H20: Our Story Season 1 1955 {COMPLETE}

The Sly Superhero Episode 10

Louise's p.o.v
Julia and Gracie were playing a game with different magazines that Gracie had picked up. She pointed to different celebrities and asked her what clothes she would wear. Julia, not being into fashion, picked clothes that were brown or black, or clothes that were especially boyish, since she always dressed that way. I don't participate, since I'm deep in a book called Fahrenheit 451, about a future where books are burned by firemen.
Phillip Broil, the local heartthrob, comes running in. "Louise! He says, panicked.
"You've got to help me! It's my little brother, he's in the water and he can't swim." Julia and Gracie look up for a second then their eyes turn back to the magazines.
"Aren't you a surfer? Can't you save him?" I ask.
"I wouldn't know the first thing about saving people."
"I'll do it. Stay here. Grab a towel if you've got one, and a glass of water. The others silently judge me by the frowns in their faces. "Don't worry, gals. I get up from my seat. "I'm a professional. I know what I'm doing."
I don't see Phillips' little brother, whatever his name is, at first glance. I dive in. When I come a little closer, but not close enough for him to see me, I see he's unconscious. I cradle him in my arms, bring him to the surface, and bring him to a more secluded area. I put him in an empty boat and drag it back to the pier that leads to the Jazzy Juice. I think about speed swimming to the beach and drying off there, but then I'd have no way to get back without raising suspicion. I may have bitten off more than I could chew. I dive under and try to find something to hide my top half. Then I spot a surfboard floating along. Perfect! I take it with me and using one hand to cover myself, I surface and try to resuscitate him. I give him mouth to mouth, then while keeping the a close eye on the board, I put my hands on his chest and pump five times, like I've learned. I try this a few times, but nothing works. Oh no. Am I too late? I try again one more time, pumping as hard as I can. I try to wrap my head around telling him the news, when I hear him suck in a deep breath and cough. I grab the board and cover myself, using the other hand to turn him over. After the coughing is done, he speaks. "Who are you?"
"I'm Louise. Your brother asked me to save you."
"Where am I?" He sits up.
"Lie down and rest. Call after your brother." He plops down into the boat.
"Phillip! Phillip!" He shouts. His eyes turn toward me. "What's with the surfboard?"
"I thought it was your brother's. I saved you and found this, and I thought he'd want it back. Seriously, you must save your breath. Close your eyes and call for him. Lift up your legs."
"What for?"
"Trust me. He lifts them and I put the board on that side of the boat. His brows furrow with concern. "Keep them closed." Quickly and quietly, I leave.
"Are you crazy?" Is the greeting I get from Julia after she rang for me 30 minutes after I saved him. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
"Did you really expect me to let him drown?" As she huffs, I can hear her rolling her eyes. I hear Gracie in the background.
"Here's Gracie."
"Did he see anything?"
"I told him to close his eyes and I covered myself. It's fine. I empathize the word fine.
"Is he ok?"
"He's been looked at by a doctor, and everything checks out." I give a sigh of relief.
"Don't relax just yet. We did our best to cover for you, but they're both coming over for a thank you dinner tonight."
"And that's bad why?"
"We both saw them leave. He went a 100 miles an hour talking about how the dolphin girl saved him without a sweat. He went as far as to say your parents won't have to lift a finger for tonight. How he got
your parents number is a mystery to me."
" Ugh. This is bad. He thinks I'm a dolphin because the distances are too tiring for a human." I put my hand on my head.
"Exactly. The dinner is at 6:00. We're coming. Dress casual." She doesn't even say goodbye.
Gracie and Julia arrive a few minutes early.
"I know you're nervous, but you can do this." Says Gracie.
"Smile. This is supposed to be a happy occasion." Says Julia. They sit down, making small talk with my parents. Eventually, the doorbell rings. Greetings come about with the food. Phillip's brother squeezes me tight. I'd guess he's seven or eight by his height, and his arms wrap around my waist.
"Hey, sport. I don't think I ever caught your name." I say, hugging him back. He stops hugging me.
"I'm Randall."
"What a nice name. I'm--"
"I know who you are! Louise, my hero!"
I scoff nervously. "I wouldn't go that far."
"My daughter is always so modest. Says Mum.
"I just did what I thought was right. I look at Phillip. "You really didn't have to go to all the trouble."
