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Captain Setori and Mr. Lambert

When Lance finally did meet up with Rikki, Cleo, Lewis and Emma, Emma quickly made her way to the Juicy Bar after saying her goodbyes to everyone. Thus, did Lance accompany Rikki and Lewis with walking with Cleo to the oceanic center. When they arrived, Cleo looked at a truck in the parking lot and wondered aloud: "What's my dad doing here?"

Lance wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't met Cleo's dad… He hadn't met anyone's family and no one had met his, so what was he to say? Still, he did have a question on his mind.

"What does your dad do, Cleo?" he asked.

"He's with the coastguard." Cleo answered.

Lance had never met anyone in the coastguard before and he certainly wondered what would bring a member of the coastguard to the oceanic center here unless… It might not have been something good. Had there been a death in the family? What was Lance to expect?

Upon noticing a man speaking to Mr. Lambert, Lance began to grow tense. What was going to happen? What reason did Cleo's dad have to be at her work?

"Your tank's water supply is alright now, nothing to worry about." Captain Setori said, something that caused Lance to relax. That was a pleasant surprise. Usually when he heard about a parent showing up at someone's work it was because a family member had died. When Captain Setori noticed the kids coming up, he smiled and said: "Hi, kids…" then noticing Lance, added: "You must be Lance Carter. Cleo told me about you. Interested in basking sharks, are you?"

Nodding, Lance said: "Yes, sir. Have you seen any around her?"

"No, can't say I have." Captain Setori answered. "Though it is probably a good thing it was just a hammerhead and not a basking that had caused that shark scare. Something that big would have been worse. I'll ask some of my coworkers and Cleo can tell you."

"Basking sharks are harmless, Captain." Commented Mr. Lambert.

"But not everyone knows that, do they?"

Mr. Lambert could only nod. As he himself had acknowledged, to most people when people thought of sharks they thought of "Jaws", even if they had never read the book or seen its film adaptation.

A question coming to his mind, Lance asked: "Did either of you two ever read 'Ivanhoe' when you were in high school?"

"Sure!" Captain Setori exclaimed. "Everyone got assigned a character to read, I got Ivanhoe himself."

"I got Prince John." Mr. Lambert stated. "A bit disappointed Little John wasn't in the book. He was always my favourite of Robin Hood's supporting cast. Who did you kids get?" Everyone gave their answer, with Captain Setori looking a bit surprised when Cleo and Lewis had answered they had been assigned the roles of Rowena and Ivanhoe specifically. When Lance didn't give an answer, Mr. Lambert asked: "Why so quiet, Lance? Did you not get anyone?"

"I did." Lance answered.

"Oh, who was it?" inquired Captain Setori. "No, no, let me guess… Uh, the leader of the Templar Knights?" Looking his head at Mr. Lambert, he asked: "What was his name?" Alas, Mr. Lambert could do naught but shrug.

"Lucas de Beaumanoir." Cleo answered.

"Not him." Lance commented, gripping the contents of his pockets tightly.

"Friar Tuck?" Mr. Lambert asked.

Lance shook his head causing Captain Setori to say: "Okay, tell us."

"Wamba." Lance soon found Captain Setori and Mr. Lambert struggling to remember who that character even was, causing him to add: "The jester."

"I don't remember him." Captain Setori commented.

Mr. Lambert then added: "I don't either."

"Well, in any case, I'll be off. It was nice meeting you, Lance. See you, later Cleo!" And with that Captain Setori made his departure.

While Cleo waved at her departing paterfamilias, Lance said: "It was nice meeting you too, sir!"

Watching as Captain Setori left, Lance wondered why he had seemed so surprised when he was informed that Lewis was reading Ivanhoe's lines and Cleo Rowena's. Could it have been that Cleo's parents had both been Ivanhoe and Rowena during their own high school English classes? That might have been a far-fetched, as likely as there being such a thing as mermaids… If that was the case, then there would have been a possibility of merrows, but that would mean Lance would have actual such ancestry, but he saw not scales upon his body nor webbing between his fingers and toes… But now he was just getting side-tracked. What were the chances of Cleo's parents having read the lines of Ivanhoe and Rowena just as Lewis and Cleo were? Life was strange, but perhaps that was a little too strange.

His mind shifting, Lance thought of the sea, its wonders and its mysteries. While Lewis and Rikki said their goodbyes to Cleo, Lance merely stood there, deep in thought. Noticing this, Mr. Lambert asked: "Something on your mind, Lance?"

"A few things." Lance answered.

NOTE

Captain Setori and Mr. Lambert having read "Ivanhoe" in high school and the characters they read the lines of are in reference to Marcel Jeanin and Terrence Scammell having voiced those same characters in "Ivanhoe: The King's Knight" while Mr. Lambert's mention of Little John, is likewise a reference to Terrence Scammell having voiced the character in "Young Robin Hood."