Into the Sea: Part Two

    She wanted to get away.

    Katrina glared through the glass window at Sasha, who was swimming around under the water. Once again, there were not any other pets in the pool. There never were. Sasha and Katrina were practically the only ones who ever came to the Aquatic Center. All of the other pets swam in the ocean. But... Katrina could never let Sasha do that. Something would surely happen to Sasha if she let her swim in the ocean. The ocean sort of frightened Katrina. It was so big... and deep... and... unfamiliar. Katrina didn't like things she was unfamiliar with.

    Sasha had been swimming in the pool for three hours straight now. It was eight o'clock at night, and Katrina wanted to go home. She was getting hungry, and bored of re-reading the stupid magazines that were in the lounge. So she just stared at Sasha, with her arms crossed, waiting for her to get out of the pool. Katrina knew eventually she would. Besides, she didn't like forcing Sasha to do things. And Doctor Velt told her not to make Sasha do anything she didn't want to.

    So Katrina waited.

    She was good at waiting. She did it all of the time.

    Sasha smiled to herself as she swam back and forth the length of the pool. Each time she pressed herself to go faster. Swimming was so much fun. If only Katrina would take her to the beach and for once, let her swim in the ocean.

    Suddenly, a flash of yellow caught Sasha's eye, and she saw another Flotsam dive in the pool. The Flotsam surfaced moments later, smiling at Sasha, who recognized it to be Amelia.

    "Amelia?" Sasha questioned. "What are you doing here?" She looked at her friend rather quizzically. She didn't know Amelia came to the Aquatic Center. No one did. Well, no one besides her.

    The yellow Flotsam nodded. "Hi, Sasha. Somehow I knew I'd find you here..."

    Sasha raised a brow at Amelia. She had never told Amelia that she swam at the Aquatic Center before. So how could Amelia have known she'd find her here? "Oh..."

    "Anyway, thanks for the Neopoints you gave me yesterday. It really helped out my owner. You're a lifesaver, Sasha. I can always count on you."

    Sasha grinned warmly. She had taken some Neopoints from Katrina's bag she kept in her closet and given them to Sasha the day before. Katrina didn't know, but Sasha didn't think she would mind. She was doing something nice for Amelia. Amelia made her feel so special. Like she was worth something. Like she could actually do things right. "It's no problem."

    Amelia dove underwater, and Sasha followed her. "Want to race?" Amelia asked, swimming over to the end of the pool. Sasha nodded, positioning herself next to Amelia. "Okay. One... two... three... Go!"

    Sasha pushed herself off of the wall of the pool with all of her strength, gliding through the water swiftly. She looked at Amelia, who was a little bit ahead of her. The yellow Flotsam was smirking as she gained speed and made way for the other end of the pool, beating Sasha by a second or two. Sasha came up to the surface, frowning at Amelia, who was still wearing the same smirk.

    "You're so slow, Sasha! Come on, you can do better than that," Amelia told her, licking her lips. That smirk never left. It was like it was glued on her face or something. Sasha wanted to tear it off.

    "Can we have a rematch?" Sasha offered, plunging under water once again. Amelia nodded her head.

    "Okay. On the count of three. One... two... three!"

    Sasha burst from the wall, swimming as fast as she could. She beat her tail through the water, trying to go faster and faster. This time she and Amelia were side by side the whole time, but when they were only about five yards from the end of the pool, Sasha blasted ahead of Amelia with all she had, reaching the end just before her. She panted as she resurfaced, this time smirking at Amelia, who was pouting like a baby.

    "Ha! I won!" Sasha exclaimed, clapping her fins together.

    "Not bad..." Amelia told her, now smiling happily. Her eyes wandered over to Katrina, who was still watching Sasha through the window. "Who's that?" she questioned, pointing over at the blond-haired girl.

    "Oh... that's my owner," Sasha told her, bored. She turned away however, after seeing that Katrina was looking at her angrily. She hated that look Katrina always gave her. Her owner was getting impatient. But Sasha wanted to stay in the pool. She didn't want to go home.

    "You know, you should probably be going," Amelia told her, looking behind her shoulder at Katrina again. "I mean, your owner looks like she's getting pretty mad." She nodded, and Sasha sighed.

    "Why do you always tell me what to do?! I'll leave when I want to! I don't need you telling me what's good for me all of the time!" she warned, swimming frantically to the ladder in the pool. She pulled herself out, glaring back at Amelia. "Just... leave me alone!" Sasha flopped over to the door to the front room and opened it, ignoring the fact that she was still dripping wet. Katrina was standing right at the doorway, glaring down at her. "Let's go now," Sasha told her grumpily.

