Sharks

by AnnChristine

  Sharks

  AnnChristine

  Published by Rogue Phoenix Press

  Copyright © 2012

  ISBN: 978-1-936403-79-0

  Electronic rights reserved by Rogue Phoenix Press, all other rights reserved by the authors. The reproduction or other use of any part of this publication without the prior written consent of the rights holder is an infringement of the copyright law. This is a work of fiction. People and locations, even those with real names, have been fictionalized for the purposes of these stories.

  Chapter One

  April 1st 2006

  "Sharks!"

  "Shark attack!"

  Lifeguards dove, swimming with strong clean-lined strokes and circled the water-treading students.

  The students' eyes bugged out. They knew what would happen soon. Everything they had learned would be tested--all physical prowess challenged--every bit of knowledge put to use.

  Lilly slanted her BFF, Jacob, a smile saying I can hardly wait for this. Remember when we were challenged this way? She hoped he could still read her mind. He usually could.

  She swam water polo style, circling the students, picking out her prey, and trying to find the absolute best way to attack. She needed to weed out the weakest of the large group. It was time to kick butt.

  Lilly and Jacob moved as one, each toward the student of choice. Lilly backed off, waiting, intending to watch Jacob and prolong the suspense for the others. The students needed nerves of steel to survive this shark attack. The fluttering in her stomach began--nerve wracking for the instructors as well.

  Jacob's arms wrapped around one of the weakest swimmers in the group. He hung on as the young man struggled to break the hold, doing everything wrong. Lilly sensed the panic in the boy whose arms began to flail and thrash the water. He chocked and coughed as his head bobbed below the water level then back up.

  "C'mon Jacob, let him go. He can't do this--not today." Lilly waited for what seemed an eternity as Jacob released the young man and pulled him to the side of the pool. "My turn."

  She circled the swimmers, her gaze moving from one student to the next. There…

  The girl was not one of the strongest swimmers, but she had a lot of potential--thinking ability--logical. Lilly grabbed the student from behind. When the girl was unable to break the hold in the usual manner, she resorted to another useful technique. Unlike Jacob's prey, this girl immediately did a foot first dive to the bottom of the pool. Yes…

  Lilly hung on for a few seconds but knew she would have to surface. Two hands at Lilly's waist, the girl pushed her away and swam out of reach. The pair surfaced and Lilly smiled broadly. "Good job."

  "Thanks, I just did what you guys have preached. The last place a drowning victim wants to be is at the bottom of the pool. They want air. When I recalled the info, everything else was easy. Do I pass?"

  "This test. But you know there will be more."

  The attacks went on and soon all the students had been tested. Lilly swam to the side of the pool, calling for everyone to get out. Jacob tossed her a towel and grabbed one for himself. She loved the way her BFF looked, the way he moved with such an easy fluid grace. But even more she loved the way he treated her. He would protect and cherish her as a friend. He always asked her advice about when he wanted to date someone she knew. He respected her judgment. Oh, they had tried dating once. OMG was that the hugest of hugest mistakes or what? BFF's--that was all they could ever be.

  They were just too different--polar opposites. She was poor. He had been born with a silver spoon so to speak. She thought abstract art was crazy awful and he'd already sold a piece with red and yellow blocks, streaks and splatters and etc. for a couple thousand dollars. She was an atheist; he was a devout Catholic. They could never have a conversation involving religion or politics without arguing--they had agreed to disagree in silence. But even then, if a threatening topic came up, the tension crackled.

  Yet--when she was with Jacob, she felt a connection she had never, ever felt with anyone else. The first time she saw him, her heart slammed against her ribs and she shook from head to toe. Butterflies danced inside. Her breath caught in her throat and she thought for a brief moment in time she might faint. Physically the only words to describe Jacob were drop dead gorgeous.

  Later she discovered Jacob was beautiful on the inside too. Then…

  She learned the awful truth.

  He thought of her as the girl next door--the sister he didn't have but had wished for his entire life.

  Of course she was a bit of a tomboy but she liked feminine things too. Dang, she wore dresses sometimes, just not those silly, frilly ones. If she wasn't at the pool for the day, she wore makeup and curled her hair. Makeup was useless when a girl was dripping wet every hour or so.

  But it was worse than that. He seemed to gravitate to the dumb blond type, the trophy girlfriend. The over the top, drop dead gorgeous types who wore double D cups and laughed in breathy little whispers, cooing over everything he said and pawing his chest with their perfectly manicured fingernails.

