Protracted Events

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : LIFE JACKET VIDEO
Chapter One, Part Three

The life jacket in Tim’s hands definitely looked too small for Paige. Tim had used the phrase ‘squeeze her in’ and if it was even possible that had to be the correct wording. That said the obvious sizing issue was in the back of Paige’s mind. The front of it was occupied by thoughts of what it would be like to be strapped into the bulky looking life jacket. It was very different from the others; and it intrigued her. It was bulky and yellow. The waist belt had a buckle like the inflatable; Two metal parts that passed through each other, not a normal clip. The collar was huge and thick, it didn't look like she would be able to turn her head with it around her neck. There were large pieces of velcro on the front; their function not immediately obvious. It had two long straps hanging from it, to go between your legs and stop you from sliding out the bottom.

Paige wanted to try it on, she wanted to try it on badly. But she was already embarrassed about how much she had enjoyed wearing the others. And she was nervous that her little swim had already seemed odd. There was no way she could ask to try it on without it seeming weird. And yet there was nothing she wanted more than to do just that. She figured she had about a half hour left in her Doing a video instead of sweeping up the shop ought to seem normal enough.

She had to make this sound casual.

Paige glanced at her watch, realized she wasn't wearing one, and then went for it anyway.

“What time is it?”

Kyle answered “Twenty after four, you were done twenty minutes ago.”

“Keeping you overtime,” Tim joked. He hung the jacket back up and flopped down into a nearby chair.

That didn't work but she was committed now.

“Actually I have to wait around for my ride another half hour anyway” She paused trying to seem casual. “I actually have time to shoot one more video if you wanted me to-- You know while you have me here.”

There was what felt like an unnaturally long pause, Paige was just starting to think she had made a big mistake.

It was Kyle to the rescue. He shrugged. “I could shoot one more now if you want, easy while I have the camera here”

“Yea okay” Paige had not meant to respond again, that was weird, but it seemed no one took any notice of her overeager voice.

Tim, fortunately, was more than happy to keep the ball rolling. “Hey why not?”

A Moment later Tim was following Kyle out of the shop with the life jacket in hand. Glancing back at the wall behind her Paige caught herself wondering how she could go about buying a jacket for herself without it seeming strange. Tim seemed comfortable enough to make nothing of it, but how on earth would she explain to her parents. Tim was already out the door so turning away from the wall Paige hurried to catch up. Jogging after them down the boardwalk, in her borrowed swimsuit and bare feet, she was struck by how unrestricted and exposed she felt without a life jacket on, the knowledge that that would soon change made her stomach and knees feel funny. The contrast between jogging along like this and wearing the bulky vests was extreme.

Paige hardly caught up with Tim and Kyle before they were ready to go. She came to a stop on the dock again next to Tim. Trying to get another look at the jacket in Tim’s hands she was caught off guard when he suddenly started talking to the rolling camera.

"Hey everybody! Tim from Nova Sailing and Yacht Club here with Paige again to teach you all about the different PFDs and Life Jackets available on the market and in our shop down Marian road!”

Paige quickly composed herself trying not to look awkward in front of the camera

“Today we have an offshore model that is great for children or teens out on sea voyages."

Tim held up the bulky yellow life jacket; with it’s large collar and dual leg straps hanging down.

"This is the Crewsaver Supersafe. We have models that fit infants to teens. This model supports teens up to 110lbs or 50kg for you metric users. So it’s actually a bit small for Paige here, but being such a fantastic vest I actually have high expectations for it. Let's see if we can squeeze Paige in, and get an idea of how it performs in the water."

Tim held out the life jacket and Paige, feeling numb, slid her left arm though the hole. Turning her back to Tim as she did, he brought the jacket up over her shoulders, holding out the right hand side for her other arm. Still dripping wet Paige reached behind her sliding her right arm through the jacket. As the jacket wrapped around her she was struck by how soft the material was on her bare skin. Moving around her Tim then zipped the two halves together. The vest was definitely at it’s limit. Tim didn’t exactly yank on the zipper; but Paige could feel the extra force he had to exert; holding the bottom of the vest with one hand and pulling up hard on the heavy duty zipper to seal the two halves together. As he pulled the zipper up the soft fabric and squishy foam of the jacket conformed around her torso. Growing tight and secure around her, it was like a cocoon or a weighted blanket. It was extremely tight, Paige loved the feeling.

