A/N: Wahoooo! Finally, chapter nine! The reason I said finally is that this chapter has been planned and half-written since all the way back when I was still writing Visser Three's Diary! It's a great chapter, however scarring it is, and I'd like to thank Concrete Angel for helping me come up with it: We were at Magic Mountain Water Park when we thought of it, and we were laughing so hard we rolled around in the grass lol! So anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did:D Also… this is a long chapter. :P Please bear with it. XD
There is a crucial plot element in this chapter. It will really help the development of certain aspects of this trilogy. However, don't forget to peel your eyes… as not to miss it completely!
Dedicated to Concrete Angel. Thanks once again for helping out with our "invention", lol.
Also, to Edriss and Pharrells Girl, for both letting me read the CF parts of your stories you'd promised me for a while now. ;) Now it's your turn, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs.
"Visser Three's Journal"
Chapter 9
Here Comes Norm!
May 25th
Dear Journal,
Wow! Sixteen whole days since I've written in you, Journal. Sorry, it's just… nothing much has been happening lately. Just the old, boring routine, and not much to talk about. But hey, now I'm back, and you know what that means…
… YET ANOTHER HORRIBLE, SCARRING THING HAS HAPPENED IN MY LIFE! WAHOO! YEAH! Aren't horrible events GREAT?
So, I guess now you're wondering what exactly happened to me now… And I guess I have no choice but to tell you. So, here goes, you'll be sorry Journal…
Early this morning, I awoke to a large, noisy bang on the wall next door, followed by a sharp scream.
" AAAAAHHH!"
As you may have guessed, it was Visser One. She's the only Yeerk inconsiderate enough to scream her guts out at seven thirty in the morning. I mean HELLO, this is a PUBLIC PLACE.
I rolled my eyes. What did she do now!
And then, beyond myself, I got up reluctantly from the bed in which I'd slept last night, and walked calmly toward the door.
" Visser, Visser!" Iniss shrieked, running toward me. His facial expression was like nothing I'd ever seen! And since we're talking about Iniss, that's got to be awfully bad.
( Iniss! ) I said in half-hearted horror. ( Lose the face, damn it! )
Iniss immediately softened up his features.
( Better, ) I allowed.
" Visser, Visser!" Iniss started whining again.
( WHAT! ) I practically screamed.
" Visser One is being ATTACKED!" he said.
( Ha ha, ) I said. ( Very funny, Iniss. )
" No it's true!" Iniss insisted.
( Iniss, if you're trying to -- ) I started, annoyed.
" VISSER, COME ON!" Iniss practically screamed.
I rolled my eyes and followed him to the door, walking casually.
" Go AWAY, you dapsen!" I heard Visser One yell firmly.
I started running, curious as to what was happening, and almost ran over Iniss in the process. I leapt out into the hall, where I looked toward Visser One's room to see… some incredibly FAT guy standing in the doorway!
( What the f -- ) I started.
" GO AWAY!" Visser One shrieked.
" Why?" the fat guy replied dumbly.
At that moment, I realized it was time to intervene. I galloped casually over to the fat guy, and poked him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention, which worked.
( I take it you're new here! ) I said genuinely.
" Yes!" the guy replied just as genuinely.
I rolled my eyes. We had been getting a lot of new interns lately. But… why a fat guy? What could a fat guy do in the military? Fall on everyone to death?
( Okay, rule number one… ) I said.
I looked into the room and saw Visser One standing in a corner, her gaze murderous, while she covered herself with a bedsheet. My eyes went wide.
( Never, EVER disturb Visser One while she's trying to get dressed. Your head could come off. )
" What, are you her mate?" the guy asked, awestruck.
" No!" Visser One and I both replied quickly.
( I meant she'd shoot your head off, not me! ) I practically screamed, while trying to not make it look like I was practically screaming.
" Ah." the guy said understandingly.