"Nonsense! He says. "Mother insisted. The both of them had a prior engagement, so they were unable to make it. But we're here, nonetheless. Well, let's eat!" Food is put on all our plates, and just as Gracie said, Randall is going 100 miles an hour.
"It was like she was a dolphin!" He exclaims. Mum and Dad laugh wholeheartedly at the thought.
"Wherever did you get that idea? Mum says, amused.
"I was pretty far out in the ocean when she saved me. She made it look easy."
"Yes, well, Louise was at the top of her class before she quit."
"Why did you quit, Louise? You're so talented."
"Thank you, but I had just gotten bored with it is all."
"That's a shame. You could save a lot more lives if you were still in that class, learning all the things lifeguards need to know." I change the subject, asking about his life in school. The whole table talks about current events in our lives after that. With the last light of day coming on, Mike tells Randall it's time to leave. "Wait!" He reaches into his bag and pulls out chocolates. "These are for you." Julia choked on her drink. I reach out to accept them.
"I'm sorry, Louise. I gave him money to buy you a present. He told me it was a surprise. I had no idea--"
"That's ok. I like chocolate." I open them to find a note. "What's this?" I hold it up for him to see.
"A thank you note."
I open it. "Dear Louise--"
"I think you'd better read when you go to bed as you eat the chocolates. That letter and the chocolates are just for you." I try to hide my nervous laughter.
"As you wish. Mum, Dad, I think I'll retire to bed now. Thank you both for the lovely evening. Good night everyone." I put the note back in the chocolates and take it to my room. I change to get in bed. Why me? Is my last thought before I go to sleep.
"Louise, your friends are here!" Mum shouts. I put on my robe and hurry downstairs.
"Hey. What's going on?"
"We think we left our purses in your room." Says Gracie.
We head to my room. "What's really going on?"
"We need to see that letter. See what we're dealing with."
I take the letter out of the box and read it. "Dear Louise, you are my beautiful shining star. My guardian angel. I'm infinitely thankful. Any guy would be lucky to be saved by you. Maybe you can save me again sometime under a nice sunset, and then we can get ice cream. Love, Randall."
"Well, this is worse than I thought. Come on. We head to the living room. "Hey, Mum. Do you have Phillip's number, by any chance?"
"Yes I do. Do you need to call him? She heads to the counter where there's pen and paper, and writes it down.
"Actually, I need to speak with Randall, but I don't imagine he has a phone number." She walks over and hands me his number.
"Thanks, Mum." I dial his number and ask him to bring Randall to the beach so that I could speak to him privately.
Phillip brings Randall, says his goodbyes and leaves.
"I bought you a teddy bear." The teddy bear is holding a heart. Yet another gift I'm sure Phillip was unaware of.
"Thank you. I take it. "Listen, Randall--"
"I'm low on money, but if you let me save up I can buy you more chocolate."
"That won't be necessary. I'm not the right girl for you. I'm older and more mature."
"I like that in a woman." He puts his arm around me, but gently, I push it off.
"You and I can never be together. You have different goals and interests."
"I could learn to like what you like."
"You don't understand. Your parents would never approve."
"Give it time--"
"I-- I raise my voice a little, then go back to a normal tone, "don't want to be your girlfriend. There's so much more than maturity and goals at play. We have different school times, and different amounts of work to do, and we just have different schedules in general."
"You don't like me, do you?" He sounds like he's about to cry.
"That's not it at all! It's just, what if you saved someone's life? What if she was really young, let's say 4. That means that they would be half your age, like I am to you. They would want to play with you all day, chasing you around and wanting you to color and play pretend... I don't think you're interested in that kind of thing."
"No. I'm not. Can we still be friends?"
"Of course. I hug him. "Do you... want to build a sandcastle?" He nods. We make a sandcastle while waiting for Phillip. When he arrives, he gives Randall a noogie and tells him to wait in the car.
"Thanks again."
"Anytime. Just don't make it a habit."
"Of course." He chuckles.
"Say... how did you get my parents number?"
"I asked for your father's business card once. Came in handy. After you left the table last night, your parents gave me their numbers."
"Ooh! Two for one! I sigh. "I still can't believe he called me his beautiful shining star."
"He's not wrong."
I blush. "Thanks."
"No problem." He says as he turns to walk to his car.
Me, a beautiful shining shining star in the eyes of Phillip Broil.