pool // hemmings

one

"Ashley, w-wait up!", Amelia shouted, slinging her heavy backpack over her shoulder. She jogged after her blue-haired best friend, Ashley Frangipane, who had already exited the bus and was making a run for the water park entry.

It was the last day of school, and also the day of the highly anticipated excursion to the local water park. Almost one hundred and fifty students were crammed into three filthy buses from some dodgy rental company. While Amelia would have preferred to stay at home, due to her ungodly fear of even the smallest body of water, she'd allowed Ashley to coax her into joining. Knowing she wasn't going anywhere near the pool, or the water slides, she'd equipped herself with a few books and her laptop, which were now weighing down her bag.

Despite the teachers' efforts to get everyone in two straight, orderly lines at the gates, everyone was instead pushing around to get inside first, causing a loud riot that refused to be calmed down. Amelia seemed to be the only person who wasn't desperate to enter the park, for obvious reasons. She cruised behind everyone else, earning a look of gratitude from the nearest teacher, Mrs. Moss. Realising that rushing was pointless, and not wanting to leave her best friend, Ashley joined Amelia. Soon enough, the students flooded into the park, and were now settling on a slanted body of fake grass, which the teachers had deemed their meeting spot. Within minutes, everyone had scurried off and began lining up for the adrenaline rushing slides.

Amelia found herself a nicely shaded spot of grass, laying out her towel to sit on, and retrieving her headphones from her bag. Ashley dumped her bag next to her, looking towards her dark haired friend.

"D'you mind if I leave you here for a while? I'll be back soon and we'll hang out, I promise!", Ashley asked, her eyes glazed with a pleading expression. Amelia raised an eyebrow, peering up at her friend through her dark sunglasses. She already had one earphone in, and a book on her lap.

"Did you th-think I expected-d you to just sit here with me all day?", she asked incredulously, "go, enjoy yourself. I'll be f-fine here."

Ashley looked hesitant, "are you sure?"

"Of c-course, I've got plenty to do here. Now go, get out of my sight!"

Laughing, and muttering a few rushed words of appreciation, Ashley ran off, joining a group Amelia recognised from her maths class. She watched on longingly, wishing she wasn't so afraid of the water. Of course, knowing the trip was approaching, she'd tried to overcome her fear a few weeks prior. Her brother, Daniel, had helped her. They decided to start small, and how much smaller could you get than a shallow bath? She'd started off fine, sitting in the bath while it ran for a minute or two until the water reached her hips. Once it brushed past the hem of her swimming bottoms, however, she lost it. The sensation of drowning took over her body, and Daniel had to pull his anxiety ridden sister out of the bath before she had the chance to faint.

For a few hours, she was able to entertain herself, until she began to grow restless of boredom. Already, she'd pushed through two of her books, made use of the free wifi on her laptop, and listened to her playlist twice. Frustrated, she stood up, allowing her sundress to flail about in the cool breeze. She looked around; the main pool –which was supposed to resemble a beach– in front of her, catching her eye. It was quite far away, but close enough for her to recognise a few kids from her school in the water. Between her and the pool was a concrete walk way, and a large body of sand, littered with white plastic chairs and blue umbrellas. She began to make her way down towards the water, stopping once her toes barely touched the lip of the pool. Reluctantly, she dipped her toes in, sighing at the cool water on her warm skin. She took another step forward, allowing the water to envelope her entire feet, now reaching her ankles.

"Lia?", a familiar voice sounded from behind her. She turned to see Daniel, who was in the grade above her own, watching her. His face was etched with concern, watching his sister closely.