“Class, take your seats. I will be with you in a moment,” Mrs. Thompson said.
    Mrs. Thompson is my favorite teacher that I’ve ever had. She teaches my favorite subject,  which mYou is math. I sit next to my best friend, Andy, and talk to him.
    “So did you have a better weekend than I did? My weekend was terrible. I had to clean up the whole gym after Mayday,” Andy said.
“Mine was great. My mom set our family vacation reservations in a hotel in the Bahamas!” I said very excited. 
I can’t wait till the vaca. I can only imagine all of the water and the fishies. We’re not flying a plane there, though. We’re going on a cruise ship. A Carnival cruise that has waterslides and a pool on the boat. Along with an all-you-can-eat buffet. Oh, it’s going to be such an amazing trip. My mom says that we are going to Nassau and Freeport. I can just imagine the sound of the tide and the bongos, the birds over the ocean, and the tropical sand between my toes.
Later that day I went to my mom’s room in the house. She’s not feeling well. She has strep throat and she’s on antibiotics, but they're obviously not working well.
“Hey sweetie,” my mom says.
She sounds very hoarse and I hope she gets well before we go on our vacation. Wait, I don't even know when we are going.
“Mom, when are we going on our trip?” I ask.
“Well we were planning to go next week, but since I’m sick, I don’t really know.”
“Ok, mom. It’s ok,” I said.
  I really want to go on the trip. If it gets cancelled, I’ll be mad but- but mom needs to get better. I have math homework from Mrs. Thompson’s class and I had better get started.
“Two days left!!!!” I say as soon as I wake up that morning.
I hop in the shower and get dressed before the bus comes. My bus is completely full of bullies who pick on the little kids. The bus stinks, too. It has trash everywhere and yeah… I shouldn’t be complaining though. The older kids cuss, too. They know every single cuss word out there. I’m only in the third grade and I would never cuss.
When I get to school, it’s the same old thing, science, social studies, computers, art, english, math. I talk to Andy every chance I get to. He is my best friend after all.

When I get home I check in with mom. I sprint into her room but not too obnoxiously.
    “Hey, Jonah. I’m feeling so much better. We won’t have to reschedule our trip!” my mom says.
“I’m so excited, mom. You have no idea,” I say.
I go to my room rapidly because I’m so excited. I decide to call Marshall.
Marshall is one of my friends that I have zero classes with this year. He has a personality disorder. I used to help him out but now he’s on his own and I worry about him sometimes. Anyways, I need to get in touch with him.
The phone rings loudly in my ear as I call Marshall’s house phone.
“Hello? Who is it?” Mrs. Coyle asks curiously.
“It’s me Mrs. Coyle, Jonah. May I speak to Marshall? I’ve lost touch with him,” I say.
“Yes you may, Jonah.” “Here he is,” she says.
I wait patiently as I hear her walking to get Marshall.
“H-hi, Jonah. Nice that you called”, Marshall says.
“Yeah. I know we’ve lost touch with each other since we’re in different classes and everything so I decided to call you,”
I am relieved to call him. Andy is my friend and all, but there is no bond like mine and Marshall. We’ve been friends since we first met in kindergarden.

“Mom, what are those?” I ask.  
“Those are metal detectors and we have to put our bags through the conveyer belt so they know we aren’t bad guys,” she says. 
I never knew going on vacation could be so complicated.
It felt like hours waiting to get our bags at Cape Canaveral. Waiting in line, listening to the security telling us that our bags would be here in just a moment when we knew they weren't going to be.
When we finally get our bags, we head over through the little glass tunnel to get the the ship.
The ship is the most ginormous thing I have ever seen in my life.
Wow, I can't believe I’m going to be riding on this massive ship. I’ll be a passenger on here for two days and then I’ll be hitting paradise.

