The Lifeguard | Phan One Shot

One Shot

"Come on, Dan! I want to go on the slide!" Josh begged, tugging at my hand, trying to pull me from the wave pool.

"Just go yourself," I told him.

"No, Dad said I can't leave you under any circumstances!" He persisted.

I was impressed with his vocabulary, considering he was only seven. However, I still rolled my eyes, "Yeah, your dad might've said that, but I still don't have to listen to him."

Josh was my half-brother. My mum and dad got a divorce when I was about four or five. When I was about eleven, my mum met Geoffrey. He's a dickhead, but he means the best. Josh was born a year after Geoffrey and my mum met. Their relationship had always bugged me because I felt like Josh and Geoffrey weren't really family. Mum tried to have family fun bonding nights, but I never enjoyed those. I'm getting better with it as a nineteen year old, but it still bothers me when I'm reminded how broken my family is.

Josh sighed, "Yeah, well mum said that too and you have to listen to mum!" I sighed, standing up in the wave pool. Josh jumped in excitement, "Yay! Let's go!" He practically dragged me behind him over to the children's area of the swim park. This was basically a giant water filled playground with tons of water gun features and a couple of slides.

Josh pulled me up the stairs to the playground. I nearly slipped, but I managed to keep my balance. I walked up a few more flights of stairs and got to the line for the slide. There were only maybe five kids in line. There was a lifeguard positioned at the top of the slide, telling kids when it was safe to go. When we got to the front of the line, he gave me a weird look.

I gave him a nervous smile, and waited for Josh to go down the slide before I spoke. Josh got the signal to go, and he was gone in a flash. "My mum is trying to force me into having fun with my brother," I explained.

"Really? I thought maybe you just preferred the kiddie rides," he laughed sarcastically. I laughed along. I noticed how cute he was. He had bright blue eyes that smiled when he did.

He looked down to see if it was clear to go, "Well, it's your turn. Have fun." He gestured to the slide and I stepped forward. With one last look at the cute boy, I set off. I got to the bottom to see Josh waiting for me.

"Again!" he exclaimed. I didn't really mind being dragged along this time because at least I would get to look at the cute boy again. We climbed up the jungle-gym of stairs and ropes until we reached the slide again. The line was longer this time with maybe ten kids. It went down and around a corner, so I had to wait until a few kids went before I could see the cute lifeguard.

Except, when I rounded the corner, I saw that the cute boy was gone. A new lifeguard had taken his place and she wasn't as cute as the last guy. I was disappointed that he was gone. I spent a few more hours at the park with Josh until he got tired and wanted to head home. I didn't see the cute guy from the water slide the rest of the day until we were leaving. He was standing by the exit gates and telling people to have a good night. I tried to not to stare at him for too long and I immediately diverted my gaze when our eyes met.

"Have a good night, thanks for coming," I looked up when he spoke to us. I met his eye and wondered if he recognised me. I nodded and smiled in his direction and kept walking.

Later, once we had gotten home, I immediately went to shower and change. I was relaxing on the couch, texting my friend about the cute lifeguard when my mum approached me. "So did you and Josh have fun today?" she asked, sitting on the opposite side of the couch.

I nodded, not taking my attention off my phone too much, "Yeah, it was alright I guess."

She grinned at me when I said this, and then I realised my mistake. I had never before expressed any sort of non-negative emotion towards one of the forced bonding activities. "Great! Because I've bought you and Josh season passes to the water park!" she exclaimed.