Ready to go

EMMA'S BOAT

Part One

The Lifejacket in Emma’s hand wasn’t something I would think of as normal to wear; at least not when you were eighteen years old, for a young kid sure. Steph had mentioned that Emma could be a little hard to handle before but I hadn’t really hung out with her much, so I was finding her a little hard to read. 

I had moved to the area for university and had shared a major and class with Steph, she was from the area and had been introducing me to others around the town now that the school year was over.  As an overseas student I was staying the summer and not traveling home.  Emma had invited the two of us out to go boating on her parent’s new speed boat, to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of a very promising summer.  This was very exciting to me as I had never been boating before.  There was little to no water back home and the idea of big lakes was exciting.

Steph and I had driven out to meet Emma at her parent’s cottage.  Gravel crunched as we pulled up into the driveway at the cottage. Emma’s car was already parked in front of the building.  I stopped the car and Steph was out and heading down to the dock before I had even finished putting it in park. I followed a few moments later at a more casual pace.

We spotted  Emma down by the boat, it was raised above the water in a lift.  She was digging around in the seat compartments, I saw a couple life jackets under her arm and figured she was making sure we had enough onboard.

The boat looked like it was really something, I didn't know much about boats, but it had a polished wood dash and nice big sunbathing deck at the back.  There was a bench seat across the back, a passenger seat next to the driver seat, and two bigger recliner seats in the very front that were more like lawn chairs. 

As we approached her Emma slipped a life jacket over her shoulders, it was a yellow jacket with three buckles on the front.

“Hey guys!” Emma was waving.

As I arrived at the end of the dock Emma was busy buckling up the life jacket she was wearing.  She clipped all three buckles and actually took a moment to pull the straps, tightening the vest up. She made it surprisingly tight, really yanked on the straps.  They were visibly squeezing the foam of the jacket. 

“Are you guys ready to go? Just keep in mind that we are not breaking ANY of my dad’s rules, I am not losing boat privileges.”

Steph made a face at her “God I am so ready for an entire summer of this, your dad is cool with us drinking on the boat right?”

Emma gave Steph a deadly look.

“I'm kidding! I'm kidding!” Steph looked over at me and rolled her eyes. 

“Ok so here's the deal” Emma bent down retrieving the other life jackets from the ground "My brother took three of the other jackets with him canoeing so these are all we have-- sorry..." 

I wasn't sure what she was apologizing for at first. 

Emma held up the other Life Jackets, one in each hand. 

 

In her left hand was a vibrant yellow jacket. It had a zipper and purple strap around the middle, a bright orange whistle hung from the zipper, at the top it had a large collar with a grab loop, and a long purple strap hung down from the back of it. A buckle was positioned on the front of the vest pointed downward. The long strap clearly passed between the wearer's legs.  It was the sort of life jacket you saw kids wearing.

The other life jacket was nearly identical, it was a slightly more muted yellow with a thick red stripe up the right hand side. The strap around the chest and matching strap for between the wearer's legs were the same yellow, it also had a big collar with a grab loop and a long tie at the base of the zipper. It looks a little larger than the first but both were obviously too small for adults and intended for kids. At least so I thought.

“What do you guys weigh?” Emma was actually examining the labels on the inside of the jacket, I had to assume we were over whatever the printed maximum was.  

“I’m 145” Steph offered up.

I just shrugged “110” 

Emma squinted at the labels and made a grunt of approval. “Ow wow, great these both actually work for either of you, I was a little worried about that” She held the jackets out at arms length for us. 

Steph reached out and took the second of the two; the more muted yellow one with the red stripe and yellow straps. It was the larger vest and she was the bigger of the two of us standing at 5’8” to my scrawny 5’1”. She just laughed as she took the jacket. "Aha great, the kiddy lifejackets, perfect." Sarcasm heavy on her tone. 

I took the other jacket as Emma handed it over, it looked as though it was obviously too small to fit, but I figured we probably just had to have them with us.  I was surprised to see Steph slide her left arm through the jacket and pull it up onto her shoulder. She was reaching around with her right arm trying to get it through the other opening, but the small jacket was making it awkward to reach. 

Emma noticed and jumped in to give her a hand. Taking the too small life jacket in one hand and Steph's arm in her other.  Emma manavered Stephs arm through the opening and pulled the jacket up around her shoulders for her.  With Steph now managing, Emma turned to see if I needed any help.  

I was still holding the jaket in my hands, somewhat surprised that Steph was actually putting it on. 

“Do we need to wear them? I’m probably ok without it myself?” It felt a bit strange to contemplate actually wearing what was clearly a child’s life jacket. Even to someone who had never been boating it was obviously a life jacket for a child. 

Emma gave me a surprisingly stern look, “Ya. We one hundred percent need to wear them, it’s the number one rule for my parents with the boat.  Besides the fact that you should definitely always wear it anyway. Would you get in a car without a seatbelt?” 

“Ok fair enough, I guess”

I did have to admit that was a fair point, I wouldn't get in a car and not wear a seatbelt, though a seatbelt was much less bulky and awkward than even a normal life jacket. 

Holding the jacket open it really did look too small, I seriously questioned whether it would fit at all.  

“Here,” Emma walked over, apparently taking my hesitation as a sign that I needed assistance. She took the jacket from me and held it up with the front open for me to slide my arms through. 

Looking at the jacket in her hands it really wasn’t something I would think of as being normal to wear; at least not when you were eighteen years old, for a young kid sure. It was so glaringly juvenile, the vibrant yellow and the bright purple straps made the thing really loud to look at. The hood with it’s grab loop and the long strap hanging from the back of the jacket, which obviously went between your legs, were such giveaways; it was obviously meant for a kid.