I get off of the ship and as soon as I hop off, I hear the bongos, I feel the sand, I hear the birds, just as I imagined. There’s so much to see, so much to do, so much before I go back home.
“Mom! Mom! First we need to go eat the new, exotic foods they offer here,” I shout.
“Ok, honey, but you need to calm down. We have plenty of time,” my mom says. 
If only I could live here forever. Have my life in the Bahamas. Have my life in the tide.
“Hey mom, do they have surfing here?” I ask.
“No, honey, not where we are. But I think some parts of the Bahamas offers surfing,” she says.
I wonder what aquatic life they have here. Do they have whales or sharks, or both? Do they have eels or turtles. I really want to know. I have never been as observant of land as I am now. All the beauty in the trees and the tide.
First, we go to a restaurant called, “Luciano’s of Chicago”. The food there is quite delicious, if I might say myself. I love the bread and the desserts are so luscious.
“This place is pretty extraordinary,” my dad says.
“Yeah it is something,” my mom and I say at the same time.
“So… what next?” My mom asks my dad and I.
Joshua starts whining his head off, which is a sign that he needs his diaper changed.
“I'll be right back. Joshua has made a little mess,” mom says.
A little. Seriously, this kid has ruined the seat. I feel really sorry for whoevers going to have to clean up this mess.
Later we go back to the cruise ship and go to sleep. The beds are kinda weird, they have bunk beds that are suspended by the walls and there are like Murphy beds. The bathroom has a blue bubbly floor and I found that odd.

Today we are going to get souvenirs and go scuba diving. I've heard they sell some conch shells here and when you blow them sound comes out. Also, scuba diving sound so amazingly fun and I
can't wait to hit the water.
“Hey mom what are we doing first? Going shopping or going scuba diving?” I ask.
“Well I've heard that scuba diving is better in the morning so scuba diving it is!” She says.
As we head to the scuba diving dock, our tourist gives us tips, although I don't listen to him. He tells us to use our tank wisely and stay together. Don't go near sharks, that kind of stuff.
“What happens if a shark comes near us?” I ask really scared.
“Well what I would say is, don't panic. Sharks will think that it's prey is a big one by you splashing and it just makes it worse. Also, don't panic. Panicking just makes the shark want you more. Lastly, never ever turn your back to the shark. If you turn your back to it, it's already won. Got?”
“Got it, thanks,” I say to the tourist.
Here goes. Please don't get eaten by a shark. Please don't, just please.
The ocean down here is just so beautiful. There's angel fish, squid, sea turtles, sting rays, and no sign whatsoever of sharks. And even if we do see a shark I'll just listen to the tourist tips. But ever since I watched “Jaws”, those tips aren't helping my fear of them.
Thirty minutes pass and the scuba diving is over. It was so amazing while it lasted, with the exception of being on the alert for sharks the whole time.
“Next stop, the shops of the Bahamas!!” My mom says.
When it come to shopping, my mom would do anything for it. She would probably trade me for a new purse or a dress or something. But anyways, she came into this not knowing how the shops in the Bahamas. I think she thought there would be a JC Penny's or a Kohls or something like that but nope, they have markets. Markets like apple markets and scarves. But I’m not going to judge them, they do sell some really cool stuff here!
When we get back to our room on the ship, we look at the nightly news. The new reporter tells us some tragic news that is going to affect us, and very bad.
“Tonight we have some news for some southern folk. Here with our top story, Jeana Urie,” the news reporter says, switching to a new reporter.
“Hi, I’m Jeana Urie. Tonight we have some footage from southern Bahamas that shows a hurricane, and in fact the most dangerous hurricane recorded in hurricane history. Hurricane Taylor.”
After she shows us the footage, our jaws drop in terror. We know what this means, we are going to get hit, hit by the hurricane.
“In the next two days the hurricane will travel up to Nassau. Take storm shelter immediately. This is a very dangerous storm. Without storm shelter it could be fatal. I am your reporter, Jeana Urie”
I am terrified. That’s all I need to say. I’m terrified and speechless. I know that I can stay through this, though. I’m tough, I won’t die. I won't let mom die, I won’t let dad die, and I won’t let Joshua die, even if it means I have to die trying.
“Mom, are we going to die?” I ask.
“No, we won’t die,” she says.
“Mom, just stop. Stop hiding stuff from me when you know it’s true. I’m big now. I can take the truth,” I say.
I shouldn't've said that to her. She has been really great to me and she doesn’t deserve to get that from me.
I go to bed that night not knowing if I’ll wake up the next morning. I’m going to die. I pray extra extra long tonight, I pray for my family and every soul who is going to be affected by this terrible storm.