I looked at him, obviously starting to get annoyed. ( Okay, would you just LEAVE? )
" Whyyyyy?" The guy looked like he was about to CRY.
( Because you're irritating me. ) I said. ( I have a tail. I am not afraid to use it. )
" Use it for what?" This guy just gets thicker and thicker.
( To CHOP your HEAD off, you DAPSEN! ) I yelled. ( Now GO AWAY! )
Sullen-looking, the guy backed off. He turned around and walked away without saying another word.
I glared at Visser One, still covering herself. ( What, you thought he was going to rape you or something? Learn to lock your door, dimwit. )
---
Back in the safety and comfort of my own chambers, leaving Visser One some privacy (which apparently she doesn't need since she leaves her god damn door wide open!), I decided to morph human to fully enjoy my freshly-cooked bowl of oatmeal. See, Andalites absorb nutrients through their hooves, and they only eat grass… so not only would Alloran just kind of not absorb the oatmeal, but even if he did I wouldn't be able to taste it. So human was the way to go.
After getting dressed at last, Visser One came to retrieve me in my room. She tackled me and almost sent my bowl of oatmeal toppling to the ground. But unfortunately for her, I caught it with a nimble human hand.
" Shit!" she cursed.
" Hehe. You lose," I said cockily.
I punched her lightly in the stomach, and – oh lords. Her sweater. It was so SOFT!
" Can --" she looked slightly creeped out as she stared down forbiddingly at my hand. " Can you stop touching my stomach now?"
" No way, Visser One." I said, my mouth full of newly-placed oatmeal. " It's soft."
" Let go of me, you're freaking me out!"
I laughed sardonically. " Your own FAULT for wearing soft sweaters!"
Visser One was just about to reply when I heard a familiar, dapsenish sound coming from my computer console.
- Ding dong DING!
" YOU'VE GOT MAIL!" the shrill voice rang out as if getting e-mail was the most wonderful, most exciting thing in the universe. " YOU'VE GOT MAIL!"
Visser One almost leaped in surprise. " What the Seerow was THAT?"
" I'VE GOT MAIL!" I yelled, annoyed, mimicking the voice and throwing my hands gingerly into the air as I walked to the infernal console.
I have got to disconnect that voice… I thought to myself bitterly.
I stepped up to the console and pressed the "Mail" button. My inbox opened up, and I saw a new message from "Unknown Sender". The subject was "Pool Party".
" Ahh, maybe he means that pool party we've been invited to tonight?" Visser One wondered from behind me. She had probably walked up to see the message.
" Visser Five's party," I added. " Probably."
There's something I forgot to mention: A few days ago, we had all been invited to a pool party in honor of Visser Five's birthday. No, not a Yeerk pool party, you dimwits! A SWIMMING pool party. See, there's a huge indoor swimming pool complex on the sixth floor of the Empire ship. Swimming laps is a good way to build up your muscles. But for tonight, Visser Five had booked the pool for his party.
" Sooo…" Visser One said, snapping me out of my thoughts. " Are you going to open the message or what?"
" Yes Visser, open the message!" Iniss bounded onto my shoulder from out of NOWHERE.
" What?" I said. " Oh. Yeah."
I clicked on the link, and a long message popped onto the screen. The three of us leaned down to read it…
---
To: "Visser Three" (The. Prime (a) theempire.uni)
Cc: "Visser One" (NumberOneVisser (a)theempire.uni or visser. one (a) "Councilor Three" (yay. pencils (a)theempire.uni), Iniss 226 (I. Love. V1 (a)visseronefanclub.uni), "Councilor Seven" (CouncilorSeven22 (a) theempire.uni)
From: "Norm" (Hork-BajirRCool (a) theempire.uni)
Subject: Pool Party
Hi. Uh. Hi, my name's Norm! I'm a new intern in the Empire Building. I was recently invited to a pool party and realized all of you were invited as well… Since I already kind of knew Visser Three, I decided to send this to him and some of his friends who were also going. See… I need some advice. It is my first public party in a long time. I am a thirty-year-old Yeerk with a well-fit body and muscles EVERYWHERE. What type of swimsuit do you think I should wear? And what color? I have brown hair and blue eyes. If one of you is female, that would be great, because I'd LOVE to get a female's point of view on this as well.
