Day Twenty Five
John and
Bobby, Erik and Sherman stumbled their way to the entrance with a whole lot of you-go-first,-no-you-go-first finger
pushes. They were a pale lot, which was only exaggerated by the fact that they
all wore all black. All the time. Skinny, too. Except for Sherman who, beyond all explanation,
was of average build, depending on who you’re averaging, of course. However,
for all the body mass he had going for him, he more than evened the score with
the lack of pigment in his skin. You guessed it, Sherman was a redhead. You thought
John, Bobby and Erik were white until you stood them next to Sherman, who made
their whiteness almost look khaki. So,
these four friends decided one day to leave their video game lair and do
something death-defying. I don’t know, maybe all their princess rescuing and
end-boss defeating bolstered their courage, or maybe all those hours of games
messed with their heads, but whatever the reason, they decided to go to the
swimming pool. The outdoor swimming
pool. When they finally made their way to the desk, they realized it was a pretty
girl taking money. Really pretty. ‘’Four
today?’’ she asked. ‘’Uh, four p.m.?’’ John squeaked. ‘’What? N..no, I mean are
there four of you?’’ ‘’Oh, yes,’’ he said self-consciously. ‘’Eight dollars.’’
The boys bumbled with their money a while, trying to make everyone’s come out
even before Bobby finally just said ‘’here,’’ and handed her a ten. ‘’Here you
are,’’ she said and pulled out a big stamp. She took each of their hands and
stamped them with a big blue wave, definitely the closest any of them had ever
been to a person of the female persuasion, at least a female of her caliber. She
gave them directions about using the lockers and showering and sent them on
their awkward little way. They must have been 25 minutes in the locker room
before emerging out into the pool area, in all their glory. Erik, despite being
the skinniest of the bunch, managed to look the most normal. Or the least
abnormal, if you will. And despite the fact that they were cinched to the nines
and hanging on for dear life, his swim trunks were well within the acceptable
realm. Bobby, however, chose to swim in near-pants. I can’t even call them shorts. They were longs. Long, black,
short-pants with pockets. John actually swam in a t-shirt. And Sherman. Sherman
inexplicably took the Speed-o route. The only piece in his wardrobe that was
not black. And not only not black, but pink. The friends moved as one unit. Clutching
their towels and trying not to be seen. It wasn’t working. They were seen. Oh,
they were seen, all right. Dropped jaws, sunglasses pushed down noses, the
whole bit. So, they laid their towels out in the far corner of the pool area. By
the deep end. They cocooned themselves in sunscreen, SPF 80, and then made
their way to the edge. Bobby sat down and slipped into the pool, now with a
40-pound weight hanging from his waist. John had a black cotton bubble
billowing and suctioning to him. But it was Sherman who took the proverbial
cake. In keeping with his theme of questionable choices, he decided to jump off
the high-dive. But not just jump off the high-dive. Take a running leap off the
high-dive. In a pink Speed-o. In blinding white skin. And in the last split-second
before he jumped, he saw that the lifeguard now on duty was the pretty girl
from the entrance and he just flailed, and landed as flat as a pancake, belly-flop
style, on top of the water, creating the loudest skin clap you have ever heard.
His head also smacked the water, leaving him disoriented, so the girl dove in
immediately. With strength and grace she pulled him to the edge, where the
other lifeguard helped her pull him out of the water. She asked him some
questions to make sure he was all right, while his counterparts stood around
him. Satisfied he was fine, she returned to her post, and they to their towels.
There were jokes about CPR and the princess rescuing Luigi and after a couple
of hours of uneventful swimming, the boys went home. On the doorstep of Erik’s
house, he turned to them, ‘’Zelda?’’ he asked. ‘’Zelda,’’ they confirmed in
unison.
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