It was that time I always dreaded—bath time. I got undressed and immersed my four-year-old body in the depths of the lukewarm water. The tub was all the way full with bubbles clinging to the top. I was lathering up my hair. Relaxed and calm from the sounds of the water trickling off my arms. I was in complete peace. Not worrying that a monster would get me, or that I was going to drown, or somehow go down the drain.

While my bath was happening, I heard this screeching alarm! It was ear-piercing and even though I had never actually heard it outside of school, I knew instantly what it was. It was the fire alarm. My house fire alarm was going off. So without thinking, I reacted fast. I knew from school that when a fire alarm goes off you stop what you are doing and get out of the building immediately.

So, I leaped out of the tub and didn’t even bother to grab a towel. I stormed out of the bathroom with only the shampoo bottle left in my hand. Slipping and sliding across the wood floor, I darted down the stairs, naked as anything. I was heading towards the front door, ready to get out of the house. Right as I was about to open the front door, my mother yelled over the alarm “Sarah, it was just the steam from the bath tub. There is no fire!”

I did not believe her. I stood there in shock, dripping wet, soap in my hair, my little body shivering. I was still willing to run outside and “stop, drop, and roll”. Walking back up the stairs I became a new person. I became a brave four-year-old who knew that she would be fast enough to run away from a fire (clothing optional), even if there was none.