Please reply soon!
Thank you,
Norm
---
I closed the message.
Visser One, Iniss and I all sort of stared.
" Excuse me?" Iniss exclaimed. " Norm!"
" What kind of party isn't PUBLIC!" Visser One added.
" My FRIENDS?" I waved my hands at Iniss and Visser One. " You people!"
" Ditto!" Visser One shrieked.
Iniss looked kind of down.
" It's okay Iniss," said Visser One, patting him on the back. " You're special."
" She touched me!" Iniss seemed to deflate as he fell almost gracefully to the ground, unconscious, of course.
" … In a disturbing kind of way…" Visser One finished, rolling her eyes at the trembling wreck which was Iniss.
" You are a sad little creature," I pointed out.
" You're one to talk." Visser One replied. Then she frowned, looking serious. " How does this Norm guy know you, anyway?"
I sighed with my human mouth. " How should I know? I've never met a NORM before in my life! … He's probably a stalker or something."
" Stop flattering yourself. Who would want to stalk you?"
" Anyone who's desperate enough to stalk you!" Hehe. Good one, Visser Three.
" Ha, ha, very funny." Visser One glared.
We both looked back at the console as a wobbly, pathetic Iniss got back to his feet.
" As for Norm…" I said. " I guess we'll just have to wait until tonight to figure out who the hell he is."
---
And that's how, at seven thirty, Councilor Four, Visser One, Ellie, Iniss and I all met in front of the pool complex doors. Councilor Four was already in his bathing suit, wearing nothing but a pair of green and red shorts – looked like Christmas, for the Emperor's sake! And I knew for a fact Ellie was wearing an aquamarine tankini (NOT PINK, FOR ONCE). Iniss was wearing a t-shirt – which he told me he would later take off to "impress Visser One with his muscles" – and a pair of baby blue swim shorts. Visser One was fully clothed, with a white t-shirt and baggy khaki pants, but I could see the black string of her bikini hanging from the back of her shirt. I'd never seen Visser One in her swimsuit – mainly because I don't usually get invited to pool parties like she does. But Visser Five likes me. Even though he and Visser One are the best of friends.
Visser One looked at her watch impatiently. " WHERE is Councilor Eight? It's seven thirty-one!"
( Oh WOW. ) I said bitterly, having morphed back to Andalite a while back. ( ONE MINUTE. )
" One minute is a big deal for him!" Visser One exclaimed. " Guys, I'm worried. What if – oh! Councilor Eight!"
Visser One's eyes lit up and filled to the rims with bright, shining love. I spun around and saw him coming, with his wind-blown blond hair, and the tan that Visser One loves so much… he was wearing long, royal blue swimming shorts topped by a white tee, and his eyes were bright and loving at the sight of his beloved mate. It made me bitter to think that Visser One, so undeserving, could experience love and affection by the tons in an Empire who adored her – while I sat alone and wiltering with no attention, except from her. And her attention isn't exactly the type I'm speaking of…
… Whoa! Why am I divulging my deepest secrets here? I mean geez, I know you're a Journal, but enough is enough! Besides, all this talk of affection is making my evil brain turn to mush.
Back to the point, Councilor Eight walked up to us, and Visser One ran into his arms. He held her close, dug his face into her hair and closed his eyes. They rocked gently, whispering sweet things to each other and kissing softly from time to time. Iniss looked on in absolute jealousy. Ellie too – I think she has a wee little crush on Councilor Eight. Councilor Four just seemed to think it was sweet.
" Come on, Visser Three, quit looking so angry!" he said happily. " Love is so sweet, and they love each other so much. It's nice to see."