Tim then passed the smaller metal rectangle through the larger metal rectangle securing the waist strap. He went around to Paige’s left side and pulled the slack out of it. The waist belt squished in the foam of the life jacket tho it was already so tight Paige could hardly feel the difference she could see how the waist belt squished in the foam. Tim then knelt down and reached between her legs grabbing the crotch straps that hung loose from the back of her life jacket. Passing them through to the front he buckled the left leg strap. Still knelt down holding the other Tim went on a brief aside.

“Crotch straps can be found on many of the lifejacket models we carry here, they offer far greater safety for kids and teenagers than models lacking them by ensuring that the life jacket doesn't ride up over the wearers mouth and nose.”

Tim proceeded to buckle in the right hand crotch strap. He then took each strap in turn: pulling on the loose end firmly, taking out all the slack, and snuggling them up. The straps came up tight against Paige and while she failed to resist the urge to react as they did so she did manage to keep her shifting to a minimum in front of the camera.

Tim was getting to his feet again "There we go! Now let's talk about some extra features this model has."

Paige felt constricted in the vest. But not at all uncomfortable. The straps were tight but like the other vests it was more comforting than anything else. Probably the most restriction to her movement was around her neck where the collar was behind her head. She didn't try moving too much on camera but it definitely felt like it would limit her movement. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to look much left or right without turning at the waist.

"As we just saw this model has a zipper, waist belt and two crotch straps keeping it snug and secure on Paige. It has reflective strips and a whistle to get people's attention. On the back here-”

Tim turned Paige by the shoulders; As she shuffled to turn around she took the opportunity to test her head movement. The collar was so thick it blocked her chin, she could lift her chin over the foam collar but this would leave her looking up at the sky, she was correct that looking directly to her left or right required turning at the waist, that was somehow exciting to her. Her back to the camera now; Tim continued.

“-there is a D-ring that can be connected to a jackline. That's right. This life jacket also has an integrated harness to keep those you love from falling overboard. Or it keeps those you hate where you want them."

Tim then took a hold of the D-ring and lightly jerked Paige around. It was an unexpected sensation and contributed to feeling even more restricted. Tim spun her around again a bit faster and more forcefully this time; keeping a hand on the jacket's waist belt. Paige nearly lost her balance managing only to stumble slightly.

"Back to the front there; is also a front lifting strap to get them out of the water.”

Tim gave this a pull as well but only half heartedly.

“Finally, there is this tube here that when inflated creates even more flotation for the user. Paige, why don't you demonstrate it for us."

Tim took the tube out of its holder and presented it to her. It was a little orange tube with a cap. Paige figured out how to remove the cap and with some trepidation blew into the tube. As she did, the velcro panels on the front of the jacket; the ones she had wondered about earlier came apart and an air bladder suddenly expanded in front of her, surprised Paige stopped blowing for a moment. When Tim didn't take away the tube she leaned in and gave it another full breath. The air bladder expanded outward and got bigger around her neck.

“This can be useful if you are wearing rain gear or cold weather gear. Or if your only model is a bit too old for the jacket" Tim joked, but the direct remark on how she was strapped into a life jacket for a younger kid or teen made Paige feel uncomfortable, she subconsciously shrank into the jacket. Thankful for it's comforting embrace.

"Let's see how it performs in the water."

Turning, Paige walked to the edge while putting the cap back on the tube and tucking it back in.

Paige did a sloppy belly flop into the water. She crashed into the surface hard. But with so much flotation her face hardly made contact with the water. Staying limp she immediately felt the jacket do it’s thing: in moments her body had pivoted on her waist, her legs passing underher, flipping her onto her back; her head coming to rest on the collar; her face looking up at the sky.

"See how quickly it turned her on to her back with her face high above the water. That is a great improvement over the previous model and would definitely keep your mouth high and out of the water even in choppy offshore conditions."

