Floret's Insect Experiences Ch. 08

I smell my fingers still slathered in Dahlia's scentful juices, the sensation caresses my nostrils and makes my head spin. I try to get free of Kloe's grip and go back to her, but she yanks my arm harder. "Oh come on, I can walk myself..."

"Really? Can you?"

"Where are you going! Get me out of here!" Dahlia's voice carries now a sense of panic within it. "Don't leave me with a ball up my ass!"

Kloe sighs deeply and lets go of my arm, slamming the clump of rope and the net onto my arms. "That'll keep you busy, keep going."

Kloe heads back and opens the storage door and heads inside.

"Oh, you came back for me! I'm so-"

Slam!

Kloe comes back out with another bundle of rope.

"H-huh? C-come back! Y-you bitch! This isn't funny!"

She returns to me, her face vacant like she's dead inside.

"Umm... Is it really okay to leave her there?"

"She always overreacts to everything. She's fine."

"Kloe you big idiot..." Her faint sniffles and quieter voice can be heard. "I- I don't want to die alone in a stinky storage room... Even if the ball feels very snug..."

Kloe's eyes betray her surprise for a moment, before going back to neutral. "We'll send somebody else to get her, I sure as shit ain't going back."

"Fair enough..."

As we return to the pool, all other groups have already returned, and everyone's attention is fixed on us, the last arrivals.

"Where's-?" Fiona asks, but Kloe already knows what she's gonna say.

"Dahlia's stuck."

"Again?"

"For real this time. Any volunteers?"

A deep silence, like all air had been sucked out of the room into outer space, a total vacuum had taken its place.

"Sounds like a hero's job!" Thyle's arm is raised by Piony, imitating her voice. She tries to pull her arm down, but her noodle arms are no match. "Stop it, Piony!"

"Super Steel Thyle shall vanquish the Fake Step-sister's bonds that chain her down!"

"I don't speak like that!"

Piony's fluffy eyebrows are raised, as high as they go, her head tilted forward at an angle, staring doubt directly into Thyle's eyes.

"Great! Thyle and Piony volunteer for this high-risk rescue operation!" Fiona announces and salutes. "Godspeed!"

"Whaat?" Piony shouts appalled.

"Aha! My comrade in arms, there is no escaping your duty now!"

"Fine..."

They both leave on this precarious 18+ rescue operation, and Fiona approaches us with scissors and hands them to me.

"Cut open the ballsack bag to fashion a straight net, and tie a rope to each of its four corners, we're going fishing like proper Atlantic boaters!"

"Huh? Me?" I hold the scissors with two fingers as if they reeked. I was never any good at arts and crafts... Even now, I usually opt to open tough food packages and mail with a knife...

"Um... Can I help?" Meena shows up, and Kloe snatches the scissors from me and hands them to her. "Of course, I was thinking this was perfect for you."

With that, Kloe and Meena take over the net construction, Sarah and Emily and many other students clean the floors and surfaces from stains of various secretions and overall dirt. The two of them seem especially interested in the small capsule-like orange eggs that have been laid at the pool's walls, they reach out over the edge to collect them.

Fiona props open the fire door, that was only to be used in an emergency, then it could be opened without a key, but it would sound the fire alarm to the whole school. Only when deactivated with the keys first, could it be safely opened. She starts organizing a bucket line from the pool to the outside through it, like villagers of a bygone day assembled to put out a fire.

They scoop water and insects with the many colorful plastic buckets, many of which have a sticker stating to be the property of the school's cleaning cupboards.

An exhausted-looking Thyle and Piony finally return, hanging their heads with slumped shoulders. Dahlia has dark trails underneath her eyes.

"That bad?" Kloe approaches and asks. Meena in her element, ignores the arrivals in favor of masterfully tying the ropes to the net with the dexterity of a scout.

"I never want to see a gymnastics mat ever again..." Thyle shakes her head, holding it from both sides, pulling on her pigtails.

"We had to carry every single one of them out, so we could untangle her..." Piony trails off. "And then... then... Oh, the horror..." She presses her palms to her eyes. "W-why was there a squash ball up her derriere?"

Kloe pats them both on the shoulder in an encouraging manner, then goes to Dahlia, who is averse to her presence. Kloe gently flicks her nose and ruffles her long brown hair in revenge. "I... I'm sorry... But it was your fault!"

"I know..." Dahlia combs her hair with her hand and smiles. "I... I'm sorry too."

Thyle looks at the goings on of the area and at the bucket line. "Should we really be throwing the water out into nature? Doesn't it have some chemicals?"

"Probably some chlorine. But it's either this or carrying these to the shower room, changing the water with the insect still somehow in them, and then throwing that out with them." Fiona shrugs with a ditzy smile.

"Well, I guess it cannot be helped! We just have to take the hit to our karma and make it up in the future!" Thyle flexes her arm and pats her nonexistent, negative-tier bicep.

