Polly-Ann+FOxworthy(2)

Kayla Molesko Language Arts Period 5-6 Miss Bond and Miss Fallone 30 March 2012 Polly-Ann Foxworthy: The Underwater Boat Racer Now I am going to tell you about a very famous girl. Her name is Polly-Ann Foxworthy, but out in Georgia, they just called her Polly. All those folks out there admired Polly, for her strength and ability to ride boats. She was “larger than life”, as they say. Polly always had no trouble being the champion, until… Well, before I tell you that, I’m going to start at the beginning. It all started in Tybee Island, Georgia. Long, long ago, it was a dark night in Georgia. It was the yearly coming of the late August storm, and it blew the sea into a fit. Crack! The lighting jabbed the old palm tree next to the surf shack. No sailor dared to go out in this weather. So it was peculiar when Mrs. Foxworthy spotted a little boat in the midst of the black, foggy, sea. However, Mrs. Foxworthy was old, and did not think much of it. The next morning, the sun had managed to break its shelter in the clouds. Looking out her window, Mrs. Foxworthy saw the boat on shore. It was tattered and broken, but she was sure she saw something in it. And it was, when she went outside, a small child. A baby. She was as fair as fresh snow. It was miraculous that she was even alive, and even more miraculous that she was just fine. So Mrs. Foxworthy took her inside her house, fed her, and treated her as her own. She hid her from the rest of the town until the little girl was one year old. Then, when people asked, she said that the girl, whom she had named Polly-Ann Foxworthy, was her own.  Polly was a fish- she grew up in the water. She taught herself how to swim, and by two years old she was able to swim in the ocean by herself. Swim, surf, boat, anything that got her in the water, she could do it. When Polly turned 10, Mrs. Foxworthy entered her into the town’s annual boating competition. She tried her best and won first place. Her prize was a boat paddle of her own. She loved it like it was her own child. Polly practiced, and practiced, and practiced. She was married to the water, never left it. “When will you take a rest?” Mrs. Foxworthy sighed, but knew it was hopeless. “A special child,” Mr. Foxworthy used to say, before he passed away when Polly was only four years old. Finally, the next year’s boating competition came around. Polly was not only ready, but excited, too. She arrived brave, and, more importantly, left a winner. As a matter of fact, she not only won that one, but she was announced winner at every competition after that, too. Her bad year was the year she turned 15. She was getting ready to get in the water with her paddle boat. “What is that?” Polly asked Mrs. Foxworthy before she walked out the door. She was addressing the large puff of smoke following the loud, fast, roaring //thing// that was speeding through the water. Mrs. Foxworthy did not know either, so Polly went out to investigate. “Hey!” She called out, trying to get its attention. Polly did not know whether or not a //person// occupied this strange thing. Finally the thing slowed to a stop, too close to her than Polly would have liked. “What’s yer problem?” called a voice. Polly finally realized that it was coming from the big, bulky, //thing// in front of her. Just then, a man whom the voice belonged to climbed out of what looked like a door attached to it. He had a clean shaven head but a crusty red beard. Polly was bold, and not afraid of the man, “What //is// that?” “Oh. Well young feller, this here is a motorboat. Yer sayin’ you’ve never seen one?” The man asked, scratching his head. <span style="color: #0976ce; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Polly was astounded. She was in disbelief that //that// was a boat. In her eyes, the big piece of pollution and stink did not resemble her boat in any way. “Oh…are…Are you //sure// that your …uh… object-is a boat?” Polly tried to ask politely. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Yes Ma’am. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to practice for this here annual, uh, boat competition.” He smiled, “It’s only in two weeks, you know,” The man sneered. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Wait, //what//?” Polly questioned. “//You’re// racing, too?” <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh, ho ho! Looks like little Miss conceited isn’t going to win //this// time,” The big man sneered.

<span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">During the next two weeks, Polly practiced as hard as she could possibly try. She believed that no matter what, you should always try your best- even if there is no competition. Of course, Polly was nervous, for the big man had a very strong boat that would not tire him out at all. However, Polly did have very strong arms- she could swim across the whole ocean! Polly thought she could beat him and save the town from this horrible beast, “motor boat”.

<span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">So, Polly made sure she was ready the day the competition arrived.

<span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Honey, I know you can do it! Believe in yourself, you are the strongest person in the country!”Mrs. Foxworthy bragged before to competition started. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Well… Yeah! I guess you’re right, but you know that this big man is competing, and he had a…um…something-boat,” Polly was a forgetful person, always have been. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“And //you// have talent,” Mrs. Foxworthy smiled. They both stopped talking for a while. Polly was staring at the sea, looking to see how the water is today. A long time passed by. Polly rubbed her arm. The sun was beating hard, and her fair skin easily burned. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Polly squinted her eyes at the sun, “When is the race gonna start?” She yelled towards the competition director’s direction. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">He might have heard her, or maybe not, but he then said through a megaphone, “Okay, looks like the contestants are ready with their numbers now,” Polly was playing with the card that was pinned to her shirt. It read the number 21. “So I think it’s time to start! Racers, line em’ up!” Polly dragged her boat towards the edge of the hot sand. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Ready!” The director blared through the megaphone. The contestants were lined up. “Set!” Polly was really eager to get going. <span style="color: #0c6ce4; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“And, Go!” the ring of the megaphone cut through the breezy air. <span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">The boat racers took off. Some got tired, and stopped very quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the man in the motorboat was in the lead. “Using a motorboat should be considered cheating,” she thought. <span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Lucas Littleman is in the lead!” The director shouted excitedly. <span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“//That’s// his name,” Polly thought. She took a rest. “I’m not gonna win this anyway.” She sighed. But then, a spark went off inside her. Polly quickly picked up her paddle and sped off.

<span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Even if I’m gonna lose,” she panted, “I…I have to try my best,” Polly gulped, “She went as fast as she could. Soon she made her way to the front of the racers. A small smile spread across her face.

<span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh!” The director shouted through the megaphone, “Polly-Ann Foxworthy is now in the lead!” The crowd stirred up, cheering and watching intently to see who will win this year’s competition. <span style="color: #0271ed; font-family: 'arial rounded mt bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“They’re cheering for me,” Polly realized. She looked to her left. Poll and Lucas Littleman were neck and neck, getting closer to the bright orange finish line. It was now or never. Even though her arms were about to fall off, she paddled harder than ever. Lucas fall behind and Polly was nearing the finish line. It happened fast, before she had tome to even realize what was happening. The boat tipped down, and she paddled herself straight into the water. There were ripples that went far, far into the ocean. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The audience gasped. Now, what felt like forever passed by. The audience was as silent as a mouse; you could hear a pin drop. Finally, Polly’s head popped out of the water. She’d actually been paddling her boat //underwater//. Nobody else was //that// good. The audience immediately burst into applause. Polly looked forward and saw that Lucas had already won the race. At first she was upset, but then a smile spread across her face. “I tried my best,” she whispered to herself. Then she yelled, “Thank you everyone!” With a smile on her face. The ripples were still going from her big plunge. But Polly-Ann Foxworthy just pulled herself back on her boat, and paddled off into the ocean. She was never seen again, but the town will always remember her. And as for the ripples, well, they’re still there, don’t you worry. In fact, nowadays they are called, “waves.”

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