Palace of Wolves

Chapter 2 -- By the Pool

I was melting. It was like I was the wicked witch of the west and someone had thrown a bucket of water at me; except the opposite way around. This sweltering climate was lacking in that element which was oh so abundant in Scotland. The second I stepped out the airport was like falling into the flames of hell. It was a new, burning heat like nothing I had endured before. But that was not going to stop me from using every second of this holiday wisely. I dragged my parents straight to the bus stop.

"Sandra, slow down, we've got two weeks to enjoy this holiday. "

"What should we do first?"

"How about breathe; we have the whole thing planned out. Buses, tour guide's the lot."

"Okay, hotel now"

I was clutching my suitcase balanced on my knees on a crammed bus. I had somehow ended up beside the one and only empty seat.

"Can I sit here?"

Strike that, every seat was full.

"My names Adrian." He said sitting down

"Sandra"

"That's some awesome accent you've got. Whereabouts are you from?"

"Aberdeenshire, Scotland."

"Other side of the world from me; I come from Wagga Wagga in Australia."

"Wow. That's some crazy place name."

His skin was tanned from exposure to the sun and his hair was so long he tied it in a ponytail. Justin Whelk from school had gone through a phase of wearing a ginger ponytail which made her despite long hair on boys but ever since. However, on Adrian, it actually looked pretty good.

"Where are you headed?"

I told him the name of our hotel

"Same here!"

Our conversation dwindled into awkward silence until we reached the hotel.

"Oh, cool we've got a pool! I can't wait to go swimming!" I gasped; I loved swimming but didn't go often since the closest pool was all the way in Stonehaven.

"Do you want to meet at the pool in half an hour then?" asked Adrian.

"Yep, race you!"

It took the journey from the bus to our room for me to release the curiosity of the situation. Why did Adrian, who I had known for all of half an hour, ask me to go to the hotel pool with him? Was I over thinking things? Probably, I guess he would be a fun enough person to hang around with on this holiday.

Racking through my suitcase I instantly discarded the sky blue bikini; I had know idea why I even owned the impractical article of clothing -I had probably liked the colour. Instead I pulled on my floral one piece and threw on a dress on top to feel less exposed.

"Where are you going sweetie? You seem to be in a rush." asked Mum

"Meeting someone at the pool."

"Ahem, who is it, do you know them? Be careful around strangers"

"It's fine mum. Relax! We were chatting on the bus"

"Alright but remember to put sun cream on"

"Mum really! How am I going to get a tan, you bought factor 50+."

"Tans are unhealthy Sandra."

"Fine then," I grabbed the bottle. Now don't get me wrong, I love my mum, we have a lot in common, I'm proud to be her daughter. It's just she's a bit of a safety freak, not just with me, with dad too, and her friends, and people she works with in the fabric store, and complete strangers. Come to think of it mum would give safety advice to anyone and everyone under the sun.