With everyone's help, the edges of the pool are cleaned of insects, but on the open sea, many Gerridae still ride the waves.

Shortly after, Meena begins to be surrounded by the students as she finishes the net, long and fairly thick ropes tied to each of the four corners. It's not exactly a square, but should be close enough to catch them from a wide area. Everyone is in awe at her handiwork.

Should we really be cutting up the ball nets and things... are we just leaving behind a worse mess than we set off to clean...? Ehh... it'll be fine.

"Alright..." Fiona looks around and then starts pointing. "Kloe, Piony, Me, and Floret will handle the netting. Everyone else, get your buckets ready to catch any spill!"

The net is light, but the ropes are a bit heavy, we fumble it a few times before we manage to reel in our first catch. In the bottom of our huge net, were a few handfuls of insects, like a whale catching plankton. With a struggle, we tip them into a bucket and cast our net again.

I tried to not pay too much attention to the state of my spawn, some didn't survive the netting process. I gave them life, brought them into this world, and now, by my hand some would leave it too. For the rest, I wished they'd find happiness in the outside world.

The insects started to catch up to our scheme, quickly hopping out of the net's way if they saw it coming, changing position and side seemed to help a little in ambushing them. About fifteen minutes later, my arms start to ache and we switch throwers. After three more sets of fisherwomen, we managed to get the pool bug-free.

"Gods... we... we- really did it..." Dahlia slumps to the ground, she insisted on helping and being a part of the last net group, despite seeming rather rattled before.

"Well done everyone. That's the swim team spirit!" Fiona jumps up, her hands held high, and starts gathering the cleaning equipment with vigorous fervor.

A collective sigh of relief is let by the whole team, sitting on the ground, leaning at walls, very few standing or helping Fiona at the moment.

The blissful silence and a feeling of accomplished are enjoyed only for a moment.

"T-t-" Meena starts stuttering.

"Huh? What is it, sis?"

"T-t-thorn-!"

Everyone turns around, to see Thorndal standing in the doorway of the men's locker room door.

"H-how long have you been there?" Sarah blurts out and brings a hand to her mouth immediately.

"Long enough to see how hard you've all been working." The principal steps to the white tiles of the poolside in his clean inside shoes of leather. He nods along as he surveys the area, a hand perched on his jaw.

"We tried our best!" Thyle jumps up and into attention.

He squats at the poolside and peers in, then looks around the walls and to the bottom of the pool. Thorndal stands up and adjusts his suit. "You have done an exemplary job cleaning, you're off the hook, for now."

Careful smiles on the swim team's lips conceal the need to explode and celebrate.

"I admire your ingenuity in fashioning a net, brings t mind the days of fishing with my granddad..." He clears his throat. "Ahem. Just make sure you return them all to their rightful places and... hope that sack can still hold balls."

Dahlia's cool almost breaks, and she spits out a single verse of laughter, which she quickly conceals, somewhat successfully. However, she remains a jiggling mess of watering eyes.

Thorndal doesn't seem to notice, or his age has caught up to his hearing already. "Now, keep in mind everything I told you before, and hurry on home to rest. I hope you've notified all your parents, friends and whatnot of your absence so that they're not worried about you. I'll see you all at Graduation as subjects of celebration or attendees. Granted this situation doesn't change until then." His stern look is accompanied by a faint warm smile, and he exits the same route he came from.

Wait a minute... Iris! I was supposed to meet her at my house! I quickly take out my phone, it's already five a clock! It really took us five hours!?

Oh, a new message?

My breath is taken away, but it returns with a sigh, as I see the sender. It's from Iris... right, of course.

'Are you coming soon? Did you get held up... due to the announcement perchance? :P

-Iris' Sent two hours ago.

Oh... she heard it too, huh.

"Umm... guys, if I just take the keys back, is that fine with you? I promised Iris I'd see her and she's been waiting for me..."

"That's alright Floret." Fiona throws the keys and I manage to catch them. "It's not gonna take much time at all anyway, to return all the things to their rightful places."

I'm surprised once more, as none object, in time anyway. "Thank you, and sorry."

"Bye Floret!" Sarah and Emily wave and say in one voice.

"See ya!" Dahlia smiles, her cheeks flush.

As I leave through the door, I hear Kloe start: "Umm... about the Gym..."

Thyle continues, "There might be a... bit of cleaning to do there..."

"A sight not fit for the faint of heart..." Piony trails off enigmatically.

I pretend like I didn't hear them, quickening my pace to make sure they can't catch me if they come after me. Nobody comes, and I swiftly return the keys to the teacher's corridor to a present teacher, as the caretaker seemed to have left for today already.

Hurrying home, deathly tired, what a day it had been... Only for a split second, I regretted having made more arrangements for today, but it was Iris. Thinking about her, gave me more energy, she was my dear friend, and I would always have time for her.