Co-written by my beautiful twin Tahli, if you like this, please go and check out her work, @TimeLordsTARDIS
Dedication goes to @ilovety
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“Ladies and gentlemen! You may have been told that this is a bludge session and you can do whatever you please! However, I take participation very seriously here!” Our swimming instructor was standing in front of us, yelling. She was tall, with long black hair pulled into a ponytail. She was the kind of person who looked like they could either be the best leader ever or the scariest person known to mankind. And vampirekind. And werewolf- well, you catch my drift. “I do not want to see slacking. I do not want to see moping. I take this class very seriously, as you can see. So, on my whistle: LAST ONE IN’S A ROTTEN EGG!” Before anyone had the time to wonder if she’d really just said that, the whistle sounded, and we ran as fast as we could. Down the beach, along the pier and SPLASH! Into the water with shrieks of laughter.
“I don’t care what you do in this class.” The instructor yelled, standing at the edge of the pier and laughing. “you can swim, dive, play beach volleyball or just sunbathe! But if you mope, there will be consequences! Now let me hear you say: SIR YES SIR!”
“SIR YES SIR!” we all yelled, then dissolved into shrieks and cheers.
I swam stealthily up behind Ashleigh, who was just floating in relaxation, and pulled her under. She screamed and floundered her way back to the surface. “Tag! You’re it!” I yelled, then swam as fast as I could, which was not very fast; I was laughing too hard. Needless to say, I didn’t get very far. She jumped on me, then pulled someone in front of her like a shield. This went on for ten minutes, tagging and hiding and laughing, until we were both soaked and tired. Then we dragged ourselves out of the water and lay down on our towels to sunbathe and talk. The sun was warm, and we were just nice and dry, when a shadow fell over us.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?” I opened my eyes and peeked up at the tall figure standing over us.
“Whaddaya want, Jack?” I asked. “You’re blocking my sunlight.”
“Just to remind you how much you love me.” He said mischievously.
“Okay?” I asked. “Why exactly are you reminding me of this?”
In answer, he grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I screamed as he took off along the pier.
“Ashleeeeeeeeigh! HELP!” I yelled, but she just stood there and laughed. We reached the edge of the pier, and Jack threw me in.
Huh. I thought, sinking. Two can play at this game.
I swam deeper, holding my breath, then kicked so I was underneath the pier. All the people in the water could see me, but Jack couldn’t, and neither could Ashleigh. I pressed one finger to my lips, motioning to people to pretend I wasn’t here. Then I waited. My patience was rewarded.
“Jas?” Jack called, sounding just a little worried. “Jas? Jas?” he sounded panicked now. He couldn’t have known that I’d come up already, and he obviously thought I was still down there. I heard him swear, then prepare to dive in. Silently, I started climbing the ladder. There was a splash as he entered the water, and by the time he came up again for breath, I was standing at the edge of the pier, looking down at him.
“JAS?”
“You called?” I asked innocently. His eyes lit up with relief, then narrowed when he realized what I’d done.
“You little-“ he seemed lost for words, but laughed.
I blew him a kiss, then pulled up the ladder so he couldn’t reach it. “Have fun!” I called, then made my way back to Ashleigh. I flopped down onto my towel and sighed in contentment. “Now. Where were we?”
We were laughing as we made our way back towards my cabin later. Our towels were draped around our shoulders, and our hair was pulled back. I'd learned heaps about Ashleigh, little things that weren't really important overall, but made a person unique. For one thing, Ashleigh was an expert on braiding. She'd even demonstrated on my hair.
"Come on in!" I said, as I pushed open the door. We walked into the lounge room and our laughter stopped. Jess lay pale and motionless on the couch, her eyes closed. Lissa and Cami were watching over her silently, sombre looks on their faces. They looked up at us as we entered, then turned back to Jess. I ran to her side, Ashleigh close on my heels.
"Jess? Jess, talk to me!" I begged, clutching her hand. Her eyelids fluttered slightly. I squeezed her fingers. "Jess?"
She looked up at me, her big, beautiful eyes full of pain.
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