by Richard Jesel

Created on: February 20, 2009   Last Updated: January 27, 2010

Our high school graduation was supposed to be something very interesting for us all but I happened to find it more boring than high school itself. Don't get me wrong, it was nice, with great food, good music and a chance to smell fresh air right off of the lake. There seems to be no better smell than that of the lake on a warm day with a cool breeze. But, anyway, when you add the human element of a bunch of high-octane teens wearing various styles of uncomfortable formal-wear, an enclosed space, and a thunderstorm circling Lake Michigan not too far off of the Chicago coast, the fun seemed to die pretty quickly. It's hard to dance when you can't keep your balance, I should know. It only took me a short while to get the hang of it though.

The food was spectacular, for a bunch of teens I guess. In retrospect, the food was more what you might find at a local corner restaurant. But it was cheap, and by that I mean free. I tried my best not to stain myself with ketchup or some other godforsaken liquified substance. Too bad I couldn't guard against sweat, but that couldn't be helped. I was the loner kid, dubbed so myself. I decided at an early time in my high school career that I wouldn't bother making any friends. I spent all of grammer school trying to make friends only to instantly lose contact with them once we graduated. I finished my double cheeseburger and pushed my plate away in disgust. I was tired of watching all of these happy people dance and play and jump to the good music. The dance floor was limited to the dining room on this particular ship and I didn't appreciated it.I decided to go outside and stretch my legs. It was difficult to do inside. The nine foot ceiling and the large group of people made things a bit clausterphobic.

Outside was much nicer. The sun was shining and we were anchored not too far off shore, enough to see the Chicago skyline from the top deck, a mere thirty feet from the choppy waves. The wind had picked up and I put on my suit coat again to protect against the slight bite in the air after having to take it off inside the diningroom/dancefloor. Kids were moving about, up, down, front, back. I didn't pay much attention. I just wanted to relax, take in the fresh air. Not long after, the wind died down and I took my jacket off again. The sun just made it too warm and I hated to sweat more than anything. My blond hair was still short at the time so my neck was able to keep cool.

Suddenly I was bit my a mosquito. A little annoying

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