no dunking!

TASK #01 - HEATHER HOLLOWAY

Pool-sickness? Melissa didn’t know what pool-sickness was, or if that was even a real disease, but Heather’s explanation made her nod her head in understanding. Perhaps Melissa was a bit too forward when she talked to the lifeguard, as she felt a bit rude. Technically, Melissa was supposed to be doing her job, but… she also just really, really wanted to know what it felt like to swim in a pool. 

“I apologize,” Melissa said to the girl, glancing at the other people around them that seemed to be looking at Heather like she was the cause of all of their problems. “I hope I was not rude– the way that I asked.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, side-eyeing a little chubby boy behind them, “You must get asked about and blamed for simple things every day, I”m sure.”

Heather shrugged her shoulders and tried not to let her emotions show on her face. Of course it  bothered her when people were rude to her--especially the moms--but there was typically one nice person for every hateful person. Heather was lucky to talk to one today. 

“It’s fine,” she smiled politely. “I’m used to it. Sorry that the pool is on hiatus. I hope you didn’t drive all the way for nothing.”

“Perhaps you should apply for the job of mother nature, you seem to have the best idea.” there was a small smile in place on her lips, gaze wavering between looking out at the rain and the drops as it hits the pool’s water, before turning her attention back towards the lifeguard. 

“can you believe how sunny it had been only this morning? if only it had stayed.” while she held a belief that the rain would stop, and hopefully the sun bright enough to dry up the chairs again, it had still been a bummer that the rain had come on so suddenly.  

She laughed, considering what that might be like. I would definitely beat lifeguard duty.

“Well,” Heather admitted, shrugging her shoulders and watching the rain rain, “that’s the Midwest for you. The weather is always changing. Sorry if you came all this way to swim. I hope you got a few good laps in before it started to pour.” She looked at her watch again. It had only been about fifteen minutes and she was holding out hope that it would stop soon too.

Max inadvertently groaned, as she moved to stand beside her under the shelter. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her hands rubbing against them in an attempt to keep herself warm. She’d picked a fabulous day to not bring a jacket. However, Hawkins had proved to be unpredictable… in more ways than just the sad excuse of the weather. It were the days like these where the skater had brief nostalgia over California.

“I’m not wanting to swim. I’m looking for Billy. Tall, mullet… never wears a shirt?”

Heather stalled for a second, like she was shocked that someone was asking her an actual question for once. 

At first, she considered telling the girl to get lost--It was annoying watching so many girls fawn over him, he wasn’t that good looking--but then she took another look at the girl. Her fiery red hair and sharp wit... She was looking for Billy...

“Are you Max?”

It was a simple enough task: on her way back from the library, Melissa would walk around town and test out some things that she came across for any change in their physics, size, magnetism, anything that could prove to her and to the lab that they were making any kind of progress. Melissa was a scientist, a doctor!  Доктор Никулин! And here she was, being used like an errand girl. It was almost humiliating, but she would take any opportunity to get out of that God forsaken lab.

This is what lead to Melissa standing under the shelter at the local pool, watching as rain cascaded from the sky. She was used to this kind of weather in Russia, so it didn’t bother her much. What she wasn’t used to was a swimming pool– albeit, a public one, but a swimming pool nonetheless. In all of her 25 years of life, she had never even stepped foot in one, and being so close in proximity to one was making her feel a childlike sense of joy. Melissa didn’t even have a swim suit on, just a romper that she had stolen slipped on from one of the stores at Starcourt, but she would just sit on the side of the pool and dip her feet in anyway, if she ever could.

She twisted the two small jars around in her pocket, antsy to get in, get the samples of pool and rain water, and continue on with the next samples… but the thought of getting in the water and splashing around like a child was definitely hindering her plans. Melissa didn’t mean to snap or be rude to the lifeguard sharing the shelter, but she was just so excited. 

“It is just rain, yes?” She replied, her American accent teetering off from her anticipation, “It is all water. You get splashed like normal, it is just descending from the sky and not children.”

Heather reasoned that she must have been on edge from the constant barrage of questions. Because, like Melissa, it wasn’t her intention to sound rude. She was just so tired of answering When? When? When? But for the first time, someone wasn’t asking When? They were asking Why? And though her first instinct was to shut the woman down with a definitive ‘because I said so’, something about the way she asked Heather sounded so earnest that she felt the need to take it seriously,

“Not exactly...” she chose her next words carefully, “I can’t let anyone into the pool because if it’s raining. That means it might start to thunder. And we can’t tell if there’ll be thunder until its already happening. Also, the concrete’s slippery and people could get pool-sickness if they swim in that.” 

She pointed a slender index finger at the pool’s surface. The water was rising higher and higher and a few leaves floated over top.

the pool was  — a different scene for Robin, who’s time was usually spent; working, practising, or studying. the odd times, if she found herself with free time she would spend it learning a new language or reading. so, when the weather had decided to be nice  — or it had started like that anyway; Robin had used the opportunity to get down to the pool. 

but when the weather had suddenly changed, and the rain began to pour, Robin was convinced that she was cursed. had she stayed in today, it might not have rained  — she was sure of it. 

a hand ran through her, now very damp hair; as she watched the interaction between the lifeguard and someone who honestly looked like they’d complain after it stopped raining and were once more allowed back in the pool. moving closer to the lifeguard, now a spot was freed as the complainer found someone new to complain too, Robin couldn’t help herself but speak. 

“the way they just went on,  —  you’d think it was your fault it was raining.”

Heather cracked a smile in response.

 She had been answering the same questions over and over again for the past fifteen minutes. She was grateful for the little bit of empathy the girl was showing her. She didn’t get a lot of that at her job.

“I know. I’m not Mother Nature. If I had it my way, we’d all be in the pool, enjoying our Saturday.” Or at least the patrons would be in the pool. Heather would be secluded in the lifeguard’s chair, baking in the sun right now if it weren’t raining.

Heather and a few patrons stood under the shelter, watching the pool fill up with rain water. She kept checking her watch, keeping an eye on the time. Eventually it would stop again. She was more concerned with the number of people that were asking her when they would be allowed to swim. She considered herself pretty patient. But after a while, it got annoying.

“Listen. You’re not the first person to ask me. Nobody gets in the water until it stops raining.”

I picked up Heather Holloway the other day. I guess this is the lowdown on my new precious girl! #Heatherdeservedbetter

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