Friendship Pools

The beach at low tide is a very curious place for exploring and discovering, and that’s exactly what Luke, Resus, Cleo and I thought when we went to the beach that day. The beach was as big and wide as a whole palace ballroom, and the tide was in, leaving lots of giant pools. We were glad we had suncream and zinc on to protect ourselves from the sun, and our parents had already started to set up the beach stuff and lay the blankets down on the sand. Luke, Resus, Cleo and I were relaxing on our beach towels. Luke and Resus were wearing only their swim shorts. I was wearing my swimming costume. Cleo was only wearing bandages. It was so relaxing we completely forgot about why city life was important to some people.

I opened my eyes lying on my beach towel and looked up at the gulls flying overhead, squawking and shrieking, scavenging for any food left on the sand. I turned my head to look at the pools on the beach. They were really big, and just big enough for all of us. I shook Luke, then Resus and finally Cleo awake. “Guys! Look over there!” I cried. We all sat in a line and looked over at the four huge pools of seawater that were rippling in the Summer sun. “Wow…” said Cleo. “Cool…” gasped Luke quietly. “Aren’t those pools brilliant?” I asked. “Maybe the tides left them there for us - ritual pools.” said Resus. “Ritual pools? What do you mean?” I asked. “That’s the vampire way of christening.” said Resus, “Every time a vampire is claimed to be a Christian, the fang-toothed vicar cleanses our sins with blood in clean water to make us whole again. I was given that.” “No wonder you were a Christian.” laughed Luke, “It’s a shame you even worship God!” “No, I worship Vlad the Impaler!” “Oh, come on, this is ridiculous.” we laughed. “No time for talking about Heaven all day, we’ve got a pool to look forward to!” I cried.

Luke, Resus and Cleo followed me far up the beach towards the pools. Our bare feet left tracks in the sand, just like lions leave pawprints in the dust. I did a cartwheel in the sand and suddenly landed - SPLAT - in one of the pools. I was left dripping wet as Luke, Resus and Cleo laughed. I laughed along too, and climbed out of the pool. “I’ll teach you not to laugh at me!” I said determinedly. “Then I suppose I’ll do the same!” said Luke. “No, stop, I’m soaking! Don’t come any closer! YAAAAAA-HAAAAAA!!” Luke grabbed me in his arms and gave me the biggest hug he could, as I screamed with laughter and squirmed. “Looks like she’s wet,” said Cleo. “Come on, let’s go and hug her too!” laughed Resus, and before I knew it Luke and I were being hugged between Cleo and Resus.

Once we released ourselves, we gazed at our reflections in the pool. “No wonder I was claimed different,” said Resus, “I can even see my reflection in the water too!” “Well, you are a normal born to vampire parents,” I said sarcastically. “I look kind of sassy,” said Cleo, “The water seems so shallow.” “Shallow it is,” I said, “But I remember when a pop star included us in one of her-” “That was when our second series aired in 2021, and we don’t talk about it!” said Cleo. “Yeah, you promised us!” said Resus. “Oh, er….okay.” I muttered. “Oh wait, that was the joke book, right?” “Oh, sorry, we thought it was series 2,” laughed Luke, Resus and Cleo. “Anyway, I think I’ll claim this pool as my own. Somewhere I could go when I get stressed by daily life and playgroup and learning life lessons from Calypso.” “I know, we feel this way too.” said Luke, “But guess what?” “What?” Luke pushed me playfully into the water, and I emerged, laughing as Luke, Resus and Cleo ran away. I shook my fist in extreme happiness, “You will pay for this!” I screamed.

Luke, Resus and Cleo ran up to the second pool. Luke stared down at his crystal clear reflection. At first, he could see a regular human boy, someone who was considered normal. A normal human being. But then, his reflection changed. All he could see was a werewolf. “G.H.O.U.L.” said Luke. “G.H.O.U.L what?” asked Resus. “It was G.H.O.U.L who brought my family to Scream Street. At first, I thought I was going to get these relics to get me back home, but now that I’m friends with you, I feel happy….yet on the other side, I feel empty. This is why I claim this pool as my own.” “Why?” asked Cleo. “You’re happy being Violet’s werewolf brother.” “I’ve had many adventures with you, but recently I never had a chance to become a werewolf because of other issues happening in Scream Street. I only became a werewolf during a Monsterball game, when Wolfgang returned and when I had a double of me and experienced childbirth.” Luke stepped into the water and lay back sadly. “Leave me alone to die.” “Okay, fine, this pool can be your grave, but don’t blame us if your skull gets trapped in the sand.” said Resus. Cleo and Resus left Luke lying in the water, his hearing blocked out by underwater sounds

