Below the Surface

by Tim Shoemaker

  “Looks like Froot Loops cereal,” Gordy said.

  Cooper stared at it. He wasn’t sure what flavor it was — or what it meant.

  “It’s called Superman,” Hiro said. “And after all that the four of us have gone through this last year, it totally reminded me of you.”

  “Super Cooper,” Gordy said. “I like that.”

  Lunk laughed and clapped.

  Hiro just watched Cooper with the slightest smile on her lips.

  “If Scoops had a flavor called Millionaire,” Cooper said, “that’s the one I’d pick for myself. ’Cause that’s how rich I feel with three friends like you.”

  Lunk looked down and cleared his throat. Was he getting choked up? Hiro was right. None of them had changed more than Lunk had.

  “So what did you pick for yourself, Hiro?” Lunk said.

  Hiro raised her chin in the air. “Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, of course.”

  Coop smiled. “And is there a hidden meaning behind it?”

  “Definitely,” Hiro said. “It’s sweet, addicting, and has deliciously zingy streaks running through it.”

  Gordy pointed at the scab below his eye. “I think I get the zingy part. Or is it zany?”

  They all laughed.

  The sun hovered above the horizon, like it wanted to hang there just a little longer and take in the beautiful sight before moving on to less picturesque views of the globe.

  “And now,” Hiro said, “I’m going to take a little siesta. You boys enjoy your ice cream.”

  Hiro stood, brushed off her jean shorts, and walked to the back of the boat. A minute later, she was paddling out in the inflatable. She laid on her back while the raft drifted just off the bow of The Getaway.

  “We should prank her,” Gordy said. “Where’s a dead fish when you need one? I could just lob it right onto her lap.”

  Hiro was right. Gordy didn’t change.

  Cooper watched her floating out there in her dry clothes, totally unaware. “I think she looks lonely,” he said. “All by herself out there.”

  “Yeah,” Lunk said. “And she’s expecting us to stick together.”

  Cooper moved closer to the rail. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “All three of us at once,” Lunk whispered. He crouched by the rail.

  “Oh yeah,” Gordy said. “See, this is what I’m talking about. This is how to have a great vacation.” He moved into position.

  Cooper motioned to Gordy and Lunk and began a countdown. “Three . . . two . . . one!”

  Hiro looked up — her eyes wide.

  The boys jumped toward the inflatable as one unit. Hiro squealed and covered her head with her arms. They splashed down in a half-circle around the raft, and Cooper frog-kicked to the surface alongside Lunk and Gordy.

  “Are you crazy? Now I’m soaked!” she wailed. “You boys will pay for this.”

  Gordy and Lunk laughed even louder than Cooper did. Gordy started scooping water into the inflatable.

  “I see I’m going to have my hands full with you three.” She reached over and tried to dunk Cooper, but he was holding on to the inflatable, and she couldn’t get his head under. “I hate you, Cooper MacKinnon.”

  But her smile — and her eyes — said something very different. She tried pushing him under again.

  Cooper smiled back. “I hate you more.”

  She stopped pushing on his head and tilted her own to one side like she was trying to read his expression.

  He didn’t look away. Her smile grew wider.

  “You really do, don’t you,” she whispered.

  It was a statement, not a question.

  Cooper didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Apparently she really could read his mind.

  She looked at Cooper, Lunk, and Gordy. “With friends like you — I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

  “We know,” Gordy said. “Glad you finally noticed.”

  “And now,” Lunk said, “the luckiest girl in the world is about to get tossed out of the boat.” He ducked underwater and the inflatable flipped over.

  Hiro surfaced instantly. She wiped the water from her eyes and beamed.

  They treaded water for a long time while holding on to the inflatable. Talking. Laughing. Dreaming. Apparently, none of them were in any great rush to get out of the water. The sun finally disappeared. The water grew dark. But that didn’t matter. All the light Cooper needed was inside of him — and he knew that was never going to change.

  “Hey, Gordy,” Lunk said. “It looks like you finally got your night swim.”

  Gordy looked across the inflatable at Cooper and smiled. “This is perfect. Now who wants to hear a scary story?”

  Lunk reached over and dunked Gordy. Gordy resurfaced with a laugh.

  “This one’s mine,” Hiro said. “Once there were four really good friends who went on a vacation together. To a lake. Just before they started high school. There were three guys and one girl. And the girl was way smarter than the boys realized. In fact, they were about to realize just how wrong they’d been about her.”

  “Oh, so this is fiction,” Lunk said.

