“Crazy Dave’s Surf Shop”. The sign is splashed across the tall, perfectly square building in huge swirling letters. a lava-lamp grooves on beneath the sign. hawaiian flowers point their stamens at each other and hula girls smile sweetly.

Inside, crowds of teenagers in swimsuits are climbing up and down the stairs. wet footprints mark the movements of the herd. californian surf-punk everywhere, blasting from a speaker nested high up in the green plastic trees. It is dark.

At the top of the building is a square room that feels smaller than it is. It is full of shadows and bare beams. The only light is emanating up from a square pool in the centre of the room. Ripples glint off the walls and the faces of the kids standing around the sides of the pool, gossiping and glancing around at each other. infinitely deep water below, infinitely vast stars above.

every now and then someone jumps into the pool and sinks directly to the bottom. After a few minutes they reappear, but I can’t seem to figure out where they reappear from.

“go on, try it. It’s fun!”

“oh, no. I don’t think so. I’ll just watch another couple people go first.”

“no really, try it! it’s easy!”

“I don’t really want to. how does it work?”

“well, you go to the bottom of this pool, and into a waterslide. at the end of the waterslide you drop into the next pool, where you go to the bottom again and into another waterslide, and over and over until you finally get to the last pool and you climb back up here!”

“um, no thanks. I’d rather just watch.”

A young man jumps into the pool and dissapears into the bottom. He sinks downwards startlingly quickly, like a diving seal or a rock. A black spot engulfed in the light.

I sit at the side, drowned in thought. how can they sink so fast? surely I would float and be unable to get to the slide at the bottom of the pool? And what prevents each pool from emptying into the next? what allows that precious window of air? What if I get stuck in the slide? What if? what if? what if?

everybody’s doing it. surely it’s safe. nevermind your fears, they are only holding you back. that’s right, blow out all your air. you’ll sink faster, you’ll speed through the slide better, you will have more fun. come on…

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Uncategorized by michelle