AN: Hmm…this chapter is partially inspired by chats with Gryff, and brainstorming ideas for her story. Yes, Gabby really does talk about a mile a minute incessantly, and we all just kind of grin and bear it.
Shouts!
Lunar: Darling, we'll make plans one of these days to get our beds back. Until then, we'll just have to make do. Umm…maybe next chapter? This is mostly going to be from Artemis' POV, and since I really only saw you guys at meals and in bed…**shrugs** Love you though!
Maddie: Maddie… But I'm not going to do that to you. I'll take multiple reviews from you if you feel ones made at 3 AM are inappropriate. ^_^ And I'm only mean to him because I love him. ^_~
Cassie: Dear…I really don't know what to say to you. I guess I'm glad you're reading this, and you're great fun to talk to hon. See you Oct. 11! ^_~
Christine: Hey, I'll get my bed one way or another, trust me on that. Of course you'll get him, I'm running on Gryff's canon here. ^_^;; Thanks for the support!
Gryffin: Of course I told the guys about the "no-dating" thing. I'm like that. ^_^;; You didn't play Taps with me because you were too busy being mad at Blink. Trust me, I got it all covered. Love you!!
Artemis rolled over and buried herself deeper into her sleeping bag. She could hear Luna and Storm getting ready for morning feed, and as usual it had woken her partially. Within seconds she was once again fast asleep.
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When she awoke again, Artemis had no perception of what time it was. She rolled towards the inside of her tent and looked down at the small, portable alarm clock her mother had gotten her. It read 7:35. Groaning, she got out of bed and began readying herself for breakfast. Artemis threw on a red Pool Guard sweatshirt over her T-shirt and sweatpants and grabbed her large mug and a teabag. Almost ready, she walked across the unit to The Haven.
She entered the bathrooms in the staff house/nursing station to find Jimmy Bubbles already there, drying her hair. Artemis nodded a greeting to the older girl and began her minimal morning routine. As she made herself slightly presentable, she thought about the previous.
It was almost curfew by the time Artemis and Snitch had returned to Laurel Oaks, and the rumors were certainly piled on the unfortunate pair at The Haven. Really, though, nothing had happened. They'd just sat in silence for a while, and then gone back to the unit. Artemis shook her head and hoped that perhaps today would be better.
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It took her until partway through the Flag ceremony to realize that Gryffin was not present. Her unit was there, and the rest of the staff, but Gryff was missing. Frowning, Artemis puzzled over this on the brief walk from Flag to breakfast. She helped teach grace ("God Has Created A New Day") and resolutely sat down with Harmony. She enjoyed a steaming mug of tea as Gryffin and Race walked up the path and into the Dining Hall. Jack met them at the door and though she was too far to hear the conversation, it was obvious something had happened last night with regards to Gryffin.
Artemis returned her attention to her table. "Harm," she asked, "when's the first group today?" The older girl responded almost instantly.
"Ten. Be there at nine thirty." Artemis nodded and tried to decide what to do to pass the time. She could always go watch a movie in Das Haven, or hang out in Mary, but neither of these options seemed really pleasant that morning. She continued to mull over the issue as breakfast came to a close.
With a sigh, she followed Harmony to Mary. Perhaps she'd get some writing done in the relative quiet. She was stopped, however, by Snitch as soon as she walked outside.
"Hey, when do we'se hafta report foah da pool?" She didn't blame him for his question, merely that he had to stop her.
Grumbling, she tried not to glare. "Nine thirty." Artemis trudged down the path, over a tiny bit of No Sock Island, and the Flag Field to Mary Lodge. The one thing she didn't need right now was to be bothered by people who didn't know what they were doing. Not that she blamed Snitch. She knew it was all Downtown's fault, and while it was nice to have boys other than Vash there, she just didn't know how these guys would end up being.
Snitch watched her walk off. He considered running after her, but then realized that would probably just make her even more upset. He returned to the Dining Hall ramp and observed several campers surrounding Bumlets. The other boy seemed a bit overwhelmed and looked at Snitch pleadingly. Snitch smiled and shook his head. Bumlets was on his own for this one.
"That is a really cute picture," Snitch heard from behind him. Not turning around, he continued to listen.
"I wish I had my camera, if for no other reason than to torture him with that later." The second speaker laughed almost sadistically, and Snitch suppressed a shudder. How glad he was not to be in Bumlets place right now.
