Brianna- Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

14 year old Layla Alto sat in the bed of her dad’s truck happily as the wind blew her long black hair away from her face. It felt good. Layla could barely contain her excitement as she thought of Maria. Maria was Layla’s best friend and she missed her so much. Layla hadn't seen Maria in 4 years since she moved from Mexico to Colorado. And Maria wasn't the only part of going away for the summer that she was excited for. Since her baby brother Mateo was born last week, she was looking forward to having more than 2 hours of sleep a night. Even though she would miss Mama, Papa, and even Mateo, she was excited to get out of Mexico and join her bestie in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

 “ Papa, are we almost there?” asked Layla. “ Only 30 more minutes driving and I’ll see my baby girl go off on her own for too long for me to bear!” exclaimed Papa. “ Oh Papa, always over exaggerating.” said Layla.

The Arrival


So Layla waited the 30 minutes not so patiently but she got through it. As they arrived at Maria’s house, Layla was ecstatic. She jumped out of the bed of the truck and ran as fast as she could. Without even knocking or ringing the doorbell she busted through the door.

“ Maria!!!” exclaimed Layla. “ Layla!!!” yelled Maria. The two reunited in a joyful hug.

“ I’m so happy to see you!” said Maria. “Me too!” said Layla. “ So what do you have planned since I’m staying the whole summer?” asked Layla. “ Well, I do have our highlight of the summer, but that’s at the end and only lasts a week. But we are going to do lot’s of other fun things as well like hiking, going to Waterworld which is a water park nearby, and lot’s of fun.” said Maria. “ That sounds great, but what’s the highlight?” asked Layla. “ Oh, right. Well we’re going to a stay away summer camp in the Rockies for a week. Isn’t that awesome?” said Maria. “ Yeah, It sounds great!” said Layla.

Waterworld!!!

     

    Layla and Maria had already had a lot of fun in the past few weeks but they knew today would be one of the funnest days this summer for them. When they pulled up to the waterpark, they were so excited.

“This is going to be awesome” said Layla. “Yeah I love Waterworld!” said Maria. So Layla and Maria went through the ticket line with Maria’s mom and then quickly applied sunscreen. They raced to the Bigtop section and rode all the rides. Then they went through River Country and Calypso Cove rides and they were soaked. Then they found themselves quite hungry so they walked over to the food and drink area to have lunch. There were so many lunch options, but they chose to eat at Thunder Bay Food and Drink. They thought it was pretty good for park food. Then they went to the West Coast Adventure, South Beach, and Wild Isle. They did EVERYTHING.

“ That was awesome. These rides were the best! All of them were great but my favorite was definitely Mile High Flyer.” said Layla. “ That one was fun but my favorite was Thunderstorm.” said Maria. “ That was so fun. Let’s have a toast, to more days like this!!! Whoo!!” said Layla later that day at dinner.

Highlight of The Summer


“ It’s here! It’s finally here! Oh, I’m so excited. Come on Maria, pack faster!” exclaimed Layla. “ Ok ok, I’m going!” said Maria. “ Ok guys, time to get in the car so give me your suitcases and lets get going.” The drive was about an hour and a half long and quite boring but Maria and Layla were so excited, they didn’t really mind. When they got there They had lots of fun even from the very beginning. The camp only lasted for seven days, so they had to make the most of it. They went hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, and swimming in the lake. They had a blast.

The Risky Adventure 

   

 One night they decided to sneak away with their 2 friends Kylie and Liam. They were going to build a campsite in the mountains and return in the morning so they wouldn't get caught. They set up a nice campsite and went to sleep under the stars. It was breathtaking. The view of the Rockies, the stars, and well just everything! They woke up at approximately 2:00 in the morning when they woke up to a sound they didn't want to hear… a mountain lions scream.

“ Um guys, if we don’t want to become a mountain lion’s midnight snack, we better run. Like now!!!” said Layla. “ Run back towards camp! But be careful not to create a rockslide!” said Maria.

They ran as fast as they could until the camp was visible again. Then something very bad happened. As Liam ran across a ledge, it couldn't hold his weight. Just before Layla could make it across it broke.

The Jump for Dear Life


“ Guys! What am I going to do! I’m going to be this mountain lions next meal soon!” exclaimed Layla. “ You have to jump Layla!” said Maria. “But I might not make it!” shouted Layla. “ You have to try! You definitely won’t make it if you don’t try!” yelled Maria in urgency. So Layla took the jump. Both of her feet landed on the ledge, but slipped quickly. She barely grabbed the ledge with her hands. Her left leg had a searing pain in it. Maria and Liam helped pull her up. She couldn’t stand but she was alive.

“I’m alive! I made it!” said Layla. “ I’m so happy, I thought I was going to lose you! Does everything feel alright?” asked Maria “ No not exactly. My left leg really hurts.” said Layla. “ Oh ok, well we are getting help right now. Liam and Kylie are starting a fire so rescuers can see the smoke.

“ They’re coming! Someone saw the smoke!” exclaimed Kylie. So the four were rescued and brought to the hospital. All of them were alright except for Layla who broke her left leg but she did live.


Gone for a While, but Not Forever

“ Wow, I can’t believe the whole summer has gone by already.” said Layla. “ Yeah but we had so much fun! And we almost died too!” said Maria. “ Yeah we could have been a little more careful.” said Layla sheepishly as she looked down at her cast. “ Well my flight is soon, so I better get going to the airport. But I want you to know, this has been the best summer of my life.” said Layla. “ Me too. See you soon, bestie.” said Maria.