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.

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.

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.

Staying Afloat

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

Swimming back to the ladder Paige had really found herself coming to trust and accept the Life Jacket. In the water its, almost swaddling, embrace had quickly gone from uncomfortable and awkward to safe and comforting. Standing on the dock now, dripping water, she was surprisingly hesitant to remove it, it was warm, and despite no longer supporting her in the water the comfort of having it on had not dissipated.

'Pull yourself together' Page thought somewhat embarrassed at how much she had enjoyed wearing it.

Tim was talking to the camera, holding the next jacket, Paige's eyes drifted down to it and widened slightly. This one was Orange, and it was much bulkier.

"this is the Navigare Comfort, it's a bit more expensive but is a remarkably comfortable jacket for its size. Like the Little Legends it has lots of flotation in the front, a collar to support the head, and a pair of crotch straps to keep it from riding up. However this is available in larger sizes for Youths through Adults"

As Tim started to walk toward her Paige suddenly realised she was still wearing the Little Legends and quickly started to remove it. Unclipping the waist and crotch straps, unzipping it and dropping it off her shoulders as she has the PFD. She immediately missed it, standing on the dock without a jacket on made her feel exposed. But Tim was already approaching with the new Navigare Comfort. This time Paige was quick to turn her back to Tim, putting her arms out and back so he could easily slip it over her.

"Hold on a minute Paige, I need you to step into these straps first."

"Huh" Paige turned slightly looking over her shoulder to see Tim was holding the jacket low with the two crotch straps already done up, hanging like loops from the jacket. Lifting her right foot Paige carefully stepped into the first one, then repeated the process with her left foot stepping into the other loop. She left her arms at her sides and allowed Tim to guide the jacket's arm holes over them. A moment later Paige felt the jacket come to rest over her shoulders. She could immediately feel the extra bulk of this life jacket. She turned to face Tim so he could strap her in.

Like the Little Legends the Navigare Comfort had a zipper and single chest clip. Tim first pulled the zipper up. Sealing Paige into the bulky foam cocoon. As he clipped the chest belt and pulled it tight. She felt the whole life jacket tighten around her, the foam squishing in tight to conform to her body. The jacket was like laying on top of a duvet, but all around her, and with more pressure. Tim took a moment to tie the string at the top of the jacket, holding the top panels together just a bit more firmly before kneeling down to secure the crotch straps. He took the loose end of a strap in each hand and pulled them tight at the same time, snuggling them down securely. Like with the Little Legends the straps between her legs made the jacket feel much more secure, it was impossible to slide out of the jacket with those straps done up. Paige twisted in the jacket comfortably as Tim rambled on about a sale on Life Jackets. She was pretty sure he had just made that sale up.

"Ok water test?"

"Yup" Kyle was rushing over with his tripod. It took him just a moment to get it set up again.

Kyle gave them a thumbs up and Tim gave Paige a real shove this time, sending her off and into the water.

Paige hit the water head first and upside down. She got a mouthful of water and some up her nose. She kicked around somewhat aimlessly for a moment before relaxing and letting the jacket work. It had her on the surface the same moment, supporting her on her back at a 45 degree angle with her arms and legs hanging down below her. The extra bulk and dual crotch straps made this lifejacket far more envolping than the Little Legends. Paige felt like she was truly wrapped up in it, the foam was very soft and conformed to her body shape. The two straps between her legs dispelled thoughts of sliding out, keeping her firmly sung inside the jacket. The significant bulk of the jacket made movement harder encouraging her to just relax and let the jacket hold her in the water. Paige twisted and squirmed slowly, enjoying the lifejacket immensely. She reached down with her leg to feel for the ground under her but the water of the marina was of course far too deep to touch the bottom. Feeling nothing below her made the sensation of being held and protected by the jacket even more visceral. The jacket kept her from sinking down into the deep water beneath her, and the straps between her legs kept her from sliding out of the jacket.

"Paige? We're good. You can climb back up now."

'Shit, how many times did he just call me?' Paige had been so distracted she had no idea. But Tim was grinning at her lightheartedly.

Loathing to take off the jacket Paige took her time swimming back over the ladder. She let her arms hang limp and frog kicked her legs to slowly push herself back.

Standing on the dock again it was with great reluctance that Paige removed the Navigare Comfort. She was again struck by a naked and exposed feeling without it. Her immediate attention tho was wondering what Tim had for her next.

"Now the Little Legends and the Navigare Comfort are just two of the life jackets we have available here and both are really great for keeping you safe. But a lot of folks want something less cumbersome to wear. That's where this comes in."

