Page 29 of Absorbed

When Stacey woke up, her stomach was grumbling. Her head felt heavy as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The light outside her window was bright, but the clock read 7:30. She was still in her clothes from the concert. She pulled herself out of bed, went to the window, and parted the blinds. The brightness overwhelmed her and she squinted against it. Then it hit: it was Sunday—she was expected to open the pool at eight!

She grabbed her swimsuit, then ran to the bathroom to shower.

Stacey rushed into the guard shack right on time and flopped onto the couch, relieved. She opened the NutriGrain bar she’d grabbed at home and ate half in one bite.

“Are you guys as done with the sun as I am?” Desiree asked no one in particular.

Stacey looked up. Desiree was horribly sunburnt. “Ouch!” Stacey jumped up to grab the big bottle of aloe gel they kept in the corner and handed it to Desiree. “Is that from the beach?”

“Yes. But the worst part is I was actually freezing all day. It was kind of overcast, so I didn’t even think about sunscreen.”

“That really sucks,” Stacey said. “I’m sorry. Did you have fun at least?”

Desiree shrugged, squeezing the green goop onto her fiery pink shoulder.

“It was so hot at the concert,” Stacey said. “Like 110 or something. When I got home, I slept thirteen hours.”

“Lucky!” Desiree retorted. “I couldn’t get comfortable all night.”

“I never thought I’d say this,” Chad chimed in. “But I’d be cool with getting the flu or something if it meant I could stay in bed all day.”

“Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a monsoon?” Stacey said, animated. “Or a power outage or something, that shut us down for a few days? Then we could all sleep in.”

“Too bad,” Bob replied, hunched over the paper, his back to them. “Looks like clear skies and sunshine in the ten-day forecast. Suck it up. Get out there.”

They groaned in chorus and grabbed wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses. After they’d finished cleaning the facility, Bob unlocked the door to a waiting crowd of swimmers.

“Here we go,” Stacey said, carrying a squirt bottle. She’d gotten in the habit of misting herself in the tower on hot days.

Desiree slathered on sunscreen until her skin looked chalky pink.

“Hey Stacey,” Desiree asked over the megaphone, across the pool. “You busy Wednesday night?”

The day was hot and the pool was packed. Patrons lounging in the water looked up toward Stacey awaiting her answer, entertained by the broadcasted discussion.

“What’s Wednesday?” Stacey asked. Desiree couldn’t be asking her to cover night swim. That was Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The swimmers’ heads swiveled back toward Desiree.

“The third of July.”

“The Fourth is already this week?”

“Yeah. The pool will be closed,” Desiree said.

The group of swimmers collectively moaned.

“We should put up a sign or something.”

“We talked about going to the movies.Independence Daycomes out Wednesday. You wanna go?”

Had Desiree and Chad talked about this? Or maybe they decided at the beach with Jessie? Did he tell them he wants me to go, too? Is this actually a double date?

“Sure,” Stacey said cooly over the megaphone, shrugging to hide the jolt of excitement running through her.

Her knee bounced and heel tapped on the white sandpaper-like platform of the deep-end tower as she anticipated how their movie date might go. She considered what to wear, and what not to wear, deciding against anything crazy like her concert outfit.Chad and Desiree will probably make out the entire night. She’d have plenty of time to talk to Jessie.Maybe we’ll share popcorn.

At 9:30, the door to the guard shack flung open. Chad walked out to the pool deck for their rotation.

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