Location Swimming Section Finished

Boy, Anatole was the best slacker ever! He was tuckered out as of now. Swimming crazy fast alongside them made the young man fatigued and in that state of mind where all he wanted to do is get out, lay out a towel, and lie down on the grass.

On top of that, Anatole hadn't been monitoring the water much since he had been all too distracted by the race. More and more people had tricked into the lake like the water itself. Thankfully, there was nothing too crazy happening...well, besides the fact that he had narrowly come in second in a swimming race. Looking around at the three girls, they reciprocated his feelings. The languid way Ami lied on the water like it was her bed was a constant mood. "Nope...? What do you mean nope?" He hugged the edge, slowly paddling over toward the muddy side.

And then, she hugged Mia. "There. There's your hug."

"But you didn't lose? I have nothing wrong with hugs, though..." Anatole cleared his throat, letting out a deep breath. He was recovering from the mad dash well.

Mia congratulated Amadea, and yes, she deserved to be congratulated. It was a tough race all the way through. And surely, the hug only comforted Mia. They were nice, but Anatole knew it would be weird to initiate a hug to a girl himself. So he sat out on the love this time.

"Whoo boy...so...what next? We could play one of those classic pool games, or even just sit near the side and chat. Whatever you girls want, I'm up for." That right there, ladies and gentlemen, was Anatole being as much of a gentleman himself as physically possible. Letting the girls choose the activity was best.

Whoo boy...so...what next? We could play one of those classic pool games, or even just sit near the side and chat. Whatever you girls want, I'm up for.

The Gryffindor prefect took on an air and Mia frowned slightly, not quite upset. He seemed-well, he seemed like he did not, under any circumstances, want to appear 'ungentlemanly'. Not that Mia was complaining. He was nice, nicer than most of the people in her life. It wasn't that she didn't respect that, it was just that she preferred people with more tooth and grit. Mia made a mental note not to approach the prefect voluntarily. He seemed too nice, and borderline boring.

Mia stared at a point right above Anatole's head, thinking. She could suggest a game-that would be fun. Playing and splashing with two of her good friends-and Anatole.

But what was a good pool game to play? They could play Marco Polo, or Chicken Fight, or even Sharks and Minnows. That would be a lot of fun-especially with someone as competitive as Mia.

Opening her mouth to speak, Mia looked over at the trio, smiling. She was sure that today would be a lot of fun, regardless of the outcome of her suggestions.

Personally, staying in the water sounds like the best choice. We could play Marco Polo, Chicken Fight, Sharks & Minnows, Octopus, or even Octopus!

Mia, Amadea, and Anatole

Ami sighed over-dramatically at Anatole's words, nice job, dude. Wasn't he supposed to be a prefect, leading their group in decisions? After all, it made sense that Amadea would step down after choosing the first game, she wouldn't want to seem overly pushy. That made perfect sense, and at least being prefect brought Amadea out of her shell a little bit. If she kept this role for the next year, she was going to be more outgoing than Ami herself.

Mia then suggested a series of games, from which Ami had only heard of a few of them. "A Chicken Fight with four people amongst countless others, aka probably extremely dangerous. Let's do it!" Then, glancing at the prefects, she added sheepishly, "Unless it's too dangerous... come on, do I look like I know the rules?" Actually, she did, and she felt like they would all get in loads of trouble if they were to found fighting.

"Okay, maybe not that... Marco Polo? Maybe?" Ami suggested with a shrug. "It's up to you guys, don't look at me." Because, haha, Ami wasn't a leader, and she never was. She had always gone with the flow, only "standing out" when it was convenient for here. As of right now, it wasn't convenient, not when their pool fun hung in the balance.

Interaction: Ami, Twinnie, and Anatole

Amadea stood in the water, wondering what she should do. Should she suggest another activity for them? Or should she wait for someone else to? She didn't want to seem as though she was controlling everything they did, since she had suggested the previous activity but also didn't want to just sit around. Human interaction took such an effort. Amadea often wondered why she bothered with it. 


