Beneath Water

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Moving a hand to her mouth, Serith bit her fingernail. She tried not to frown at Darren and instead she smiled. The cup of coffee in front of Serith was pushed aside by the waitress before she could answer. The plate of food looked delicious, better than Serith had imagined when she ordered. The huevos rancheros had sounded delicious and was also something that she'd never tried before.

Serith jabbed her fork into a potato doused with green chile on the plate and added a little egg to the forkful. The food was delicious and Serith closed her eyes in delight before she remembered that Darren had asked her a question. Serith opened one eye and took a sip of coffee to dawdle further. Swallowing fully, Serith played with the tines of her fork.

"I don't really know what I'll be doing this weekend" Serith murmured, an apologetic smile on her face. After a few more bites, Serith was nearly done with her food. It was just then that she looked over at Darren to see what he got. He looked to be nearly done as well.

"What's that? It looks good" Serith diverted, pointing at his food.
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[~Nora.Inu~]

"Eh, just a couple waffles and a pheasant sausage, and some hash browns... wanna try some?" Darren asked, looking at Serith with a happy smile. He really liked being around the blond girl. It was just some random thing, out of the blue, but he liked her company.

"Hey, what teachers do you have?" he asked.

 

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In response to Darren's offer that Serith try a bite of his food, she patted her stomach. She felt as though she'd eaten a lot and she was indeed very full but besides that, the waffles were not a new experience to her. The fancy restaurants had their own versions of waffles, albeit laced with decoration and extra things. The exciting part was trying something new.

"Ah, no, I'm really full!" Serith answered and then, in response to his question about teachers, Serith started ticking them off on her fingers. "Well, there's Mrs. Arnold for chemistry, Mr. Barker for World Studies, Ms. Leigh for Trigonometry, Mr. Feder for English... who am I forgetting? Oh, right, and of course Mr. Edmond for Music Theory!" Serith smiled brightly at Darren, not expecting him to make anything of it. It was doubtful that he'd try to find her if she went missing, after all.

"Are you ready to go?" Serith asked, pushing her plate away from her. She'd decimated the potatoes, devoured the egg, and was finished with her coffee. She didn't want to rush Darren, but reflecting on her departure the next day made her feel a kind of urgency. She felt like she wanted to do things, make memories before she had to go.
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[~Nora.Inu~]

"Ah, yeah," Darren answered, pulling out the money quickly and putting it on the table, getting up and walking out with Serith.
"So, movie or lake?" he asked, smiling brightly.

 

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Serith tapped her finger to her lips, the long nail brushing against the soft skin and contrasting piquantly. Most of the time, Serith forgot that her fingernails were painted and she just remember this fact absently. Dropping her hand back down to her side, Serith smiled. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye and she seemed quite excited by the prospect.

"Let's go to the lake! I just thought, maybe there will be ducks there and I can try to feed some ducks. Maybe I should get some bread, or some of these potatoes...." Serith eyed her mostly cleaned plate speculatively before deciding that the potatoes suggested wouldn't work. She doubted that the ducks would want to eat something as spicy as the green chile laden potato bits.

Serith dawdled a little bit at the table after Darren had stood up. When his back was turned, Serith grabbed the small pile of bills he had left and instead replaced the money on the table with her own, as well as a nice tip for the waitress. If nothing else, she'd hand the remaining bills to Drake when she took Darren home.

"How far away is the lake?" Serith asked, shielding her eyes when they emerged into the bright sunshine.
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[~Nora.Inu~]

"Not to far, we can walk there easily," Darren answered, grabbing her hand and turning right, towards the busy street. He waited until the light that was a block down turned red before running across, the doing the same on the other side. Once safely on the other side of the street, he lead Serith down the side walk, humming lightly.

"It's only about two miles, but we have to go up hill to get there, so it won't be as fun as it should," he shrugged, swinging their hands childishly.

 

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The walk was long and very warm, smelling of the onset of autumn. The weather was still pleasant, but the yellow tint to the leaves of the trees, as well as the cool edge to the warm breeze told a different story. Serith flicked a gaze up to the pastel blue sky, watching the clouds as they drifted past. It was peaceful here, she thought, a little saddened by the fact that this conclusion came on her last day in the city. She thought absently of the pool near and how she would miss the flower petals that came in on the breeze through the open windows in the classrooms.

In this fashion, the walk to the lake was a quiet one, uneventful. There was little sound except the slapping of her ballet flats against the pavement while they walked. After a long while in the warmth, Serith drew her hands away from Darren, noticing that her palm was sweaty and slick. With a frown, she wiped the offending limb across the material of her skirt.

At long last, they came to the lake. The sun beating down on the water reflected and shone brightly, an imposing sight after the walk. The grass around the edges of the lake was dully green, complete with a wooden bench planted firmly in the grass. Serith pointed toward the bench, turning her head to Darren.

"Did you want to sit?"
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[~Nora.Inu~]

"Eh, sure," Darren smiled before slipping off his shirt.
"I'm going to swim too, though, hope you don't mind," he added, draping his arms on the back of the bench as he sat. The breeze was warm, the water cool, and the ducks ready for chasing. He tapped his worn out sneakers against the cement before turning to Serith.
"You seem a little off today, everything okay?" he asked.

 

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Smiling, Serith waved her hand at Darren. She sat down on the bench next to him, making sure to turn her face a little left so that he couldn't see her full features but rather a profile view of her face. Serith curled her fingers in front of her face and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, further obscuring her features from view.

"Oh, I'm all right. I slept poorly, so I'm a little bit tired..." Serith lowered her hand and glanced over at Darren now, smiling more brightly. Reclining against the bench, Serith gestured toward the lake. "Go ahead and swim if you'd like. You know that I can't." Serith looked wistfully at the glassy blue surface, counting each individual shadow that was clearly a duck. She wished that she could swim, maybe play with the cute little waterfowl.

Serith gazed over the lake to the treetops, daydreaming a little about what she could have done in the city if she'd tried. Suddenly, she spotted a little ripple in the water, stirring up little waves. Leaping to her feet, Serith darted across the grass to the edge of the lake. A few feet from the bank, Serith spotted a small cat struggling against the water. Without a second thought, Serith jumped into the water to scoop up the kitten.

Clearly having forgotten that she was also unable to swim, Serith proceeded to flail in the water, holding the kitten aloft above her head.
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[~Nora.Inu~]

Darren remained quiet as he sat beside Serith. He had a feeling that "tired" wasn't even half of it, but wasn't usually one to pry. When Serith got up he looked at her curiously. When he saw her disappear in the water he jumped to his feet and into the water. It was cold, very, very cold, despite the weather. Once he made it to Serith he grabbed her arms.
"Oy, oy, calm yourself! What were you thinking?" he asked, then saw the kitten, taking it from the girls hands so she could hang on to him.
"Jesus, next time just tell me!" he chuckled, slowly swimming back to the bank and helping Serith up.
"You all right?"