Considering Cool

Considering Cool is a collection of stories recounting the behavior of a boy named Patrick trying to negotiate through tricky situations, stay out of trouble, and be cool. Here is an excerpt from SLIPS: A piece of ice hits my knee. "Either go home or climb out," Billy says. "You look like a dope just standing there." That's it. I feel like giving him a white wash. I am done with Billy and all of his stupid ideas. "I'm leaving." I step forward, slip, and plummet down the bank. My body smashes through the ice like a baseball through a windowpane. I lay on the shore slowly sliding into the icy water. Brown muck fills my boots. My snow pants flood with freezing water. My legs feel weighed down with rocks and I can barely move. I reach out and the ice breaks around my hands like cobwebs. The sewer smell of the pond fills my nose. My mouth fills with swill. I can't yell. I am going under. This isn't funny. Suddenly, my hair is yanked back. I cough and cough, gasping for breath. "Try pushing yourself towards shore, push off the bottom," Billy says. I don't move. "I said push off the bottom! Do it!" I turn and see him gripping my hair with one hand and a young sapling with his other. "I can't! I can't!" I say, as I continue to sink. "You have to!" Billy pulls harder on my hair and keeps me from going in any deeper. My head kills from his hair pulling. Billy won't be able to hang on forever. If he lets go, I'm finished. I need to do something immediately. I stretch my legs out, searching for the bottom, and hit nothing. The brook can't be this deep. I jam my legs down again and finally hit bottom. At last, I have something to push off of. I give it all I have and manage to move a little closer to the shore. This is just enough so Billy can grab my arms and haul me on to the snowy bank. "You all right?" Billy says. He sees me shaking. "Yea, just cold. Thanks." "Close one. You idiot." "Yea, but now I'm really dead." "What?" Billy looks puzzled. "I'm dead, I'm soaked, I'm late. My mom will murder me." "Blame me. Say I pushed you in. She'll believe that for sure." "You'll get in trouble. You don't need that." "We're friends. You'd do it for me. Get up, let's go." We start back to our houses. "I've been thinking. Maybe we could go sliding tomorrow. I know a steep hill." I look at him. "Sure."

• | Author: Brian F. Mcnabb
• | Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• | Publication Date: Jul 10, 2017
• | Number of Pages: 92 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1544924577
• | ISBN-13: 9781544924571