( I do not look angry, ) I snapped privately, defensively. ( Why would I be angry? )
" How can you not be jealous of him?" Councilor Four teased.
Oooookay… The more I think about it, the more I think maybe that guy Councilor Two, from the gym on my first day, was right: Maybe Councilor Four did have a crush on Visser One…
… It certainly wouldn't surprise me. Ever since the cow in my bedroom, I pretty much realized I'd seen everything, and nothing surprises me anymore.
( EEW! ) I exclaimed, shocked. ( Councilor Four, you KNOW I don't think of Visser One like that! And neither should you! )
" I know, I don't," Councilor Four laughed enigmatically. " I was just teasing, no need to be so defensive."
I glared at him, and Visser One kissed Councilor Eight's lips before turning back to me, staring me through with her black eyes. " What are you two talking about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I smirked. ( We're talking about how we're going to ferociously murder you, you dapsen. )
" Oh, I am so terrified," Visser One said lamely, putting her hands on her hips as Councilor Eight held her waist.
I rolled my eyes. ( I have to go to the bathroom. )
Visser One nodded. " Thanks for sharing… We'll see you inside. Unfortunately."
I glared daggers at her before I spun around to hopefully find the bathroom in this place before Alloran's intestines exploded. I found it easily enough – it was in a little corner behind the buffet table. Convenient enough, I guess, as you usually need to shit sometime after you eat like a pig.
Unfortunately, Alloran needs to use the restroom much more often than some people, because he is a senile retard who constantly jabbers about how much he adores his wife. The THING has a wife? Ew.
Her name is Jahar, too. I mean, wasn't there a fricking SHIP called Jahar?
… Ohh… I get it. Maybe ALLORAN named the ship JAHAR after his wife… Duh, Visser Three.
Wow. I'm slow today…
Right, so I walked into the bathroom, and who do I see standing in front of the sinks, tweezing his… his eyelashes?
That FAT guy from this morning! In a pair of pyjama pants!
AT A POOL PARTY.
Once again, I decided it was time to intervene.
( Uh… dude? ) I stepped in. ( … What are you doing? )
The fat guy turned his head, causing the skin on his cheeks to ripple like NOTHING I'D EVER SEEN, and smiled broadly at me. " VISSER THREE!"
My eyes widened. ( Yes…? )
" Did you get my message this morning?" Once again he cut me off.
( What message? ) I asked, perplexed.
" You know!" the fat guy exclaimed.
I didn't. Or at least, at first I didn't… but suddenly, it began to dawn on me. I remembered this morning, Visser One, Iniss and I crowding around my computer console… tidbits of the message… I am a thirty-year-old Yeerk with a well-fit body and muscles EVERYWHERE. What type of swimsuit do you think I should wear? And what color? I have brown hair and blue eyes… All of a sudden, I really understood! I grabbed the fat guy by the shoulders.
( YOU'RE NORM? ) I shrieked hysterically.
" Uh… yah…" the fat guy said in his booming voice. " So, did you get Norm's message?"
( Uh… I thought you were Norm. )
" I am Norm!" he exclaimed as if confused.
I decided not to ask. ( Yes, I did get your message. But unfortunately, I did not have sufficient time to reply. Did anyone reply? )
Norm smiled brightly at this question. " Yes, actually Councilor Three replied to Norm. He told Norm that a man with big muscles" – MUSCLES alright! – "such as himself should wear a tight-fitting swimsuit. So Norm bought one… and now he has to go put it on. Wait here, Visser Three."
I watched, dumbfounded, as Norm walked away into a nearby stall, which I vaguely wondered if he would even FIT into.
( Why is your name Norm? ) I asked as I began my morph to human for the party. I was using Jamie Kleine.
" Norm is Norm's name!"
( Are you a human? ) I asked as the flesh on my arms turned pink.
" Norm is a Yeerk!" Norm yelled, sounding slightly insulted.
