A Guide on How to Love Jules Everett

Chapter Eight

The Lazy River

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THE SECOND DAY came and went rather uneventfully. The activities planned for the day were simple team-building exercises with the goal of allowing the students to have fun. However, it was also planned with what the teachers thought 'having fun' meant. As such, most of the time spent in the morning was on a useless and boring treasure hunt. In the afternoon, we were given spare time to spend the day down by the river where the current wasn't as strong.

We were all dressed in our swimsuits, students scattered off to different areas around the river with their friends. The four of us, Harr, Xavier, Jules, and I, found a quiet spot far away from the rest of our classmates. The current here was practically nonexistent, the pool of water calm and still.

We hid our things under a canopy of trees, tossed up against a tree trunk on the ground away from the riverbank.

"Isn't this simply wonderful?" I sighed, stretching my arms above my head wistfully.

Jules, who stood by my side, had a frown on her face, clearly visible even underneath her large sunglasses. Unlike the rest of us who had no fear of showing skin, her swimsuit had long sleeves that reached her wrists. She wore a pair of shorts over the one-piece swimsuit and a large sun hat on her head to shield her from the glaring light.

"I'm not too big a fan of the water," she admitted, sneering disdainfully at the crystal clear water surface.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! There's nothing better than just lounging about in the water under the summer sun." With that said, I skipped away from Jules and towards the water where Harr and Xavier stood.

Both of them had their backs towards us, facing the water with words exchanged between both of them which were silent to my ears. I squeezed in the space between them, using their shoulders to lift myself up in the air before jumping into the water with a loud splash. Water droplets flew towards them when I broke the calm of the surface, drenching them with a cool shower. When I surfaced with a long sigh, both Harr and Xavier wore matching frowns, scowling at me from where they stood.

"That was uncalled for, Aiko." Harr pouted, tousling his hair with his hand to get the water droplets out.

His fringe plastered down onto his forehead, sticking stubbornly due to the water. Seeing that his hairstyle no longer had any salvation, he simply pulled a rubber band off of his wrist and used it to tie up the front of his hair. It stuck out like a sore thumb, resembling a miniature stalk of flower that bloomed at the top of his head. The sight made me choke on my breath, teardrops flowing from the corners of my eyes from attempting to disguise a laugh.

"You look like an onion, Harr," I wheezed, squeezing out the words in between my escaped laughter.

From Harr's side, Xavier let out a surprised hack, his hand raised to cover his mouth. Even though it was hidden behind his hand, I could still spot a hint of a smile. His lips were definitely curved upward, a small indent appearing on the sides of his cheeks in the form of dimples. He cleared his throat shortly after, returning to a practiced stoic face before tucking his hands into the pockets of his swimming trunks.

"Sorry," he murmured under his breath half-heartedly.

"I can't believe you're siding with her of all people!" Annoyed, Harr gave Xavier a rough push, easily sending the latter flying towards the river.

Since he was caught unprepared, Xavier hadn't steeled himself against Harr's attack. He toppled too easily, a mess of arms and legs soaring through the air before he landed into the water back-first. Once again, the surface of the water was disturbed and it sent droplets of cool liquid back onto dry land.