Feeling awkward I turned around and, looking over my shoulder, slowly lifted my arms, lining them up with the holes. As I stood there Emma moved in and maneuvered the jacket up over my left arm.  I started to twist around to look over my other shoulder but as I did so I felt Emma grab my right forearm and start pulling on it firmly; bending my elbow and shoulder a bit further back than they wanted to go to get my arm through the other hole in the, obviously too small, jacket.  A moment later I felt her passing my hand, and then my arm, through the opening. As Emma pulled the jacket up over my shoulders and wrapped the front around me; I was stuck by the bulk of it.  A good two inches of foam in the large pads over my chest, and it felt like a couple more inches in a pad across the top of my back just below my shoulders.  The rest of the back had no foam at all, just thin fabric.  

To my surprise, I was able to close the front relatively easily. There was a bit of resistance as I pulled up the zipper, but it did definitely fit. The strap around my waist was another story altogether; it was about two inches short of reaching the buckle.

At this point I was surprised to see Steph pass the long yellow strap between her legs and clip it into place at the front of the life jacket.  Up to this point it hadn't occurred to me that we would bother with the between the leg strap part of the jacket. 

Turning back to my own jacket I let several inches of slack out of the chest strap and managed to get it buckled into place easily enough. Then, in a moment of uncertainty, I twisted around and felt around the back of the jacket until I found the top end of the long strap hanging there. Again I thought about how the jackets were clearly meant for kids, it felt weird to do up a strap between my legs. Steph had done hers up but it just seemed over the top. 

I had the strap hand but was just holding it awkwardly.  I was still uncertain and was leaning toward just letting it hang. Or clipping it into the buckle without passing it between my legs.

Looking over at Steph she was tying off the little string at the base of her jacket. Emma had the boat lowered into the water and was looking about ready to go. 

 

I just shrugged.  It all felt a bit ridiculous but whatever.   Awkwardly, I crouched down slightly and reached around behind me passing the strap through my legs to my other hand. Standing back up I now had the buckle end of the strap in hand.  I found myself looking down at the bright purple clip in my hand; the end of a long strap now passing down between my legs and disappearing from view.  It made a loud snap when I pushed the clip into the waiting buckle on the front of the jacket. 

With my kiddie life jacket now thoroughly secured around me I turned to follow Steph onto the boat that Emma had lowered into the water.  She looked about as absurd as I felt, her lifejacket was glaringly obvious, the first thing you saw when you looked at her, the collar and grab loop in particular. The yellow strap between her legs stood out strongly against her black swimsuit. It really felt odd to me but seemed to be normal enough to Emma and Steph.

As I was about to climb into the boat I was suddenly stopped short.
Emma had grabbed my life jacket as I was walking past. "Hey you, hold up!"
She pulled back on the jacket causing me to stop and take a couple quick steps back before turning to face her.

"You're a bit loose there, like really loose”  

Emma was grabbing the strap going around my chest. Which had just enough slack that the buckle, while done up, was hanging sideways a little.

“Here,"  Emma took hold of the loose end of my jacket’s chest strap in one hand, and grabbed the buckle firmly in her other. Then she proceeded to pull, hard, on the strap, pulling three or four inches of strap through the slider. Then she yanked on it a couple times; to get  maybe another quarter inch through.  I could feel the jacket squeezing in around me. The strap was pressing into the foam, squishing it. 

"And you completely missed the draw string" Emma dropped down, taking a knee in front of me so her head was about level with my stomach, and proceeded to pull tight and double knot the string tie I had missed around my waist. This didn't do all that much but it did cause the material of the jacket to cinch up tight against the small of my back and my stomach.

“Jeez you're as bad as Tim '' (I knew from Steph that Tim was Emma’s eight year old baby brother) I didn't think the comparison was really justified. I thought she was done but then to my surprise she unbuckled the strap that went between my legs letting it fall loose. I now felt really embarrassed for doing it up, assuming she had undone it because it was unnecessary. 

“Ahh I wasn’t going to bother with that one but I wasn’t sure” I tried to make light of having done it up. And started to turn away to get into the boat.

“Wow hold up, No, you have to actually wear the jacket properly”  Emma grabbed my life jacket again and pulled  herself back to her feet stopping me. “Hold on”  She squatted down again behind me as I stopped, confused.

“Wha, sorry I thought-- what are you?”

“Just let me fix this strap”

I felt her pulling on the strap hanging from the back of the jacket.

Then she was beside me and passing the long strap back through my legs to the front. I was confused as to what she had done but as she pulled the strap up towards the buckle I felt it come up tight against me, even before she got it snapped in place. She had shortened it; where before it had clipped in and hung loose below me, now it felt like it would be too short to reach the buckle. Emma did however manage to get it buckled, taking the waiting femail end of the buckle in one hand and the clip in her other, pulling it up firmly and snapping into place.  The crotch strap was pulling tightly up into me. It felt like I had a wedgie.  She couldn't be serious.  

Emma pulled herself up by my life jacket again and once standing gave it a good shake to make sure it was tight. 

It was a strange sensation to say the least. 

"There ya go, that's better"  she gave me a big smile and a shove toward the boat.  The strap between my legs was definitely giving me a wedgie, I hadn’t realized I’d been bending over as she did it up but as I half stumbled toward the boat I straightened up and the strap got even tighter, I pulled at it but there was no obvious way to loosen it.  

“Ok this is too tight, Emma hold on, how do I loosen it?” 

Emma walked past rolling her eyes and climbed into the boat.  It was Steph that spoke up.

“Oh quit being a baby about it, it’s just a life jacket.  It isn’t fair to ask Emma to risk getting in trouble.”

That seemed unfair, I wasn’t suggesting taking the jacket off. 

“Are you coming or not?” Emma was at the steering wheel. 