  Sigh…

  Still, those relationships never seemed to workout for him. A month, maybe two at the most and the girl would vanish. At least as a friend, she knew she would never lose him.

  He walked toward her, grinning and toweling his dark hair, leaving the strands in disarray. He was tanned from his trip to Hawaii a couple of weeks past. His blue eyes sparkled with unspoken humor as if the little boy inside had a prank in mind.

  "What do you think?" he asked.

  "Huh…" She stuttered, unable to pull myself into the present and away from her musings about his fine-looking bod.

  "Shark attack."

  "Oh, that. They did well--better than expected." She sat down on a bench, watching the rippling water.

  "You think?"

  Lilly laughed and swatted him with her towel. "I do…"

  "Think…"

  "Yeah, sometimes," Lilly said.

  "You over-think and over-analyze everything," he told her with a smug expression. "But I love the results--something I can't do."

  "Think?" she asked. "I've always thought of you as a dreamer."

  "Analyzer," he told her. "Seems to be a problem of mine, and yeah, I guess one could say I am a dreamer." He looked back to the students. "Did any fail? I hope not. It's always so hard to tell them they have to come back next year and try again."

  "Only your first victim. Do we give him another shot?"

  "Sure, but I don't think he's going for it. After I left him at the side of the pool, he vanished, grabbed his towel and I haven't seen him since."

  "You must have scared the living daylights out of him," she said. "Go see if he's in the locker room. Don't want to lose one to shock. He looked pretty terrified."

  "Good idea." Jacob strode to the dressing room and disappeared inside. A few moments later he stood outside the door, waving to her to get her attention, "He's gone."

  Lilly breathed a long sigh of relief. The boy was young and his swimming skills weren't strong. He wanted some sort of merit badge. He should have been in a different class but had protested so much they had agreed to give him a chance.

  Sitting down on the edge of the pool she splashed water with her foot, concentrating on the past hour. So lost in thought she didn't realize Jacob had sat down beside her until he wrapped a brotherly protective arm around her shoulder.

  "What's up?" he asked, "Or should I say, a penny for your thoughts." His grin mesmerized, her heart pounding something besides brotherly love.

  "Don't you think my musings might be worth a bit more?" she queried, looking for some way to tease him. The last thing she wanted was for him to see how attracted she was to him. It would ruin everything.

  His laugh warmed her all the way thro
ugh her core. "Of course. How about a million pennies?"

  "That's better. I was thinking about graduation. Won't be very long and we will be walking, our diplomas in hand and off to college."

  "I know. We will keep in touch, right?"

  "OMG, there's a spider," her voice quivered.

  "April fools…"

  "No, really!" Lilly pointed at his hair, trying to appear frightened, terrified. "Get it out," she screeched as if the spider would jump onto her. The fury eight-legged creatures truly traumatized her.

  Jacob stared hard at her, the lines of his mouth thinning, "You can't get me. There is no spider in my hair."

  Her hand shook as she continued to point at his head. "Really, really, I'm n-not lying this time." Practical jokes were her forte and she loved April Fools Day.

  Wide-eyed, Jacob rose, seeming to study her. She could almost read his mind and his hesitancy. Without warning he dove in the water.

  By the time he reached the surface, her laughter made her body shake--this time not with fear. She pointed at him, doubled over, choking on her humor. "You are such an easy mark."

  He grinned--a devilish smile--as he stroked to the wall.

  "Oh, no…no you don't," she backed away, quickly turning to run. Too late, he grabbed her by the waist and easily tossed her into the water. He followed and as she rose to the surface, he gave her just enough to time to breathe in a lung-full of air before dunking her.

  "Easy mark--just means I trust you even though I shouldn't," he told her as she came up for air a second time.

  He can trust me with his heart.

  Synchronized, they swam to the edge. Both hands on the side of the pool, he kicked hard and was on the edge, lending her a hand.

  He pulled her out and close to him, "I will always trust you."

  ~ * ~

  Graduation Day 2006

  "I can't believe it!" Jacob said, smiling at the circle of students and shaking hands with the teachers--hugs to his favorites.

  "Believe it, Lilly said, "in less than 2 months we are both leaving this town behind." Lilly grinned, standing on tiptoes to give Jacob a great big bear hug. When she finished, she adjusted her cap. "They don't make these attractive. And they certainly don't do anything for the hair-do."