Resus and Cleo came to a third pool. Resus gazed at his reflection. He could see what everyone recognises him as - a normal human boy with clip on fangs, black hair and pale, sensitive skin. But then his reflection changed, and he could see his new bat form. Resus shrank back in horror. “Resus, it’s okay,” said Cleo, “That’s just a little blip in your life.” “It’s all wrong!” cried Resus, “That spell to turn me into a vampire was complete rubbish! This only happened in the show, but Luella claimed to never find that spell. She kept it secret, and promised not to tell that secret to me! She only shared that secret with Eefa. For god’s sake, what am I to this world?” “A shampire. You’re still the sarcastic vampire we’ve come to know and love.” “Well you know what? No one tells secrets to Resus!” “Good, at least I can keep secrets.” said Cleo. Resus sighed and stepped into the pool. “I need some time to think,” he said, “If you want to be the last of us, hang out with Luella and Six, but don’t tell others you were friends with two normal boys!”

Cleo was shocked by what Resus had said to her. In tears, she slumped off down the beach towards a fourth pool. She clenched her fists tight. “Okay, if this pool dares show me a reflection of what I truly am, I’m not falling for it,” she prayed. She looked deep into the water and stared at her reflection. Suddenly, her reflection changed. She could see an image of her, Luke, Resus, me, Bluey and Bingo on the beach. But we were glaring at each other angrily.

“I hope I never see you again!”

“Me too!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“It’s settled then.”

Cleo was so shocked she went into the pool and began to curl up into a little ball. “Our friendship is over,” she wailed, her tears mixing with the water, “All these pools mean graves to us. If we don’t make it up to each other soon, we’re all dead.” Cleo’s thoughts turned rusty and dull as she lay in the water and looked up at the sky. She never felt this way about me and my brothers before. She sighed and sat up. Her bandages were dripping wet, and she felt tired in her eyes. She curled up again in the water and lay back, wanting to relax.

By this time, we were all alone in our little pools. Luke was just lying there, thinking of why he was born with a werewolf gene. He was in tears and hid his face in his hands. Resus was upset because Luella had shared a secret with him that she wasn’t supposed to share with anyone. Cleo was still lying in the water, thinking about what she saw in the water. As for me, I was alone without my brothers and sister. When I looked into the water, I saw what I couldn’t believe. A vision of all my friends - Luella, Chloe, Bluey, Bingo, Mackenzie, Honey, Coco and Snickers - all glaring at me with happy smiles.

“Don’t give up.”

“You’re one in a million!”

“You have friends who take care of you.”

“You live a great life!”

“Your friends live to the full!”

“They’ll always look out for you.”

“Don’t cry, Violet, they’re always there.”

“We’re there for you too, remember?”

I was moved by those explanations, and as they faded I climbed out of my pool and slumped over to the sea far out. I watched as the waves rolled in and out, splashing over my legs. Then Luke came along and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Violet,” he said, “I just want to say how proud I am to feel this way. I’m a werewolf, and when I get angry I feel this way, but sometimes the full moon unleashes my instincts. I just love werewolves, and wolves happen to be my favourite animal.” “Hey there, Luke, that’s my sister you’re consoling!” called a voice. It was Resus. “I now feel happy and proud to be a ‘shampire’, and every single thing I do leads me closer to my true ambition: being happy, because I have friends who love me forever.” “And you’re forgetting me!” said Cleo, and she sat next to us. “I’m also thankful that my heart is in a box, and I have true friends - you, Luke and Resus. We are always there for each other, and together we can defeat negative thoughts.” Resus giggled, and we all hugged each other softly.

Later, we were splashing each other and playing in the sea. Paddling in the sea took our minds off these negative thoughts, and we were defeating them right now. With happiness, love and caring, we four siblings together used memories of warmth and friendship to defeat the sad thoughts that come to our mind. And we still do, because we’re always there for each other.

THE END.