//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Splash Zone // by Chelis //------------------------------// The people who were on the ride in front of us stayed a few minutes longer at the giant pool that signaled the end of the ride. The pool was probably tainted by urine way before the incident happen, so why stop at just that? Silver got off of me and held onto the tube so I could easily get off. "Well, that was... interesting," she commented. "Yeah, not every day that someone places a giant mannequin that sprays piss on riders." She laughed. By the time we got out of the pool, the park’s security was on high alert. I guess she called in more guards from the private company the park contracted because the regular security were lumped in with fresh, angry faces. For all we knew, someone had a bomb somewhere with the number of them that were scouring the park. I would have to be careful as well since the manager seeing me would for sure end my day as an attendee and possibly throw me in the suspect pool they probably had going. It has happened before where the employed or former employees would come in and cause mayhem for the sake of fun or revenge. Even with all that, I still had someone to keep my undivided attention to. "Hey Silver, want some ice cream?" I asked "Sure! But how do you have cash on-hand since we just went to a water ride?" "Not a problem! I got one of these!" I said as I pulled out a orange plastic card. "Neat! What is it?" "Basically a park credit card that you carry around with you. You won't believe how much money you can rack up by collecting these off the ground!" "I bet!" We stopped by the first ice cream stall we could find on the way back to the cabana, got ourselves a few double scoops and went on our way again. She had the rainbow sherbert and chocolate chip mint while I had the cookie dough and the cookies and cream. We were quick to eat it since it was a blistering day, and the ice cream was already dripping onto our hands. We knew Sunset was back in the cabana, seeing how we heard the loud music from a good distance away. She seemed relaxed when we went in. Even when we turned down the volume, she still looked like nothing could bring her down. "So, what did I miss?" She asked as she laid eyes-closed on the lounge chair. "Well, someone rigged the ride to piss on everyone," I answered. "What?!" "Yeah, you can say it was leaking awesome!" Silver announced. Really? "Sounds like it was an interesting time!" Sunset remarked "Yeah… I have no pun for it, really." "You must be pissed," Silver mentioned. Groan. "It was weird, the damn thing turned off right before we were splashed," I noted. "Must be your lucky day," Sunset smiled. "Or it might have been rigged, someone must have known us, or had an ounce of remorse." "What are you trying to get at?" She asked suspiciously. "I don't know, it was just something I noticed," I answered. "I was hanging out with the lifeguard!" Sunset objected. The tension between us began to rise. I mean, if it wasn't where I worked, or if it wasn't a place where I knew the pain of working there, I would have not cared. It was like being a dick to a cashier right next to a person who has worked in that position before. That was the sense of solidarity through hell and it would piss you off. Yeah, I was that guy. "You know what I could go for?! Some lunch!" Silver announced. "I wouldn't mind that," I said with a smile. Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "Sure!" We ended up going to the main square, ordering an extra-large pizza with everything, and waiting there for half an hour or so. We ended up nearly falling asleep. Once we got the pizza we went back to the cabana to discover the trash was removed and our chips and drinks were restocked. Now that's what I call service! It was for the first time that day we all three of us hung out in earnest. Sunset was cute and seemed down to earth at times when she was not shit-talking everyone at school. She even had some hilariously mean things to say about her boyfriend as well. Silver and I went along with it and laughed, because with some of the things she said about the people I knew was spot on. Hours had passed, and our food had settled a long time ago, which gave Silver Mist an idea. "Want to go for a swim in the wave pool?" She asked. "Sure!" I replied. She got off her lounge chair and gently grabbed my hand. My heart skipped a beat that moment, to the point of my arm was hurting. I thought her cuteness was going to give me a literal heart attack until I realize she was dragging to get me up and had enough strength where any more and she would have disconnected my arm from its socket. We left the cabana and went into the mid-afternoon sun. The wind was starting to pick up which meant the sunset was not too far away Speaking of Sunset… I turned around to get a glimpse of her. She had a mischievous smirk to her face. It looked like the gears were spinning in her mind, and she was looking for something to mess up, and by the way she was looking, it might have had something to do with the wave pool Silver and I were about to enter.