This vest was overall the bulkiest by far. It really did keep her head high and out of the water. Since it was enclosed, it also kept her warm. Paige tried to rotate onto her stomach to swim around a little for the camera, and just to see how it felt if she was being honest. The jacket differed from the others in that it didn't try to roll her sideways to get her onto her back. Rather it tried to tip her back, with her legs passing under her. The unexpected result was that; unlike the other jackets that just just exerted a rolling force, this one pushed up on her shoulders and pulled down on her behind. As Paige forced herself onto her stomach she noticed the thick foam and inflated bladder pushing her head and chest upward; she had to actively fight against it to stay on her stomach. She also felt the crotch straps trying to pull her lower body under her. Fighting against this jacket was a much more active endeavor than the others. It was really trying to flip her back over. After a few moments squirming against it Paige gave up; going limp and allowing those straps to pull her body around her. She sank into the jacket, trusting the snug straps between her legs to stop her from sliding out. Feeling safe and comfortable with the thick foam wrapped around her torso. As she fell onto her back the overly thick collar caught her head before it hit the water, arresting her movement. Her legs bobbed up a bit from the momentum, her toes just brushing the surface, before the weight of her legs sank back down. Her body settled at a 45 degree angle. The foam and air bladder holding her securely on the surface, the straps tightly secured around her keeping her safely inside the jacket.

“As you can see even though Paige is over the weight limit of this jacket, and should not wear it as a safety device when out at sea, it has still performed perfectly.”

The jacket was bliss, Paige felt like she was being swaddled, it was hard to make herself do anything other than just give in and float there. It was funny that the being strapped into the life jacket made her feel so much like she was sinking. She was fighting to keep her eyes open as she slowly kicked her legs, maneuvering back over to the ladder.

“Just swim up over here Paige”

Opening her eyes ‘when had she closed those?’ Paige saw Tim kneeling on the dock a short ways down from the ladder, Kyle was beside him with the camera. Unsure what he wanted but happy to stay in the water a bit longer she twisted steering roughly towards them. It was impossible to see what was behind her directly. she had to twist about to get her bearings as she made her way over. Hitting the side of the dock a bit too soon she turned to follow it down to Tim. Swimming along the side of the dock on her back with her head stuck looking straight up her visibility was very limited so she was surprised when Tim’s voice suddenly sounded as though it was directly overhead.

“Ok here we go” He came into view a second later, kneeling on the dock above her, one arm hanging down. As she drifted to a stop directly beneath him Tim reached down grabbing the loop on the front of Paige’s life jacket. Showing surprising strength, Tim hauled her straight up out of the water.

The sudden lift took her completely by surprise, even as Tim had grabbed the loop on her chest Paige had not fully realized what he was doing. The two straps between her legs kept the jacket from riding up at all as she was pulled up out of the water and carried through the air.

For a brief moment Paige felt as though she was flying. At least in the water she had some agency, pushing against water she could turn and maneuver herself. The startled and half hearted flopping movements her arms and legs made as she was pulled up through the air did nothing. Tho her verbal cry of shock certainly carried to the camera's microphone.

A moment later Paige felt herself plopped down on the hard wooden surface of the dock. Water pouring out of the jacket.

She was surprisingly tired out and the wet jacket was as heavy as it was bulky so getting up out of the prone position she found herself in seemed very undesirable. Besides, the jacket was still quite warm and the collar was making a fantastic pillow. Though the straps between her legs were a bit tight with her legs stretched straight out.

Tim was talking about the lifting strap and integrated harness but Paige was not listening. He must have wrapped up because a moment later he was holding out a hand to help Paige up.

“Well how was that one?”

More water poured from the jacket as Paige got begrudgingly to her feet.

“Super comfy, hard to swim in though” She was careful to avoid showing too much enthusiasm.

Yea it’s definitely not really meant for swimming, if you fell out of a sail boat you would have a tether, thus the integrated harness.

“Still really nice. Actually I wouldn't mind trying to swim back in this one as well. Just to compare... “

Tim seemed not to care “Sure if you have the time, you’re off the clock now. Just hang it up to dry somewhere when you are done. I’ll put it away when I do rounds later. Have to go fix a boat right now.

“Sure thing” Paige had no idea how she was managing to sound casual about this still.

Tim made off with Kyle, and Paige turned back to the water. The jacket was still dripping like crazy but what water it still held was warm. She couldn't believe how comfy it was. She had to get herself one of these. For now tho she had the jacket to herself, a closed dock, and as much time as she wanted.