div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Sunday is the stillest day of the week, I think. Like the air is holding its breath with the awareness that tomorrow is the worst of the seven days. It's a purgatory between bliss and - well - Monday. Everything is slow and calm, if not a bit foreboding. Normally./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"This particular Sunday, I got my start when the pounding in my head became too intense for my body to remain asleep. The sun was violating the right half of my face, shining what felt like sunburn-intensity rays from the window opposite my bed. The second I sat up, my stomach greeted me with problems of its own, engulfing me in vicious nausea that demanded a toilet, NOW. On top of all that, I was still in my clothes from the party, unshowered, sweaty, and dirty. Disgusting. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Good morning sleeping beauty!" Rikki half-yelled./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I looked around to notice that she was the only other person in the room. I opened my mouth to respond when suddenly my body was overtaken by instinct to get to the bathroom. I jumped off the bed and ran to the toilet, flushing the evidence of last night down the drain. By this point, Rikki had come over to join me in the bathroom, gently massaging my back and laughing under her breath as my head hung in the bowl./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Fun night, huh?" she laughed./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I swallowed hard to recompose myself and mumbled, "Yeah, something like that." /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Oh come on," she said, "I saw you dancing with that guy. Seems like you really hit it off..."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I knew what she was implying but I chose to ignore it for now. Besides, I was more worried about my hangover from hell. Time to pivot./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Where is everyone?" I asked./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Where do you think?" she replied with a hint of jealousy - the first time I had ever heard that in her voice. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Oh," I realized, "another lake day?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"She nodded slowly. This whole time I had been so caught up in self pity that I never considered how this secret might actually affect Rikki. It actually seemed to upset her that she couldn't join in the summer festivities. I guess it isn't all sunshine and rainbows for her either./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Well, who needs them," I started, sounding more confident than I actually was, "why don't we have our own lake day?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Claire..." she said, eyeing me as if to say are you stupid?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I shook my head, "No, seriously. It's not like anyone is gonna be swimming where we are anyway. It's too far out."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"She still seemed unconvinced, "Still. It's way too risky"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Listen," I pleaded, "I actually enjoyed our swim yesterday. It was the first time I've really been excited to be..." I took a breath before what I was about to say, "a mermaid."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"That seemed to persuade her. If there was one thing Rikki is, it's proud. Even if it means potential danger, I think she is honored to be my de facto mentor. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""You know what, you're right," she said with a smirk, "let's go."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"My heart fluttered a bit. I'm going for a swim emwith/em someone, and I don't feel dread. Actually, I feel kind of...excited? Like a nervous excited - the kind where I feel that I could throw up. Or maybe that was the alcohol. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"************************************************************************************************************************/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We made our way through the trees with expertise to the cliff. After a quick 360 to make sure no one was around, we dove off. The plan was to go straight to the cave without resurfacing to minimize the risk of being seen. We took all the steps to protect our secret, to make sure that no one was close to us when we were so vulnerable. We even waited a few minutes in silence before jumping to be sure there was no talking, rustling, or other signs of life./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"So how did we end up face to face with Jennifer's friend?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"It took me a second to recognize her as the one I lightly burned for pouring a beer on Rikki. Not only was it hard to make out her features underwater, but her face was also not contorted in its typical, smug grin. She was unconscious. Shiiiiiiit./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"While I was struggling with the moral dilemma, Rikki had no hesitation. She immediately swam closer and checked the girl's pulse. I guess she found something because she began to pick her bully up and try to move her to the surface. As strong of a swimmer as Rikki is, this was no easy task. Jennifer's friend was almost pure muscle and dead weight. It was gonna be a struggle to get her all the way up to the surface, let alone laying her down somewhere to perform CPR./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"You've got to be fucking kidding me./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I realized I had no other choice but to help and swam over, slinging the girl's right arm over my shoulder as Rikki took her left. We made our way to the surface and assessed the damage. Her head bobbed lifelessly, but her lips still had some pink in them. There was hope. Without exchanging any words, Rikki and I brought her to a flat rock near the base of the cliff and propped her up. Rikki moved herself up and starting doing compressions in between long breaths. It made me wonder how many people she's saved since she did it so flawlessly./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I was yanked out of this thought by the sound of coughing. I looked over to see the girl regain a bit of consciousness, her eyes widening as she registered Rikki. Shit, time to go! I grabbed Rikki's hand and pulled her back in the water as quickly as possible./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We swam a distance away, resurfacing a bit down the coast behind some more rocks to watch Jennifer's friend. It took a few minutes, but she eventually steadied herself and began inland, presumably back to the cabin. