Monday, March 26, 2012

Glorious Beach Day Chapter 1 Page 3

"I met the guy in charge and he thought it would be funny to put someone else's soul in," Gloria said.

"Wait, you've seen the afterlife?" Selina asked quickly, "You've met the gods?"

"It isn't as impressive as it sounds," Gloria said, "The afterlife was just one endless white plane... and that guy I met, I wouldn't call him a god." She glanced again at her belongings.

"Why not?"

"Well, he uses his powers for his own amusement, like switching my soul for Annie's. And he has this obsession with stripping little girls naked."

"That can't be true. The gods can't be that perverted."

"Oh, yes, this one is," Gloria assured her, "He stripped the dress off Annie and tried to trick me into taking off mine."

"He could be watching while we're showering or during some other private moment, could he?"

"He said he'd do exactly that with me."

"Okay, that's disconcerting."

"I try not to worry about it every time I shower since I can't see him anyway." Gloria sighed. "Okay, that's my story, what's yours? What were you doing in Fernham High?"

Selina sipped more of her drink. "I was there to protect someone. Sorry, I can't say who."

"Are you some kind of special agent of some sort?"

"Something like that."

"Is that why I have this unnatural fear of you?" Gloria asked.

"Oh, that." Selina glanced at the ocean, where a family was wading into the water. "It may be because Annie's afraid of me. She was very nasty. I gave her a spanking once to teach her a lesson."

"I don't think she's learned her lesson," Gloria informed the woman, "She was still as nasty as ever last time I saw her."

"You've met her?"

"Up in the afterlife."

"So the afterlife was just blank?"

Gloria shrugged. "I didn't see much. Just me, Annie and the perverted one." She looked up to Selina. "Why all this interest in me, by the way?" she asked.

"When you came back acting strange, that set off all sorts of alarm bells. I had thought that you were an assassin who had replaced Annie."

Gloria's eyes grew wide. "Me, an assassin?"

"Considering my assignment, I've to keep an eye out for potential threats. Someone suddenly acting strange makes her a possible threat."

"Okay." Gloria nodded with understanding. "And you're not really leaving because your father got another job."

"Yes, that's just the cover story," Selina confirmed, "I'm leaving because I've finished my assignment." She drank some iced tea.

Gloria spotted Second Sis further along the beach, tossing a frisbee with a couple of boys. Typical. "So now that your assignment's done, why are you still seeking me out?"

"I kind of got a bit obsessed about it," Selina admitted, "I wanted to clear this up before my next assignment." She finished the last of her iced tea.

Gloria took some of her own drink. "We're not going to see each other again after this, are we?" she guessed.

"I doubt we'll meet again in the future. If we do, it'd mean there's going to be trouble."

Gloria smiled to the woman. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you."

The woman returned the smile. "Same. It was nice to chat with you, Gloria."

Selina got up and returned her glass. Then she retrieved her surfboard and went away.

Gloria watched as Selina walked up a set of stairs into the building behind the beach. That was one interesting girl. Too bad she had not known her in school.

***

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