Everybody's Gone Surfing {Cleo}

[magicfish]

The Aquarium needed some major, major work done. Starting mostly with the craptastic uniforms. I mean, no one ever thought of green when they thought of aquariums. And khakis? Really? Green polo shirts did absolutely nothing for her light brown skin except make her look even sicker. It would have been nice if it were orange, maybe. Or blue, because when people thought of the sea--they often thought of blue. Duh.

Either way, Robyn was starting to rope off the sections, picking up the litter that had been discarded onto the ground. Honestly--people should be just a little bit more clean with the area. It was like they'd just use the Aquarium like their personal dumping ground--much like the actual ocean. Holding sveral discarded paper cups, Robyn rocked her head back to stare at the aquarium around her. This was one of her favorite areas; a long tube with hammer heads and white fin sharks swimming overhead. The tunnel made most people a bit nervous; they always seemed to have a fear that it would crack and they'd be shark bait. Robyn had to reassure people periodically through the day that it would not happen, and the area would be evacuated before anyone coul dbecome sharkbait, if there happened to be a leak.

However, this wasn't the only aquarium in the...Aquarium. This was just the shark encounter. They had several others with different fish, smaller exhibits, and a tank with nothing but tropical fish where the mermaid shows would go on once a day. After dumping the cups into the trash, Robyn approached the glass of the aquarium, and reached out to touch the cool material. She saw just a glimmer of a shimmering goldfish before it disappeared from view again. Of course, no one else would have seen it. Turning away from the tank, she stopped at a clean up station to grab the broom as she started to sweep her area. The Aquarium was peaceful at closing. There wasn't that murmur of voices, there were n echoes of kids tapping on the glass, the music was switched off. There was nothing but the faint bubbling of the water around them, and the dim lights that seemed to shimmer and swirl with the water.

It was otherworldly, ethereal, and completely relaxing. Actually, Robyn preferred the closing shifts at the Aquarium for that actual relax purpose. After sweeping the dust into the bin, she tucked the broom and dust-pan into the clean-up station and stretched her arms over her head, taking in a breath to stare at the large shark that swam overhead. She glanced around carefully, then looked back up at the tank, listening in the silence. Maybe, just maybe she could sneak a swim tonight.

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Outfit!

[CLEO EVERETT]

There was something both annoying and amazing about the goldfish that now followed Cleo around everywhere.

It was annoying in that, for a fish, she never seemed to shut up. Apparently, being awakened and able to swim through the air was much better than being cooped up in Cleo’s head. The fish had something to say about everything – the sky, grass, umbrellas, briefcases, skyscrapers, and even dirt. She was fascinated by everything. It was much better to see through her own eyes than through Cleo’s, she said.

However. She hadn’t seen the world like this since she was a child and it was amazing. It was amazing to notice something of everything. It was eye-opening. And for that, Cleo couldn’t entirely hate the goldfish. (It did get quite tiresome calling her ‘the goldfish.’ Cleo was still trying to think up a name. There was no way the goldfish could go by Cleo because… because that was her name, that’s why!)

All in all, the goldfish wasn’t so bad. She’d even instilled a sort of curiosity in Cleo. A strange want to go swimming in one of the tanks at the Aquarium. It sounded like the most marvelous idea she’d ever heard. Even better was that Robyn worked at the Aquarium. Even better than that was that Robyn had left one of the hideous work shirts she had to wear at Cleo’s dorm after a sleepover. If swimming in the tanks sounded like fun, pretending to work at the Aquarium and fooling everybody sounded extra fun.

So, that was how she’d spent her day. Cleo had thrown on the shirt, a pair of khakis, her bathing suit underneath of course, and her most comfortable walking shoes. She’d tied her hair back into a ponytail and walked right in. To her surprise, not many questioned it. She thought for sure an employee would ask who she was or what she was doing. Mostly, if anything, she got ‘why aren’t you doing your job?’ to which she’d sheepishly smile and apologize and get on out of there.

Cleo liked answering people’s questions and walking with groups, ooh’ing and ahh’ing with them. Miraculously, she hadn’t run into Robyn (she had seen her from a distance though, definitely). It would have ruined the surprise. When closing time came around, Cleo locked herself in a bathroom stall and waited. And waited. And waited. It didn’t take long. She’d timed it perfectly for a reason. Then she’d skipped on out to begin her search for Robyn.

