I hadtobreathe.Mychestwasbursting.
Instead,I pushedpastmycousin’sbroad
shoulders.I reachedmyownskinnyshoulders
intothecab,feelingglasssnagme.I seizedthe
steeringwheelandtwisted.Thewheelturned,
thedriver’sbodyturnedwithit,andnextmin-
ute,Rogerwaspullinghimoutintotheriver.
Rogerstartedthrashinghiswaytoward
thesurface.I triedtofollow,butthewater
wasturningblackinfrontofme.Mylungs
wereagony.I feltmylaststrengthvanish.I
wasgoingtodrown.
Andthena musclyarmreacheddown
andgrabbedmywrist,justlikeit hadwhen
itsownerwasbullyingme.Rogerhauled,I
managedtokick,andweshotuptowardthe
sunlight.
Weburstoutintothebeauti-
fulbrightair,Rogerholdingboth
meandthedriver.Nextminute,
otherkidswerehaulingustoward
thebank,wherea coupleofadults
wereskiddingdownthetrack.
It wasfiveminutesbeforeI
couldspeak.Nearlytenminutes
beforeI couldstand.WhenI
did,thedriverwaslyingthere,
groaningbutbreathing,while
a manwho’dbeengivinghim
CPRstoodup.
Rogerlookedat me.“You
OK?”I managedtonod.He
keptlooking.“Notbadfora
shrimp,”hesaid.
I openedmymouthto
saynotbadfora whale.ThenI remembered what I’d been think-
ingonlytenminutes before, about saying
friendlystuffinstead.
“Notbadfor a flying fish,” I sputtered.
ThenI added,“Your stone idea—wrestlers
reallyrock,eh?”
A womanfrom the newspaper came out
totalktoRogerand me next day. “You guys
arerescuesubmarines!” she told us.
I pointedat Roger. “He’s the real rescue
submarine.I’ma toy submarine.”
Thereporterlaughed. “I’ll put that in the
article.”
Rogergrinned, and I knew that using
wordstobefriendly was a cool idea. I knew
somethingelse,too. I’d never have to worry
aboutRogerbullying me again.CPR STANDS FOR CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION, AN
EMERGENCY PROCEDURE USING SPECIAL TECHNIQUES TO
RESTORE A PERSON’S HEARTBEAT AND BREATHING.44