Tim held up a suspender style inflatable vest. It consisted of a thick black fabric tube, which rested around the neck and hung down over the torso, it had a strap that went around the waist, and one that went from the waist strap up to the back of the neck. Paige couldn't help being a little disappointed. It looked far less bulky even Little Legends, let alone the Navigare Comfort.

Tim approached her and held one side of the vest open. Paige passed her right arm though the large gap and looked over her left shoulder to get her other arm though. Tim let it hang loosely on her for a moment.

"These jackets are so low impact that many people say they forget they even have them on. But if you end up in the water they will automatically inflate and keep you safe."

Tim connected the front of her vest together, the connection was rather different than a standard buckle, it was two metal tongues, a small one that passed through a larger. He then pulled an adjustment strap on each side of the best around her waist; tightening the waist belt up so it was very snug.

'This one might actually be ok' Paige thought, though she secretly lamented that the between the legs strap was missing.

"One of the really nice features of this model, the Spinlock Deckvest 5D, is it's designed to keep off the back of your neck". Tim turned Paige around by the shoulders and pulled an adjustment on the back of the vest. She felt the part of the jacket behind her neck pull away to curve over her shoulders. It was actually very comfortable. She went to turn around to face the camera again but Tim stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Like the other premium life jackets we offer here the Deckvest 5D also comes equipped with crotch straps"

'Wha?' Paige looked down at the jacket, she couldn't see a buckle, was it a different model?

Paige felt a slight tug at the back of the jacket and suddenly Tim was reaching though her legs, Paige tried to spread her thighs to create some space. Tim spun her around by the shoulder again but it was a little awkward as he still had the loose end of the crotch straps in hand and had to move with her a little as she turned around.

"The crotch straps clip in just beneath the vest here"

Paige couldn't see the buckles but they were definitely there. As he had before Tim pulled the slack through the buckles and tightened the straps up until they were good and snug. Paige shifted a little. This was very different than the other jackets. It was tight, she could feel the straps around her and that was something even without the bulk the foam life jackets had offered. But it didn't restrict her movement at all. There was no bulk to it. She wondered what it would feel like when inflated but had a hard time imagining it would match the cozy feeling of the others.

Kyle was getting the camera set up by the edge of the dock again. He made an indication that he was all ready to go.

"Ok jump on in Paige"

Genuinely curious about what would happen Paige stepped off the dock into empty space. As she hit the water and plunged beneath the surface she wondered for a brief moment if the inflatable mechanism had failed. She was sinking and the thin device strapped around her was doing nothing to stop her descent. Then all of a sudden it did. One moment she was free and loose, with only the straps and thin fabric tube wrapped tightly around her. The next there was a great disturbance of water and bubbles that shocked and disoriented her. Years ago Paige had been in a major car crash, everyone was fine but she had been stuck wearing a neck brace for several weeks, With the jacket inflated she felt like she was back in that brace. The inflated jacket was far tighter and more restrictive than the foam jackets had been. She couldn't move her neck. The straps seemed to have tightened around her. The large sack of air pulled her aggressively upward toward the surface. She felt like it was dragging her along with it. It was tightly secured around her neck but the straps tight around her waist and between her legs made it feel like it had an excellent hold on her torso in general.

Paige broke the surface and found herself on her back looking up at the sky. Looking around to get her bearings was difficult as the tightly inflated jacket did not allow her to move her head. She had to rotate her whole body to look around. A task made more difficult by the act of dragging the large inflated jacket through the water. After locating the dock Paige gave up for a moment, flopping back into the jacket and just letting it hold her in water, gazing up at the sky.

Laying back in the water with the jacket holding her neck in a vice and the straps tight around her torso and between her legs Paige was practically in a daze. She instinctively wanted to pull away from the straps that ran between her legs. Of course the jacket was secured around her so her unconscious attempts to move away resulted only in a slow, twisting, backward motion.

"Ok there Paige, we're all done". The words brought a serious surge of disappointment to Paige. Fighting the jacket to get into a more vertical position where she could see Tim and Kyle on the dock. Kyle was folding up his tripod and Tim was collecting all the jackets off the ground. Rotating herself in the water Paige turned to look at the shop where they were headed, it was about 300m away down the shore but also sat right on the water. Paige really didn't want to be finished with the jacket.

"It's really nice in here"Tim didn't seem to be listening. "Hey Tim!"

He turned and looked.

"What?"

She was committed now.

"ahh- "

Tim walked over to the water's edge, Paige fought the jacket to face him more directly.

