LJ Idol Season Eight: Boiling water
I turned the knob. It squeaked loudly. It wasn’t right. No matter what I did, I could not figure this thing out. Why couldn’t they just make these things simple?
“Um….. Josh!” I yelled at my teenage brother. He seemed to understand it. Maybe he’d had a hand in designing the thing. That could have possibly been why he could make it work all the time.
Sighing, he came in. “What,” he snapped in his grumpy voice. He was always grumpy. He turned the knob. I climbed in, being careful not to slip as….
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The hot water cascaded down my back, little droplets burning my skin like fire. Steam filled the small room, making it hard for me to see. Panicking, I flailed about, trying to figure out how to escape. Logic failed me. I couldn’t even seem to make myself climb out. It was as if the temperature of the water was not just burning my back, my arms, my legs. It seemed to be penetrating my brain; I couldn’t think.
By now, the strength of the inferno was making my feet swell. Gasping for air, I cursed. I cursed the inventors of such complicated hotel showers. I cursed my brother for turning that knob. I cursed myself for not checking the water temperature before I got in.
Suddenly, the door burst open. For a moment, I was relieved. Good. Someone had heard me screaming and was coming to help. Someone pulled on the glass door. Someone else turned off the water. I stood there for a moment, getting my bearings. That’s when I realized….
I was surrounded by men. They stared at me.
I stood, naked, mortified, and dripping. I was eighteen. I grabbed a towel and wrapped myself in it like a mummy. Did I break the thermostat? I mean, only significant others were supposed to see me like this. This was all hot and steamy in the wrong way.
***
We laugh now, my dad and brothers and I. We will never forget that vacation in Florida. I will never trust my brother to adjust my water again. He might boil me.
This has been my entry for the free topic "Hot water." Thank you for reading.