By Sabrina Boyd
Tell me, what sounds brighter than taking jet skis and fishing rods out in South-East Asia’s infamous monsoon season?
The waves shook the jet ski so hard it sickened me while an endless dark cloud blackened the sky, threatening to make an already-miserable experience even worse. Nate Johnson (12) accelerated into the storm, swerving around the larger waves, while Tee Yu (12) and I held on to the hand belts for dear life.
It all began a few weeks ago when Andrew Tan (12) suggested a morning spent riding jet skis to Nate, Tee Yu, and me; you’d have to be crazy to reject that kind of offer. Naturally, we accepted and spent the week dreaming of that coming weekend.
A public holiday presented itself as the perfect opportunity to make it happen, so I woke up early to prepare, wrap, and pack sandwiches for us; Nate and Tee Yu went to the market to pick up some lovely-smelling raw chicken and squid for bait; and Andy slept through his alarms and phone calls at a friend’s house. After I had gotten changed, I made my way downstairs where Nate and Tee Yu were waiting. There, they informed me of the encroaching angry clouds and an M.I.A. Andy.
We decided to go ahead with our plan and pray that the oceans would remain calm, there would be plenty of fish to catch, and Andy would wake up in time. Nate, in his typical optimistic fashion, encourage Tee Yu and I that everything would work out just fine. It wasn’t long before the waves began to stir and let us know they had a mind of their own and were to be respected.
Finally, Andy arrived and Tee Yu rode with him. We made it all the way to Straits Quay before realising we didn’t have enough fishing rods, so while we waited for Andy’s dad to bring them, we bobbed on the waves. Tee Yu and I almost immediately felt terribly sick and asked to be taken back to shore. Tee Yu jumped onto the jet ski with Nate and me, and Andy offered to wait for the rods. On our way back, we saw the menacing clouds advance toward us as we got closer to the Swim Club. It was only then that we realised a big storm was seconds away and we had left Andy alone, on a jet ski, in open water: a sitting duck. There was nothing we could do except wait.
Tee Yu recounts, “Even though some of us were seasick from the rough waves, and the only fish we caught was a floating, dead fish in the water, I had so much fun being with friends and jet-skiing for the first time.”
Thankfully, we all made it back safely and it wasn’t long before I packed up my things and went straight home to enjoy the cozy weather.
That was my relaxing day off, how was yours?
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