All Part of the Plan

Gracie tried to get her crush's attention but a misstep took her way off course.

Gracie’s nails dug into the silt of the rock she clung to. The river sucked at her, trying to drag her away. Shivering and panicked, she glanced at the trail above her. Her group would notice she misstepped and fell in, right?

Trying to reassure herself, she said, “This is all part of my plan. I wanted Tommy to notice me. This’ll do it.”

It better.

If they didn’t notice she was missing, she could be in real trouble. Hysteria surged.

“Help!” Her cry echoed off the high rocks but no one responded.

She sobbed. “Please?”

She laid her head against the rock. Pebbles plinked against her hands, drawing her attention to the cliffside. Tommy, of all people, focused on creeping down the sides of the slope.

“I’m almost there.” He slid the last few feet and perched on the rock above her.

“Give me your hand.”

Releasing the rock with one hand, she swiped at his. Mere inches separated them. She tried again but still missed. A floating tree limb whacked her as it swept by, jarring her loose.

“Help!” The water sucked her under.

Tommy’s strokes cut through the river to her. “Hang on.”

She clutched his neck, trying not to choke him. He carried them to a gentler slope of the shore. Once they flopped onto land, they rolled onto their backs, soaked and panting.

“I didn’t plan on that,” she sputtered.

“Really?” He grinned. “I planned on asking you to swim with me, but further down, where it’s calm and less… drowny.”

She sat up. “Of course you did.”

“Uh oh, should I not have?”

She threw her head back with laughter. “I was trying to get your attention and missed a step. Guess I could have waited.”

All part of the plan.


This is an entry for

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge  (13+) Enter your story of 300 words or less. #896794 by Arakun the Twisted Raccoon