Pool, Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 9th, 2013, 1:02 AM
The three walked through the doors and into the darkly lit pool building flashlights in hand.
"We're in the Otters' lair!" Max said excitedly to which Chloe scoffed
"Big fucking deal. I want that heated water!"
"We still have to play it cool, okay? I still go to school here." Caulfield reminded her friend
"Yeah and so do I, try not to get us both kicked out of this place, could you please?" James added,
"You can own this hellhole once you figure out your rewind power..." Price responded. James grew slightly irritated at the mention of these powers again. Quite honestly James had heard quite enough of it for one night to be frank, They walked up to the doors of the changing rooms, "Boys? or Girls?" Price asked gesturing to the doors "
Girls, of course!" Caulfield decided, James just assumed this was just her sticking to basic rules and the like,
Price's response of "Girls? Ooh-la-la..." made him think it was now for a more perverse reason.
"I'll just..wait by the pool" James said opting to walk through the doors of the Boy's room.
James used his flashlight to guide his way around the room, This would be an ample opportunity to do some snooping but quite honestly he just wanted to get to the pool as quickly as possible, He walked through the door on the opposite side and found himself in front of a large body of water only illuminated by his flashlight hitting the surface. The door next to his opened out Price stepped out first then closely followed by Caulfield.
"Max, try to find the light for the pool. I want to see the sharks!" Price instructed,
"Otters don't like sharks. They bite." Max pointed out,
James started to wonder why he decided to come here in the first place "I could be in my dorm room right now sleeping. But no, my dumbass decided to tag along..." he thought about just leaving but remembered Price's surprise at his acceptance to join showed he was more than just business, He'd hate to prove her right.
So he decided to just remain as the perpetual third wheel.
"So do I... Hit that light!" Price responded to Caulfield's comment about Otters and Sharks.
Caulfield then disappeared into the Lifeguards room and before he knew, the entire pool was lit up in a neon blue color that casted such a light in the water that it made James' flashlight now obsolete, so he shut it off and placed it inside his jacket pocket.
Before James had any real time to react Price started stripping down to nothing but her undergarments, James. Completely caught off guard by this raised a hand to avert his eyes from unfolding in front of him Price made a comment about him being prudish before jumping into the water, James decided to kick his companions discarded clothing further away from the pool's edge to prevent them from getting soaked.
"You gonna come in or not Sherlock?" Price asked from the water
"I said I'd accompany you to the pool, I never said anything about jumping in... besides I don't feel like swimming in my Skivvies" James shook his head, he hadn't really even planned on even being here to begin with. Price called him a pansy and went about swimming. Caulfield walked out of the Lifeguards Room
"Oh yeah, baby! Feels like a hot tub! And with my cash stash, I'm queen of the world! Bow!" Price cheered then, James thought her comment was slightly ironic since they were both standing by the edge of the pool while she was sitting below them in the water. "Tell me you're not going to stand there watching me like a zombie." she asked Caulfield before playfully throwing the clear liquid at her, Caulfield stepped back to avoid getting hit
"Don't you dare..." she jokingly warned her friend.
"Come stop me, hippie!" Price goaded, then Max removed her clothes and cannonballed into the pool, creating a huge puddle around the edge of the pool. Now James was the only fully clothed and dry member of the group he found a nearby folding chair and sat down on it,
"Why look, an otter in my water!" Price joked before mimicking the JAWS theme. The two girls splashed around and swam around while James sat in his chair staring at the ceiling, "You asleep Sherlock?" Chloe asked which caused James to look down at the pool and shake his head before immediately looking back up at the ceiling.
At some point the girls floated on their backs looking up and the same ceiling James had been
"I wish Rachel was here. She would totally love being in here at night. Wish you guys had met each other..." Price said with a sad sigh, James wasn't sure if she was also referring to him as he was pretty sure he had met Amber before, from what he could remember she was always eccentric, wanting to do all kinds of crazy things but also a very kind person. She had one of those infectious smiles that would for some reason cause others to smile too, except for James of course. He hadn't smiled in god knows how long.
"We will. With all this stuff going on, I'm starting to think everything is related..." Caulfield's words brought James back to reality, he had thought much of the same, this mystery girl was difficult to understand to be sure but they at least agreed upon one fact. Something unusual was going on in Arcadia Bay.
"And I want to find out for Kate's sake. She almost died today..." Max sighed
"I can second that" James said still staring at the top of the room
" Your power is changing everything, Max. Especially you. I can already tell. You're not so chickenshit anymore." Price commented. The two swam up to the edge of the pool and supported themselves on the wall
"You know what I mean. You're becoming like this force of nature." Price supported her complement
"More like luck of nature. Come on, my power failed trying to rescue Kate..." Caulfield argued.