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Not trying to draw attention by speaking, I looked at Rikki, then up at the shore, raising my eyebrows as if to ask "should we follow her?" She nodded once hard and started carefully towards a rock. There was only space for one of us at a time, so Rikki dried herself off first as I waited. Her legs returned and she stood up, hiking to a higher rock to make space. I hoisted myself onto the slab and clenched my fist, watching the steam rise up in ever-increasing volumes until I was able to stand again. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We jumped across a few jagged rocks and then onto the ground. Part of me was concerned with how we would find Jennifer's friend since she realistically could have gone anywhere. These fears were quickly flattened when I saw sasquatch-esque footprints following a clear path into the woods. Rikki must have seen them too because she immediately picked out the route and made her way into the greenery. Luckily, the footprints were still discernible./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Jeez, how hard does this girl stomp?" Rikki questioned./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I shrugged, "Hey, don't complain. How else would we know where to go?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Rikki was about to respond when a sharp voice cut the silence./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Are you stupid Morgan?" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"It was Jennifer. What was she doing in the middle of the forest? Why wasn't she enjoying the lake like everyone else? And who is Morgan?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""No, I swear! It was really her!" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Oh god. Morgan is the heavy-footed sasquatch we just saved./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""We'll talk about your inability to swim later," Jennifer began sternly, "for now, why don't you tell me how Rikki even found you."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Rikki and I shared a tense look mixed with confusion. Why was Jennifer acting so weird? Wasn't she one of Morgan's minions, not the other way around? On top of that, the elephant in the room was about to be addressed - what exactly did Morgan see?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Morgan responded nervously, "Well she was probably swimming out there again when I hit my head and saw."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"What? Swimming out there emagain/em? They never saw her jump in the first time - that was the whole point of my distraction. When did they ever see her swimming there? And how much emdid/em they see? /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Well I'm glad you guys are such besties now," Jennifer snapped, "but have you forgotten our goal?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""No, Jen," Morgan squeaked out./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Jennifer smiled, "Good. Then you'll try again tomorrow."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"With that, she walked away, Morgan following meekly behind her./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"As their footsteps faded away, Rikki and I looked at each other and spoke in unison./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Shit."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"This particular Sunday, I got my start when the pounding in my head became too intense for my body to remain asleep. The sun was violating the right half of my face, shining what felt like sunburn-intensity rays from the window opposite my bed. The second I sat up, my stomach greeted me with problems of its own, engulfing me in vicious nausea that demanded a toilet, NOW. On top of all that, I was still in my clothes from the party, unshowered, sweaty, and dirty. Disgusting. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Good morning sleeping beauty!" Rikki half-yelled./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I looked around to notice that she was the only other person in the room. I opened my mouth to respond when suddenly my body was overtaken by instinct to get to the bathroom. I jumped off the bed and ran to the toilet, flushing the evidence of last night down the drain. By this point, Rikki had come over to join me in the bathroom, gently massaging my back and laughing under her breath as my head hung in the bowl./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Fun night, huh?" she laughed./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I swallowed hard to recompose myself and mumbled, "Yeah, something like that." /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Oh come on," she said, "I saw you dancing with that guy. Seems like you really hit it off..."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I knew what she was implying but I chose to ignore it for now. Besides, I was more worried about my hangover from hell. Time to pivot./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Where is everyone?" I asked./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Where do you think?" she replied with a hint of jealousy - the first time I had ever heard that in her voice. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Oh," I realized, "another lake day?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"She nodded slowly. This whole time I had been so caught up in self pity that I never considered how this secret might actually affect Rikki. It actually seemed to upset her that she couldn't join in the summer festivities. I guess it isn't all sunshine and rainbows for her either./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Well, who needs them," I started, sounding more confident than I actually was, "why don't we have our own lake day?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Claire..." she said, eyeing me as if to say are you stupid?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I shook my head, "No, seriously. It's not like anyone is gonna be swimming where we are anyway. It's too far out."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"She still seemed unconvinced, "Still. It's way too risky"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Listen," I pleaded, "I actually enjoyed our swim yesterday. It was the first time I've really been excited to be..." I took a breath before what I was about to say, "a mermaid."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"That seemed to persuade her. If there was one thing Rikki is, it's proud. Even if it means potential danger, I think she is honored to be my de facto mentor. