Marcie and Grace lounge at the pool’s edge, dipping their toes into the cool water. The white tiles are hot beneath their legs, and waves of sunlight ripple across the surface. Both girls giggle, their laughter echoing off the empty house, as they dare each other to swim out to the deep end.
Grace peers over the edge, her red bikini vivid against her pale skin. Marcie, her white bikini gleaming, bites her lip nervously. "Are you sure we should?" "Don’t be scared, we’ll be fine! Let’s just kick and hold onto each other," she replies, forcing a brave smile.
Flailing arms break the surface, splashing wildly. Marcie and Grace kick desperately, feet pointed toward the sky, eyes wide with fear. "I can’t swim! Help, help!" "We’re sinking—grab something!" they cry out, their voices high and panicked.
Their feet, pale and frantic, point upward, toes breaking the water as they sink further. The world is muffled underwater, a kaleidoscope of light and fear. Marcie reaches out, her fingers grazing the smooth wall, hope flickering in her eyes.
They pull themselves onto the sun-warmed tiles, collapsing side by side, their legs dangling back into the water. "That was way too close! I really thought we were done for," "Me too. Next time, I’m sticking to the shallow end," Grace laughs, relief shining in her eyes.
Marcie wiggles her feet playfully, grinning at Grace. "At least our feet had a good workout," she jokes, and the two burst into laughter, the tension dissolving into the warm afternoon air. For now, the pool is just a place for laughter and sun, the memory of panic already fading.
