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"Sooo... lets get this straight."
Magnolia leaned against the lifeguard tower,
sparing a single glance at the Jetsam next to her. "You're a lifeguard and you
can't swim? Even worse, you're a fish and you can't swim?"
"Well..."
She sighed. "You know, that's pretty pathetic."
"It's not that I can't swim!" the lifeguard insisted.
"I just don't! I mean... there's always the possibility that you could
drown... or-or... you could get dragged under by some evil sea monster--"
"Oh, that's silly," Magnolia interrupted. "Honestly,
you can't be afraid of the water if you're a lifeguard! How do you guard lives?"
"W-well... I just... sit around... and hope that
no one drowns," said the lifeguard. "But lately with Lilia and her constant
falling into the--"
SPLASH!
"Wa... ter..."
Magnolia turned to the ocean just to catch a
glimpse of a wave collapsing into the water. "Lilia!" she exclaimed. "Ugh--not
again! This is the third time this morning!"
Magnolia ran from the lifeguard tower and into
the ocean, the lifeguard watching closely. "So... um..." Sys-op began. "Is it
fun being a lifeguard?"
"I'm sure it would be without Lilia nearly
drowning every day," the lifeguard replied. "But, oh, yeah, it's just as fun
as... um..."
"Swimming?" Sys-op grinned.
"Yeah! I MEAN --" The lifeguard backed away from
the tower. "Oh, DON'T DO THAT!"
Magnolia soon returned, dragging Lilia with her.
She let go of Lilia's arm and clutched on to the support beams of the lifeguard
tower with a fatigued expression. "Yeah, third time this morning."
"Really, Lilia, you've got to keep away from
the ocean," the lifeguard told her. "It certainly doesn't help poor Marianne
here."
Magnolia nodded in agreement. "No, it doesn't."
"I'm sorry," Lilia muttered, brushing
seaweed out of her fur. "Really, I'll try to keep away from the ocean."
"I don't believe ya," said Sys-op. "Is
that really, or is that, 'Ooh, there's a starfish; let me go pick it
up!' the next day?"
"I'm serious!" Lilia insisted. "And I don't go
to the seashore to pick up starfish!"
"You'd better be," Magnolia replied. "I'm not
going out there to save you every day, y'know."
"Okay, okay," said Lilia. "I absolutely promise
that I'll never, ever go out near being near the ocean
again!"
An Hour Later...
"Oh, no; who let Lilia in the water, like,
AGAIN?!"
That Night...
Magnolia leaned forward to get a closer look
in the mirror. "Is that a seashell in my fur? A seashell in my
fur?"
"It's not that bad, Magnolia," Sys-op replied
from the bed. "I mean, today was an all-time record! She only fell in the ocean
five times! Really, that one day when she fell in SEVENTEEN times -- that was
a--"
"Ugh, don't remind me about that," Magnolia murmured.
"We've been here almost a week and yet that girl still hasn't learned her lesson!
Wouldn't she know by now to stay away from the beach?" She sighed. "Just seems
odd to me."
"Although, you do have to wonder what's causing
all those whirlpools," Sys-op added. "And why Lilia is the only one ever
dragged in."
"Well, when I was first saving her, I saw a black,
spinning thing at the bottom of the ocean," Magnolia continued. "I'm guessing
that's causing all those whirlpools."
"Oh, really?" asked Sys-op. "Well, someone's
after her."
Magnolia pretended to look surprised. "REALLY?"
"Hey, I wasn't asking for a response from you,"
said Sys-op.
Suddenly, there was a loud scream from outside
the window. "What--?" Magnolia rushed to the window, opening it with curiosity.
Another whirlpool.
"This late at night?" Sys-op questioned. "What
is she DOING out there?"
"Don't ask me," Magnolia replied, opening the
cabana door. "But the second I get to her, she's in SERIOUS trouble!"
Sys-op sighed as the door closed again. A few
moments after Magnolia departed, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Sys-op questioned bewilderedly.
There was no answer. "Sheesh," she muttered with a sigh, strolling over to the
door. Before she reached it, however, a note was slid underneath it. "What?"
Sys-op opened the folded note and read it to herself.
After she finished reading, she looked up in
surprise.
"Well, that explains a lot."
To be continued...
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