However, when they made it to the indoor pool that afternoon, they found that there was not a single boy of Annie's age. There was a small boy, two pairs of elderly couples and no lifeguard. By stretching the social restrictions by a lot, maybe, just maybe, the two much older teenage boys on the lounge chairs could be considered within her range, but Second Sis had already started her campaign for their attention.
Carrie had selected a lounge chair well within view of the boys and reclined easily on it. She stretched her long leg, running her hand over the fair skin of her thigh. It did not take long for the boys to walk over and introduce themselves. It was a short but successful campaign.
Annie took the mandatory shower and tested the waters of the pool with the tip of her foot. Delighted that the water was warm, she lowered herself in.
It was a pleasant discovery that she could, in fact, swim. Her body lazily recalled the movements required to push herself through the water. Her technique was not perfect and she felt clumsy. At least she was good enough to keep herself from drowning, unlike that kid over there splashing wildly in an effort to stay afloat in a pool obviously too deep for him.
With a start, Annie realized the situation.
"Carrie!" she called, deliberately using her sister's proper name to attract her attention. When Second Sis looked in her direction, Annie pointed at the boy in the deep end.
Second Sis strode quickly to the edge of the pool and dove in with a perfect little splash. With powerful strokes, she swam, every movement exuding grace and skill. She easily closed the distance with the boy, only to have him grab her hair and push her head under in an effort to stay afloat.
Her new friends had to rescue both her and the boy.
Overall, no serious damage was done. Neither sister nor child had swallowed any water, there were no injuries, Sis' hair was not harmed and no swimwear was missing. And it appeared that one of the boys was the child's big brother.
Time to assign blame.
"Aren't you supposed to look after your own brother?" Annie fired the first volley at the older brother, "And you didn't immediately help when he's drowning!"
"Oh, but the young lady here had things under control," he excused himself smoothly.
"Yeah, she swam like a true professional," added the other boy, glossing over the fact that Sis needed to be rescued.
The boys were certainly slick with words, praising Second Sis and dismissing the incident. When they found out that the girls were sisters, things only got worst. Somehow, they managed to foist the little kid, onto Annie so they could concentrate their attention on wavy-haired Carrie.
Which left Annie standing knee deep in the kiddie pool, glaring at the three teenagers chatting happily on the lounge chairs.
The little boy had been introduced to her as Ken. He had fair skin and short brown hair. As long as he was splashing near enough for Annie to hear, she could devote her full attention to glaring.
It was so unfair. She came to the pool to swim and now she was stuck keeping watch over the boy.
Annie felt a tug at the back of her bikini top. She spun around to find Ken reaching for her top. "Stop that," she snapped as she irritatedly smacked away his outstretched hand.
The boy shrank back. "I hate you!" He stuck out his tongue and splashed away.
Annie checked her suit. That child could not have mistaken her for a boy, could he? In spite of her flat chest, surely her long hair was enough to indicate her gender.
Then she felt a sharp pull on her bottom. However, the strings of her suit were firmly tied, so instead of coming off, it dug uncomfortably into her skin.
Annie twisted around to find Ken the source of her discomfort. She roughly pulled the boy's hand away from her bottom. "Stop that!"
Ken splashed hard and kicked at her while screaming hatred. Stepping back in surprise, Annie lost her footing and fell, bumping her head rather hard on the pool's edge. She sat in the pool, rubbing her head where a painful lump was growing.
She stared hard at Ken. Grabbing him by the hand, she angrily deposited the boy with the teenagers and stomped off towards the shower. Annie spent the rest of the afternoon in her room, finishing her schoolwork.
***
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