Not wanting to make a big fuss, I reluctantly stopped fidgeting with the strap and followed, moving the two steps to the edge of the dock and climbing awkwardly down into the boat.

Secure

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : SCHOOL TRIP
Chapter Three, Part Two

Paige could hardly believe she had actually made this happen. Taking stock of her current situation she was strapped securely to the seat of the school bus by a restraint harness. The fabric straps of the vest were tight around her torso, passing over her shoulders, around her chest, and waist. A pair of smaller straps ran between her legs, secured to the back of the vest where she could not reach them. The vest was fastened securely to the seat of the school bus by clips connected to D-rings on her vest. Ms Williams had done her job well, Paige couldn't move her torso off the seat back at all. Her arms and legs were totally free which somehow enhanced significantly the feeling of restraint.

“Well how is it? Is it uncomfortable at all?”

Paige resisted the urge to really struggle and made herself sit still. “No. It’s a bit odd not being able to move but not uncomfortable” The one exception was how the vest was pulling her up slightly, Paige was considering mentioning that but it was a little awkward. The strap holding the vest to the seat went all the way around the seat back, so it felt as though she ought to be able to slide it a bit so she was actually sitting on the seat.

A knock on the bus door startled them both. It was Anne the school secretary.

“Oh there you are Ms. Williams, I’ve been looking everywhere, Dan’s parents are here to deal with that situation the other day” Clearly avoiding details in front of Paige

Ms. Williams looked aghast “Oh I completely forgot, I’m so sorry” She rushed to leave. “Paige can you pack this back up I have to go right now” Paige managed a nod “How long have they been waiting?” Ms.Williams was still droning on as she left the bus.

Now sitting alone on the bus Paige again couldn't believe her luck. Without even a fully conscious decision she immediately started to squirm around and really test the limits of her movement.

Pulling against the straps and twisting left and right aggressively she was immediately shocked that the harness gave nothing. No matter which way she pulled or twisted or bucked against them she came up short instantly. The straps over her shoulders stopped her pulling forward or upward, the chest and waist straps held her solid when she tried to twist, trying to slouch or wriggle downward the straps between her legs caught her short. To her amazement she had even failed to shift the strap around the seat back which was still holding her up off the seat slightly. It was a vastly different experience from the life jackets. Where the life jackets had been inescapable because they moved with her this simply did not allow her to move. Yet somehow it was similar to the life jacket, something about how it kept her safe and took away her responsibility. Paige loved it; she spent a good five to ten minutes enjoying wriggling about.

Eventually though, she decided she was pushing her luck and it was time to pack up and leave before her absence was noticed. Paige reached up to unclip the buckles from the D-rings on her shoulders, it was tricky to see what she was doing but easy enough to feel the clip. The problem was that it was very tight and while she could open the spring mechanism easily enough she could not pull the clip down to get it off the D-ring. Taking hold of the strap the clip was attached to with one hand and holding the spring open with the other Paige pulled HARD with everything she had, simultaneously she tried to push her shoulder up to raise the D-ring. She managed to get a few millimeters of space between the D-ring and the clip, to get the D-ring off she needed a couple of centimeters. There was a sensation deep in her stomach, similar to the one when a rollercoaster just goes over the top of the track, just before it starts to fall. She couldn't possibly be actually stuck. The website had sold two versions of the vest; the zippered one she was in now, and one with buckles in the front. It hadn’t said anything about the wearer not being able to let themselves out! The most it said was some line about busy fingers not loosening things. That couldn’t mean it was an actual restraint that you couldn't get out of could it?

Paige turned her attention to the clips holding her waist. Here the angle was less ideal and there was very little strap to get a grip on as it disappeared into the seat. She made much less progress than she had with the shoulder clips. She was starting to panic now, she tried pulling hard on the shoulder straps again, nothing they didn't budge. She was also getting tired, and desperate, she thoroughly enjoyed being strapped in but she did NOT enjoy the prospect of being found strapped in hours later by god knows who? The bus was out in the front parking lot of the school but parked off to the side. She only had two classes this semester and one had gone by, it would be hours before her absence was noticed if at all.

Paige was genuinely trying to break free of the straps now. She tried with everything she had to squirm her way free of the harness. She tried to slide one of the shoulder straps over her shoulder but it was nowhere close, far too tight, it would only move a couple centimeters closer to the edge of her shoulder and ran along beside her neck. She tried to get at the buckles to the crotch straps so she could wriggle out the bottom of the vest. But the buckles were at the center of her back and the harness was tightly pulling her body into the dense leather of the school bus seat. She could push her fingers between the seat and her back if she really tried, but only her fingers, not her hand, she would have to get her wrist and some of her arm back there to reach the buckles. On top of that she would then have to actually manage to unclip them somehow; which wasn't happening. She could barely move her fingers with them squished between her and the seat. It took a bit of force to yank her fingers back out from behind her.

Paige sat perfectly still for a moment, still strapped tightly into the vest and secured to the school bus seat, breathing heavily. Still not believing she was stuck she let out one last heroic struggle: thrashing and yanking, twisting against her restraints, pulling on the shoulders, pushing against the crotch strap, trying desperately to wriggle out, to loosen SOMETHING.

She collapsed, panting, her bangs wet with sweat. She was stuck, really, actually, truly, stuck.

Having come to accept her situation Paige was sitting still now.  If she had been able to slouch she would have done so. In fact she had gone almost totally limp. It was the harness that was keeping her in an upright position. Accepting that she was stuck and going to have to wait to be found did bring a sense of relaxation. There was nothing she could do, it wasn't on her anymore.