" Ookeeeyyss…" I decided to wait until my mouth had fully appeared before continuing. " Okay, so why don't you have a regular Yeerk name?"
" Norm does," Norm said.
" Okay, then what is it?" I asked, starting to feel a bit annoyed. At that moment my morph completed, leaving me standing in the bathroom in my tight morphing shorts. I walked into a free stall to change into the swimsuit I'd brought in my backpack. Red and black swimsuit. Hehe.
" Norm forgot his Yeerk name after he banged his head against a rock," Norm explained, as if it was perfectly normal to refer to oneself in the third person.
" Oh. Okay." I said, not planning on going there anytime soon.
A few moments of silence as both Norm and I changed into our swimsuits. Then…
" Norm needs Visser Three's help." Norm's low voice echoed against the walls.
" Why?" I inquired.
" Norm's stuck!" he yelled, despaired.
" You're stuck where?" I exclaimed. Oh dear lords, the poor man had gotten stuck in the stall! I knew it!
" Norm's stuck in his bathing suit!" Norm yelled.
" WHAT?" I exclaimed.
" HELP, VISSER THREE!" Norm half-sobbed.
I scowled at myself. Why always me? Why not Visser One for a change? I rolled my eyes, cursed Councilor Three for advising Norm to wear a tight-fitting bathing suit, and walked out of my stall, setting out to help an incredibly fat man either in or out of his bathing suit. HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY IN… Nobody needs to see that, not even me…
I stopped in front of Norm's stall and knocked. " It's Visser Three," I spat.
" THANK YOU!" Norm exclaimed gratefully, opening the door.
Closing my eyes I walked into that stall – or at least attempted to, since with NORM in there it was practically impossible to fit another person without suffocating them in his flub!
Why did you have to come to the bathroom, Visser Three? I thought bitterly to myself. Why couldn't you just morph and pee in some little hole somewhere?
Ah well… no turning back now. I looked at Norm. Even with my back pressed firmly against the wall, there was about an inch of space between Norm and myself in the stall. Not even. But now was no time for self-pity – I had to "rescue" Norm before some popular "male" came in and realized I was in a stall with some guy… It'd be all over the press! I'd never be Visser One then!
I looked down at Norm's bathing suit. Thank God it was covering him, at least. Still, I almost slapped him AND myself. It was a FRICKING SPEEDO! Never mind what color, it was a SPEEDO! I was going to KILL Councilor Three.
However, as for fitting and covering the guy, I couldn't see what the problem was… Except for the fact that it was so tight that his fat hung over the rims of the bathing suit, it seemed to fit just fine. I looked at him, perplexed.
" What's the problem? It covers you fine."
Norm blushed and slowly turned around – with difficulty in such a cramped stall. Then, once his backside finally faced me, I looked at him, and down at his bathing suit, where I saw… uh. Never mind what I saw.
Oh, lords, save me from the permanent images…
Staring at the back of his neck the rest of the time, with heat flushing my cheeks, I yanked and pulled on his too-tight Speedo. Up, go UP you damn thing! I yanked hard a couple times, and finally, after about ten minutes of yanking and pulling, the bathing suit went up – and stayed up. Halleluja!
" Okay," I told Norm sternly once he'd turned back around. " Just don't jump like a retard all day, because it could slip right off, and trust me, you wouldn't want that!"
" Norm will not jump like a retard, he promises!" Norm promised.
" Good." I said. " Well… I'm off to the party."
I turned around and walked out of the bathroom, knowing Norm was following me outside, but not caring any more than that.
" Where were you?" Councilor Four asked, running up to me as I crossed the floor. Around me, Yeerks were already starting to enjoy themselves, swimming in the pool, chatting by the poolside, sliding down the tube slide Visser Five had made himself for the occasion…
I rolled my eyes. " Looonngg story… Just forget about it, okay?"
Councilor Four shrugged and smiled. " Fair enough. Look, I'll show you our spot."
