Chapter 151: Hold On

Leslie’s tongue was like a beautiful snake, and she used it to entice Arnold. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not get him to open his mouth or return her kiss. He was like a marble statue, hard and cold.

Meanwhile, no one even noticed that Crystal was in the water or that she was struggling for her life. Nathan had a firm grip on her ankle, and he was trying to drag her down to the bottom of the pool. He had done it once, and he obviously thought it was a game, but there was no guarantee that she could survive a second round. Unfortunately for her, everyone was oblivious to her struggles.

****

Leslie was angry and annoyed, and when Arnold continued to ignore her sexual advances, she bit into his lower lip. The bitter, coppery taste of blood flooded her senses, and she smiled. Then, she put her hands around Arnold’s neck, leaned in closer to him, and whispered into his ear: “Arnold, I am yours for the taking, but I won’t wait for you forever.”

Arnold’s eyes shuddered for a second. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, and he longed to cup her firm buttocks in the palm of his hands, but he was hesitant. So, in the end, instead of doing what he wanted to do, he forced his hands into tight fists. As he did this, his ire began to rise.

Leslie frowned when she saw Arnold’s expression change. She loosened her hands, took two steps back, and took a deep look into his eyes. Finally, she turned around, bent over, and reached for her bath towel. She knew now that no matter what she did, she would never win Arnold’s affection, and when the realization hit her, her heart broke.

****

Crystal suddenly realized that what she was doing would not save her. She needed to change her tactic, and she knew exactly what to do. She stopped struggling and allowed herself to be dragged down, and she maneuvered her body so that she could reach his hands. She tried to pry his fingers off of her ankle, and when that didn’t work, she dug her nails into his wrists.

Nathan’s eyes bulged as the pain hit him, and little air pockets escaped from his nose and mouth. Then, when Crystal pulled her leg away, she was able to break his hold. She swam quickly to the surface and to the safety of the pool’s edge, and Nathan emerged seconds after she did. Unfortunately for her, he was closer to the edge than she was, and he blocked her way.

Crystal began to tread water while she waited to see what Nathan’s next move would be.

Suddenly, Nathan grabbed the edge of the pool and kicked it off so that he could rush at her with his back to her. Instead, he was on his back, and when he reached her, he pulled her on top of his body. This sudden attack did not feel unpleasant, though, and as long as his arms were occupied with the task of keeping them afloat, Crystal felt safe.

Now that Crystal had a second to catch her breath, she looked for Leslie, and she was dismayed to discover that she and Arnold had disappeared, and they’d taken their entourage with them. So we are alone -she suddenly realized, and then she remembered how Nathan had tried to have sex with her on the deck. She was still determined not to go through with it, which meant that she needed to get away from him as quickly as possible. Crystal threw herself off of Nathan’s abdomen, swam towards the edge of the pool, got out, and ran towards the women’s change room.

“Hold on!” shouted Nathan. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

****

At school - The next day, when Crystal walked into her first class, she saw that Serenity had saved a seat for her. She went over, and when she said, “Hello!” she was shocked by her friend’s open hostility towards her.

“What the fuck have you been up to?” Serenity demanded.

“I beg your pardon?” Crystal said. She had no idea why her friend was upset with her.

“You missed school again yesterday!” Serenity replied. “You must be on the teachers’ blacklist by now! I took notes for you, but they won’t do you any good if you get kicked out of school.”

Serenity offered Crystal a handful of papers, and she accepted them gratefully. Her cheeks were red. She knew that Serenity was right. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered. “I’ll t-try to do better. Anyway, thanks for the notes…”

“What were you doing, anyway?” Serenity asked. “I called you, but you didn’t answer your phone. What’s with all the secrets? Did you cheat on Professor Davis?”

Crystal just rolled her eyes and said, “If I want to cheat on the professor, I don’t need to be secretive about it. I am a strong independent woman!” As she said this, she took out the documents related to the Assistant position they were both applying for. “Anyway,” she continued. “Take this.”

Serenity accepted the papers and looked them over. “What’s this?” she asked. “Are these the answers to the TV station’s written test?”

Crystal: “Yes... and no...”

Serenity frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“These are questions and answers from previous exams,” Crystal explained. “They won’t let you cheat, but they are a great study tool.”

“Oh, Jesus!” Serenity exclaimed. “You are the best! I heard that tens of thousands of people will take the written test and that at least thirty percent are expected to fail. These old tests will be very helpful.” She began to review the tests quietly, and then a thought occurred to her. She looked up from the papers and said, “Crystal, did Professor Davis give you these documents?”

Crystal laughed and said, “No, way! I got them from Amy.”

Serenity’s eyebrows rose. “Amy? The new star at the TV station?”

Crystal: “Yeah! Who else?!?!”

Serenity put down the documents, and in a mysterious tone of voice, she said, “I heard that her cousin will also be taking the exam and that she is the most likely candidate for the position. I hope that’s not the case, though. If it is, why would they even bother with an open competition...?”

Crystal: “I don’t know anything about that. All we can do is our best and cross our fingers that the competition isn’t rigged. Let’s focus on the written test. Then, if we pass, there will be several interviews, so we need to spend as much time as we can preparing.”