where the water meets the moon | e.d.

nineteen

addison

"say cheese," ethan says and quickly points a yellow disposable camera in the direction of evan, who has little time to respond with a photo-worthy look.

the camera flashes and evan glares at him. "damn it, ethan. give me a heads up next time."

"the entire point of candid photos is that they're unexpected. it'll be good, i promise."

the elevator dings back down to the ground floor where the pool and spa is. the hours say it's from 7am to 11pm, and it's 10:30. we have a little bit of time.

no one is in the pool room when we enter and hear our footsteps and voices echo through the humid and chlorine infested area.

the ceiling is glass, allowing us to look up at the night sky and admire the few stars and moon.

"last one in has to tell the entire group that they wear pull-ups to bed," cressida rushes out and we all scramble to peel off our clothes and jump into the light blue water.

i bob back up to the surface to see who was the last one in, only to see ethan staring at us from the edge of the water, his stupid camera pointed right at us.

"come on," i reach for his ankle in a mock-attempt to tug him in. "put down the camera and have fun."

"but i like to document things. don't you guys want to remember this?"

"we can take mental pictures, too," i say, slicking back my hair. "it's not all about getting everything photographed."

he sighs and takes off his shirt, throwing it next to our pile of discarded clothes. he places the camera carefully on top of a lounge chair and slips off his slides.

he doesn't jump in, rather lowers himself into the water and tenses up at the slightly cold temperature.

"i'm freezing my balls off."

"it's not that bad," evan rolls his eyes. "you're just dramatic. earlier today you were complaining that the bathroom soap didn't smell right."

"because it didn't!" he argues. "it smelled like baby power and those seashell shaped things in my grandma's bathroom."

"so it... smelled like old lady?" cressida offers.

ethan laughs, letting his head tilts back.

this is the most i've ever heard him laugh. he must be having a good day. i wonder why?

"yes, it smelled like old lady."

all of us float in the five foot area and look up at the glass sky. the storm has calmed down a bit, and no lightening can be seen. just some raindrops hitting the roof.

"guys," evan's voice echoes through the poolroom. "we should play a game."

"what game?" i ask, doing a small spin in the water.

"i don't know. what games are there?"

"let's play paranoia," cressida says as her face ignites into a smile.