Maurice is Missing!

Chapter Two

The Wave Pool

Later, we were riding in the car to Wishing Waters at long last. Maurice and I were in back, Dad was driving, and Mom was in the passenger seat. Maurice was wearing a red pair of swimming trunks and a Spider-man T-shirt. I rolled my eyes. Couldn't Mom get him clothes that didn't have the flavor of the month on it? I wiped my forehead. It was burning in here! I keep telling Dad to get the AC fixed, but nnnnooooo! He has to be so cheap! Sorry about all that. I guess I'm still a little pissed about Maurice waking me up so early. I yawned and leaned back. Maybe I can get a little shut eye before we get there.

"So Maurice, what do want to go on first?" Mom spoke up.

"Twista!"

I jumped up after hearing that. I swear, he's the archenemy of sleep and dreams. The sandman must be afraid of his screeching. Well, whatever the case, I sent him a glare, but he was too busy scowling at Mom to notice. He then remembered her question.

"Ummm… I don't know…" He replied innocently. I should've known. He hasn't been there before, Mom!

"Well why don't you look at this map of Wishing Waters and tell us where you want to go." Mom said as she reached into the glove compartment. She pulled out an old map of the water park and handed it to Maurice. Wait a minute… Since when did she have a map of Wishing Waters?

I looked over Maurice's shoulder as he tried to read it. The last time I remember going to Wishing Waters with my parents was two years before he was born. If they got a map then, that means most of the rides would be gone or replaced. Maurice grinned as he placed his finger on an area that looked like a pirate ship.

"Oooh, oooh! I wanna go to Piwate Land!" Mom and Dad chuckled at that display of enthusiasm. I only rolled my eyes.

"Ok, ok, Maurice. We'll go to Pirate Land first." Dad said.

"Twista!"

I swear, I'm gonna have a major migraine when today's over and done with. I then remembered that Pirate Land was torn down because it was unsafe. Lots of kids got hurt. I even heard that someone broke their leg. It's amazing no one got killed.

"That one's gone." I spoke up.

"Really?" Dad asked. I nodded.

"It got condemned for being unsafe. It was replaced with a wave pool."

"That's too bad. I remember you used to have so much fun on that one." Mom said, holding a hand to her chin. I groaned at that.

She has GOT to be kidding! I hated going to Pirate Land! It was always the first place we went to when I was really young. The water there was always too cold! Kids would always push me! Although, I would push them right back… I even got cut once because of a splinter! Who makes a little kiddy pool thing out of wood!.? You use PLASTIC! I'm glad it got shut down!

"So no Piwate Land?" Maurice asked sadly as he turned to me. He started sniffling. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"'Friad so, kiddo."

His eyes were starting to water. My own eyes widened. He wasn't going to cry, was he?.! I covered my ears. If you thought he was loud this morning, you'll be in for a surprise when he opens the floodgates! He's worse than a foghorn! And because we were in the car… Aw crap. We could crash! I made sure to tighten my seatbelt. Mom must've noticed this too because she went to action.

"Please don't cry, Maurice!" She started desperately. "I'm sure the wave pool is much more fun!" She turned to me. "Right Lars?.!"

"Yeah, Maurice! The wave pool is lots of fun!" I offered nervously.

That was true. I always go to the wave pool first. The water's usually pretty warm, so I don't have to worry about freezing my ass off like on the water slides. And it's fun to jump with the waves when they come out. Not to mention the closeness involved. Most people hang around the wall when the waves start up. That's where they rise the highest. I usually try to feel up a guy or two in the confusion the waves cause. I licked my lips at that. I quickly shook my head at the thought. The only thing that sucks though is that eventually, the lifeguards stationed there always make everybody get out for a little while. I'll never understand why.

Maurice sniffed. "Ok. We'll go to the wave pool first." He then added as an afterthought, "Oh Mommy, big bwother?"

"Yes?" Mom and I asked.

"Twista!"

I smirked at him. I was wondering when he was gonna catch that.

Later…

"Well, here we are! Wishing Waters!" Dad announced as he parked the car. I groaned.

Oh we were there alright. We were all the way in back of the parking lot! As expected, the whole thing was packed. I just hope there will be a place to sit tonight. As long as I don't have to stand, I'll be happy. Although, I would rather share the view of the fireworks with someone instead of just sitting by myself or with my family. I sighed. It'll never happen. I should just try to have fun today.

The sun was beaming down on us as we got out of the car. While me, Mom, and Dad stretched our legs, Maurice was looking at the park with a huge grin. I had to admit, despite the fact that I come here at least three or four times every month; it never ceases to amaze me. You can see a bunch of the slides from where we were standing. Each of the tubes was done in different colors. They started from as high as sixty feet. Every one of them makes you go as fast as fifty miles per hour. Of course, due to the number of people, there was most likely a forty minute wait.

