The Adventures of Little Finn: Boy Hero

Saving the Damsel (Part 4/5)

I slam the door, when I get home. Mom and Dad must have gone to work early because Granny is at the kitchen table. "What's wrong?" Granny asks.

"I'm furious," I declare.

"Oh, I see. What is it that has infuriated you so, Finnick?"

"Today, I have lost my best friend," I cry. "Today, Wavely Jacobs has become the enemy."

A look of concern crosses Granny's face. "Now Finnick, are you sure you and Wavely can't patch things up. You two are such good friends."

"We were good friends, Granny. Now, Wavely must accept the consequences of his traitorous act."

Granny gasps. "Oh dear, that does sound serious. May I ask what crime he has committed?"

I sigh, and then pause for a moment. "Today, Wavely Jacobs has been found guilty of smooching with the enemy, Sandy Rivera."

Granny actually starts laughing, which catches me off guard. This is a colossal offense, and she finds it amusing. My eyes dart away. I refuse to look at her. "Oh Finnick," Granny sighs. She places her hand gently on my shoulder. "You can't be so hard on Wavely. If he really likes her, then you should try to be more supportive. He is your friend after all."

I say nothing. I can't believe she's actually taking his side. She must have gone senile today. That can be the only explanation.

Her hand vanishes from my shoulder as she walks into the other room, toward the rocking chair. "One day you'll understand," Granny says. "One day you'll find a girl that you like, and then maybe you won't be so harsh on poor Wavely."

Poor Wavely? She's making him sound like the victim. I don't think I can take anymore betrayal today, so I storm out the front door. There's only one thing that can calm me down, at this point. I turn to face the shore. The waves are coming in. All I can think of is the swimming in the cool, refreshing water. The very thought has caused my rage to subside somewhat. So I stomp down the cove, leaving behind a trail of deep foot prints in the sand. People will see them and know. They will see the footprints and know Finnick Odair was here, and he was angry.

At once, I sprint to the water and leap into the waves. The cool rush passes through my whole body as I let myself submerge to the bottom. For a moment, I remain incredibly still, as if I were a sponge soaking up all the water surrounding me. Then, with a quick burst, I resurface, stroking and kicking as fast as I can. The faster I swim, the more my anger seems to fade. The rage almost seems to seep out through my body, where the water carries it far away.

I realize I should probably turn around. I don't want to swim into the fishing zones. I stroke backward slowly, so I can stay in the water for as long as possible. I even stop stroking a little while, so I can just drift back to shore. It's incredibly relaxing, letting the waves take control. It's just me and the water, floating around without a care in the world.

Suddenly, something crashes into the water. I lift my head up, and tread to get a better view of what happened. I scan the waters nearby, but I can't seem to find what made the noise. It isn't until I look over by the docks that I see what it was.

A few yards away, from the nearest dock, there is a person flailing around in the water. Then I hear a loud scream. In that instant, my arms turn into propellers, slicing through the water with ease. This must be the fastest that I've ever swam, because I reach the person in just a few short seconds. It's a girl about my size, so I'm able to hold her above the water and tread over to the dock. I hoist her up first, before pulling myself onto the dock. I feel just like the heroes in Granny's books. The same heroes, who save damsels in distress, from the treacherous waters.

I don't realize, who I've just saved, until I hear her soft whisper. "Thank you." I look up to see two beautiful green eyes staring back at me. I can't believe it. I just saved Annie Cresta.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask.

Embarrassed, Annie blushes. "I thought I could teach myself how to swim," she admits.

"You should be more careful," I advise. Then it hits me. I almost forgot. I hadn't finished saving her yet. "You should lie down," I tell her. "I've heard that if you are drowning, and someone doesn't perform CPR right away, you could die."

"Oh," Annie says startled. "Well ha-have you ever performed CPR before?" She stammers.

"I saw a fisherman do it once. It looked easy enough," I assure her.

"Alright then," Annie agrees, as she lies back down on the dock.

Carefully I push down on her chest a few times. She remains very still, but I can tell she looks worried that she might not pull through. I reassure with a smile, and as calmly as possible press my lips against hers. Hers are actually quite soft.

"What the heck are you doing?" Annie and I both jump. I know that voice. And judging by the look of embarrassment on Annie's face, she's standing right behind me. "Annie, please don't tell me you were kissing that pond scum," Sandy snaps.

"He was giving me CPR," Annie begins. Sandy arches an eyebrow at us, but waits for Annie to explain. "You see, I tried to swim by myself and I nearly drowned. I was screaming for help, and that's when Finnick came along and saved me."

"Oh." Sandy looks stunned. For a brief moment even, she's actually speechless. "We should probably go anyway," Sandy continues. Before turning to walk away, she looks at me and smirks. "Good job, Finhead."

I look over at Annie again; whose face is still bright pink. It makes her eyes appear even greener, when she glances over at me. "Thanks Finnick," she mumbles. Then she hurries off to catch up with Sandy.

My heart seems to be beating faster than normal. I guess it must have been all the swimming.