  Jacob tussled her hair. He loved the way she smiled and acted as if she cared about a perfect coif.

  "Line up," the principal motioned for everyone to get in line. "The way we practiced this morning."

  "So, how many principals does it take to get seniors to form a line?" Jacob asked. He tugged on Lilly's hand. "C'mon, walking partner, let's show them how it is done."

  Lilly jogged to keep up with Jacob. They were at the front of the line. They always seated the seniors who would be recognized in front. Lilly was senior class president. She had a speech she'd prepared and Jacob was valedictorian. He too had a speech to give.

  Jacob didn't feel nervous. Although he was sure by the time his speech rolled around, butterflies would be dancing inside. Looking at Lilly he decided she wasn't the least bit anxious.

  She never was. Public speaking seemed to be easy for her. He could see her being the president of a big company. She liked to be in control, direct people who didn't seem to have a focus.

  The music started and the students began the slow march to their chairs. Everyone in the stadium was grinning. Flashes from cameras blinked all around them. Jacob cartwheeled twice just to get attention.

  One ceremony is much like the next. He'd attended four graduations since his freshman year in high school. However, this one was the best. It was mine. Jacob leaned back in his folding chair placing his hands together to rest on his stomach. Just one more speech and I will have my turn. Speech notes were crumpled into a little ball in one fist. Closing his eyes, he went over the words he knew by heart.

  "Now we will hear from our valedictorian, Jacob Whittier"

  Applause resounded through out the stadium, echoing off the grandstand, to give him a bit more confidence.

  "Thank you, thank you everyone. I am honored to be here…"

  He finished then walked down the right side of the stage, knowing Lilly would be walking up the left side to give her gifts to a certain teacher and thank you's to all the teachers. One of those leaving the hallowed grounds of Whitmore High was her favorite teacher and ASB advisor.

  "Mrs. Hilton, would you come up here please?" Once again the applause was thunderous. "On behalf of the student body, we would like to present you with this package and a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant."

  Mrs. Hilton was shaking her head at Lilly. She bent down and whispered but the microphone picked up a bit of their conversation. "I told you not…do…"

  But looking at one of the school's favorite and most controversial teachers, Jacob knew Mrs. Hilton was thrilled.

  A few minutes later, Lilly joined him. They were given the signal to rise--diploma time. Music resounded. The march began. Before--baby pictures--and present pictures flashed on the movie screen to the left of the stage as each student made their way to the platform to receive their diploma.

  When all was finished, the principal made a grand sweeping gesture. "Welcome Whitmore High's class of 2006."

  Hats flew into the air. Cheers of joy rang throughout the stadium. They all were about to embark on a new stage of their lives. But first they had the all-night graduation party to attend.

  "Got your bag?" Jacob asked, smiling at her.

  "Yes, it's all packed--swim suit, towel, goggles, a change of clothes for later tonight. You…"

  "Yup, guess we'll smell like chlorine before the night is over."

  "Thought you knew it was my perfume of choice," Lilly said, undoing the pins in her hair and pulling it back to wrap a scrunchie around it.

  "I'd guessed that a time-or-two." Jacob let the principal rummage through his bag then watched as he did the same with Lilly's. As much as he didn't like the fact that it had to be done, he knew someone would ferret booze into the party then they would all be in trouble.

  "Sure you don't want to sit by Ryan?" Jacob asked.

  "I'm sure. We're through. I never really cared for him that much." Lilly leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Ryan cheated on me."

  "The bastard."

  The warm sensation of her breath sent skitters of heat waves down his arm. He didn't know why, but Lilly's closeness always affected him that way. When he watched her, always when she wasn't looking, he saw everything he'd ever wanted in a woman. But they'd dated a couple of times and it had been the most awkward sensation of his life. As much as she made his heart pound, he knew she wasn't for him. Too different--besides they had plans to attend colleges that were miles apart. They wouldn't see each other for long periods of time. He didn't plan on celibacy. And he was sure she didn't either.

  Good grief, what did they have in common? Absolutely nothing. But he'd always heard, opposites attract. Was that it? Was he just curious about her different beliefs and way of thinking? No, curiosity did not send chills up ones spine, or cause a person to catch one's breath at the site of her. Nor did it cause the heart rate to zoom out of control.

  She sat for the longest time staring out the window of the bus then, "I'm glad. We didn't make each other happy. We argued all the time. That is no way for a relationship to work."