The Aquarium at night was even prettier than it was during the day. Everything seemed to glow. The goldfish that always swam just out of Cleo’s peripheral view loved it. She longed to join her ocean friends but it apparently didn’t work like that. Miss goldfish had a lot of explaining to do later. Cleo found Robyn cleaning up in one of the tunnels, the one surrounded by sharks.

“Robyn!” Cleo sang out loudly (because she could). Her voice sounded all around her, bouncing around off the glass. Very cool. “Let’s go swimming, yeah?

[/color]” She was grinning widely as she approached Robyn, one of her closest friends. “You know you’ve always wanted to![/color]” She teased in a sing-song tone, dancing around curly-haired woman.

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[magicfish]

The sudden voice echoing off the glass gave Robyn a right fright, and she nearly jumped straight out of her skin. “Cali? What the hell are you doing here?” Robyn hissed, glancing around wide eyed. Cleo did not work here. Though, Robyn did do a double take to the shirt, and gave it a tug, “Huh…so that’s where my other shirt went.” Then, all of Cleo’s words seemed to really hit home while the red haired woman danced around her. Robin’s large hoop earrings bounced against her jaw while she tried to keep track of Cleo without getting entirely too dizzy.

The Englishwoman seemed to consider the adventure at hand for a moment. She suddenly reached out and grabbed Cleo’s pale wrist, and tugged her down the tunnel quickly. “First, you gotta be quiet. We’re not completely alone yet.” She whispered, releasing Cleo’s wrist, peeking down the halls. “How did you even…have you been here all day? Why don’t you just…get a job here?” She asked quietly, hurriedly creeping down one of the halls, following the signs that were pointing towards the mermaid encounter.

Glancing around again, Robyn hunched over the keypad in the door, punching in a quick sequence of number before the door clicked open and she pushed it open, ushering Cleo inside. Easing the door shut, Robyn finally relaxed. “They shut the cameras off in this wing after the shows, and it gets roped off. Kyle already finished his shift, so we’re all done here.” Robyn hurried up the steps that lead to the top of the tank. Further back, where no one could see from ground level were locker rooms and dressing rooms. Off to the side was a small breakroom where the mermaids could have some water, or coffee, or something to munch on. There was also an emergency station, should something go wrong.

But luckily—no one was there. So without hesitation, Robyn unbuttoned her polo-shirt. She hadn’t been as prepared as Cleo, but she was going to swim, that was for sure. She tossed her green shirt into the corner, before wiggling out of her khakis. Swimming in her knickers? Oh, hell yeah. “Tonight, you will be swimming with a large variety of Parrot Fish, Angel Fish, and other fish that I can’t really be arsed to remember at this second.” She placed her hands on her hips, and tapped her foot impatiently. “You’re not scared if they nibble your toes, right?”

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Outfit!

[CLEO EVERETT]

Cleo was both amused and sorry for having frightened Robyn. It seemed the goldfish liked watching people react. She seemed to have gotten a kick out of seeing Robyn scared. They’d have to talk about that. There was no way Cleo was okay with scaring people on purpose just so her little goldfish could have a laugh. No matter how many times Robyn had called her Cali, Cleo would always bubble up with pride and giddiness. Best nickname ever.

“Working!” Cleo exclaimed, a bit quietly when she realized Robyn wasn’t speaking all that loudly. Cleo tugged on the shirt as well, somehow still relieved that it fit her so perfectly. She laughed, “I’ll give it back.

[/color]” Robyn was suddenly pulling her out of the tunnel and and down some hall. Cleo nodded, pressing a finger to her lips. Quiet. Right. She could do that. “Yes m’am! It was surprisingly easy.[/color]” Work at the Aquarium? Get an actual job? Not her sort of deal but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Besides, maybe she could work her way up. Maybe she could be a mermaid!! “Not a bad idea…[/color]”

Cleo hurried into the room, looking around with wonder. She hadn’t been back here! All she’d done was wander around the building, looking like she knew what she was doing. This was neat. Cleo followed Robyn up the steps, noticing now the things they walked by. She wanted to commit this to memory. It didn’t take long for Robyn to lose her shirt. Cleo beamed, excited that not only was she going to get to swim in an Aquarium tank, but she’d be doing so with one of her closest friends.