He led me to a spot close enough to the pool, but far enough so we wouldn't get splashed every two seconds. Councilor Four, Iniss, and Ellie's towels were spread on the floor. I added mine to the circle, and as I looked around me, I noticed that Visser One and Councilor Eight's towels were laid side by side a few feet away from us.
I lifted my eyes, hopefully to spot the stupid thing Visser One was doing… I looked around, and suddenly I saw her smiling brightly and laughing while talking to two girls in front of her, whose backs were to me. The two girls, one blonde and one brunette, were sitting in chairs beside the pool, while Visser One stood right on the edge, behind them in my point of view. She laughed and squealed as Visser Five walked over and picked her up by the stomach, lifting her clear off the ground. She screamed joke threats at him as, amused, he literally threw her into the pool.
With a splash she landed into the water! They all waited until she surfaced, a few moments later. She laughed wholeheartedly, keeping her head easily above the surface as they all laughed with her. So typical of Visser One… I thought resentfully. She's either the center of attention, or WITH the center of attention.
Visser One swam to the side of the pool and lifted herself out of the water. For the first time, I actually saw her in entity… She was wearing a decent gold-and-black string bikini, bottomed by a matching "boy short" bottom, which brought out, all at once, her porcelain-pale skin and the jet black of her hair and eyes. Even though she is my worst enemy, I couldn't help but stare as she walked over to her towel to pick something up. See, Visser One, by working out and being a military commander for a big part of her life, has given most of her hosts the type of physique it takes to wear a string bikini and look amazing. And of course, her gorgeous face didn't ruin the picture in the least…
… However, if she still had long hair, it would have been absolutely perfect. No doubt too perfect for someone to think about his worst enemy.
I forced myself to stop staring at my archrival in a bikini and concentrated on the two other girls. You see, I knew these two girls: They were Visser One's two best friends, Jaell One-Eight-Two (the brunette) and Jiana Nine-Four-Six (who also happens to be my sister). They also happen to be very popular around the Empire… Geesh. Whether or not this is based completely off the fact that they are best friends with Visser One, I guess we'll never know.
I walked up to their chairs and stuck my head between them. " Hello, ladies."
Jiana turned around and smiled. " Hey there, brother! It's been a while."
" Yes, well, I suppose it has. I --"
" Visser Three!" Visser One shot from behind me, prodding me painfully in the ribs.
" OUCH, Visser One!" I yelped angrily, spinning around to glare at her. Eyes above the collarbone, I reminded myself sternly. I can't give Visser One the satisfaction of knowing that I am even SLIGHTLY fazed by her stunning appearance! " Must you always have such PAINFUL means of getting my attention?"
" No shit, Visser Three," she spat. She turned to her two best friends. " Jiji, Jaell? I'm going over to Visser Five's slide. Care to join?"
" Sorry Rissa…" Jiana said with a laugh, calling Visser One by the nickname she'd adopted for her friend. " I'm way too comfortable here."
" Yeah, same here," Jaell laughed. " You go ahead, though! We'll watch."
Visser One sighed. I poked her shoulder, twisting my finger around painfully. She drew her arm away.
" I'll go," I said. " Nothing better to do. Plus," I smirked, " it would annoy you beyond belief to have ME for company up there…"
Visser One rolled her eyes irritably at me, then spun around and swaggered over to the slide lineup, which was on the other side of the pool. We crossed over to the other side, then stood on the stairs to wait in line. She was first, I was second. But only then did I look up and notice who was directly before us…
Oh my lords.
NORM.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd noticed him… Visser One looked at me, her face contorted into a disgusted expression. I have to say I agreed with her… It was awfully gross.
She mouthed "Speedo" as if she was about to throw up. I smirked at her, loving this. She was so disgusted… And Visser One feeling uncomfortable always made my day.
A few moments passed, then suddenly it was Norm's turn. He watched as, uneasily, the lifeguard gave him the go.