Luckily, Mia had a few suggestions, mentioning many water games that they could play. Amadea had heard of the majority of them. Ami immediately suggested chicken fights. Amadea wasn't surprised. It seemed like the most violent option. So naturally, for Ami it was the most fun. 

"Chicken fight?" Amadea asked. "I mean...I guess we could do that..." she trailed off. It didn't seem as though it was against the rules, so she figured it would be fine. As long as no damage occurred to themselves or the people around them. As Amadea thought more, she noticed how many other people were in a close vicinity. Maybe chicken fighting wasn't the best idea. She didn't want anyone to be injured. 

That also ruled out some other games. "I wish there weren't so many people," Amadea commented, almost to herself. She didn't want to risk playing any game with their eyes closed, because they might accidentally run into an unsuspecting person. That would be embarrassing for both parties. She voiced this opinion, wondering if she was limiting their options too much. She didn't want to be a party pooper, after all. 

"Anyway, I guess I'll just leave the decision up to you guys," Amadea eventually said. "I'm fine with whatever." Truth be told, Amadea was horrible at making decisions and usually just went with whatever someone else said. Not that she was being a follower, she just didn't enjoy having to pick something over something else. She always managed to find about the same number of pros and cons for each thing. That was why leaving it up to the others seemed like the best idea.

The lake began to grow quieter as Anatole looked around. It was almost as if it was just him and the girls at this point. Everyone else had grabbed their towels and considered leaving as they lied on the edge of the lake, letting the heat of the new afternoon sun burn them to a crisp. Personally, Anatole was struggling to capture a reason to stay in the lake when everyone else had gotten out and departed. These girls were certainly nice, aside from the banshee screams and rumours here and there. The Slytherin remained distant from him, maybe for a good reason, maybe not. There was something about her face that struck fear into Anatole. She had the potential to be a great swimmer too.

"I'm with you. It must be steaming in the grass, oh boy..." He was still catching his breath from that intense heat. Well, not the sun's heat, but heat implying the race. Anatole was sure some of the creatures in here might have already died from the amounts of sweat the witches and lone wizard radiated. "Imagine touching a rock in this sun. My foot would practically burn off. As long as we keep it up here for maybe a few more minutes, I think I'll be satisfied."

He took his own advice, plunging under the murky water until his bottom could almost scrape the mud-covered ground. Shooting up like a torpedo, Anatole's body flung out of the water like a dying orca, splashing hard against the surface and shaking out the water from his hair like a dog. "Well, there we are. Are you ready to get out, then? I think my shift seems practically over since everyone's out." Anatole swayed back and forth, gliding himself toward the water until he reached the edge. His hands gripped the grass as he pushed up, his bare torso rubbing against the muddy edge until he collapsed onto the wet dew-drenched lawn before him. Some of the girls followed suit, and unlike some of them, Anatole just took a moment to lie there in the sun, his bare toes still slightly in the water. It was serene, just to feel the mud contract and dry on your body. Feel the water evaporate out of the threads of your hair. Wonderful.

That is, until it started to hurt. It started to burn, and immediately, Anatole scrambled to his feet and snatched his towel, shoes, and shirt. Scratching the mud off of his stomach, the boy tossed his shirt on and rubbed the towel through his hair. "Well, boy that was refreshing! Are you guys heading inside?" He grinned at the girls, hoping not to come off as creepy or over-nice or anything of the sort.

Girls were still strange. Of course, they'd have to take way longer to recover from swimming than Anatole did. Make sure they were pretty at all times and all that jazz. But the thing is, Anatole knew that these three were not that type.

He turned towards the lake for a few more fractions of a second, but when he turned back, the girls had already said their goodbyes and began to walk away towards the cabins. With wide eyes, Anatole realized it would be easier to be encountered if he was alone. Not wanting to risk that, he decided for the better option: "Wait up! I'm coming too!" Frantically waving, Anatole slipped on his flip-flops and dashed after the girls, strolling through the grass towards the picturesque cabins.