After gawking at the water park for a good five minutes, we finally moved on to the ticket booth. Of course, we had to go through the concrete desert to reach it. Our sweat dripped onto the ground, where it evaporated instantly. It was just too humid! I held a hand above my eyes as I glared at the sky. Not a single damn cloud in sight. I thanked God that we were going to the water park and not the amusement park at the pier. We wouldn't have survived the day if that was the case.

Anyway, the ticket booth was even worse! The line was enormous! It seemed to stretch for miles on end. I was about ready to leave and just use the hose to cool myself off. Luckily, Dad had gotten season passes off the Internet a couple of weeks prior to today. We were able to avoid the long line of shoobies and get in the park immediately.

As we walked around, Maurice took in the sights excitedly. I, on the other hand, didn't care too much. After all, I've seen the whole thing front to back at least a million times. The whole park was made to look like a tropical paradise. Almost everywhere you looked, there was a tiki. There were broken ships along the paths to add to the theme. There were plastic sharks and dolphins around. A few of the displays shot water when you got close. One or two areas of the park were set up like a beach. Even though neither area had water, they both had Volleyball courts. Peaceful island music was playing through speakers.

While my brother looked around at the unimportant stuff, I took in the more impressive sights. Some really good-looking guys showed up today. They were in all different types of bathing suits. From your everyday shorts to speedos. I practically drooled at those guys brave enough to actually wear those tiny things. You'll never catch me in one those napkins! But it is fun to actually take a look. I wonder how they fit in them, anyway. My brain went on vacation as I continued to look at all the hot guys. Oh how would I love to get with any one of them. Life would be perfect. See? This is why I come here three or four times a month! If I had the cash, I'd come here everyday!

Anyway, after a good ten minutes of searching (and staring on my part), we finally came across the wave pool. At the moment, the pool was calm. It didn't look too crowded. People were in there, splashing each other or just lounging around. We walked around the many beach chairs that were situated along the pool. Most of them were full of old people tanning. When we found two free ones that were next to each other, Mom and Dad sat down.

"Well here we are, Maurice. Enjoy yourself." Mom said.

"Twista!" Maurice yelled. She helped him out of his shirt and shoes.

"Now remember, Lars." Dad said to me. "We're counting on you to watch Maurice."

"Twista!" His voice was muffled by the shirt.

"Make sure he doesn't go in too deep."

"Ok Dad." I replied.

Then it hit me.

"Hold on! You want me to watch him!.?" I pointed at my brother, who was all set to go swimming. My parents glared at me.

"Yes Lars." Dad started dangerously. "We want you to watch your brother while we catch up on our reading."

"You know as well as we do that we haven't been able to finish our novels since Maurice was able to talk." Mom agreed.

"Twista!"

"So watch him and make sure he doesn't get lost." Dad said.

"Or else." Mom warned. I gulped. They'd kill me if Maurice so much as got a scrape on his leg. I nodded helplessly. "Good. Now run along." Then they took out a couple of books and started reading. I sighed as I picked off my shirt and took off my shoes. I put the shirt in my bag and laid the shoes by Mom's lawn chair.

"Come on, big bwother! Last one in's a sponge head!" Maurice shouted, pulling me along. I sighed tiredly as I let him drag me towards the pool.

I can't believe this! They didn't want me to come along so that we can be a family. They wanted me to come along so that they could dump the twerp on me! I growled at this new revelation. Just you wait, Mom and Dad. I'll get my revenge on you. I don't know how, but mark my words, I will.

Maurice and I made it to the pool's entrance. We slowly made our way in. Despite how warm the water usually is, it's always cold when you first go in. This was especially true for us. We shivered as we moved deeper and deeper into the water. About three feet in, Maurice was already swimming around while the water barely went past my legs. One or two feet further, I laid my body across and let the water soak me completely. I got used to the temperature fast.

I did a backstroke while watching my brother carefully. I sighed and closed my eyes. This was the life. It was worth it broiling in that car and enduring that near life threatening experience to get here. Now I can cool off in peace.

"Big bwother!"

I knew it wouldn't last. I looked up to find him splashing around. I moved towards him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Let me wide you!" I gave him an exasperated look.

"Now look, Mau—" I stopped myself when I saw him take in an irritated breath. I didn't need him screaming that word in public. He'll just embarrass me. Instead, I cleared my throat.

"What I meant to say is that you're crazy if you think I'm gonna let you ride me." I groaned when I saw his eyes water. The tears always get me! No, I'm not a softy. At least I don't think so. It's just that, as I've said before, his crying is worse than when he wakes me up. I huffed as I turned around.

"Alright, alright. Climb on."

"Yay!.!.!" He cheered as he jumped on, practically forcing my head under. I sputtered, trying to get my head above the surface. I sighed with relief when I was able to stay up. "Giddy yap! Giddy yap!" He kicked my sides, like I was a horse. I growled as I moved around.

