It was one of those days.
They were rare in South Park, sure, but when they did roll around, they were brutal.
A day where even the birds shied away from the harsh spotlight of the sun, terrified their wings would be fried off. A day where you could cook up a good country breakfast (eggs and bacon included) right on the sidewalk, if the need struck you. A day where those with even the barest traces of common sense knew to stay inside, lest they be burnt to a crisp.
The heat was especially noticeable to a certain green-eyed blonde girl.
"If we don't get a water break soon, I'm gonna flip," Bonnie Snyder complained to the brunette girl next to her.
Arissa Carter shrugged, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Calling a three-hour cheerleading practice at mid-day on what was most likely the hottest day of the year was not on her list of 'best ideas ever.' "That's sort of the idea. I think Bebe's gonna have a heart attack if our back-handsprings aren't in sync."
As if on cue, Bebe clapped her hands together, signaling the rest of the girls to gather around her. Once they had formed a misshapen half-circle, she fixed them with her infamous 'are-you-fucking-serious' glare. "Girls, this is pathetic! We've barely been out here an hour and you're already falling all over the place! This is not the kind of attitude that will get us to Nationals!"
"We're trying," Arissa groaned. "It's just so freaking hot!" There was a general murmur of agreement from the rest of the girls, and Bebe rolled her eyes, giving an exaggerated sigh.
"Fine, fine. We'll do the entire routine one more time; then you can hit the showers. But make sure you do it right – we've got an audience this time." She pointed an impeccably manicured finger towards the bleachers, where five familiar figures were seated.
"Oh my God, is that –" A pink blush dusted Bonnie's cheeks as she squinted to see across the field. Her black shorts and fitted tank top – standard practice wear – suddenly felt a lot skimpier. "It is, isn't it?"
"It's just Stan and those guys," Lola said. "And Mikhail."
Arissa rolled her eyes with a groan. "Typical. Don't they have anything better to do?"
"Apparently not," Bebe snapped, causing the girls to jump to attention. The blonde was a strict captain, but she made sure every performance was flawless. "So I suggest we get into positions and hit this routine. There's only a week until school starts again, and I want that pyramid to be perfect! And a five, six, seven eight-"
[Across The Field]
"Is it just me, or are the shorts a few inches smaller this year?"
"No, they're definitely the same. The tops look a bit tighter, though, right around the ti-"
"Dude!" Stan Marsh stared in disbelief at the McCormick cousins, who grinned devilishly back at him. They looked remarkably similar, save Mikhail's bright green eyes and Kenny's disheveled hair.
"What?" Mikhail asked with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. "We're just enjoying a nice Monday afternoon at the football field. Aren't you enjoying yourself?"
"What? No, I'm not enjoying myself!" Stan cried, aghast. He looked to Kyle for support, but the red-head was locked in another stupid argument with Cartman. This one looked like it might be getting very violent very soon. He rolled his eyes and shifted uncomfortably – the metal benches were burning hot from sitting in the sun all day. "Look, can we just go?"
"Stan, this little field trip was for you, remember? To show you that there are other girls out there besides Wendy?" Kenny smiled again, kicking his feet up as his eyes zeroed in on Bonnie's ass. "Any enjoyment on our part is simply coincidental."
"I don't want another girl," Stan groaned. He'd only just broken up with his girlfriend of six years a week ago. Couldn't he have some time to adjust to being single before leaping into another relationship? These kinds of things escaped Kenny McCormick, who was much more likely to get struck by lightning than call a girl back… literally.
"A guy then? I didn't know you were in to that kind of thing-"
"No! I just… I don't need a girlfriend right now, alright?" Stan massaged his aching temples, realizing it was useless to argue. Besides, the heat was unbearable. "If you guys want to sit out in the sun and watch cheerleaders practice all day, then that's fine with me. I'm going home."
"To each his own, I guess," Mikhail said airily.
[Meanwhile]
"What do you mean, the pool's not open?" Alyssa Hope leaned across the community center's help desk; her heterochromatic eyes open wide in disbelief. It was hot as Hades outside!
"I mean the pool's not open." The blonde girl behind the counter was more interested in her magazine and bubblegum than anything else. Her name tag read 'Brittany.' She flipped the page, snapping her gum in boredom. "Manager said not to let anyone in."
"But it's like, two-hundred degrees out there!" Alyssa pointed through the double doors leading outside, where a crowd of people wearing swimsuits was gathered. "C'mon, you have to let us go in. Just for a little while, just to cool down. Please?"
"I don't, no, and no." Alyssa growled in frustration, about ready to kill someone. Why her friends had sent her in to negotiate with this girl was a mystery to her, but her patience was very quickly wearing thin. She may have done something rash, had a girl with wavy hazelnut hair and distinctive sky blue eyes come bounding out of the women's locker room.
"Lorene!" The French girl spun around at the sound of her name, caught Alyssa's eye and smiled.
"Oh, hey! Uh, one second – "she turned to the information desk. "Do you have any extra towels? Some of the girls forgot theirs." Brittany made a big show of sighing and shoving back from the desk, slinking off to the supply closet. "Wow, what's her problem?"
"Probably has a stick up her ass or something. Anyway, how the hell did you get into the pool? She keeps telling me it's closed!"
"It's pre-season. One of the perks of being on the swim team, I guess." Lorene paused, accepting the towels from Brittany, who had returned. "Thanks. Uh, I gotta go, Alyssa. Good luck cooling down, though!" She jogged back towards the pool with a grin.
"Thanks," Alyssa said dejectedly. She shot one more dirty look Brittany's way before snatching her own towel and stomping out of the community center lobby. "Ugh!" Walking outside was like stepping into the simmering heat of an oven. Alyssa could feel her energy draining with every step she took. Luckily, she spotted her friends sitting in the shade of a large oak tree. "It's a no go, guys. The swim team's practicing."