    As they exited the Aquatic Center, Katrina told Sasha quietly, "You're a pretty fast swimmer... I mean, really fast."

    Sasha smiled, looking up at her owner. "Really?"

    Katrina nodded, patting her red Flotsam on the head. "I was watching you."

    Sasha wondered why Katrina hadn't asked about Amelia. Wasn't she glad that Sasha had a friend? Wasn't she happy for her? Or was she still mad at her? Ohh, she was always mad at Sasha. And for no good reason.

    -

    "Sasha? Sasha? Do you know what happened to my Neopoints?"

    Sasha's eyes scanned the room as she grasped onto one of her yellow Flotsam plushies she was lining up. Oh no. Katrina had noticed that the money was gone. What would she tell her? What would happen to her? Would she get in trouble again? But... it was for a good cause! Sasha knocked over her line of plushies, wondering what she should do.

    "Sasha!" Katrina yelled, storming into the living room. She held an empty sack of Neopoints in front of her, pointing to it with her other hand. "Where did all of my Neopoints go?!"

    "I..." Sasha said, looking down at the ground. She bit her lip, struggling for words. "I... I don't know!"

    Katrina dropped the empty sack, disappointed. She hung her head and stalked off to her room without another word.

    So... disappointed.

    -

    Doctor Velt sat down in her large black chair, setting her clipboard of notes on her lap. She crossed her legs and laced her fingers together, smiling ahead of her at Katrina and Sasha, who were sitting next to each other on the couch in the Doctor's small office. The office had dark blue carpet and ghostly white walls. It was cold, and Katrina was shivering. She hated being cold. The girl looked out of the window, admiring such a beautiful spring day.

    "So..." Velt said softly, clearing her throat. The white Kyrii didn't know where to begin. Maybe it would be best for Katrina to start the conversation off. "Katrina?"

    Katrina shivered, rubbing her arms to create some warmth. "I... I noticed last night that the sack of Neopoints I keep in my closet for emergencies is empty," she stated sourly, glaring at the floor.

    Velt raised an eyebrow. "I see... what do you think could have happened to those Neopoints?"

    Katrina just looked boredly over at Sasha, though didn't reply. She knew Sasha had taken the money. Who else would have? Unless someone broke into their house, but that was unlikely.

    "IT WASN'T ME!" Sasha yelled, digging her face into a pillow. "Why do you always blame EVERYTHING on me?!"

    "... Don't lie," Katrina told her dangerously.

    Sasha flinched, and her heart seemed to stop. Katrina's voice was so... cold and angry. She had never heard Katrina talk in a tone like that before.

    She had done something bad.

    "Sasha? Will you tell us your side of the story?" Velt asked, jotting a few notes down with a tiny pencil.

    Sasha took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Fine. I didn't take the Neopoints by myself. Or for myself. Someone made me."

    Katrina's eyes widened. "Who?!"

    "Amelia."

    "Who's that?!"

    "...My... friend."

    Katrina looked from Velt to Sasha over and over again before speaking. "Your friend made you steal from me?! Your friend?! What kind of friend is that?!"

    Sasha's eyes started to water. She swallowed hard, trying to fight them back. She hated to cry, especially in front of Katrina. She wanted to be perfect for Katrina. But she couldn't. She could never be perfect. "S-She... she needed some money... her owner is having troubles..."

    Katrina rolled her eyes angrily. "You could have at least asked me first! Don't just TAKE THEM!"

    "Now now, calm down, you two..." Velt told them soothingly. "I'm sure Sasha is telling the truth." She looked over at Sasha, who nodded convincingly. "Why don't we change the subject? Do we have anything positive to say?"

    "Well, Amelia is my friend. Everyone else at school hates me, I'm sure of it, but Amelia is nice to me," Sasha told Doctor Velt, smiling contently.

    Katrina folded her arms across her chest and slouched down on the couch, glaring at Velt. She felt like exploding, yelling at Sasha, scolding her, but she knew that wouldn't help things. She just had to bottle everything up. She swore under her breath as she watched Velt and Sasha converse.

    "Wow!" Velt cheered excitedly. "I'm very happy for you. And who is this Amelia? Is she a nice girl?"

    "Well, she's a yellow Flotsam..."

    Katrina froze. A yellow Flotsam? She was instantly reminded of all of Sasha's yellow Flotsam plushies, how she was sort of obsessed with them...