Slowly and yet all of a sudden the vest was becoming cozy and welcoming again. Without noticing or realising Paige had begun to squirm and struggle again. No longer trying to escape, it was more as though she was subconsciously making sure that she was, in fact, still stuck. Hours went by. Paige was getting thirsty and starting to feel the urge to use the bathroom. She pulled halfheartedly on the shoulder clips, as though to see if they had changed their mind about keeping her there yet. There was a water bottle in her backpack if she could get that. 

HER BACKPACK! Her phone was in there. How had she been so stupid? It was sitting in the aisle between the seats. Instinctively she lurched to grab it, immediately coming up short against her restraints. It was beyond the reach of her arms. Repositioning herself she reached out with her foot, straining against the straps, Paige slouched as much as the straps between her legs would allow, trying to get every inch she could, her toes just brushing the loop at the top. Pausing and composing herself for a few deep breaths she tried again, pulling against the straps trying to reach down and over with her foot. The straps and seat creaked as she pushed against them , just managing to get her right big toe under the loop. Letting the harness hold her weight she reached out with her left foot as well. Hanging onto the shoulder strap with her right arm and pushing against the seat back with her left for a little more distance. She managed to get the strap of the backpack between her feet and slowly bent her knees, pulling the backpack closer. Finally she had it in reach. Collapsing into a slump again for a moment of rest. Overwhelmed by exertion and the sense of restraint.

With the bag now between her legs she reached down to grab it. Unable to bend over at all, it was still a little out of reach of her arms. She had to lift it slightly with her legs to finally get it in hand. Unzipping it she first retrieved her water bottle, taking just a few precious sips as the need to use the bathroom was becoming more pronounced. Thirst somewhat sedated for now she fished out her phone.

Now what? Who was she going to call? The school? The idea of having Ms. Williams come back out to find her, sweaty and broken still restrained in the vest, was not exactly in line with the “no big deal” approach to the harnesses she had been pushing. Paige thought about it for just a moment before dialing her best friend Mary.

She answered after the first ring.

“Hey What’s up? Where are you?”

This was going to be interesting.

“Ok, I’m in a bit of a situation but you HAVE to promise not to tell ANYONE.”

“O god what?”

“You know how I mentioned that we were getting seat belts for the bus to treetop trekking?” Paige had been short on details but mented to friends on the trip that there was going to be ‘seat belts' “Well, They came in, more of a vest deal than a normal seat belt. I was helping Ms William’s try them out and I’m kinda stuck.”

“How are you stuck? In the seatbelt?”

“Ya, it’s like a vest, I can't get out, I tried, Ms Williams went off to deal with something and I didn't realize I couldn't get out until she was gone.”

Mary was laughing.“Whaa? So you are literally stuck in a vest seat belt right now? What do you want me to do?”

“Come let me out!”

“Why didn't you call Ms.Williams?” She was stumbling over the words still laughing.

“Oww gee I dunno maybe because this is embarrassing as fuck”

Paige tried to squirm in her restraints forgetting for a moment just how tightly restrained she was.

“Ok Ok Ok I’m coming Where are you?”

“On a bus in the parking lot out front”

There was no response for a moment but Paige could hear her friend laughing on the other end.

“Ok I’m coming, don't go anywhere” More laughing.

Mary hung up and Paige sat in silence for a few minutes before she heard the footsteps entering the Bus.

“Paige? Are you here?”

“Back here” Paige waved her arm out the side of the seat.

Mary was howling with laughter again as she approached and got a look at paige. Pulling herself together as she approached.

“What is this thing? Is THIS what we are wearing on the trip?”

“Yea, apparently” Paige decided not to let on that it had been her idea.

“This is NUTS” Mary was busy checking the vest out pulling on the straps and feeling the vest.

“Yup sure is, want to let me out of it now?”

“What will you give me to?” Mary smiled back

“What? Ow come on not now Mary just let me out.”

“Ok OK” Mary leaned in, and then dug her fingers into Paige’s sides. Paige howled with laughter and tried to jump away, moving less than a centimeter in reality. Mary was taking full advantage of having her friend helplessly restrained, attacking her ribs and under arms. Paige was squirming at least as hard as she had been while trying to escape. Straining and bucking against the straps and twisting every which way.

“No! No! Mary! Stop! I have to pee! Shit! Stop!” Paige could hardly breath. Trying to lash out with her arms and legs But unable to move her torso at all Mary had an easy time avoiding them.

“I can’t let you out of this totally scott free” 

Being tickled and unable to move was a new sensation.  Paige had always been ticklish, but somehow being restrained sent it into overdrive.  She was out of control, thrashing about, unable to actually move at all. She felt like she was going to lose control over her bladder which made her even more desperate to escape, which made the tickling even more overwhelming.  She was screaming and thrashing desperately.  Feeling like she was going to lose it any moment.  

To Paige’s relief Mary stopped with her assault.  Paige hung limp in the straps.  Actaully thankful fro them breifly; as she felt she would have fallen over had they not been holding her. Mary went about trying to remove the vest. She immediately ran into the same problem as Paige with the clips being too tight to get off the D-rings.

“I think you have to loosen from the back, on the other side of the seat.” Paige was still recovering.

Mary went around behind the seat and a moment later Paige finally felt the strap around the seat loosen letting her fall down onto the seat, the vest no longer taking any of her eight.

A few moments later Mary had her unclipped and Paige was able to stand up, still wearing the vest. Mary helped unzip the back and unclip the crotch straps.

“Well given another context these could be fun” Mary was enjoying this far too much.

Scooping everything up They headed back inside, Paige taking care to avoid Ms. Williams and having to explain what took so long. With the vest back in it’s box they left the student council room, Paige rushing off to the bathroom and Mary still snickering.