Wiggling out of the khaki shirts, Cleo nodded quite fiercely, her hair falling into her face. “Scared? Of fish? Ha ha ha![/color]” No way. She was a fish after all. Or… well, sort of. Speaking of, the goldfish was so looking forward to this that she wouldn’t stay still and she was being painfully obvious about being there. Cleo pulled the shirt off and dropped it to the floor with the shorts. She wiggled her toes and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, grinning. “Best idea ever.[/color]”
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[magicfish]

“Working, you were..working.” Her accent helped her sound a little more disbelieving. “You just worked for the company without getting paid, and you’re not even really consid—Cali, sometimes I really don’t get you.” She shook her head and pulled the clip out of her hair that held her wild mane back. Corkscrew curls—lots of them. She set her clip on the side of the tank, before pausing and watching as Cleo pulled her hair back. “I severely hope you are not one of those girls that complain about getting their hair wet. If I can get this—“ She pointed at the wild mane that sat atop her head, “Wet, then you sure as hell are getting your hair wet.”

“And it is the craziest idea ever. If I get fired, I’ll be moving into your dorm, I hope you know.” She warned, before standing at the edge of the tank, and looked down. It was deep, it was much bigger than it looked. It had to be to fit the mermaids in the tank. The glass to the viewing area was a bit further, but there was a walk around area to get closer, should someone need to dive in to help one of the girls. However, there were coral and fish swimming all throughout the tank. “Careful of the coral, it can suck if you cut yourself on it.” And without waiting for Cleo—Robyn dived in. It was a clean jump, the water barely rippling as her body broke through. Her eyes popped open in the lightly salted water. It wasn’t bad enough that it hurt, but the sand on the bottom of the tank gave the water a hint of salt.

She kicked, stretching, her body flowing through the water like she belonged in it. She held her breath until her fingers touched the sand, and then she balled up. Her feet pressed against the bottom, and she shoved herself towards the top, moving like a bullet through the water. Next to her, her own large fish swam; light reflecting off his magnificent scales. When she broke the water, he did to, a double splash. She bobbed in the water, gasping for air, before kicking her legs up to rest on her back. “Okay, I agree. Best idea ever.”

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Outfit!

[CLEO EVERETT]

Cleo laughed a little, unable to help it with how doubtful Robyn sounded. It was to be expected, really. Working wasn’t Cleo’s thing – not at all. Sure, she liked the odd jobs she picked up like pet sitting or flower watering. Then again, she’d actually started working seriously recently. She had yet to mess up at the Disney Store. They liked her well enough, anyway. That was probably why she wasn’t a mermaid at the aquarium… She was creating magic elsewhere. Cleo grinned and shrugged, “Not making sense is fun. Sometimes I get a kick out of confusing people,” She tugged on her ponytail, watching as Robyn’s hair came loose. The curls were gorgeous and sometimes Cleo was jealous but other times, she knew she could never handle hair that wild.

Her eyes widened a bit. “Absolutely not! Getting my hair wet is one of the best parts of swimming!

[/color]” It was just one of the reasons why being a mermaid would be so cool: the floaty hair. “I’ll take it down eventually.[/color]” Sure, wet hair was fine; it was when her wet hair was tangled that bothered her. Cleo shook her head. “We have room! … I think. You know, Barrie’s dorms confuse me.[/color]” It didn’t really matter either way. Cleo was sure her roomies would love Robyn. So, it was really no big deal at all. But Cleo doubted that Robyn would get fired for this. It was just one little swim! If anything, they could at least get away with a warning if they got caught.

Cleo nodded, committing to memory Robyn’s warning. It was the sort of thing she’d forget. Robyn dived in then, not waiting a second longer. Cleo watched and waited, not wanting to jump in before Robyn was out of the way. Deciding to get in much less smoothly than Robyn had, Cleo took off at a run and jumped, curling up into a ball. She couldn’t help the excited shout she let out before hitting the water. Opening her eyes almost immediately, Cleo ignored the slight sting and uncurled, stretching in the water. It was absolutely perfect! Goldfish-Cleo was definitely pleased, swimming around as if she owned the place. It seemed she was letting the real fish see her so she could play with them.

Cleo returned to the surface before Robyn did, only regretting a little that she hadn’t swum all the way to the bottom. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to – it was just that she hadn’t done it right away. Cleo could’ve sworn there was a fish swimming beside Robyn but there were lots of fish in the tank and she brushed it off, sure it was nothing to be curious about. “I can’t believe we’ve never done this before![/color]” What had taken them so long? Seriously!
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