"The water is really nice. I'm going to swim over. If that's ok. And meet you over there."

Tim just shrugged "Sure, want me to take the jacket though?"

"No-" Paige was unprepared for the question. She wasn't sure how to follow it up. "It's ok. It's comfy. I'll just swim over."

Tim grinned and chuckled. "Ok Paige sure thing, see you over there" Paige was pink with embarrassment, but did not have an ounce of regret. The Shop was not only a good swim away but it was free of the wave break, there was a good brease today and waves were breaking on the shore.

Tim had turned and followed Kyle down the boardwalk.

Paige immediately discovered that swimming in the bulky inflated vest was easier said than done. She attempted to rollover swim on her stomach twice, with the jacket getting in the way and eventually flipping her back over each time. Even while on her stomach the jacket restricted her movement too much, she couldn't reach forward for an effective stroke. Giving up Paige let the jacket flip her over onto her back for the third time. She began to do a flutter kick but quickly switched to a frog kick. Her arms would have helped a bit but she opted to hold onto the front of her jacket instead. Something about the added bulk over her chest made her want to hang onto the jacket. Despite her squirming and twisting about, the straps around her torso and between her legs had not loosened at all.

The experience of this lifejacket was very different from the others. Where the little legends and the Navigare Comfort had felt like they were wrapped all around her torso the Inflatable was different. Around her neck it was like a brace, but her toso was just held to it by the straps wrapped around her. they were very tight and held her securely but somehow left her limbs feeling loose and exposed. The contrast was a very weird sensation and she found herself enjoying it immensely.

As Paige slowly made her way out past the break water the waves began to toss her about. As each wave reached her the jacket pulled her up sharply, only to let her drop back down into the trenches between them. Paige found herself twisting and squirming against the straps wrapped around her body. Around her neck the jacket was too tight to feel like squirming was possible but she somehow couldn't reset wriggling around a bit, trying.

In order to check her progress Paige had to stop swimming and twist her body around to face her direction of travel, a process she found herself doing more than often she necessarily needed to. Rather than actively maneuvering back onto her back after checking her position she just went limp, allowing the jacket and the waves to pull her about for a moment before somewhat halfheartedly continuing on her way.

The waves made an even bigger impact on the experience than she had thought they would. Each time a wave pulled her up and dropped her down Paige couldn't resist the urge to squirm. Several times a wave would be a bit larger or come a bit sooner than expected, taking her off guard and sending her into a limp daze.

As Paige approached the shop she managed to pull herself together, though with Tim and Kyle both inside she was more than tempted to remain in the water a little longer. Despite this she managed to get to her feet on the shore, it was still a short walk up to the shop. Page unclipped the crotch straps and started fumbling with the waist belt, but the jacket was surprisingly hard to remove, she wasn't one hundred percent sure how the waist belt went on in the first place and she couldn't see anything that she was doing with the vest in the way. Deciding she was actually going to need help with it Paige hesitated a moment on the shore before deciding that she might as well do the straps between her legs back up, glancing at the shop windows she saw no sign of Tim of Kyle. It was easy to get a hold of the straps hanging behind her, and she managed an awkward hand off to pass the straps between her legs relatively quickly. However finding the buckles to connect the straps to was another matter. She eventually managed it, holding the loose ends in one hand and running her other hand along the base of the jacket to find the buckles. With the straps both snapped into place Paige gave one last look out at the water and the waves before trudging up the shore to the shop. The sun was warm still and the ground was soft with grass and sand. The three jackets she had worn early were laying on the boardwalk drying in the sun beside the door.

As Paige entered the shop she saw Tim and Kyle were hanging out just inside goofing around. Tim looked over as she entered and raised an eyebrow.

"Nice getup" He laughed.

"Thanks, can you give me a hand please?"

Tim laughed as he walked over. Grabbing a red tube on the side of the jacket he opened a valve and released the air from the jacket. As the jacket finally deflated and fell away from her Paige's eye's moved over to the shelves of the store. She had never given them more than a glance before but now she found herself staring at the wall of Lifejackets and PFD's. There had to be a dozen different models. There were several orange ones similar to the Helly Hansen Navigare, at least three different inflatable models, a bunch of childrens and teen versions. She wondered how she had never noticed them before. With the jacket fully deflated Tim went ahead and unclipped the crotch straps and waist belt, holding the jacket and Paige slipped out of it.

"Well how did you like all the jackets?"