Day One

Sam's Adventures: Solo Kayak Trip
Chapter Five, Part One

It looked like rain. The sky was a tapestry of grey, like a messy duvet spread from horizon to horizon. “I couldn't have picked a better week for this trip” Though Sam sarcastically, tho she smiled slightly. The waves were picking up slightly as a cool breeze blew in from across the lake. Sam inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes savoring the cool fall air, it had begun to rain but only lightly. It was late in the year for a trip; the leaves had begun to turn and it was no longer hot and sunny. Sam was well prepared with warm layers and a new wetsuit for paddling in. It was a “Goliath Grouper” made in Hawaii by a company called Waihana. It had cost her a pretty penny but she had tried it out the week before and found it to be worth every penny.

Turning back to her car she picked up the last few items from the tailgate and closed the hatch checking to make sure it was locked. Her Kayak was laying on the beach a few feet from the water. Sam walked down from the gravel stretch she had parked on to the kayak. She secured her car keys in a small dry bag on the deck of the kayak, it also held her GPS and phone, not that she would have any reception out here. Turning to the remaining items sam picked up a small dry bag that held her camera and lunch and stuffed it behind the seat where it would be easy to grab. The wind picked up again, carrying some spray from the water. The waves where picking up a bit more, the cool breeze gave her a shiver. Sam slipped off her running shoes, shorts and hoodie, she already had a tight rashguard on underneath, and picked up her new wetsuit from the kayak seat. It was a two peace affair the lower half went on just like a pair of leggings, they were dark almost purple grey scale pattern with splotches of lighter steely grey and flakes of gold. Sitting on a nearby rock Sam slipped a pair of neoprene socks before squirming her legs into the tight fitting pants and standing up to pull them up around her waist. It was a fantastic wetsuit, it fit like a second skin and hardley impeded her movement at all. Sam retrieved the top half of the suit and pulled up over her head, sliding it on like a hoodie, again it took some squirming to get into, she managed to get her right arm through first and used it to help pull the opening over her head, then forced her left arm the rest of the way through the tight neoprene sleeve. Sam pulled the bottom of the top down straightening it out along her waist. It hugged her body tightly; the tightness was like a hug, it stretched as she moved but did not restrict her movment nearly as much as the cheap wetsuit she had years before. It felt amazing. She pulled her ponytail head of the neck opening, the suite had an integrated hood but she left this down for now; after a few moments moving her arms about, getting used to and adjusting the wesuite, Sam reached between her legs and grabbed the beavertail hanging from the back of the top section, she pulled this between her legs and fed the two plastic clips through the eyelets on the front. It took some pulling on the material to accomplish this. The wetsuit was now properly secured around her, it provided total protection from the cold wind and light rain. Sam Exhaled slowly, savoring the moment on the edge of the water as she walked back over to her kayak. Sam picked up the small waterproof fanny pack she always kept on her in the woods. It had a few essential supplies, a ferro rod for starting fires, small knife, mirror, space blanket, and a lifestraw (a small filtered straw for drinking water). Finally she retrieved the bright yellow vest laying on the floor of the cockpit. The wetsuite was not her only new purchase, she has also bought a brand new lifejacket for the occasion. It was a Crewsaver Spiral she had ordered it from the UK and had only taken it out of the box a few days earlier. This was her first time putting it on. “Please fit” Sam thought as she slid her right arm through the vest. The nylon vest slid smoothly over the neoprene wetsuit making a satisfying swishing sound that sent tingles down Sam’s neck. The wetsuit stretched to accommodate her movement as she reached behind her with her left arm, searching for the hole in the jacket. As her fingers cleared the opening and her left arm slid smoothly through; the jacket slid up onto her shoulders; the large hood pressing up against the wetsuits integrated hood. Sam crossed her arms in front of her and rolled her shoulders for a moment before bringing the two front pieces together and connecting the zipper. As she pulled the zipper up the jacket closed in snuggly around her--it was an absolutely perfect fit.

The single strap around the jacket was in its shortest position still. Sam had to let out a good bit of slack to get it connected. It made a loud satisfying snap as she clipped the buckle into place and tightened it as snugly as she could around herself.

Finally Sam reached behind her, feeling along the waistband of the jacket for the two leg straps hanging behind her. Passing these between her legs to her other hand. They had to be threaded through a pair of D-rings on each side of the zipper. It took her a moment to figure out the first one but she got the second right away. Sam took a moment to check and make sure she didn’t have any twists in the stamps before pulling on both straps; snuging them up tightly against the beaver tail of her wetsuits. The crotch straps could be felt easily though the wetsuit; more so than the rest of the jacket which was more sensed than felt as is slid over the wetsuit when she moved. Sams hands moved up to the tie at the top of the jacket. As she pulled it tight she was surprised how much of a difference it made to the snugness of her life jacket.

The firm collar was somewhat at odds with her hood. It was all bunched up against the back of neck. A bit annoyed Sam reached back to the back of her head, pulling out her pony tail and letting her hair hang loose. She then took hold of the hood and stretched it over her head; pulling and adjusting it around her neck.

Sam rolled her shoulders and twisted back and forth at the waist. It was amazing.

Sam looked out over the lake, it was 30km to the lake she planned to camp on. She should really get going…

Sam walked slowly past her Kayak, the water slowly rose up her legs past her calves and up to her knees. She wasn’t stopping now. A few more steps and the cold water rose up to mid thigh. The wetsuit was doing its job protecting her from the cold. She continued to trudge out but, frustratingly, the water didn’t seem to be getting any deeper than her mid thigh, slowly Sam stopped and began to crouch down into the water, turning to face the shore she lay down on her back letting the lifejacket take her weight and support her. Sam’s legs floated up thanks to the buoyancy of the wetsuit. It had been ages since Sam had had the opportunity to float around in a lifejacket. And she hadn't had the opportunity to do so in private sense she had snuck into the boathouse at her parents cottage. Sam lay her head back on the foam collar, the hood of the wetsuit keeping her head and neck warm. She closed her eyes and relished the sensation, wriggling about slowly in the jacket.