    Sasha continued, "She's not in any of my classes at school, but I met her at lunch one day. She was really nice to me. She's my only real friend, I guess."

    Velt nodded, quickly scribbling down notes on the piece of paper. "Would you mind telling me why all of the other pets 'hate' you?"

    Sasha frowned, looking down at the ground. "I... don't know. Maybe it's the way I act, or who I am, or how I look... I really don't know. I'm just different. I'm not like everyone else. I'm not..." She trailed off and glanced up at Katrina, whose face was now soft and saddened. The girl's lower lip was trembling, and she was messing up her face, trying not to cry. "Why do I have to be different?" Sasha whispered, hugging a pillow to her chest. "I wish I could disappear. Everyone would be happier if I weren't around. They wouldn't have to pick on anyone. They could just live their lives normally. You too, Katrina."

    "Jhudora!" Katrina swore, standing up. She glared down at Sasha. "Don't say that!" Tears were now escaping from her crystal blue eyes, and she sat back down abruptly, crying into her hands.

    Doctor Velt just sat there silently, frowning a bit. Poor Katrina.

    Poor Sasha.

    When Katrina's fit was over and she had calmed down, Velt said, "Now... why don't we talk about something else?" She smiled at Sasha. "What is one thing you would love to have?"

    Sasha pondered for a moment. "Well, I've always wanted to swim in the ocean."

    Velt nodded, writing something down on her clipboard again. "Ah, that's right, last time we met, Katrina told me she wouldn't let you swim in the ocean."

    "BUT," Sasha interjected, "I also would like to be painted Striped."

    "Really?" Velt questioned, grinning happily. "Striped is such a pretty color. You have good taste, Sasha."

    "Thank you."

    Silence.

    Katrina cleared her throat, as she dried her puffy red eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffled, swallowing hard. She needed to say something absolute. "I... noticed that Sasha is a really fast swimmer. Like, one of the fastest I have seen. I think we should get her involved in swimming races of some kind."

    Velt's ears perked up and she looked at Katrina interestedly. "She is? Wow, I never knew that." She looked over at Sasha. "Is that true?"

    Sasha shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I guess you could say I'm fast."

    "Well, I agree with Katrina. Getting you involved with something like that could be very positive in your relationships with other Neopets. What do you say, Sasha? Would you like to compete in swimming races?" Velt questioned, pressing her glasses up her nose.

    "Well... okay," Sasha told the white Kyrii.

    Velt nodded, and then glanced up at the clock that was hanging on the wall by the door. "Well, looks like our time is just about up. Sasha, would you mind stepping outside for a few moments? I need to talk to Katrina for a second."

    Sasha stood up, wrinkling her eyebrows. "Are you going to talk about me?! You are, aren't you?!"

    "No, Sasha," Katrina told her, gently pushing her towards the door. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

    The red Flotsam stubbornly went out the door, and Katrina sighed once she was out of the room. She looked down at Doctor Velt, shrugging.

    "Well... at least she has a friend," Velt told her, nodding. Her hard green eyes scanned the notes she had taken during their session. "And about the Neopoints... don't sweat it. There's no way you're going to get the money back now. Just forgive Sasha. She's confused. I'll bet you she just did it because her friend was asking something for her, and she could do it. She would probably do anything for a friend."

    Katrina nodded, still shivering. Man, it was cold.

    "Her low self-esteem seems to be a problem," Velt continued. "Hopefully with this new friend of hers, she will gain some confidence, however. And... About the swimming competitions. That's a great idea. We should see what we could do. Try and sign her up for a few races. I bet she'll do great."

    "...Yeah." Katrina couldn't help but feel bothered by the fact Sasha's friend was a yellow Flotsam.

    Katrina hated yellow.

    "Doctor...?"

    "Yes?"

    "Sasha... she has this sort of fetish... with yellow Flotsam plushies. I mean, every time we go to the toy store, she wants to get another one. We have about eight already. And then she just sits in the living room, stacking them on top of each other, and lining them up in a perfectly straight line. She'll do that for hours. I don't know, I just thought it was... strange."

    Velt looked intrigued. "How long ago did this 'obsession' begin?"

    "I dunno... a couple weeks ago. As you can tell, we've been to the toy store a lot lately..."

    "Interesting. This is most likely just a way of expressing her gratitude towards Amelia. I wouldn't worry about it," Velt assured her. "I must be going now, though. I'll see you next time, huh?"

    "...Yeah."

To be continued...