What It's Like To Be 16

I struggle in the sinking sand at the bottom of the tall, over hanging cliff; my peer's grades pushing me deeper- further into the oblivion. The pressure comes in waves, growing voluminous as it crashes towards me. It takes me under as I'm lost in a swirling vortex of my thoughts; where do I go from here? What happens if I fail? 

I feel ambushed. 

Seagulls fly in circles around my head, looping and dive bombing, using their claws like tiny daggers, ripping me apart. "Don't forget to hand your homework in", they would squawk with their beady eyes piercing me. 

Me heart is pounding now. 

My grades seem further away than ever, glancing down from the tall cliff above, mocking me as I immerse further. Each piece of rock languidly crumbling, crushing my ambition. They tumble down the cliff face, hurtling towards the vast expanse of openness that is surrounding me. 

Suddenly, a storm dawns... 

My mind becomes cloudy, not dissimilar to the swirling sky above me. My thoughts race like children bounding across what was once creamy golden sands. The distant echo of the ice cream van is gone now, instead being replaced with the screech of catastrophe.

There is no escape. No retreat. The dreams of being rescued, pulled from my conscience are long gone. I'm trapped, struggling in the sand.