𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕤: 𝕒 𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟙: ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕪 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕜

That Monday, Billy arrived at his lifeguarding shift at the community pool at precisely ten. Even though this job paid him slightly above the minimum wage, he would gladly take cleaning piss in a pool and yelling at children rather than his father screaming at him.

After changing into his lifeguarding uniform, Billy lit up a cigarette and entered the pool area. As usual, girls and pool moms fluttered their lashes, each competing for his attention. Billy merely quirked the corner of his lip as he strode past them with easy confidence.

Two pool moms were talking excitedly as he walked past and settled in the lifeguarding chair. "Did you hear about the Darcy girl," a pool mom with lipstick on her teeth began, "about what she did at the police station?"

The other pool mom wearing a cheetah print swimsuit took off her glasses. "The one involved with Tommy's disappearance?"

Lipstick Teeth nodded. "Yes! She broke the police department's lie detector test after the Hagans demanded she take one. Now the police department has to buy a new one!"

Cheetah Print shook her head. "Those machines probably don't work anyway."

"Not only did she break the lie detector, but the lightbulbs in the interrogation room!"

"How did she break them?"

"Well, they can't exactly prove she broke them, but as they were interrogating her, she became angry, and the lie detector and lightbulbs just went... poof!"

"So she didn't exactly break them?"

Lipstick Teeth shrugged. "If the detective can't prove that she directly broke the lie detector and the lightbulbs, how is he going to prove Darcy's innocence?"

As if on cue, Darcy strode into the pool area, wearing a wide brimmed hat and a blue swimsuit. People stopped in their tracks, kids in the pool froze, and all began whispering to one another. Billy frowned, peering at Darcy from his sunglasses. What was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to stay home and not attract attention?

Rather than exiting the pool, Darcy walked to the nearest pool chair with her head held high. Just as she settled onto the pool chair, the surrounding patrons within a five-foot radius of Darcy gathered their belongings and children and left. But Darcy didn't bat an eye. Well, she was wearing sunglasses, so he couldn't exactly see her eyes. Yet, she acted as if whatever she did or didn't do at the police station didn't bother her. She pulled out her magazine and began to read as the patrons in the pool continued their activities.

Billy quirked a smile. She was brave, he had to admit. If she didn't do anything wrong, why should she act like she did? Unless she was—

Carol Perkins, Tommy's chatty chipmunk of a girlfriend (Or ex-girlfriend? Billy couldn't remember. Those two were on and off like a light switch), angrily marched up to Darcy with a melting ice cream cone in her hand and a glare on her face.

"What did you do to Tommy?!" Carol screeched at Darcy, ripping the magazine out of her hands. Billy sat forward in the lifeguarding chair, paying no attention to the pool at all and instead to Carol and Darcy.

Darcy calmly raised her hands in surrender. "Carol, I really don't know-"

"Yes, you do! Stop lying!" And with that, Carol jammed the melting ice cream cone on Darcy's head. Once again, the patrons of the pool stopped and turned to stare at Darcy, who now had strawberry ice cream dripping from her hair and onto the pool chair. The waffle cone sat on her head like a crushed party hat.

Billy's blood began to boil, but not from the heat. Without thinking, Billy blew his lifeguarding whistle before yelling at Carol through his megaphone. "NO FOOD NEAR THE POOL, CAROL!"

Carol yelled back at Billy, but his attention was now on Darcy, who had disappeared from her pool chair.