Another summer is coming. I walk on the street and count how many days left from May – from my “working holiday”. To every student, the summer holiday would be a great chance for them to relax. They can go on a trip or just stay at home to enjoy the holiday. But for me, the holiday is the only chance to work. When my friends go to a swimming pool to get cooling, they may see me sitting on the stand, wearing sunglasses, white vest, and red shorts. Yes, I am a lifeguard, be responsible for the safety of every swimmer.
The opportunity for me being a lifeguard is my friend in secondary school called Leo. He is a sporty guy, and always want to challenge himself. Obtain a lifeguard is also a challenge that he accepted. Leo has even been a lifesaving assistant teacher, so he invited me as one of his first batch students.
Different with him, I am a fat guy and seldom to do exercises. In the first month of the training, I look like learning to save myself in water more than save others. Instead of fitness and skill training, everyone must take the theory lessons for preparing the first-aid certificate. To trace the process of the others, I go to the training five times per week while my classmates only go for two to three days. Finally, I spent the whole summer to complete the training and passed the exams. So I have to wait for the next summer to work.
I can still remember the first swimming pool that I worked is in a private building located in Kau To Shan, Sha Tin. That is a small swimming pool with only a few residents, the lifeguards can take rest in a room when there are no swimmers. It definitely is a “heaven pool” to all lifeguards, just watch the swimming pool for a few hours and then do everything you like in the private restroom.
I started my lifeguard career on the first day of May. Feeling a little bit nervous and excited, I come to the clubhouse on time and listen to the rules that the manager told us. Yes, there is another lifeguard work with me called John. This is also the first time he on duty.
The rule that we have to guide is simple, lifeguards can take rest in the storeroom when nobody is swimming. But we must on duty immediately when somebody come to swim. As the weather of May is still not suitable to swim, only very very few residents will come to swim in the first week. It means that we can stay in the storeroom to play or to sleep in most of the time, but get paid. Our flow of work is to come back on time(at 7:30 am), to sleep in the morning, then have the lunch, watch movies that prepared or play mobile phone until 7 pm. To enhance our working environment, we even bring pillows and quilt for sleep, notebook, and tablet for watch movie and play games. In the beginning, we will sleep alternately to avoid someone come to swim while we don’t discover. But as the day goes on, we are lazy to do the shift and just sleep together.
We keep this kind of working mode and everything is fine. Until one day, an unlucky accident happened.
That is a hot and sunny day. Just like the old times, I and John fall asleep after we finish the breakfast buy from McDonald’s. I don’t know how long the time has passed, a kid comes to swim without parents or maids followed. Although the swimming pool provided a small pool with shallow water for the kid, it seems that the kid goes to the deep one and then get drowned.
I have been awaked by some “noise”. When I listen clearly, I realize someone is swimming outside. So I wake up and go outside for serving those swimmers. But what waiting for me outside is a drowning kid in the pool, shaking his hands and try very hard to yell for help.
“Oh shit! Stay calm kid, I am coming for help!” I run to the swimming pool, smoothly get a lifebuoy and then jump into the water. The water is not very deep to an adult, so I can stand in the water and help the kid with the lifebuoy. Luckily, the kid does not drink too much water, I take him to the clubhouse to take a rest and call for his parents to take him back.
His parent comes to the clubhouse very fast. Under my responsibilities, I tell them it is very dangerous to let a child swim along as a reminder. The parent explains that the child lied to them he just want to go to the clubhouse for playing table tennis, so they did not come with him.
After the parent takes the kid back home, the manager comes and appreciate my brave rescue. But I do not feel happy with that. Although the manager does not realize our absence from duty, I know very well that this time is the lady lucky saves me and the kid. If I did not wake up at that time, maybe the kid would die and two lifeguards are still insensitive to the accident because they are sleeping in a good dream. The accident warns me to be a committed lifeguard at any time, even nobody is swimming, a lifeguard should not sleep as he would not realize what will happen when he falls asleep.
After I make up my mind, I promise myself to be a responsible person, especially dealing with things that involving life. I have to abandon the old lazy me, just like the one who still sleeping in the storeroom, do not realize everything that just happened outside at all.
…
“Ring, ring…” A phone call suddenly comes to bring me back.
“Hello?”
“Hey Edward, it’s me, the manager of the xxx garden.”
“Yes I remember, what’s up?”
“Just see if you can come to help me this summer. It’s nearly the time to employ some new lifeguards.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks! I’ll call you later for the details. See you later!”
“Bye!”
Seems that I have to get ready for my sunglasses, white vest, and red shorts very soon. Oops, also the responsibilities to work.