Like Real People Do - Jill Roord

Mirrorball

Jill's POV

"So out of all the things in Barcelona, you've taken us to an aquarium?" Jen sighed, looking up as we stood in the tunnel surrounded by water and all manner of fish. 

I had to admit, it had caught me slightly off guard, but I would rather be here than looking around old monuments which deep down meant nothing. At least here, the view was a little more interesting. 

"Yeah," Hunter nodded, her so eyes so alive as she stared at the fish.

Jen tilted her head, hands in pockets, "Can I ask why?" She winced.

Hunter shrugged, "Why not?"

It seemed like a standard enough answer, especially from what I heard about Hunter but somehow I felt like this had a deeper meaning, it seemed a little too random. Though maybe I looked into things too much when they concerned Hunter, I just felt like there was always so much beneath the surface; like every decision was influenced by something she hid from us. Or perhaps they all just didn't ask. 

"Did you use to come here a lot when you lived in Spain?" Lia asked, I could see her always making an effort with Hunter when others slightly overlooked her usually. 

Hunter nodded, seeming entranced by the fish swimming over her head, "Yeah. Me and my best friend always used to come here."

"Oh Mapi?" Lia assumed, trying to follow the fish that Hunter watched. 

Hunter shook her head, holding her breath. 

A lot of the girls had walked further ahead but a few of us had stayed back; we were on holiday, we should be taking things slowly.

"Who was it?" Lia tried to continue the conversation, always seeming so sweet.

The name came out like a whisper, "Maya," I couldn't see Hunter's expressions though because she still stared at the fish above. 

Leah's head quickly turned towards the brunette, worry hiding in her eyes as she tensed her jaw. Leah didn't say anything though, no one did, but Leah just watched as if something was about to explode, the time bomb ticking her brain. 

That was it. The dots connected again. There was a deeper meaning in this whole trip to the aquarium but I didn't know why. It's not as if I would push for answers, I just found it interesting to watch the puzzle all piece together. In my head, everything Hunter did had a meaning behind it, crazy or not, she had her reasons. That thought intrigued me, because how did someone who people talked about like an open book, seem so hidden to me? There was a surface but the rest was locked.

"Guys look," Viv chuckled, a little further down the tunnel, "There's a shark."

Hunter snapped out of her thoughts, "I wanna see!" She shouted back to Viv, I felt as if for a moment the walls had lowered but they were now straight back up. 

We spent a while longer in the aquarium, it was a strangely calming experience until Hunter and Leah decided to put ideas in our minds. 

"Imagine if this tunnel just cracked and then all this water came down on us," Hunter looked around, nodding her head, "We'd drown right?" She asked comically. 

"Or we'd be eaten by the sharks," Leah laughed.

Hunter looked towards the blonde, seeming proud of her response as they nodded at one another. They were like siblings; troublesome when they worked with each other and equally as troublesome when they worked against each other.

"Guys don't say that," Lia looked genuinely worried now, "I feel like we're all about to die."

Hunter pulled Lia into a playful hug, "Oh come on Wally, I was just kidding. You know I'd protect you from all those flesh eating sea creatures."