I swear, if he wasn't my brother… This was so embarrassing! I was known as a bully in school. A tough guy! What would people say if they saw me letting my brother ride me? A few minutes of this passed before I got tired of him kicking me. I smirked as I stood straight up.

"Hey! Giddy yap!" Maurice shouted at me, kicking me some more. My smirk turned into a small grin.

"Sorry. Ride's over!" I yelled before picking him up and dropping him into the water. He spit out water when he resurfaced and glared at me. "Awww! What's the matter? Is widdle Mauwice mad that I threw him into the wa-wa? Tchahahahahahaha!.!.!.!.!" I held my sides as I laughed at him.

"Twista!" He yelled before splashing me. I stopped and gaped at him. He didn't… Tell me he did NOT just splash me! I scowled at him. Maurice gulped as he shrank under my gaze.

"So, you want a splash fight, do ya?" I challenged with a smirk. I drew back a hand. "Well you got it!" I allowed my hand to skid along the surface as I brought it forward. He got soaked completely by my attack. He shook the water out of his head and glared at me again.

"I'll show you!" He yelled. He put both hands in front of his body and pressed forward, effectively splashing me. For a little kid, he wasn't too bad.

He kept going while I backed up, trying to give myself time to fight back. He only moved closer to me. I was soon able to splash him. He quickly splashed me back. We laughed as we splashed each other. This was kinda fun! So what if Mom and Dad only wanted time away from him?.! We went back and forth for little while before a loud buzzing filled our ears. We stopped our splash fight.

"Bwother, what is that?" Maurice asked curiously. I put a hand to my chin.

There was something about the wave pool I forgot. Whenever that alarm goes off, it means… My eyes widened. The waves are supposed to start up! I nervously turned towards the wall as I heard the crowd cheer. I felt my pupils shrink as I saw a wave approach. It was at least five feet high! I turned to Maurice. Would he be able to withstand it? I don't wanna take that chance.

"Maurice, stay near me!"

"O-ok, bwother…" He said timidly. I sighed with relief. At least he didn't scream for once.

The wave got closer and closer. I got in front of Maurice and stood my ground. There's no way I'm gonna let him get hurt! I'll get murdered by my parents if that happens. The wave was almost on top of us. I gulped.

'Ok. It's now or never!' I thought as I raised my arms. The wave crashed into me with great force, but I was still standing. I turned towards Maurice, who was cheering.

"You stopped the wave, big bwother!" He said. I winked and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Heh. It was nothing."

It was the truth. It was honestly no big deal. I can handle waves like that anytime, anywhere. I was a surfer, after all. Maurice kept dancing around for a few seconds before he gasped and pointed behind me. I turned, but it was too late. I was knocked back by another wave. I forgot that more than one wave comes out. I broke through the surface and looked around.

"Maurice!" I called.

"Over here, big bwother!" I turned to the right and found him. I sighed with relief as I swam up to him.

Before we can be reunited, another wave struck!

'Come on already!' I screamed inwardly as I broke through the surface.

The waves were coming more frequently. There were a lot of people near me too, but Maurice was nowhere in sight. I looked around frantically. I couldn't lose him!

"Maurice!" I yelled as I swam around the people. I was tossed backwards as another wave struck. I gotta fight it! If I lose that little brat, I'll lose my head!

"Maurice!" I dove under an approaching wave and looked around when I resurfaced.

"Big bwother!" I heard him scream. His voice came from… I gasped. The wall! I turned and saw him barely staying above the surface! I gotta hurry before he gets swept under!

"Hang on, Maurice!" I yelled as I swam towards him.

More waves came. Every time one struck, I was pushed into people. They cursed at me as I swam away. I couldn't apologize to them. I gotta get to Maurice! I was starting to get tired. I shook my head. I can't wimp out now! I gotta get to him! I jumped when the next wave hit, preventing me from getting swept. After going around a few more people and under one more wave, I finally made it to the wall. My little brother was just a foot or two away. I smiled as I moved towards him.

Just then, another wave came and knocked Maurice off the wall! He was swept away! I growled as I moved around people to catch him. I grinned as I saw him within arms length.

"Whew… I got you." I said as I reached an arm out.

Before I could grab him, two waves came, one after the other, and drove me back much further than usual. I dragged my feet along the pool's bottom and forced myself forward. I'm not going to lose my brother to some stupid wave! I'm finding him and that's that! I pushed onward, only allowing the waves to push me back as little as possible. Finally, I saw him.

"Ha! I gotcha now!" I yelled as I jumped over the last wave. Unfortunately, Maurice moved away at the last second and I was heading towards someone else!

"Watch out!" The guy yelled, but it was too late. I couldn't stop myself!

°CRASH!°