Sam just floated for a while, it was total bliss, however she knew she had to get moving, fighting against the floatation of the wetsuit she reached down with her legs for the ground returning to a vertical position. She immediately noticed that she had drifted a long ways off from shore, much further than she had planned. Where the ground had been before her legs skimmed through empty water, deep water. Sam stretched her leg down as far as she could reach; no the water was definitely deep out here, too deep to reach, she would have to swim back to shore. The lack of firm footing made the sensation of the lifejacket much more prevalent, Sam realized she had begun to squirm and wriggle again. Letting out a breath she tried to roll onto her stomach to start the swim back. The combined buoyancy of the lifejacket and wetsuit made this a challenge as she was constantly fighting to stay on her stomach and made little to no progress on swimming forward. This problem was furthered by the added bulk of the wetsuit and life jacket which made swinging her arms forward to swim much slower and more laborious than it would normally be. The Strap between her legs and the bulk of the jacket around her, the feeling and sound of the nylon sliding over the neoprene on each stroke, the huge buoyancy of everything she was wearing, the knowledge that the water stretched far below her; it was all starting to drive Sam a little nuts. The far shore was getting no closer and the wind was picking up in her face. She was far enough out that waves were beginning to form, to Sam’s great concern the far shore was definitely getting further away; she redoubbled her efforts, Kicking hard and throwing herself at the oncoming waves. Sam’s life jacket yanked her upwards as each arrived before letting her fall back down into the gullies between them, she was getting a lot of water in the face, tiring quickly and realising she was not making any progress Sam stopped fighting, her jacket quickly tipped her over onto her back her legs swinging under her and rising back up toward the surface again, pointed towards the shore. Sam kicked and spun around, the other side of the lake was only a short distance away, She had been blown clear across the lake. A tangle of trees and undergrowth came right to the waterline. Spinning again Sam could see her kayak on the far shore, ready and waiting with all of her equipment safely stored within. Her car was no longer visible, somewhere beyond the banks and trees that dotted the beach. Sam allowed the jacket to hold carry her and took her head in her hands trying to remain calm and figure out what to do. She couldn’t swim against the wind, that much was clear. It was furious now with large white caps rolling in bobbing sam up and down every few seconds. The lake was not wide, less than 500m across, but it was long. Swimming or bushwalking around the outside would take ages. Sam cursed under her breath, then again this time loudly. Turning to the shore behind her she moved toward it with sweeping arm movements. There was not an obvious place to come ashore. The shore dropped off steeply here and was treed right to the water. Despite being within arms reach of the shore Sam’s feet and legs could still find no purchase in the deep water. Working her way along the shore Sam was still being tossed about by the waves and was smacked into the rocks once of twice. Between the padding of the lifejacket and the full body wetsuit she had plenty of protection against such encounters. Finally Sam found a low wide mossy rock that looked climbable despite some single scraggly brush.

Bopping in the rough waves Sam managed to get a good handhold on the top of the rock, grabbing hold and pulling herself up against it. The waves continued to smash into her as she squirmed her way up onto the rock, scrambling for purchase. Just as she was getting to the top she was jerked back; the hood of her life jacket had caught on some branches, frustrated Sam jerked hard only to be thrown off balance and nearly slid back down off her rock.

Sam closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming her nerves and forcing herself to slow down. With some difficulty she twisted and maneuvered in the brush getting herself free of the brambles.

Breathing heavily Sam flopped down under a willow tree and closed her eyes. Her situation was not as bad as it might seem. Her boat was still tied up so there was no risk of losing it, she was just on the wrong side of the lake with a serious storm in the works. She had with her no food but did have her little survival kit, and she had three rest days on her five day trip. So the lost time was not a catastrophe, it just meant she would have to skip a rest day. Mostly she was just upset with herself for such an embarrassing mistake.

The wind and rain continued violently but the willow she had crawled under offered ample protection. After a few more moments rest Sam rolled got to her feet and began to scrounge about for materials. Sam unzipped her lifejacket and slipped out of it, the tight brambles of the forest would doubtlessly snag on it. As soon as the jacket fell from her shoulders she missed it’s comforting presence, it was also noticeably cooler without it on. She opted to leave the wetsuit hood up as a little extra protection from the cold and the rain. Sam hung the jacket on a branch before leaving the shelter of her tree.

The wetsuit feet protected her from twigs and rocks but offered little support so she moved slowly. She found some dry tinder on the sheltered side of a downed birch tree, and a good handful of dry twigs were handy back in her willow tree. Sam used her knife to collect a load of live pine branches to make a sleeping pad. After several trips back to her tree in ever worsening conditions Sam finally crawled back inside her shelter. The wind outside was really howling now. Huddled in the shelter of the willow Sam was somewhat protected from the rain and the wind but it was still cold and willow was no four season tent. She held her precious dry tinder in a small ball and scraped sparks into it from her ferro rod, it took a few tries but eventually a spark caught on the edge of some birch bark and flames quickly spread through the tinder bundle. Sam worked quickly, selecting the driest, or least wet, twigs and adding them one at a time, careful not to overload the tinny fire. After some five to ten minutes she had a modest fire with a small bed of coals going that she could use to dry out some of the wet wood laying around her. The crackling fire transformed the small wet hole into what felt like a safe and warm shelter from the storm. Exhausted sam collapsed next to her fire, wrapped in the space blanket she had pulled from her waist pouch. Sam looked up at the lifejacket hanging from the branch above her. She was not at risk of falling into the water and the fire and blanket would be plenty to keep her warm. But the jacket made her feel safe. A moment went by and sam tiredly shook off the blanket and sat up retrieving her lifejacket. She slipped her legs through the loops and pulled it up, sliding her arms through the holes. As she zipped the jacket up and clipped the strap snuggly into place she immediately felt better. Sam curled up back by the fire and quickly fell into an exhausted sleep.

