down—both depressed and heartbroken. I was physically exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and now emotionally drained as well. Inside the house, music was playing and the girls from the cheerleading squad were mingling around while talking to each other. AJ led me into the kitchen and I plopped myself down at the counter.
"Would you like something to drink and eat?" she asked. I nodded yes. She walked over to the fridge. Shannon was standing in front of it while holding a drink and talking to another girl. And hanging around her neck was my key!