How Not To Be A Groupie

Chapter Thirty Seven: Day At The Pool

We were swimming.

Well, everyone else was swimming. I was sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water. As this was a last minute activity I didn't have time to buy a swimsuit and came in a pair of shorts. One of the boys had the idea to rent out the whole hotel pool and invite some friends over. Stelle and I were included and we went, still not talking to each other. I kept trying to catch her eye but she kept her focus straight ahead. 

That settled it, I had officially royally fucked up. 

It was boiling outside and the water felt good on my skin. Angus had a great time relaxing in the water with his thongs. 

I meant his footwear, you know.

Bon grabbed a lawn chair and spread out, taking a whole case of beer with him. Stelle found herself at one end of the pool chatting with some fellow ladies who also paid a visit. She finally looked at me and had an almost guilty look on her face. I'm sure my expression mirrored it exactly. 

Tomorrow was the big day.

What would I do if she still didn't believe me? Claiming it to be a one in a million guess? Or what if the newspaper didn't even feature the story? It was American news after all, maybe the papers here were located in Sydney only. The radio? It was a reach but worth a try. Television news? Also a tiny shred of hope. 

My focus was broken by the giant splash, water raining down all over me. My shorts were spattered with droplets and my hair was wet. If it hadn't been so hot I would have been a bit irked. "Sorry about that," Malcolm said from where he stood in the pool. The other guests weakly waved him off. 

"Hey, Mal!" Someone threw in a pool noodle and it landed right at Malcolm's fingertips and splashed into his face. 

"Thanks," he called, grabbing it. "Got a sword now."

Cliff noticed I was still keeping to myself more than usual if that were possible. He sat on the edge of the pool with me. "Hey," he said. 

"Hi," I said. 

"You an' Stelle have a disagreement?" he asked. Stelle was watching us out of the corner of her eye, trying to pay attention to her friends at the same time. Janis and Joyce came along for one last day in Sydney before heading back to Greece. 

"We're working something out," I said, kicking my legs back and forth in the water. Cliff nodded and we let the sun warm our faces. 

"Nice day out, isn't it?" he said, admiring the weather. I shielded my eyes with my hand and looked up at the ocean blue sky. Birds flew overhead and airplanes roared by from the Sydney airport. "Bit hot."

"Yeah," I agreed, refusing to move from my spot. If this was the best I could do to cool myself off, I would secure it and make sure no one took it from me. Malcolm and some other man got into a little fight with the pool noodles and they were hitting each other with them, stray droplets of water flying in every direction. Some women squealed as water landed in their drinks or laughed when someone fell into the pool on accident. Luckily it was big enough to accommodate the crowd attending. 

"Splash Mountain!" someone yelled as he went running from the lawn chairs and jumping into the pool. A tidal wave swallowed us alive and water covered every surface. Some people cheered and whistled for him while others grabbed the last dry towels they could find. 

Cliff and I narrowly missing getting soaked.

"You alright?" Cliff asked. I started laughing and nodded.

"I'm okay, I'm alright," I said. Swimsuit or no swimsuit, that didn't stop me from having a good time. Figured it didn't matter anymore and I squeezed the water out of my dripping hair.