Discovery

Sam's Adventures: Discovery
Chapter Two, Part One

Two months had passed since Sam had returned home from the trip to visit her extended family down south. She still couldn’t stop thinking about what it had been like to be strapped into the car seat. Helpless and vulnerable...but safe, snug and secure all at the same time. She had enjoyed it immensely and was dying to try it again; or something similar. Unfortunately there was nothing like it around. Sam consoled herself that before much longer she would have her own place and then she could buy a car seat and keep it hidden away but close at hand. Of course that meant getting her life figured out but that was another matter.

That weekend Sam went out to the cottage with her parents to enjoy a nice summer’s day. Her father asked her to grab a beer for him out of the boathouse. It was as she was entering it that she noticed for the first time something she had know was there all along. She had even worn it long ago, yet had somehow entirely forgotten about.

Against the wall opposite the door was covered in a huge assortment of lifejackets. She had know they were there, but had never connected them to the car seat. What made the connection was the appearance of several long straps hanging from the back of several jackets. Sam couldn’t be sure but she thought she knew what those were for. Her hands felt clammy and cold and her heart was beating fast, as it had been when she “tricked” her aunt and older cousin into strapping her into the car seat for a second time. She wanted badly to run over and get a closer look, to see if she was correct about the jackets but her father would wonder where she was and it would look strange for her to be examining the lifejackets in the boat room. Sam tore her eyes away from the jackets and grabbed a coors light from the fridge leaving the boathouse to deliver it to her father.

Sam was wearing a two piece swimsuit and a pair of short white cotton shorts. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she lay pretending to read while awaiting a chance to slip away unnoticed. She was dying to get back to the boathouse and verify her findings but it was an agonizing 45 minutes before she was able to slip away again.

Finally her mother went up to the cottage to start cooking dinner and her father was napping in the hammock. Sam slipped away, heart beating wildly and made her way down the steep dirt trail to the boathouse. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open. She was no longer rushing but was moving slowly, afraid that what she had seen was an illusion, or that she had been otherwise mistaken. She slipped into the boathouse; closing the door as softly as possible. Her eyes snapped back to the long straps hanging below several of the jackets. Too long for anything else she thought. She hadn’t been wrong. Her heart leapt, but she forced herself to remain calm until she knew for sure. She crept around the side of the boats to the far wall, moving fast now, and knelt, pulling a jacket from the wall. The strap hanging from it was long and ended in a fastex buckle. She examined the front of the jacket and found the receiving end, pointing down, but the jacket was small, meant for a child. Tinny actually it was infant sized at best. She dropped it and slid down to examine the next. It was also tinny. The next seemed to be adult sized but had no long strap. She was suddenly worried that only the child and infant size vests would have the strap, that would make sense she thought, she had seen life jackets with straps between the legs before but never on a grown up. But she had come this far, she had to make sure. She went through several more; then, finally the next was big and had a strap, longer even than the others. It was really big. Big enough for her. It had a collar with a grab loop at the top and a heavy zipper in the middle. The vest was yellow on the outside and blue on the inside. A single strap around the middle, and the buckle hanging in the front with the long strap hanging in the back. The label inside read “Mustang Lill’ Legends. Size Teen 90-180 lbs”

Sam had been planning recon ONLY. She just wanted to know if it was what she thought, but now that she was here, she knew she had to try it on. But not here she told herself. If someone walked in she would die of embarrassment. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she knew she had not seen many other girls her age wearing life jackets like this. Like a thief she pulled the jacket from its peg. She had to remove and replace two others to do this as they shared the peg; almost dropping them in the process. Now she was really shaking, she had never been so nervous yet so excited before. With the jacket in hand, Sam slipped into a small side room used as a storage closet for things they never used and closed the door shut.

The storage room had an extremely low roof causing her to move bent over slightly at the waist and had to duck her head. It was crammed with stuff and there was barely enough room to fully turn around. There was a small skylight to provide light. Taking a breath she wasted no more time and slid her left arm through the hole in the jacket. Her bathing suit left her shoulders bare save a thin strap and her back was similarly exposed. The feeling of the nylon jacket against her bare skin excited her more. She quickly slid her right arm though the other hole; causing the jacket to make contact with her back and shoulders and wrap around her sides. With a feeling of trepidation and excitement Sam closed the two halves and sealed them together by pulling up the heavy zipper. The sound of the zipper reinforced the feeling of being sealing into the jacket. Sam pulled the buckle closed at her chest and the loud “snap” almost made her jump. She looked around listening to hear if anyone was coming. She tightened the waist strap until it was nice and snug, better securing the jacket to her skin. Finally, she bent over and reached between her legs to grab the dangling strap. Suddenly there was a loud “BANG!" Sam froze--the strap in her right hand, she was breathing heavily. She was going to be caught. She didn’t know what to do. Run or hide. "BANG!" She dropped the strap and almost fell over squatting behind an old pile of tires to hide "BANG!" "BANG!" She suddenly realized what was making that sound. It was the boat. It was hitting the dock. Another boat must have gone by and their wake was rocking the boat banging it into the side of the dock. Sam smiled, relieved she wasn't caught and let out a small nervous laugh while crouched in the corner, still wearing the vest, but not fully secured, with the long strap dragging behind her like a tail.