Paige was caught off guard again, not wanting to seem overly enthusiastic, but also recognising that she had just asked to swim over wearing an inflatable for no apparent reason. She saw no reason to outright lie.

"I like them actually. They are really comfy, -- kinda cozy"

Tim just smiled, "well maybe we'll have to do some more reviews for the channel if this video does well."

"What made you choose those four?" Paige wasn't sure why she wanted to keep this conversation going but something made her dig a bit more.

Tim seemed to gain a bit of enthusiasm. "These are some of the most popular models in europe, especially the Helly Hansen, no idea why they are taking so long to catch on here. The inflatables do well but they are a pain to test and rearm every year if you ask me."

"Do you have a favorite?" She felt like she was way out on a limb but also like there was something to reach for.

"Depends what you're looking for! Safety? Comfort? Good looks? For comfort the inflatables are pretty hard to beat, though foam jackets with kapok instead of closed cell foam are also pretty darn nice. For safety for someone your size the best is probably this guy over here." Tim was walking over to the wall of jackets. To a bright yellow one that looked too small to
Paige for someone 'her size'.
"This, is the Crewsaver Supersafe"

Volunteered

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

Paige was having lunch in the student council room, a ham sandwich and some potato chips, when ms. Williams came through the door.

"Hey Paige! I have a friend over at Nova who is looking for someone to volunteer for a couple weeks."

Paige was in her 13th year of highschool. She had held back on her volunteer hours the year before, to postpone her graduation a year while figuring out what she wanted to with her life.

"Ow great," Paige thanked the teacher, taking the yellow sticky note with the contact information on it. She immediately copied the information down into her notebook.

***

It was only a few days later that page started at Nova, the local Yacht & Sailing Club, to start her new position. She was mostly in charge of cleaning up the office and running the small rental stand. They rented out small boats as well as the basics; boating safety kits, maps of the area, rain gear, lifejackets, etc. There was also a shop where similar boating necessities were sold, a chip stand and a gas station for people to fill up at. Paige's supervisor was Carol she was a little rough around the edges but overall very kind. She mostly worked out of her own office adjacent to the store.

Another volunteer working at the Club was Kyle: Kyle was a media art's student at a different school also in his 13th year. He was building out a Youtube channel for the Club with various equipment reviews and local news.

There was also Tim: Tim was the lifeguard but also worked in the office and store. He was sort of jack of all trades free spirit; no one really knew what exactly he did. An easy going and goofy guy, honestly more likely to be pranking one of the other staff members than actually working on anything. Overall Paige liked him, though she did find his lack of organization annoying.

It was Tim that volunteered Paige to help out with the latest video. Paige had just walked into the office; Kyle was working away on his laptop, and Tim was leaning back in a chair with his feet up on the desk.

"Hey Paige could do it!" Tim was tossing a ball up and catching it repeatedly. Evidently walking into the room at that moment had reminded Tim that Paige was around; and was therefore a human that could be conscripted for whatever this latest project was.
Paige stopped and turned her head to him suspiciously.

"Do what?" She wasn't about to get roped into one of the pranks she had heard about.

Kyle filled her in "We don't have anything to post this weekend so we are talking about shooting something quick this afternoon, something I could just edit together in an evening. We looked around at similar channels for some ideas, figured we could do a sort of community safety thing like this" Kyle spun his laptop around to show a video of a few people standing by a pool wearing different lifejackets and PFDs "It's just a basic informational thing about PFD's vs Life Jackets"

"What do you want me to do?" Paige wasn't particularly interested in being on camera or getting wet without a change of clothes.

"Need a star!" Tim missed his ball and nearly tipped the chair over trying to catch it.

"I don't have a change of clothes, don't really want to get all wet"

Tim was distracted recovering from his near fall. "You're perfect, the people will love you."

"My clothes will get all wet..."

"Ow that's fine, Grab a swimsuit from the racks"

***

An hour later Paige was standing on the dock wearing a borrowed, black, one piece bathing suit; and scolding herself mentally for not being harder to push around. Kyle was setting up his DSLR on a tripod and Tim was walking over with an armload of lifejackets; some from the rental shop and one of two from the store. Kyle had clipped a little microphone to his T shirt.

The first life jacket Tim pulled out was blue, it had three straps around the middle that were black. "Ok PFD first" Tim dropped the others a short distance away.

"sounds good" Kyle finished messing with the camera

"Ok Paige, ready to go?"

It was too late to bail now so Paige just gave him a nod.