"I've got my camera!" The third voice was accompanied by the jingling of a bunch of bells. That had to be Pixie with her jingly belt. There was a small flash, and only then did Snitch dare turn around. Hermione and Rain huddled around Pixie and her little digital camera. Snitch quickly killed his enthusiasm to see the photo, gave Bumlets an apologetic look, and walked quickly away from the Dining Hall. Maybe he could spend the next half-hour plus hanging out with Swifty and Mush at whatever their unit was doing.
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The sounds of The Clarks emanated loudly from the Guards' Room. Snitch slowly approached the open gate to the pool deck. Artemis sat on deck with Harmony, the both of them sitting on milk crates and writing in notebooks. The two girls had already changed, Artemis into her little black bikini and Harmony into one of her blue one-pieces. The door to the Guards' Room opened and Eeyore exited in her red and white checked bikini. She nodded to Snitch. "It's all yours," she said, motioning to the room. He nodded and cautiously entered the room furnished with three orange-crate cubbies, two chairs, and a filing cabinet.
A quick glance at the schedule hanging on the bulletin board showed he was cleaning the bathrooms with Jem that morning. He quickly got changed into a pair of blue swim trunks and grabbed his towel from the hook with his name above it as well at the broom from behind the door. As he exited the Guards' Room he saw Vash coming up to the gate and quickly made his way to the other side of the shower house. The other guy just creeped him out. Jem was waiting for him at the bathrooms.
"You just need to sweep out the stalls, I did everything else already. I'll be back over at the pool. Just bring the broom back when you're done." The Waterfront Director left him to finish the morning chores on his own.
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"Hey, Artemis, do you want a water balloon?" Artemis tried not to wince as Gabby's voice came over the cinder block wall. Gabby was nice enough, but the forty-eight year old lady chattered enough to drive anyone insane. Harmony, occupying the other chair in the Guards' Room, gave Artemis a look of horror mixed with amusement and pity.
"You know, I talked to Spark-Yo about my balloons, and she go t me these really tough ones, they don't like to pop, you know, so you really have to throw them hard. These ones are really good. The old ones I had popped too easily, so I had to get new ones." Artemis tried in vain to ignore Gabby, but unfortunately, she had to pee, and that required going to the bathrooms where Gabby was currently filling her water balloons.
Sighing, the younger girl put up a minimal conversation while using the facilities, and then helped Gabby fill some water balloons.
"You want to take one over with you?" Gabby asked her, grinning. "You could hit Vash with it."
Artemis felt herself grinning as well. The possibilities for attacks against her fellow staff members were definitely interesting. She grabbed several water balloons. "Thanks Gabby."
As she rounded the corner to the far gate (the one that they used to turn the slide on and off), Artemis spied Snitch teaching Badgework. He half-sat against the ladder and lectured loudly on the correct way to use a PFD. Artemis giggled evilly and set down three of the four balloons in her arms. Snitch faced away from her, and a finger to her lips quieted any campers who saw her approaching. Quietly, carefully, she raised her arms and threw the liquid-filled projectile at Snitch's feet.
It bounced and didn't break. Artemis stared in shock at it. Why didn't it break? She quickly ran after it before it ran into something that could possibly pop it and threw it again at Snitch. Same results. She nearly screamed in frustration, except the campers were already giggling and giving her odd looks.
Snitch meanwhile, was trying valiantly to continue the lesson despite the campers' growing disinterest in him and growing interest in Artemis. It wasn't that he really wanted to teach, but rather that he had to. His position on the Guard Rotation indicated that it was his turn to teach, and now Artemis was disrupting that. And that water balloon hurt.
Snitch stood, moving to stand over Artemis as she picked up the balloon once more. The sunlight glared off his white tank that read GUARD on it. He reached down and plucked the balloon from her hands. It was a metallic silver, and the rubber was thicker than standard (not that he knew this).
Artemis saw Snitch examining the water balloon and a very, very evil idea formed itself in her mind. Before she could back out of it, she stood, took a step back, and launched herself at Snitch's torso. The glomp, while not powerful enough to knock them off their feet, effectively squashed the balloon between them.
A second later Artemis pulled back, picking broken balloon pieces off her suit. The pool was silent, the campers waiting to see what Snitch's retribution would be. They soon got their answer. After staring in shock at what had happened, he turned to the campers. "Don't evah, evah do dis," he said in a completely serious voice. Then he picked Artemis with one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her back, and tossed her easily into the pool.
She came up spluttering, her brown newsie hat soaked, her glasses askew, and a pout on her face. "That's not very fair," she stated in a plaintive voice. The population of the pool burst into laughter.
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End chapter 2If'n you'd like ta review, go right ahead. Reviews are more or less what keeps this thing running, as does badgering me about it online.