  “Mr. Lunquist,” Hiro said. “Are you going to let me finish my story?”

  “Save your breath, Hiro,” Gordy said. “I think we all know this story a little too well. The real question is what happens next.”

  That was a good question. They’d be starting Fremd High School in a matter of days. If any of them were scared, none would admit it. Besides, Cooper had learned a lot about fear in the last few days — or at least how to handle it. Fear had lost its teeth.

  “So, Hiro,” Lunk said. “This story. Does it end when the vacation is over — or does it just keep going?”

  “Oh, it keeps going,” she said. “They have more adventures in high school. And none of them ever feel alone again. The four friends stick together. Forever.”

  Cooper looked at her. She was right. Even when he was all by himself, he would never feel alone. He got that now. And one day Lunk would too.

  “I think I’m going to like this story,” Lunk said.

  “Definitely,” Hiro said. “But do you know how it ends?”

  “Like all great stories should,” Cooper said. “Happily ever after.”

  Hiro raised her eyebrows and smiled. “I guess you do know the story.”

  A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

  The heebie-jeebies. The willies. Creeped-out. Spooked. Jitters. Cold feet. There are lots of names for fear and different degrees of intensity. Fear can be something deep and shadowlike — something you can’t quite put your finger on, but you sense its presence. Fear can be something you try to bury, something you dread. Or fear can be obvious, a pulse-pounding terror you can’t avoid.

  Sometimes people like getting scared. Sometimes. They love a scary story or movie. Some deliberately do risky things just to get their pulse pounding. Some people never feel more alive than when they’re scared to death.

  But usually fear makes us uncomfortable. People don’t like to be scared — so they fight fear in one of four ways: run from it, bury it, face it, or get help.

  I’d like to talk a little bit about handling our fears. But first let’s talk about two basic kinds of fear: good fear and bad fear.

  Good Fear

  We were created with the gift of fear. Yes, sometimes fear is a gift. It’s an internal warning when we’re in some sort of danger — or headed that way. Near the end of the book, Hiro felt that sense of fear when she went out in the storm to meet Coop. But she pushed it down and tried to ignore her fear. As a result, she walked into a trap and almost got killed. Some fear is good — if you listen to it and react quickly. It could save your life too.

  And sometimes good fear drives us to improve ourselves in some way. Fear of a bad grade pushes us to study. Fear of failure makes us practice some skill or sport or job. Fear of punishment or nasty consequences often keeps us in line. Fear of being rejected by others pushes us to act and talk in decent way
s — and to watch our hygiene.

  Good fear can be our friend and it can work for us.

  Bad Fear

  Sometimes fear works against us, and it can weaken us. Petrify us. This happens when there is something we dread — but we don’t do anything about it or we try to ignore it. Fear can chip away at us and even make us feel physically sick if we don’t deal with it properly. This kind of fear of something or someone can be our enemy. Sometimes we call this type of fear worry.

  Fighting Fear

  Let’s look at the four ways that people tend to deal with their fear.

  Run from it. When you feel fear — that internal warning of sorts — and sense you are in danger, often the smartest and bravest thing to do is run. Get out of that place or that situation — fast. Survivors of violent crimes tell how they saw a red flag — they sensed danger just before the attack. But they pushed the feeling down. They should have run away — and later on, they wished they had.

  Sometimes we’re afraid of looking weak or foolish, or looking like a coward or a baby — so we stay in a bad place or situation. In many ways fear is an internal mechanism designed to protect us from making huge mistakes.

  Imagine walking out of some store. You’re alone — it’s nighttime — and you sense that someone is following you. You glance back and see a guy — but only for a moment. Sometimes that’s all the information your brain needs. We tend to forget that the brain subconsciously functions so incredibly fast. It factors in what the person looks like, his body language, any similar experiences you’ve had and that you’ve heard about — and it processes all of that info instantly. If your brain concludes that this person could be dangerous or that the situation could turn out that way, fear taps out a warning.

  Now you have a choice. You can push down your fear and keep walking alone — or you can hurry back to the store where there are more people, find a security guard, or whip out your phone and call a parent or the police for help.

  Those who ignore fear’s warnings end up in the hospital — or worse. Sometimes their pictures end up on milk cartons or the evening news. Listen to that internal alarm in your head. If you are afraid because you feel you’re in danger, sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is run.

