Chapter 3 The Pool’s Terrors

I biked hard. Down the street, to the square building, inside the red doors. I parked my bike on the bike rack, and then rushed over to see if Samuel was there.

Sure enough, I saw his light brown hair sticking out of the crystal blue water. I scooted over to him, but then stopped. I had to change into my swimming trunks first.

I slowly trudged over and into the hallways. It felt like I was lost in a cave.

Finally, I came around the corner and into a door. Suddenly, I saw machines appear all around me. Where am I? I thought.

I came around a funky looking transportation device, and that’s when I realized someone else was in the room. I figured it was just a little kid, too clueless to see anything unusual.

I sneezed, and then realized I shouldn’t have done that. Because the next thing I knew, I felt my hands being grabbed by someone. I shrieked, and my voice echoed, bouncing off the walls。

Before I could dash off and escape, I felt the person’s grip tighten. There’s no way out, I thought.

I spun around, and there was the prettiest girl I had ever seen, her eyes burning furiously on me. “Hey, well I come in peace.” I tried to explain, but I think it only made it worse.

“You-You good for nothing wanderer! What are you doing here?” She kept yapping angrily. I was shocked to see her throw this many insults at me. Suddenly she paused, and looked past me. I turned around, and then shrank back when I realized it was the pool manager.

“Young man, what are you doing here?” He said in a deep, husky voice.

“Well,” I began. I realized this was the girl’s father. I suddenly threw my towel on his face, and then ran as fast as I could. Into the locker room, threw on my swimsuit, and skipped to the pool.

As soon as I heard the voices of people, I knew I had made it. I made a little sigh of relief. I yelped as hands pushed me into the blue water. My head sank under the surface, and I choked on the tangy water. My head abruptly bobbed up again, already thoroughly soaked. I looked up blindly. I expected to see the pretty girl, but instead Mark Tough loomed over me, grinning.

“Having fun?” He sneered. I suddenly had the urge to fling the icy water at him. I looked around, but there was no sign of Samuel, or the lifeguard. The coast was clear. At first I threw small scoops, but gradually I began to maximize the amount of water each time I threw. Mark dodged all of them easily, and he taunted me. That’s when the clear liquid struck their target.

I went into a smooth swinging motion, and flung the water. Mark was so busy taunting me; he hadn’t noticed the liquid that was coming straight toward his face. Splat! I looked away. I wanted to see the result at the end. I turned around, seeing him with water droplets dripping down his face. A challenging look appeared in his eyes.

“You want this the hard way? Fine!” He bellowed. I quickly swam away, and he chased me, paddling with strong arms. I heaved myself out of the pool, and made my legs out of reach just in time. He snapped at me, and then followed. I dashed off, ignoring the lifeguard calling me. A flash of pain suddenly seized me, and I fell to the ground.

I woke up to see Samuel standing over me, his eyes wide with shock. “J-Jason! Are you okay? I thought you weren’t coming so I began heading to the other pool! When I came back, you collided into me, and just fell to the ground!” I could tell he was impressed.

I slowly got up. “Is Mark gone?”

“Who?” He looked confused. “You mean the husky guy with the streaky brown hair?” I nodded. “Oh! He just left a minute ago. He said that now you were defeated, he could go home.” His voice was full of terror.

“It’s fine, Samuel. What time is it?”

He glanced at his waterproof watch. “4:55.” He answered. I felt like flopping down miserably. I had stayed here for almost an hour, and had done nothing except toss water at Mark Tough.

I sighed. “Sorry Samuel, but I have to go now.” Samuel looked hurt. I couldn’t blame him, although my throat was burning from the chlorine.

“See you later, I guess.” He shrugged, and then walked away without looking back.

I felt terrible. I had failed Samuel. He had counted on me the whole time. With a final bit of effort, I grabbed my bike and raced home.