Her comment made James think, what if this alleged power was how she had gotten up to that roof yesterday, it could be a reason but he still was skeptical. It just a concept simply too convoluted and insane to accept as reality. And yet, there she was opening a door from inside a locked room before his very eyes, still, it was odd to think shy, quiet, photography enthusiast Maxine Caulfield would apparently posses the ability to alter time itself.
"Maybe I'm just stumbling back and forth in time... for what reason?" she asked,
"You didn't stumble when you saved me, Max."Price said with a smile, James grew more confused by each statement, when did Chloe Price, of all people need saving? He figured it had to do something with the apparent incident Price told him took place at American Rust between them and Frank Bowers.
"Thank God. But... what if I had? What if? Kate didn't jump but you would be... dead..." Caulfield clarified, James took notice of what she said, Price would have died if not for Caulfield's power. James wasn't shocked, by the age of 19 Chloe Price had already made enough enemies just from her attitude about life that it was a surprise she would almost get herself killed, Who knows how many times before he saved her hide.
James thought that Caulfield had used this 'power' at American Rust to prevent Frank from doing something he'd probably regret and then decided pointing a firearm at him was the best solution "What have you gotten yourself into James?" his inner voice asked him
"it's time to start moving forward in time. And we're obviously connected since without me you would have never discovered your power, right?" Price declared.
Every new thing made James more and more curious, or maybe confused. He was tired of thinking about Max's powers for now, staring then and now James wouldn't really question it. It's not like he'd get a straight sensible answer anyways.
"Absolutely. You make me feel like I know what I'm doing..." Caulfield smiled at her friend
"And you make me feel like I have a reason for still being in Arcadia Bay." Price responded.
James knew Price never liked living here, especially after what happened with her father. James opinion on the town was different, it had its flaws to be sure but Arcadia Bay would always be his home, he grew up here and so did his parents and if he never left, it would be fine for him. But some people just don't think the same way as he did.
"I hope so..." Max said unsure in response to Price, she rolled her eyes
"Stop being so goddamn humble. You're like the smartest, most talented person I've ever known." She complimented then looked up at James "Present company excluded, no offense"
James waved it off "None taken, it's not like you could ever offend me anyways".
The girls swam away from the pool edge and back into the middle, "Now I'm getting cold in here." Max shivered slightly
"Because we're yapping instead of attacking each other, otter-versus-shark style..." Price responded referring back to the splash fight they had earlier and almost got James soaked because of it
"I think I've had my pool experience for the year, let's jet." Price stood up in the water apparently done with swimming, James let out a small sigh of relief as now they would be leaving and he could be back in his dorm sleeping soon enough. The girls got out of the pool and retrieved their clothes to place them back on while James placed his folding chair back where he found it, making extra sure to be as careful as possible in putting it back in the same way as when he had found it.
The girls were done putting their now damp clothes back on seemed ready to leave "Gross, I feel like we just went swimming in Chlorine Bay." Max complained, although he did say it, they both reeked of Chlorine and the cleaning solutions he knew were in the water, "You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals." Chloe not subtlety flirted "Thanks, you would know..." Caulfield said referring to the hair dye that had turned Price's strawberry blonde hair into a bright neon blue color.
"We all ready? Great let's get the hell out of here" James rhetorically asked.
The door on the opposite side of the pool opened and a beam of light started scanning around the room, the trio all looked at each other with a look of fear on their faces as one thought came to all their minds "Hide!" They said in unison with a hushed tone before scrambling. Price went through the Girls room while Max and James ran through the boys, the two ducked into a changing stall and waited for the guard to pass with his flashlight, James wasn't sure if the guard searching the room was David Madsen or not. The guard passed through the room without incident allowing Max and James to get out of the stall and into the pool room, Price walked out of her hiding spot, the girls ran up and hugged one another in relief
"We are so invisible! Let's bail!" Price exclaimed. They walked quickly out of the building and towards the dormitories but another Security Guard was walking towards them, the trio turned on their heels and ducked behind a wall to avoid detection. "This is bullshit. You can't go back to your dorms now, you're Blackwell fugitives! Crash at my place tonight." Chloe whispered to her friend
"You want me to crash where the Blackwell security officer lives so I'll be safe? Okay!" Max exclaimed quietly "James what are you gonna do?" she asked in a hushed tone
"Don't worry, I've got a plan" James reassured.
The two got up and ran for Price's truck out in the parking lot James following behind but he wasn't aiming for the truck, halfway into the parking lot he split off from the group towards the bike rack, there sat his Navy Blue bicycle which had been there all afternoon, he grabbed it and was on the seat peddling away as fast as he could possibly go before the guards had any time to react.