Waterworks part 3:
"You know, were going to have to pay up eventually." Christian noted one Saturday morning. "We won't be working the slides much longer."
"We won't?" Sydney asked. "Oh, right. New assignments."
Christian sighed and put a hand on Sydney's shoulder. "I'm really going to miss you, Syd."
"Sydney's leaving?" Someone in line asked. Surprisingly, it was Rose.
"You care?" Christian raised an eyebrow, reflecting Sydney's sentiment. He waved forward two eleven-year-old girls.
"Sydney's leaving?" Another someone said at the same time. This was Adrian. "Sydney, why are you leaving? Where are you going?"
Sydney crossed the small platform to look down on the staircase housing the line, and searched for those familiar green eyes. "I don't know," she said when she found them.
"Leaving..." Adrian grinned like a devil. "Leaving like your date went spectacular and you're eloping?"
"Huh?" It was she who raised an eyebrow this time. "Oh, that. No. We're all getting new stations next week."
"What, no more lazy-river homicide stunts? No more racy gambles with Ozera?" Adrian shook his head when Sydney finally cracked a smile. "Speaking of the date, though, how'd it go?"
Sydney bit her lip, still smiling. "It was good, and it was a real date. Brayden really knows his Shakespeare."
Adrian waited for more, but when she said nothing, he scowled and said, "That's it? That's all you have to say about it?"
Sydney hadn't realized he wanted more. She thought on it for a moment, and winced when all she could come up with was, "His car is nice. Very...clean."
"His car. Is nice." Adrian was regarding her with an expression that said something, clearly, had gone haywire in her head.
"And clean." Rose added. She was listening with an amused glint in her eyes, which made Sydney slightly uncomfortable. Here was a girl who'd doubtless been on hundreds of mind blowing dates. Here was a girl who definitely didn't need to be listening to this conversation.
They'd inched forward and were almost at the front of the line now. Christian, the angel, was manning both the slides (and keeping score, no doubt).
"Do you like him?" Adrian asked, an odd look on his face.
"Yes." Sydney answered. "I wouldn't have gone out with him if I didn't like him, and we're planning on going out again."
"The other night, you said he works here." Adrian prompted. "Where?"
Sydney had to think on this for a long, long moment. Finally, she said, "I think he's working the diving board right now."
Adrian nodded. It was his turn, she realized, and as she set him up she worried at his silence. Right before he went down he turned to her and said, "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Sage. The relationship guru will be right back with your fortune."
"What?" Sydney asked, beginning to feel slightly panicked. She turned to Rose, who'd also chosen Sydney's slide. "What did he mean by that?"
Rose rolled her inner tube closer while she laughed. "I think Adrian's going to form his own opinions."
Sydney sighed, suppressing a horrified yelp. "Right."
-0-
"That boy is..." Adrian shook his head and sat down next to her, surprising the majority of her table. "I don't know, Sage."
"What did you do? What did you say?" The questions had been on Sydney's tongue for a while, and she was so anxious to ask them that she hadn't even touched her lunch.
"I introduced myself and we had a chat." Adrian explained. "About Brandon-"
"Brayden."
"-right." He paused, twining his fingers together. Sydney saw a familiar figure walking toward them and she thought she just might be sick.
"Oh, you." Brayden said when he reached the table. He was eyeing Adrian with a mixture of bafflement and cautiousness.
"Yes, it is me. I'd be concerned if it wasn't, you know." Adrian said, still looking at Sydney. She looked right back at him. Finally, he blinked, and sat back. "I'll catch you later, Sage."
Brayden took the chair Adrian had been occupying, broaching the subject warily. "You know that guy?"
"Yes. He didn't do anything too... drastic, did he?" Sydney was genuinely afraid to hear the answer.
-0-
On her last day working the lazy river, Sydney sat with her feet in the water, head tipped back. Bliss.
