"Adrien," I mumble in my sleep, cocooned in my soft blanket. I always find the first few days of school tiring and mentally draining, but I like most everyone and the classes aren't bad. However, my favorite thing right now is to dream of Adrien!
"Ladybug! Ladybug!" Lyra jumps on my bed, and I sit up, tangled in my blanket. "Lyra? What time is it?" I mumble. "Never mind what time it is, it's beach day!" "Beach day?" Clearly, I'm missing something here. She nods, excitedly. "Every year, our teachers take us down to the beach to practice our swimming skills and there's always a surprise fake villain. We have a picnic on the beach, and after class we're allowed to have free time till we head back."
"Then what are we doing chatting in bed for?" I grin, tossing back the blanket. "Let's get ready for the beach!"
There is a buzz of excitement and Cat is bragging he'll get a tan. "Love, you know you look like a lobster if you don't put on sun cream and stay out in the sun to long!" "If I'm a lobster, I'm already half-way, Bugaboo," Cat grins, eating a bowl of cereal. I sigh, rolling my eyes. "Okay, I'll bite. How are you a half-lobster, Kitty?" "I have claws!" he waves him happily. I groan, then burst into giggles. At least he seems to have found his sense of humor again.
Once we're on the bus for a short awhile, we're allowed to toss a plastic beach ball around, and we pretend to be seals barking and seeing who can toss the ball the furthest without actually touching the ball.
After that, we're on our own for quiet activities, and of course I sketch. Cat sleeps with his head on my shoulder, and even if its a bit hard to move, I don't mind.
"Cowbunga! Let's hit the surf!" Cat cheers, and the rest of the students cheer with him. He's about to make a mad dash for the beach, when I pull back on his tail. "Hey, hey, sun cream first." I spray him down, and then he grabs my hand heading for the water.
Cat and I help the less sure swimmers in our aqua power-ups, and its lovely to be in the water. That restless feeling flares again, but I push it down to be thought about later.
About an hour later, everyone is passing the ball again, when suddenly a gray dorsal fin comes swimming by the students. "Hey, isn't that…" Ivy turns pale as it swims around her, "a shark?" before answering her own question, she runs screaming from the water.
"Ivy!" I yell. "You should have remained calm. The rest of you, how would you send the shark packing?" Hydra raises his hand.
"I'll demonstrate, but everyone dive underwater!" We dive, and to my amazement when the shark swims near Hydra, a sudden blast of water shoots from his hands. The shark is sent spinning, and we all cheer, then head to the surface.
Our teachers congratulate Hydra, then tell the rest of us the shark is just a plastic toy! Soon, its time for a picnic lunch, and the food is wonderful.
"Is that your third egg salad sandwich, Kitty?" I give him a soft poke. "I've never eaten so good," Cat sighs with contentment, cradling and staring down at his sandwich lovingly. "Carbs, we're have you been all my life?" "Your such a dork, you know that?" "Yep, your dork, and proud of it," he kisses my cheek.
"We should have Cat chase away the shark!" One girl says. "The ultimate game of cat vs. fish." One of teacher overhears and comes over. "It would fun to see Cat, and it would show off your swimming skills." Cat mulls this over, then puffs out his chest with proud. "That is true. Okay, but what's the prize?"
Hydra holds up a plump chocolate chip cookie, and you can see Cat visibly start to drool. "Lead me to da fish," he meows.
Everyone has fun as Cat zooms around, but our teachers don't make it easy. "Come back here, you dastardly fish!" Cat yells. Eventually, he nabs it in his mouth and proudly presents it to the teacher and claims his reward. I should have warned them how much my darling Kitty loves cookies, as this particular one nearly gets her fingers chomped.
When the excitement dies down, Cat and I stroll up the beach away from everyone, holding hands. "You would do anything for a cookie, wouldn't you?" "Just try and stop me," he licks his lips, probably dreaming of his devoured cookie.
A circle of rocks lies ahead, and Cat and I race. Its not just as a circle of rocks as we find out, but a small area that leads out to the sea. Slipping back into our aqua suits, we dive under the water.
What a different world it is under here! Oh, if I could sketch underwater I most certainly would! Cat and I have a marvelous time chasing each other and diving, climbing up on the one of the rocks far from shore.
We can still see our classmates, so we know we're good for time. "Spots Off," I whisper, just as Cat says, "Claws In."
The lapping of the water is very peaceful, as it splashes against our toes. "Is that a new bikini?" Adrien asks, admiring it. "Yeah," I say, a little shyly. "Is that a new muscle?" I poke his ab, but Adrien doesn't flinch, putting his face close to mine. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he whispers, inches away from my lips, brushing back a lock of my hair.
Just as we're about to kiss however, there is a loud bark and a cold nose touches the bottom of my foot. With a squeak and a yell of surprise, I tumble into the sea.
Still on the sun warmed rock, Adrien sighed. Perhaps this was a bad idea.