" Yay!" Norm exclaimed as he giggled merrily and threw himself down the too-narrow tube slide.
Visser One, who was of course standing right in front of me, turned around and looked at me in a very unimpressed way.
" Geez, these oatmealized Yeerks who deliberately take incredibly overweight hosts…" she shook her head angrily. " They drive me insane! Do you know how long it took Visser Five to build this slide? Which, by the way, has a five-hundred pound WEIGHT RESTRICTION?"
" Oh come on Visser One, give the guy a break!" I exclaimed. " I'm sure he doesn't really weigh five hundred pounds."
" Close enough! He weighed exactly four-hundred ninety-nine point three. We had to let him on anyway, the madness!"
" YOU are a dope."
" Me? A dope? Excuse me Visser but I have been staying away from oatmeal for three weeks now. That should count for something!"
" Great. I'll have the gold medal made by tomorrow then."
She just gave me a cold stare and turned back around to face the low-rank we had employed as the lifeguard for the party, at whom, of course, she glared angrily just as he looked away quickly and started whistling. Heh. I almost laughed.
" Ahem." The lifeguard blabbered, addressing Visser One of course (no seriously people, he'd just be blabbering at some random GUY). " You can – may – can -- … may?"
" Just get on with it!" Visser One snapped.
" Yes, of course Visser!" the lifeguard trembled. " You… may go now."
" Jesus Christ! Fricking crackhead!" … and there went Visser One again, muttering in her wide variety of human slang she picked up while on Earth for a YEAR learning about humans. Or more specifically the human reproductory tract.
Without looking back at me she sat down and pushed herself slowly down the slide. Her jet black hair, which she'd placed in a ponytail a few moments before, looked really nice from the back. As you know, she'd cut her hair a while back, but as I mentioned it had been a little while, and her ever-silky hair was slowly starting to grow back.
Not long after she disappeared from sight I heard a damp "THUMP". Confused, I listened, hoping to hear the sound again and maybe decipher it's meaning. But, to my great awe, I didn't hear a sound. I heard voices.
Voices, coming from inside the slide.
" What's going on?" yelled a female voice I immediately recognized as Visser One's.
" Norm's stuck!" shrieked… well… Norm.
Visser One, of course, not yet knowing who Norm was exactly, remained confused.
" Who's Norm?" she asked.
" I'M Norm!" Norm exclaimed.
" HOLY – I meeean… YOU'RE NORM? Speedo guy?" Visser One yelped.
" Yes, Norm is Norm," Norm said. " And are you the nice-looking female creature I saw this morning in a doorway?"
That did it. Without warning, Visser One started shrieking. I heard repeated "THUMPS" and "Ows" from Norm as he apparently got kicked lower down the slide. Soon enough, I heard a wet sound as Norm became dislodged… and he and Visser One both went tumbling down into the water! I watched as Norm landed with a deafening splash, and Visser One a split second later, right on top of him. The lifeguard gave me the go as Visser One pulled herself out of the water. I slid down the slide… it was awfully fast, for a bunch of plastic! But when I landed into the water, I went under… right under Norm! Panicking, I tried to surface… but Norm was covering me! I took a breath in my panic and caught only water. Choking, I fought to get to the surface, which I finally did moments later… but I was choking so much I couldn't swim!
Voices rang out from the side of the pool. Vaguely, I noticed Visser One and Councilor Eight standing there.
" I think he's drowning," Visser One said. " Go save him."
" You want to save him?" Councilor Eight yelled, appalled. " I thought you hated him."
" I do! But how am I supposed to cause his death if he randomly drowns?" Visser One exclaimed. " Please go save him?"
" No," Councilor Eight said stubbornly.
" FINE THEN," Visser One said. Then, to my great surprise, I heard a splash as she jumped into the water! I fought and coughed for a moment longer before soft hands slid around my waist and dragged me, with great difficulty, to the edge.