Whereas the sun was usually a brutal enemy, today she embraced its heat and rejoiced in that never again would she stand sentry at this turn in the world. The sun was setting, and she knew she'd need to get going soon. Closing time was almost upon the park, and she'd promised Marcus she'd tell no one he'd left early in return for a shift at the front desk (which was shaded 24/7).
She sighed and stood. "Goodbye, miserable slab of concrete. I hope we never meet again. In fact, I wouldn't be at all that sad if-."
"That is verbal assault if I ever heard it." Came a gruff voice from behind her, and she whirled.
Standing under a fake palm tree was a shady looking character wearing an eye patch and a t-shirt composed of tropical flowers. He wielded a flashlight in one hand and a long, polished stick in the other.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"I'm the night guard, girlie." He answered, and began twirling his stick like a baton. "Mind telling me what you're doing here so late?"
"I... This place has a night guard?" Sydney asked, at a loss for words.
"Name's Malachi Wolfe." He stepped forward. "I'll ask you again, what are you doing out here?"
"I was just leaving." Sydney answered. "Are you sure you're an employee? Marcus never said anything about a night guard."
"I am a stealth guard." Wolfe answered. "Makes my job easier if no one, and I mean no one, knows I'm here." He tapped the side of his nose. "You understand?"
"Maybe." Sydney said slowly, for once not sure if she really understood.
"Keep mum," he clarified, tapping the side of his nose. "Now, go and lock up."
She didn't trust this man, but she didn't know what else she was to do. In spite of his age, she knew she wouldn't be able to take him in a fight. She didn't have the authority to order him out. She could call the police, but what if this man really was a guard? Marcus hadn't left a note, though.
Before anything could be done, he disappeared into the shadows. And, while Sydney kept an eye out, closing down and locking up went without another incident.
-0-
"Are you going to spill, or torture me for another day?" Sydney asked him as he walked up to her proud new perch.
"A desk job." Adrian laughed. "It doesn't suit you, Sage."
"A shaded desk job." She corrected. "It suits me perfectly. Now, out with it."
Adrian sighed. "You two are...very much alike..."
"Well, that's good isn't it?"
"...except that he makes everything hellishly boring. Honestly, Sage, I think I know why you didn't have much to say about the date. You fell asleep, didn't you!" He was grinning now.
"What? No!" Sydney took the ten dollar bill from his hand and typed the sum into the computer. "I thought his conversation was stimulating and he provided interesting commentary throughout."
"She says with about as much emotion as that there cash register." Adrian leaned against the desk. "Honestly Sage, if it's working that's great, but are you telling me there's nothing that worries you?"
Sydney paused for a moment before handing him the spare change.
"There's nothing."
-0-
"I passed by the water park today." Zoe said over a forkful of potato.
Sydney looked up from her dinner. "Oh, yeah?"
"It looks even more disgusting up close. I could smell the chlorine."
Sydney shrugged and looked back down at her food.
Zoe kept going. "The people out front didn't look much better. I mean, they were our age, but not our type. How do you stand them?"
"What do you mean 'not our type'?" Sydney finally spoke.
"You know," Zoe shrugged, "they're not like us. All they care about is spending time with friends and what to wear. They're shallow and loud. Even if your job isn't productive, it must be a test of patience. I've learned to respect you for it."
Sydney stared at her sister, wondering if those weren't her father's lips on Zoe's face. Those were most definitely his words. Finally, she shrugged. "They're not so different from us. Some of them are even enjoyable."
Her sister looked on incredulously. "What?"
"Not all of them," Sydney corrected herself. "Some of them are exactly what you said, shallow and loud. However, many of them are interesting people. They're not...book smart in the way we think of ourselves, but they're not without merit."
"Well," her sister sniffed, clearly not taken by Sydney's answer. "Don't take it as an insult if I find that hard to believe."
Long time no post, old friends. So... how many of you are as ecstatic as me about THE NEW FABLEHAVEN SERIES!? AHHH! so happy.
Soon as summer school is out, I'll be free and updating much more frequently, so keep an eye out!