  Bury it. This is almost always a bad move. Burying fear is not a brave thing to do. It’s the opposite of brave. It is being too scared to do anything about whatever is making us feel afraid. People bury fear by refusing to think about the person or situation that scares them. They’ll keep their minds distracted with music, entertainment, friends, homework, or maybe by working hard so they don’t have to think about it. Bad move. Like Cooper learned, our fears can be buried, but that doesn’t mean they’re dead. And if the fear isn’t truly dead, then like a zombie, it will rise up and attack you. Not good.

  Face it. Rather than bury our fears, what we really need to do is face them. This is about looking at whatever or whoever is scaring you — and dealing with your fear. Sometimes that means fighting. Attacking it. Conquering it. Coop’s dad helped him to start facing his fear of the water. Some fears will put you inside a type of prison, and the only way you’ll ever truly be free is to face them.

  Get help. Talk to somebody about your fears — a parent or maybe a teacher or youth worker. Many times just talking about it will be enough to keep the fear from haunting you. An adult may be able to help you in a way that provides some real relief.

  Sometimes guys think that being brave or courageous or fearless is all part of being a real man. That’s only partially true. Real men have fears — but they still do the right thing even though they’re afraid. That is courage.

  The biggest thing that has helped me when it comes to fighting my fear is remembering that I am not alone. I am a man of faith. I believe in God — that he is real and in control. And I put myself in his hands. I trust him. When I am afraid, I always turn to God. That’s a pretty good place to be.

  I always thought “the heebie-jeebies” was a funny name for fear. But fear isn’t funny. It can paralyze you — but it can also protect you. Coop wrestled with his fear in Below the Surface. But we all have fears. So let’s deal with them in the most effective way.

  One last thing. I’ve loved this series — and I hate to say goodbye to Coop, Hiro, Gordy, and Lunk. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have, and I hope you’ll continue to grow in character and integrity just like they’ve been doing. Maybe we’ll come back at some point and see how they’re doing in high school. In the meantime, I’m starting to work on another series!

  — Tim

  P.S. Contact me on my Facebook author page. I’d love to hear how you liked the series — or hear any questions or comments you may have. www.facebook.com/AuthorTimShoemaker

  QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

  1. Cooper talked about fighting fear with a shovel — or a sword. What does that mean?

  2. How do some people try to bury their fears?

  3. How is fear that is “buried but not dead” kind of like a zombie? How is it like a prison guard?

  4. What fear was Lunk dealing with, deep down inside?

  5. What fear have you buried? Whom would you trust enough to talk to about your fear?

  6. Besides talking to someone, what might be a first step toward dealing with or facing buried fear?

  7. Sometimes fear can be a lifesaver because it keeps people safe from danger. Can you think of some examples of how that might happen?

  8. When Stein cornered Hiro and held her at gunpoint, how did she fight back? How do people hurt themselves when they let fear paralyze them into doing nothing?

  9. How can you fight back when somebody pressures you to go someplace or do something that you feel is wrong or may hurt you?

  10. List some specific situations where the best way to face your fear would be to run.

  11. When she was afraid, Hiro screamed for her dad. She knew he would help her if he could. Is there some fear that you need to talk about with your mom or dad to get their help in some way?

  12. Throughout the story, Lunk, Gordy, and even Coop discounted Hiro’s fears. How was that a bad thing for them to do?

  13. What are some of the signs that someone might be afraid (not just the obvious ones, but the more subtle ones too)?

  14. Are you discounting the fears of a friend, a brother, a sister, or even a parent? How can you help them get over their fears?

  15. Hiro was afraid they were all in danger, but the guys thought she was overreacting. Have your friends ever warned you about some danger? Are you taking them seriously or discounting them?

  16. Lunk took off his lifejacket and got in the water to help Coop. How might you need to lay aside your fears to help someone else face theirs?

  17. There were times when Lunk feared he might lose his friends. How can a fear of losing friends cause someone to make bad choices?

  18. How do people make big mistakes when they make decisions that are based not on what’s the right thing to do, but out of a fear of what others will say about them?

  19. Coop thought about what made his dad a man, and part of it was that his dad did the right thing — even when he was afraid. Coop wanted to be like that. Is that what you want too? How can you do that?

  20. When Coop’s dad was about to take Coop underwater with the tank, he assured Coop that he wouldn’t leave him. How would knowing you weren’t alone help you face your fears? Who could fill that role in your life?

  21. Coop realized that his dad was able to face his fears because “Dad was never alone — even when no one else was there.” What do you think that’s all about?

  22. Cooper finally began to conquer his deepest fears when he realized he wasn’t alone. How can you do that?

 

 

 
iends