Kyle pushed a button on the top of the camera "Ok rolling go for it"

Tim opened with some cringe worthy quality content.
"Hey everybody! Tim from Nova Sailing and Yacht Club here with Paige to teach you all about the different PDFs and Life Jackets available on the market and in our shop down Marian road!. There's a lot to choose from these days so we are going to show you four different ones that we have available, and explain why you might use each one" Tim held up the jacket he had been holding and showed it to the camera.

"This is a PDF, these are very affordable and easily accessible but offer less safety than a Life Jacket, they are generally only suitable for slow boating close to shore"

Tim held the jacket open. Paige had not been given a script, so it took her a second to realize he was waiting for her. Paige turned around quickly and slid her arms though the holes. Tim dropped the jacket over her shoulders and there was an awkward moment where she just stood there; unsure of whether she was supposed to do it up or leave it open. Honestly, she was just trying not to stare at the camera. A moment later Tim took the initiative and leaned over, doing up the three buckles and giving each one a good pull to get it snug.

"With any PFD or Lifejacket it's important to make sure it fits, however unlike a lifejacket a PFD will often ride up on the wearer and will not turn someone who is unconscious over onto their back."

Tim took hold of the shoulders of the jacket Paige was wearing and lifted, pulling the jacket up nearly to her ears.

"A PFD that is fit very well shouldn't ride up too badly, but if it rides up over the wearers nose then it won’t keep your head out of the water. Ok Paige" Tim gestured to the water.

"Hold on let me move the camera" Kyle picked up his tripod and rushed over quickly repositioning by the edge of the dock. "Ok go for it"

"Don't swim right away just kinda fall in and see if it will turn you over, then stay there a minute or two so Kyle can get some shots"

"Ok" Page nodded. The water looked cold.

Paige jumped off the dock, doing a sloppy belly flop into the water. She immediately started to tread water instinctively, but stopped herself. Letting the PFD take her weight -- which it didn't really do. She slid down in it as it rode up, getting water in her face, and she didn't feel especially safe in it. Paige held her breath for a couple minutes but kept feeling like she was going to slide out. After only a moment or two she quickly ended up rolling onto her back and treading water, shaking the water out of her face. The jacket was still pushed up around her head obstructing her visibility and annoying her efforts at swimming.

"Ok that's good come on up"

Paige swam over to the ladder and climbed out of the water dripping wet. It was cold but not too bad and the sun was warm. She stripped the PFD off immediately, letting it fall to the dock behind her.

Apparently the next shot was already going...
"Ok so as we just saw that PDF didn’t do the best job of keeping Paige safe. Lucky for us Paige is a great swimmer, but if she had been knocked unconscious, or out alone far from shore she could have been in deep water!"

Paige cringed involuntarily. She hoped it wasn't obvious on camera.

Tim was holding the next jacket. It was yellow with a red stripe down one side and had a large collar.

"Now this is Lifejacket, it has a few extra features that the PFD doesn't. No two Life Jackets are exactly the same but ultimately all should keep you safe without any effort on your part. Even if you are unconscious"

"This particular Life Jacket is the Mustang Little Legends and it is especially great for kids and teenagers. It comes in sizes right from Infant to Teen, it's a great option that is available in all sizes at our store."

Tim turned from the camera and walked over to Paige holding the Life Jacket open. Getting a better look at it now Paige could see it was blue inside, the collar had a grab loop at the top, and it had zipper in addition to a single yellow strap around the waist. There was also a long yellow strap hanging from the back and a matching buckle pointed downwards from the front of the jacket. It was obvious that the long strap went between the wearers legs and clipped in at the front. She had seen straps like that before on kids jackets, Tim wasn't going to do that up on her tho, was he?

As Tim walked up behind her, Paige decided to just take the jacket and put on herself this time. It was awkward enough having Tim put the PDF on her. Tim handed it over without a moment's hesitation--but then Kyle spoke up.
"Ow last time you put the jacket on her, I think we should keep it consistent

"'Fucking Kyle' Paige thought.

Tim pulled the bright yellow jacket back from Paige's hands. "Sure works for me, should I restart?"

"Just take a few steps back and walk over again, I can cut it up"

Tim took three big steps back and looked at Kyle who gave him a thumbs up.

Paige was really trying not to stare at the camera now. Tim walked over and held the jacket open. Paige turned so her back was to it and looked over her shoulder sliding her arms though the holes. Tim pulled it over her shoulders and repositioned them both so they were facing the camera side by side.

"the first major difference with a Life Jacket is that it has nice big flotation panels in the front; those are too make sure it turns you over onto your back."

