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Ana was decidedly not having a good time. A combination of Benny’s tampering and low rainfall meant the Tank’s pool was out of commission, and with her being stuck inside because of the heat, she was one more apology away from biting someone. It wasn’t even like she and Jake could duck back to the Academy, because they’d finally been given two weeks to go back to their home dimensions, and Ana was going to spend that time overheating and trying not to die.
“Hey Ana!” Speak of the devil.
“Yeah?” Her arm was dragged from over her face and Jake’s grinning face replaced the darkness.
“Wanna go to the pool? Astra’s taking us.”
“Yes! Yes, please. When are we leaving?” She hurriedly sat up, skimming past Jake’s jaw, as he twisted out of the way.
“Oi! And a few minutes. Jeez, guess the pool being out’s really messing with you, huh?” Ana chucked a water bottle at him, causing him to yelp as he ducked out the doorway with a wave. She huffed, looping the strap of her backpack over her ankle and drawing it up into her hands. Aside from the discarded bottle, she just needed shoes. She grinned, stooping to pick up the empty canister and hurried out after Jake.
- - - - - -
Astra drove like a woman possessed, and Ana was beginning to regret agreeing to coming when she stumbled out from the back after nearly 30 minutes holding onto the handle above the door to avoid being flung around like a ragdoll. Honestly, Ana wondered how effective seatbelts were if she felt safer just holding herself in. Jake, the jerk, skipped out from the other side like he’d come from a chariot ride.
“Ready?”
“Born it.” She groaned, stumbling after him.
The dizziness faded as they passed through the main gates, and Ana was once more excited. The pool was crowded, but not so much that they couldn’t find anywhere to sit.
“Aright munchkins! I’m going to stay here, and you two are going to go have fun.” Astra shooed them off with a smirk, laying out a towel and lying down, scales shimmering in the mid-morning sun, glaring at anyone who looked twice at the kids with fangs bared in a facsimile of a smile. Anyone who wanted to fuck with those kids would have to go through her.
Ana glanced at Jake as they wove through the crowds towards the main pool. He caught her eye and grinned, pointing to the diving board at the far side. Ana looked over and, upon seeing the line of more than twenty teens, chose to pull Jake straight into the water. The board would still be there.
“Did you even put on sunscreen?” She asked, dipping her face under the water and feeling it wash harmlessly over her gills. She was careful to keep them closed, not wanting to risk damaging them from the chlorine. She looked back up to see Jake rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Really?”
“Yes!” Jake shoved his hand through the water, splashing a miniature wave onto her face. Ana spluttered, blinking furiously, before splashing him back.
“Okay! I’m not the one who’ll turn into a tomato if you forgot though!” She laughed as Jake tried to splash her again, dipping under the water to grab at his ankles, dodging a kick as he thrashed against her grip. She somersaulted, twisting back around in time for Jake to grab her under her arms and drag them both out of the water. Ana shrieked, smacking his shoulder lightly before he dropped her back.
“Jake!”
“Sorry!” He replied, sounding not the least bit sorry as he grinned at her, ducking out of the way of another splash, kicking his foot up and out of the water to drench Ana. Ana followed him under the water, waiting for him to rise once his lungs began to burn, then twisted, curling her body tightly before releasing, fingers brushing the bottom of the pool as her legs cut through the water, drenching Jake in return. He laughed as he went to grab her again, and they tumbled through the water like they’d done hundreds of times in the Sharp Tank before they were suddenly pulled out of the water. A very unimpressed lifeguard stared down at both of them and calmly explained that if they were going to keep ‘roughhousing’, they were going to be removed from the pool.
Both kids responded with apt guilt, quickly moving away as soon as they were dismissed. A few moments later, and they were heading to the waterslide, climbing the stairs after showing their wristbands to the guard at the bottom of the steps. This time, Jake led the way, hovering instead of walking from excitement. Ana held his wrist to stop him bumping into the stairs above them. A concussion was not what they needed.
The slide fit one person at a time, a simple tube, but it was fun and Ana didn’t even accidentally faze through it, so they counted it as a win. After two more rides each, they returned to Astra for snacks, drinks, and then were back in the water. The lifeguards had changed over, so they weren’t at risk of being scolded for coming back. Hopefully.
It was only after several hours that Ana began to flag, and Jake wasn’t far behind. Astra was quick to scoop up their belongings and lead the way back to the car. Ana blinked away spots that danced in her vision, feeling dizzy and woozy very suddenly.
“A-Astra?”
“Yeah kiddo?”
“Can you- I think I’m-” She shook, swallowing back gags before realising it was a lost cause and opening the car door to throw up on the pavement. Her head hurt, her muscles spasmed like she was shivering and she panted, swallowing wads of saliva that threatened to spill past her lips.
“Hey, hey, Ana? Kiddo? It’s okay, I’ve got some water here, think you can drink something?” Ana nodded, regretting it quickly as her vision darkened again and she swayed forward. A warm hand caught her shoulder and she whined, trying to pull away from the heat.
“It’s too hot.” She whimpered, embarrassment curdling in her belly, but Astra didn’t seem to mind, reaching into the front of the car to crank the fan up, a cool breeze blowing over the back seats.
“Sorry kiddo, we’re heading back now. The fan’s gotta stay on the warmer side though, can’t risk your body freakin’ out.” Ana hummed in agreement, her head dropping to rest against Jake’s shoulder. The boy hissed and Ana immediately sat back up, ignoring the way her head pounded and nausea curled in her chest.
“Ah shit, sorry Ana, I just-” He flushed, catching her hand in his. “I didn’t reapply the sunscreen.”
“Ha.” Ana grinned. “You forgot.”
“Yeah.” Jake sighed. “I forgot.”
- - - - -
The pool was up and running again a few days later, after all three of the pool-goers got a stern talking to about managing their health by Alexis. On the bright side, they learnt that Jake’s goop helps with sunburns, and that Ana doesn’t have the same thermoregulatory systems as most mammals.
“A freakin’ lizard. How was I meant to know the water wouldn’t help cool her off?” Astra had grumbled while checking Ana’s temperature for the fourth time that hour. She hadn’t left her side for the first day, so Ana wasn’t really worried about her being upset. Jake, however, had been very upset that Ana had gotten sick without him realising, and had promptly gotten Tayrun, Champagne and Dresden to sit down and teach him all there was to know about reptilian vs mammalian systems.
Less than a week after the near-disaster at the pool, the kids were back in the Sharp Tank’s salt-water tank, wrestling under the water.