AV   i jus went w/ a nice n simple one B:)

AV   u can get 1 2 if you just get ridda thos thingz B)

You've been eyeing her prostheses for longer than you expected. Its simple fishnet pattern is refreshing compared to the stark, gaudy ones you've seen before. Currently, it's filled with a bubbly rose-colored liquid. Avril must've moved enough to carbonate it to high heaven.

UD   Umm... no thanks.

UD   I was just curious. Inventing and making things obviously involves an eye for visuals.

UD   I know some models who are amputees. They have all sorts of options in their wardrobe.

UD   Options that aren't so... hollow.

UD   Like a flask. This Jenny person could've made you anything, and you wanted a flask.

AV   ya

UD   You can't be that thirsty.

AV   au contraire bbgirl

She blows you a kiss. You let it bounce off of your cheek.

UD   I just wish you were less... function over form.

UD   You're a stunning person, Avril. You could look amazing if you let yourself.

AV   ur 2 kind limmy

AV   but im not in school anymore

AV   dont gotta wake up n dress like i got ppl 2 impress

UD   It's not just for others' sake.

UD   Uu, aren't you ever curious about different looks? Things that might feel better on you?

AV   i think i kno how i feel already

AV   aint got no burnin curiosity outside o dis lil tide pool

You sigh and lean back on your chair. No one agrees to model by being forced into it - no one who'll be happy in the long-term, anyway. You mentally cross out 'Avril' from the list of hopefuls at the back of your mind.

It allows you to focus on the sights in front of you. Peach Beach is as busy as always, and if you squint, you can spy a ragged, crustaceous figure stalking the shores and sending glares like greeting cards. It's been years since you last lifeguarded, but you can still feel the anxious itch to survey the population. You try to drown it out with thoughts of the companion next to you, who seems to be cheerfully burying herself in the sand.

UD   I forgot how overwhelming it can be here.

AV   gurl dont talk liek u didnt com from da big city

AV   hustle n bustle central

UD   It's not the same.

UD   The city is nothing without the people. Their lives, their routines.

UD   You set up camp somewhere, and you can live in your own little world.

UD   It's all man-made.

UD   Here, you're at the mercy of the beach.

UD   Just because it's shallow in some parts doesn't mean you have control over it.

UD   There aren't any boundaries. Any real line between you and it.

UD   Just water.

AV   huh

AV   ur da last person i woulda thought wuld b hydrophobic

UD   Also not the same.

UD   I just don't like how big it is. That's all.

The horizon seems to keep going on forever. You think you've spotted a ship at one point, but it turns out to be an oddly shaped wave. Then, you hear Avril shift next to you. She's taken off her prosthetics and started patting sand in the area instead.

AV   remind me o ur schemer reel quick

UD   What? Did I block you on accident?

AV   no im jus curious

UD   ...

UD   That's different.

AV   lollllllll

UD   It is! It's completely different!

UD   You're suited up, and you're focused on specific spots, or creatures, or -

AV   so ud never just go down ther n look around

AV   no goalz jus explore n see how far u go

UD   Of course I wouldn't! Do you know how dangerous that would be?

AV   sez da girl who went 2 lake nosurvivorz 4 fun

UD   It was Lake Niseag, and I barely even swam in it.

UD   I sensed a bad vibe, I left. Simple as that.

ꕀyou coulda gone deeper sweet thangꕀ

UD   (Oh hush, you.)

AV   wha

UD   Champ.

AV   o

AV   u should let em out

AV   buddys been wanderin 4 a while n he could use his own buddy B)

UD   I'd rather not unleash him in such a public area.

UD   For everyone's sake. And his own, I suppose.

AV   aww

AV   ur both more alike than u think B)

UD   Please don't say that.

You look over again and realize that she's formed some kind of tail over her lower body, right where the legs would be. You absent-mindedly carve scales on them.

AV   sometimes crabcakez says were alike

UD   He does?

UD   Odd. He's usually got good judgment.

AV   yea lol

AV   i could only dreama havin ur kinda drive limmy

AV   goin out there n doing gr8 thingz B:)

Avril smiles at you. For a moment, you wonder if it's her somberness you're feeling, not yours.

UD   You've got good qualities too, Avril.

UD   Don't sell yourself short.

AV   le sigh

AV   if only i knew any rn............

It's almost cute, the way she fishes for compliments. You feel generous, so you oblige.

UD   You're brave.

UD   If you were a Super, you wouldn't care what upper management would say.

UD   If you were an apprentice, you'd learn things your own way. Not just with your boss.

UD   If you were a swimmer...

UD   You'd let the waves take you wherever you wanted.

UD   The world would be your oyster.

UD   And if someone went out there too, you wouldn't be scared for them either.

UD   You trust in your gut, in your own abilities, and...

UD   In things being alright at the end of the day.

Avril's lazy smile has been dropping into something more neutral the longer you speak. As much as you've wished for her to quit the lackadaisical attitude, being at the receiving end of such a stare is harrowing.

So, you look away, and sputter out the best concluding statement you can.

UD   Th-that's the bravest thing I can think of, anyhow.

You feel a hand on your shoulder, and you look back to see Avril, stretched out of her sand-body, giving you the most serious expression you've ever seen on her.

AV   u kno i am a swimmer rite

UD   What?

AV   liek uve seen me swim

AV   i wuldnt drown if i fell off my board

UD   ...

UD   Oh my gods.

UD   Is that really what you were focused on?

UD   I-I was trying to make it match, okay? There was - there was a structure I established!

UD   Would it have been better if I said, I don't know... a diver? Is that what you really...

UD   ...

That light-hearted expression is back on her face. You can still feel your face burning as you purse your lips.

UD   You suck.

AV   sry

AV   itz rly nice o u 2 say all that tho

AV   rly B:)

UD   ...

AV   hope we both get wat were lookin 4 someday B)