Tim closed the two halves of the jacket together and zipped them up. The jacket was much bulkier than the PFD. Paige couldn't imagine why someone would wear one of these instead of the much smaller PFD, other than being made to by your parents when you're a kid.

Tim buckled the strap in the front. "Most lifejackets will have at least one strap as zippers can fail in high speed crashes. Another important feature that all life jackets should have is a flotation collar."

Tim lifted the collar up from behind around Paige's head making the jacket feel even more obtrusive.

"this will support your head in the water if you are unconscious, it also sports a grab loop for pulling a child, or teen, out of the water."

'18 was technically not a teen...' Paige bit her tongue and resisted the urge to correct him.

"Another feature of this Life Jacket not found on all models is the crotch strap"

'Wait Seriously?' -- Paige only had a moment to wonder if that had been for real. Tim was bending down behind her, she sensed somehow the moment he grabbed the strap hanging from the back of the life jacket she was strapped into.

As Tim passed the long yellow strap though Paige's legs to his right hand she squatted slightly spreading her thighs apart. Tim then moved around her. As he pulled the strap up clipping it into the buckle at the front of the Jacket Paige found herself awkwardly wondering what to do with her arms, she somewhat instinctively grabbed hold of the heavy flotation panels around her neck.

"Life Jacket Models with crotch straps can be harder to find but we have several down at our shop. They are great as they completely solve the problem of the jacket from riding up on the wearer! But it's still important to make sure the Life Jacket is properly fitted and secure. Tim went on to give the strap around her waist a good pull, taking several inches of slack out of the strap and making the jacket squeeze in around her. Paige found herself wanting to fidget and squirm but resisted and stood still. Then he took hold of the end of the crotch strap and did the same thing. The strap had been hanging loose under her; but Tim pulled the slack though until it came up snug. This time Paige didn't manage to stand still and reacted to the snug strap by squirming just ever so slightly and bending at the waist. Unfortunately, the act of leaning forward slightly made the strap looser and resulted in Tim taking an extra inch of two of slack. Paige felt that as she straightened back up. Tim hardly noticed tho as he was talking to the camera again, Paige was not listening. The jacket around her was bulky and tight and obtrusive. She rolled her shoulders and twisted left and right while holding the thick foam panels in the front, trying to shift it, loosen it a little, or get more comfortable in it. She resisted the urge to reach for and adjust the crotch strap on camera.

"Ok Paige go for it"

She had been so distracted she hadn't noticed Kyle move the camera over to get her in the water. Suddenly she found herself anxious about this. The jacket was so unfamiliar, she wasn't sure what being in the water would be like. At the same time, she was secretly excited to feel how it would compare.

"Go for it girl" Tim gave her a gentle push, not enough to actually push her off, but it was enough to make her jump given the circumstances.

Paige was distracted when she hit the water and as a result was disoriented. Again she had to resist the urge to swim and tread water, doing a better job of it this time, making herself hang limp despite wanting to orient herself. She immediately felt the jacket pulling on her and twisting her in the water. Her face broke the surface a moment later, resting back on the head rest.

'collar not headrest' Paige thought

The jacket... was strange. On one hand she wanted to get out of it and swim, she didn't like relying on it to support her, it was like being out of control. On the other hand tho it was strangely alluring, like being swaddled, it was wrapped around her so tightly the headrest was supporting her head, the strap between her legs kept her securely inside it. It was stark contrast to the feeling of the PFD where she felt like she was sliding out of it. This was comfortable, she could trust it to keep her safe. It felt like it was pushing her up, not just stopping her from sinking. It felt strangely warm too, although she was in the water she felt a distinct sensation, maybe feeling safe also felt warm she wondered.

"Ok that's great"

Paige opened her eyes, when had she closed them? When she hit the water? Or was it as she 'sank' into the lifejacket? She realised she had been squirming a little in the water and quickly tried to come to her senses, blinking and rolling onto her stomach to swim to the ladder. The jacket fought her as she rolled over trying to force her onto her back. It was easy to overpower but tempting to let it take her again. Paige began to swim toward the ladder with a breaststroke; without going underwater as the jacket held her to the surface. It was a little harder to swim in that the PFD due to the added bulk, and the strap between her legs was distracting her on each stroke. She hesitated at the ladder only a moment, she desperately wanted to adjust the strap between her legs, to loosen it or move it before climbing out but was conscious of the camera and how that would look for all the world to see as she would need more than a quick second to adjust it.

Again Tim was at it already as she made it up the ladder.
"Ok now this next Life Jacket is a similar model...