She got out first and pulled me up. There I lay, coughing and spurting water, breathing heavily… and I noticed Norm standing nearby.
" Is Visser Three okay?" Norm asked me, though no one else got that.
" Yes, unfortunately he'll be fine," Visser One said coldly, with a smirk in my favor. Our eyes met for a brief moment before we quickly turned away.
" Okay then," Norm said. " Then Norm has to do something."
I sat up, and Visser One, Councilor Eight and I all watched as Norm backed up slowly, then stopping… and smiling wildly at us.
" Here comes Norm!" Norm shrieked, running and literally launching himself into the pool.
" Oh NO!" Visser One screamed. She got up and started to back away, but too late! Norm's behemoth splash reached us all, and I heard shrieks from the entire complex as the water poured down like rain all around us.
I saw Visser One walking away, telling Councilor Eight she was going to the drinks bar. And I saw Norm staring at her as she went. Then, Norm got out of the pool and started to follow her. I suddenly got an ugly premonition… I got up and, when Councilor Eight wasn't looking, followed along.
Visser One got her drink and went to relax in a secluded area, where you could practically not even hear the music playing. Norm and I both followed. I hid behind a fake tree as Norm approached Visser One.
" Hello," Norm said as he sat next to her.
Visser One gave him a warning glare, but he ignored it and started to touch her arm. Visser One pulled away. " Don't touch me!"
She stood up, and so did Norm. She stepped back and he stepped forward.
" Why?" he asked. " Visser One is pretty. Why can't Norm touch her?"
Oh lords, he really was clueless, wasn't he?
" Leave me alone!" Visser One shrieked. Her back was against the wall, and she didn't have a Dracon beam to fight off a guy three times her size.
" Why?" he asked as he came closer and tried to kiss her.
At that moment, beyond myself, I ran out of the tree as Visser One shrieked. I ran up and grabbed Norm's collar and pushed him away.
" Visser Three!"
" OFF HER!" I yelled.
At that moment, I saw a handsome, brown-haired guy come into the scene. He saw Visser One's frightened yet angry face, and saw me, as if in a dream, confronting Norm. It was Councilor Two. He walked up to Visser One and extended his arms to her. Looking over at us, she let herself be welcomed close to him.
" Are you okay?" he asked her.
" Yeah, fine," Visser One said, looking at me the whole time.
I didn't care if Norm didn't know what he was doing. I didn't care if Visser One was my worst enemy, either. I just didn't care anymore.
" Norm, you can't just do that!" I yelled.
" Why?" he asked.
" Because you don't have permission to!" I replied.
" Neither does Visser Three!" Norm said.
" Of course I don't!" I spat, not even sure myself anymore why I was defending Visser One, just driven by some unknown force it seemed. " And I don't try to attack her! SO LAY OFF HER!" Norm backed up, and I came forward and shoved him into the pool. Then I came back, and realized that Visser One and Councilor Two were gone.
During the rest of the party, I noticed that Visser One spent a lot more time than usual with Councilor Two. But when we did cross each other, she looked at me and mouthed, "Thanks."
She didn't know why I had stepped in to protect her. Neither did I, not in the least! But I certainly am having lots of time to think about it now, nearing midnight, as I write these lines… Getting sleepy though. I think I'll call it a night, and try to forget about it in the morning. By writing it all down I have to say I feel at least a little better about today…
Until my return,
Esplin 9466.
WOW THAT WAS LONG! SIXTEEN PAGES! -wipes forehead- Ahh well, I guess you can just call it a deluxe edition. :P Hope you enjoyed, and please REVIEW! I worked WAY TOO HARD on this nonstop, five hours a day for two days to NOT get a good number of reviews. DO NOT IGNORE THE TINY PURPLE BUTTON!
Kharina: Halfway there! Only eight more chapters before chapter 18:D
Ember: Five more chapters before The Hunt:D
Closet Fans: Hope you enjoyed:D