Sam reached behind her feeling along the back of the jacket until she found the beginning of the strap. Her hands moving down and along the bottom of it until she found the other end of the strap. She slid the strap between her legs and took it with her other hand, it SNAPPED into place loudly. Sam lowered herself so she was fully sitting on the wooden floor. She pulled the loose end of the strap and it tightened it against her. Slowly she lowered herself and stretched out so she was lying on the floor on her back. The strap was very tight now and she bent her legs slightly so it was not too uncomfortable. She lay there for several moments unsure what to do. The jacket was tight and her head rested on the hood like a pillow. She let her legs stretch out a bit more and then bent them back when it was uncomfortable. The jacket was a new sensation from the car seat, it didn’t restrict her motion. It was simply there tight and present and protective but not holding her in place. She wasn’t sure which she liked more. All she knew was that she liked it.

Sam rolled over onto her stomach. The front had more padding and held her up off the floor. Her legs were out straight now and she couldn’t bend them but she didn’t mind too much, she lay that was for some time more, squirming a bit.

Finally she decided to try something else. She couldn't remember the last time she was in the water with a life jacket on. She wanted to try it in the water and see what that would be like. She rolled back onto her back. Shifting a bit to accomplish this in the tight confines of the closet she raised herself into a sitting and then crouching position. She slid forward to the door. She knew the smart thing would be to take off the jacket, hide it in a corner, and exit the room as though she had been looking for something incase someone was in the boat house, but frankly she didn’t want to take it off. She held her ear to the door. The oversized collar of the jacket pressing against it in the process. After hearing nothing, she poked her head out, the collar still raised comically behind her head.


When she saw no one she slipped out of the closet and moved to sit on the edge of the dock. She thought she would lower herself into the water and then slip under the dock where she would be hidden if someone came in. Sam dipped her toe into the water. Despite it being summer it was quite cold. She didn’t want to risk a splash. The sense of thrill and excitement was building again. She slid her butt forward off the dock and began to lower herself down. Her arms braced against the dock to support her weight. Her legs hanging straight down. The water was cold and gave her goosebumps as it slowly climbed up her legs and then her thighs. She had to push her hips forward a bit to get the jacket clear of the dock and then her arms were at their limit. She had to turn around to lower herself the rest of the way. She didn’t know why she had tried to lower herself down facing forward in the first place. She raised herself back up and started to turn but suddenly slipped and fell back. Her head banging against the boat with a loud thud. Thankfully, the collar provided some padding and softened the blow. Then she hit the water and went under.

The blow disoriented her and she was starting to panic when she felt the jacket wrapped around her begin to pull and draw her in a direction, upwards. She broke the surface and gasped for air. The jacket held her securely and safely, wrapped tightly around her. The flotation collar popped up behind her and supported her head. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Letting her limbs go limp and enjoying the feeling of floating on her back. The feeling was fantastic, she was happy she chose this life jacket with the extra dangling strap and the large collar, otherwise she might have really been in trouble. In the water the lifejacket was a whole new thing. Normally it is quite easy to sink in water, but the jacket held her firmly at the surface. More than that it constantly tried to roll her onto her back at a slight angle. Sam rolled around and kicked with her legs, as through trying to find something to stand on. Her legs could find no purchase in the deep water but the jacket strapped around her held her securely, keeping her head above water. Sam’s arms were crossed in front of her gripping the thick foam on the front of the jacket. She squirmed in the water as those trying to wriggle free of the Life Jacket, comfortable in the knowledge that it was bucked onto her torso securely and wouldn't come free as she rolled and kicked about.

Suddenly Sam hear the door to the boat house creak open. Without thinking Sam tried to duck underwater only to have the jacket resist her attempts. The boat was between her and the door, Sam maneuvered herself up next to it, hugging the hull and trying not to breath. Maneuvering herself toward the front of the boat near the door out to the lake.

“Sam you in here?” That was her father as the light clicked on. Sam used the hull of the boat to push herself under the surface and kicked off the boat underwater. The lifejacket yanked her body back to the surface as soon as she let go of the hull but she had just enough speed to clear the door. Sam broke the surface just outside the Boat house. Now she had to swim around to the beach to get out of the water as the ground here rose at a steep angle to a small cliff.

Sam’s heart was beating after her near discovery but it wasn’t enough to make her forget the jacket. She rolled onto her back and began to kick, swimming slowly around to the beach. Twisting and squirming in her jacket as she went.

A few moments later Sam approached the small beach, her mom was standing right there, presumably also looking for her. Sam floated for a moment, hidden around the corner, unsure of what to do. She considered removing the jacket but then what? She couldn't let it float away, and it would be even stranger to swim up dragging a lifejacket in hand. After a moment's thought Sam kicked off the shore and swam a little ways out before turning to round the bend. Her mother spotted her immediately, sam acknowledging her wave from the water. Sam’s heart was in her throat as she went over her explanation in her head. “What’s with the lifejacket honey?” “Ahh.. I didn't want to drown...” the words sounded feeble in her mind.

Her mom walked down to the beach to greet her.

“Did you not hear us calling? Dinner is ready, where have you been?”

Sam wanted very badly to stay in the water as she slowly got to her feet in the shallow water. The lifejacket pouring water out. “Ah I went over the Ava’s, I decided just to swim over” After an awkward pause “I was kinda tired and had a couple drinks so I decided to wear a lifejacket” Sam suddenly wished very much that she had at least undone the strap between her legs before exiting the water; fortunately her mother gave no sign of suspicion.

Her mom looked more annoyed than suspicious much to Sam’s relief.

“Ok well will you let me or your father know next time? We have been looking everywhere for you”

“Ya of course, sorry I didn't think” Her mom gave her a bit of a look at that before leading her up to the house. Sam unclipped the jacket as she walked, making a detour by the boat house, her legs sharking a bit still. Knowing it would not be the last time she tried it on, but next time she would be a bit more careful.