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""You know what, you're right," she said with a smirk, "let's go."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"My heart fluttered a bit. I'm going for a swim emwith/em someone, and I don't feel dread. Actually, I feel kind of...excited? Like a nervous excited - the kind where I feel that I could throw up. Or maybe that was the alcohol. /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"************************************************************************************************************************/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We made our way through the trees with expertise to the cliff. After a quick 360 to make sure no one was around, we dove off. The plan was to go straight to the cave without resurfacing to minimize the risk of being seen. We took all the steps to protect our secret, to make sure that no one was close to us when we were so vulnerable. We even waited a few minutes in silence before jumping to be sure there was no talking, rustling, or other signs of life./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"So how did we end up face to face with Jennifer's friend?/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"It took me a second to recognize her as the one I lightly burned for pouring a beer on Rikki. Not only was it hard to make out her features underwater, but her face was also not contorted in its typical, smug grin. She was unconscious. Shiiiiiiit./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"While I was struggling with the moral dilemma, Rikki had no hesitation. She immediately swam closer and checked the girl's pulse. I guess she found something because she began to pick her bully up and try to move her to the surface. As strong of a swimmer as Rikki is, this was no easy task. Jennifer's friend was almost pure muscle and dead weight. It was gonna be a struggle to get her all the way up to the surface, let alone laying her down somewhere to perform CPR./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"You've got to be fucking kidding me./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I realized I had no other choice but to help and swam over, slinging the girl's right arm over my shoulder as Rikki took her left. We made our way to the surface and assessed the damage. Her head bobbed lifelessly, but her lips still had some pink in them. There was hope. Without exchanging any words, Rikki and I brought her to a flat rock near the base of the cliff and propped her up. Rikki moved herself up and starting doing compressions in between long breaths. It made me wonder how many people she's saved since she did it so flawlessly./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I was yanked out of this thought by the sound of coughing. I looked over to see the girl regain a bit of consciousness, her eyes widening as she registered Rikki. Shit, time to go! I grabbed Rikki's hand and pulled her back in the water as quickly as possible./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We swam a distance away, resurfacing a bit down the coast behind some more rocks to watch Jennifer's friend. It took a few minutes, but she eventually steadied herself and began inland, presumably back to the cabin. /div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Not trying to draw attention by speaking, I looked at Rikki, then up at the shore, raising my eyebrows as if to ask "should we follow her?" She nodded once hard and started carefully towards a rock. There was only space for one of us at a time, so Rikki dried herself off first as I waited. Her legs returned and she stood up, hiking to a higher rock to make space. I hoisted myself onto the slab and clenched my fist, watching the steam rise up in ever-increasing volumes until I was able to stand again. /div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"We jumped across a few jagged rocks and then onto the ground. Part of me was concerned with how we would find Jennifer's friend since she realistically could have gone anywhere. These fears were quickly flattened when I saw sasquatch-esque footprints following a clear path into the woods. Rikki must have seen them too because she immediately picked out the route and made her way into the greenery. Luckily, the footprints were still discernible./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Jeez, how hard does this girl stomp?" Rikki questioned./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"I shrugged, "Hey, don't complain. How else would we know where to go?"/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Rikki was about to respond when a sharp voice cut the silence./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Are you stupid Morgan?" /div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"It was Jennifer. What was she doing in the middle of the forest? Why wasn't she enjoying the lake like everyone else? And who is Morgan?/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""No, I swear! It was really her!" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Oh god. Morgan is the heavy-footed sasquatch we just saved./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""We'll talk about your inability to swim later," Jennifer began sternly, "for now, why don't you tell me how Rikki even found you."/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Rikki and I shared a tense look mixed with confusion. Why was Jennifer acting so weird? Wasn't she one of Morgan's minions, not the other way around? On top of that, the elephant in the room was about to be addressed - what exactly did Morgan see?/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Morgan responded nervously, "Well she was probably swimming out there again when I hit my head and saw."/div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"What? Swimming out there emagain/em? They never saw her jump in the first time - that was the whole point of my distraction. When did they ever see her swimming there? And how much emdid/em they see? /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Well I'm glad you guys are such besties now," Jennifer snapped, "but have you forgotten our goal?"/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""No, Jen," Morgan squeaked out./div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /div
div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"Jennifer smiled, "Good. Then you'll try again tomorrow."/div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"With that, she walked away, Morgan following meekly behind her./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"As their footsteps faded away, Rikki and I looked at each other and spoke in unison./div
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div style="font-family: lato, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;""Shit."/div