Kelsey Reid groaned in irritation. "And they need the entire pool?"
"Of course they do. And on the hottest day of the year, too." Kaylen Dawne said sarcastically. She ran a hand through her ponytail and sighed. "So what do we do now? I don't want to just sit here…"
"Kaylen's right, there's no use hanging around here anymore. Pool's out of the question." Alyssa frowned. "Could we go to your house, Kelsey?"
"My air conditioner's busted. Some guy is supposed to be fixing it today."
"Right. Kaylen?"
"If you don't mind the long ass walk."
"…My house it is."
[Across Town]
"You've got to be kidding me," Elizabeth Walker said, shaking her head. She stood in Katrina Berlitz's backyard, watching as a hose pumped water into the pool… if it could even be called that. It was tiny, one of those little inflatable things made especially for three-year-olds. Probably only just big enough for the four of them, it was purple, and featured a large, spotted inflatable dragon head sporting a goofy grin.
"I was three, okay?" Katrina Berlitz crossed her arms over her bathing suit. She smiled fondly at the purple dragon's head, patting it gently. "Besides, this was your idea, Liz."
"When you said you had an inflatable pool in your garage, I was thinking more along the lines of… well, I wasn't thinking 'Dragon Tales,' that's for sure!" the brunette crossed her arms as Monica Ramirez stooped down to turn off the hose.
"Look on the bright side," Serena Banks said, biting her lip. "It's better than nothing."
The four girls looked at each other, nodding solemnly before stepping gingerly into the water.
"Okay, I don't care what you say, Liz," Serena said as she dropped into the pool. "This is amazing."
Because of the tight quarters, it took a moment for the girls to adjust themselves. "Scoot over, "Liz demanded, shoving Monica lightly with her shoulder. "Your ass is in the way of my feet."
"Your feet are in the way of my ass!" Monica sniffed, but moved all the same. "Happy?" Satisfied, Liz sank deeper into the shallow water, soaking her dark hair.
"Ecstatic."
"Hey, you guys?" Katrina frowned. Being squished up against three people at once was making her a bit uneasy. She squirmed anxiously, trying to free herself. "Um, this is a little too close."
"Oh, sorry. Hold on, Katrina," Serena said, moving to let her friend out. "Oh, shit…!" The hazel-eyed girl stood too quickly and slipped, flailing in the air for what seemed like a lifetime before crashing down on the edge of the pool. The entire thing flipped over, sending Liz, Monica, Katrina and all of their precious cold water spilling out onto the grass. "…Ouch."
"Holy shit, are you guys okay?" Monica groaned.
"Yeah," Katrina answered, rubbing her sore head. "I'm fine."
Serena sat up dazedly. "I'm good too."
"Great," Monica continued. "Because the pool's not." She pointed to the dragon's head, which was rapidly deflating, the smile sagging down in to a depressed frown.
"There's a hole in it," Liz cried, crossing her arms. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"…TV? I bet CSI's on."
"Ooh, really?"
[On the Outskirts of Town]
James Black hated waiting.
Absolutely detested it.
So why was he standing in the middle of this godforsaken field, doing just that? Where all the wrath of the sun seemed to be focused, no less?
Because he was waiting on a certain son of Satan to appear.
Right.
The plan was that Damien would arrive in that very spot at eleven o'clock, no earlier and no later, so they could begin this crazy… thing that had been arranged.
Satan had apparently decided that his son could benefit from a bit of public education, and signed Damien up to attend his sophomore year at South Park High School. The only problem was that transit between Colorado and Hell was a bit, well, time-consuming. Not to mention tiring for all parties involved.
A solution was quickly put forth – on school nights, Damien would stay at his best friend Jamie's house, then return home on Friday to spend the weekend with his dad. Then he'd return to Jamie's on Sunday night for school. It seemed easy enough, in theory.
So there Jamie sat, at the appointed time and place… waiting.
Trust Damien to be late.
Of course, he'd banked on the son of Satan playing a dick move like this, and brought a book along to keep himself occupied - War and Peace. But even that had not kept him occupied for long, and Jamie was reduced to playing with his skirt out of pure boredom.
It was twelve-forty five when Damien finally arrived, appearing out of thin-air. He wore his usual black turtleneck and pants, and a black duffel bag sat at his feet. Jamie barely blinked, used to such demonstrations of divine power, and simply snatched up his book before jumping to his feet. "Hey!"
"Hi," Damien said, took a cursory glance of his surroundings and frowned. "I don't remember it being this hot up here."
Jamie shrugged. "It's been like this all day. Everyone thinks it's some kind of heat wave. Indian summer, or some shit like that."
Damien rolled his eyes, but smiled easily, shifting his over-stuffed duffel bag onto his shoulder. "Your house?"
"Duh!"
... I realize that this took me a ridiculous amount of time to write, especially with how short it is. I basically just wanted to get everyone mentioned. Still, it's been like a month. I'm sorry. My natural laziness shining through :) I will try to get the next one out sooner, but I am starting school next week - sophomore year. WOOT.
Plus, there's that crazy hurricane about to come ripping through these parts. (To which I say, BRING. IT. ON.)
Anyway, pleasepleaseplease in your review (you're gonna leave one, right? Reviews are love!) give me a general idea of the classes your OC would take at good ole South Park High. Thank you!
(P.S. And a special thank you to everyone who wished me a good trip to Puerto Rico! It was really fun, and completely gorgeous.)
(P.S.S. That kiddie pool thing actually happened to me. It was my pool. And I was the one who fell. XD)
REVIEW! :D
thederangeddinosaur