I am alive. My mom is alive, along with my dad and brother! I do a little dance of happiness and gratefulness because my family is alive. But I still have to prepare for the next two days of worry. Life on the edge.
“Mom! Dad!” I say.
“Hey, honey. I told you we would be fine,” she says.
“Hey, bud. I knew we would be ok,” he says.
I look at my baby brother, he shouts, “ we is going to die boi.”
Well my brother is just a negative nancy isn’t he? His first words were, “I’s hope you’s die today,” so this is very normal for me.
“Today we are not doing anything related with swimming because of the hurricane,” my mother says.
“Yeah or you’s will die,” Joshua says.
Joshua find this very funny. I know he’s a little kid but gosh.
All of a sudden, I hear a siren. Not a police, or firetruck. A severe weather siren.
“This is the hurricane. This is not a drill. Get to storm shelter safely.”
“Everyone get to the boat now. We are leaving this place right now!”
I run frantically to the ship with my family, making sure nobody gets left behind. When I say that, I think of the Disney movie, “Lilo and Stitch”. “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
On the boat we all hurry on and try not to get trampled. People are shoving each other and pushing each other. Maybe, just maybe we can survive on this ship.
I run upstairs to get Joshua's pacifier so he’ll stop crying and whining. The run feels like forever and it’s not helping me at all. The pacifier is sitting on the bed, like it’s waiting on me. I run back down, tripping.
As soon as I pop the pacifier in his mouth, an explosion of water comes into the boat. Everyone runs off the back side of the ship and submerge in the water. I run with my family, but trip and someone’s fallen “Things to do in the Bahamas” book. The only choice I have, is to run upstairs and try to bust out a window before the water catches me.
Minutes pass, and I’m still trying to find something to bust out a window. I here water sloshing up the stairs, the sound getting clearer and clearer as it nears. I decide to go ahead and record myself.
“If someone finds this, please give this to Naomi Adams, Diego Adams, or Joshua Adams. I wish this wasn’t real. I want to spend more time in my life with you guys. I don’t want you to worry about me though, live your lives the fullest. Mom, dad, this will give you all something to look forward to as you get older, seeing me in heaven. I’ll miss you guys very much. I love you so much, more than anything in the world. Goodbye,” I say, sobbing into the camera.
I really hope someone finds this and gives it to mom and dad. I want them to know how much I loved them and that this isn’t really goodbye. I know it’s not. I’m not going to give up, I’m going to find a way, and get out of here.
I finally find something, the shower curtain rail. But by the time I get it, the water is up to my stomach. I beat as hard as I can on the window with the shower curtain rail. Every time I knock the window, nothing happens. Not even a scratch on them. I’m not getting out of here, I’m going to die on a cruise ship. At least I get to die at paradise.

“Where is my son. Someone, please help me find my son. We lost him,” I say crying my eyes out.
    I run around yelling for help until I finally realize, I have to go get Jonah myself.
    When I get there though, I see there is no exit and there is no entrance, water is coming out of every hole possible and there's no getting in this ship.
Dad, Joshua, and I love you very much son. More than anything in this universe.

The water is up to my neck now and it keeps coming in, never ending till it’s completely full. I cry, cry, cry, which is dumb in my eyes because I’m just putting more liquid in here.
The water rises by the second and now it near my mouth. Now it’s in my mouth. Now it’s at my nose. Now over my head. Now the ceiling. Now the whole ship is flooded.
Water starts to fill up my lungs and then everything goes black. And just like that, I’m gone.