The Incredible Adventures of Aqua Girl

Chapter 17 - Girls Are Back

After an extra 2 hours of Rachael dragging me around the mall in search of her own dress, makeup and acceptable shoes that wouldn't kill our feet, I phoned Mom to pick us up. I had never been happier to see her Fiat 500 in my life.

My feet ached from the countless heels I had tried on, my hands ached from carrying shopping bags around, and my mind ached from Rachael chatting non-stop.

She was my best friend, but the most annoying girl I knew.

"Did you girls enjoy yourselves?" Mom asked as we scrambled into the back of the car after dumping the bags in the compact boot. Too tired to answer, I let Rachael ramble on as I slumped back in the seat.

"Yeah, of course Cass took some persuading, but we found dresses! And then I bought some new makeup palettes, and then...." Rachael continued droaning on to my interested mother as I let San Francisco whizz past the window. My thoughts drifted back to APPSSA and their plan of action. We were due to start training soon. Part of me was looking forward to it, I was going to learn some new kickass skills, but part of me wasn't.

I didn't want a reoccurring event.

This time, I wasn't going to let anyone die.

Not only was it my duty to protect the earth, but I also had to protect my friends.

"Hmm, Cass?" Mom's voice snapped me out of the bottomless pit of my thoughts. 

"What?"

"Rachael tells me you've got 2 tickets. Who's going with you?" She asked, stopping the car at a set of lights as a tram rattled past. This city really needed updating, the trams were too noisy and old for me to think they're even remotely safe.

"Uhh..." I stammered, glancing over at Rachael to send her a death-glare. She put her hands up in mock surrender and smirked. 

"Aren't there any boys you could ask?" Mom persisted, obviously forgetting all the boys at our school were numb-minded idiots.

"Well, Cass has this friend from out of school who..." I lunged over and clamped my hand over Rachael's mouth before she could continue.

"Who?"

"Don't worry, Mom. Rachael's just making stuff up to annoy me!" I called, glaring at Rachael and slowly uncovering her mouth whilst mouthing for her to shut up.

"Oh, fair enough." Mom murmured, focusing on her driving through San Francisco rush hour. Luckily, the rest of the journey was in silence.

The next morning felt weird. Really damn weird. I hadn't been to practice in over 4 weeks, so getting up at 6am was like a nightmare for my slumbering body. After slapping my alarm clock for the 5th time, Mom rattled on my door as an extra wake-up call and opened it.

"Noooo! Bad Rufus!" I whined, as my dog leapt onto my stomach, causing intense pain on my behalf. He was a heavy pup. More like an overweight seal than a Dalmatian.

"That's Rufus telling you to get up, it's swim practice!" Mom sang, padding to the kitchen. A few seconds later, intense beats of 80s music filled the apartment and I groaned, flopping back onto my bed. Rufus obviously took this a false sign to begin licking my face. Yummy.

"Okay, Ruf, I'll get up dude." Grumbling under my breath, I moved Rufus away from me and rolled out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I stood up. The striking blue of yesterday's newly-purchased dress hit me as I surveyed my messy room, and I scrunched my nose at the posh item of clothing before trying to hunt down my leggings and swim team hoodie.

"Welcome back, Cass!" One of the younger girls of the team exclaimed as I fastened my swim cap over my head. I gingerly reminded myself I had forgotten her name, as she looked exactly like all of the other girls in my swim team. They were all just a blur to me. Nike trainers and themed Instagram accounts. Oops.

"Uh, thanks." I mumbled in response, checking in the mirror and instantly regretting it as I found myself face-to-face with an egg. 

"You've only missed one swim meet. Oh, and your favourite girls are back..." The girl continued, quietening her voice at the last part. I began walking towards the strong stench of chlorine and furrowed my brows as she caught up with me.

"Who?" I asked, before turning my head to two figures ahead of us.

"Cascade, what a surprise to see you here! We thought we had scared you off." Lacey Williams snarled, smirking at me as Harriet stood next to her with her perfectly tanned arms crossed.

Oh, great.

This was gonna be fun.

A/N: HOWDY! I AM ALIVE! I managed to survive exam period, so I'll try updating much more often now! We now some more fights and action I think... how's life going for y'all?

Question Time:

For Cass from @Magnus007 : If you lived in the Star Wars universe, what would you be? A Jedi, scavenger, or some other occupation in the Galaxy?

Cass grins at the mention of Star Wars before answering without hesitation. "I'd be an X-Wing pilot for the Rebellion of course! They're so reckless and I think I'd get on well as a squadron leader." She explains, smiling.

For Rachael from @Dhiyababu5 : When did you find out about your super invisibility power and why didn't you inform Cass?

"I only found out two days before, and I was still pretty freaked about it. I like fitting in, and I didn't know what was wrong with me and it wasn't normal, so I didn't want to tell anyone..." Rachael confesses, looking down as she explains to me.

For Cass from @JustSomeNormalGuy : You seem like you are very sleep-deprived, but don't act like it?

"What can I say? It's one of my best-kept secrets!" Cass declares, smirking before her face falters to a little more serious. "I think my body's got used to it. I drink a lot of caffeinated drinks and eat loads of sugar. And I'm a super, yanno?"