D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

--- Sylvie --- (Weekend after board games)

Callisto was pulling into the parking lot as she asked, "Are you sure you are going to be alright without me? I know Alice's father will be watching over you all but I can get to my business later on in the day if you would prefer. It would just mean you would need to be with me for those purchases. Did I explain that to you yet?

Vivian needs some pieces for her work but the usual suppliers are having a shortage so I am having to look around the city here for them,"

"I'll be fine," said Sylvie firmly. She… wasn't entirely sure she believed it but she felt confident enough to say it. She trusted Penny and Alice certainly, and Alice's dad seemed nice. Not only that but they were going to be at a big pool with a bunch of other kids so it should be fine until Callisto got back.

"If you are certain then that is fine. I simply wished to give you the option. I expect you will be here for a while and then head over to the nearby shopping centre for some lunch. I might be there in time for that, but I would not want to hold your group up if I am late so feel free to eat without me. I shall send a text message through if I get things done early. Is that ok?" asked Callisto.

"Yeah. It is just one meal… it isn't like I eat with you while I am at school anyway," said Sylvie.

"As long as you are sure you will be fine I can accept that. Now, do you have everything you need? Have you got your swimwear?" asked Callisto.

"Yes I have it on under my clothes like you suggested,"

"Do you have your towel in your backpack?"

"Yes," Sylvie opened the bag a bit to show off the towel.

"Good, good. Do you have your wallet and phone?"

"Yes," nodded Sylvie as she pulled out a nokia flip phone. It wasn't the most high-tech device out there but Callisto was confident it would survive any damage done to it and keep working. Considering the point of the phone was to keep in contact, that was a great bonus. Sylvie's wallet was a little square thing that was held in place with Velcro.

It unfolded with a pull and had a slot for coins and money. Callisto had given Sylvie fifty dollars for the trip, just in case something happened.

"Right… right… do you have that bag to keep your shoes in while you are swimming? And do you have your flip-flops for the changing rooms?" asked Callisto.

"Yes," said Sylvie patting the front of the bag. You could hear the bag rustling when she did that and the flip-flops were inside of the plastic bag. "Though I don't get why I need them…"

Callisto let out a long sigh. "Technically you do not need them. In an ideal world we could trust everyone to behave themselves. As it is? You have them in case someone has dropped something nasty on the ground inside the changing rooms or you feel the need to run around on the grass,"

"Ok," agreed Sylvie in understanding as Callisto turned off the car. They both got out through their own doors and Callisto moved over to give Sylvie a quick hug.

"I apologise for my worry but I am going to walk you over to Alice and her dad before heading off. I think I can see him just outside of the entrance but it is hard to tell with all the cars in the way. Just have a good time, and call me if you need anything or run into trouble," said Callisto.

"I will, I promise," answered Sylvie. In response Callisto gave her another hug before the pair moved over to the entrance. After walking through two rows of cars they could see Alice and Penny were both already there.

When they got closer, they could see Hank standing around with Alice and Penny. Sylvie wondered if Penny had been dropped off early or if Hank had gone around and picked her up himself. Regardless of the truth she was here by herself now.

Alice and Penny hadn't changed just yet but Sylvie could see the long sleaves of a wetsuit coming out of Hank's shirt so everyone probably had the same idea as Callisto.

"Ho Callisto!" said Hank with a wave as they approached.

"Greetings Hank. Are you sure you will be alright with the girls? I can stick around if you believe you need the extra help," said Callisto.

"Hey I'll be fine. Not the first time I've had to watch a couple of gremlins. The Misses is having a spa day with a few of her other friends but I'm sure she would've come if I really needed the help, remember you weren't originally coming in at all," said Hank.

"And I still insist that having you drive all the way out to pick up Sylvie would have been a massive waste of your time and then you'd still need to bring her back home. It was an unnecessary effort and it turns out I needed to be here anyway," said Callisto.

Hank shrugged, "Eh the girls enjoy their time together so it's no real hardship. I would've just drove myself out there to grab Sylvie before swinging back home to get Alice before heading over to Penny's. Still, I guess it does save me the work. Do you know when you'll be done?"

"Not specifically no. I am afraid I need to go in search of a few things and I cannot know if I will find them at my first stop or the fifth. If all goes well I expect to be down by lunchtime but I am not counting on that. I already let Sylvie know…"

Sylvie started to tune Callisto out as she and Hank kept talking. Sure it wasn't polite but her friends were here! "Hey guys. It's nice to see you again! Do you both know how to swim?"

"Yeah!" said Alice with a big grin as she puffed out her chest. "I managed to get first place in my schools swimming contest and we have a BIG pool in our backyard so I get lots of practice! I'm super good at swimming. It's actually my sport of choice you know? Not that I'm really all that into it but dad said I had to pick one…"

"I am afraid my own swimming is a bit weak," said Penny with a sigh. "I was sick during my schools swimming lessons last time and the time before that we were out of the city for a wedding. I was not all that interested but my guardians are not quite so lax as to leave me alone for the two weeks they were away.

Though it is likely they would try to have Callisto and Vivian or Hank and Shannon watch me now,"

Sylvie wasn't quite sure how to address that so instead she asked, "That's a bit of a shame… but it doesn't tell me what you can do. What do you mean your swimming is 'a bit weak'? Like… I get being good at swimming but weak?"

Penny sighed. "We were required to use floaties for the swimming lessons I have attended, which while comforting in the moment means I don't actually know how to swim properly now,"

"Oh! We can go to the little pool and teach you… or well I can. Sylvie can you swim? I don't think you said?" asked Alice.

"Yeah I can. I haven't gone all that often but the kids at the orphanage go down to the town pool on the regular so we can all swim. Usually one of the older kids takes charge and makes sure nobody gets hurt because Gramps thinks the lifeguards there are lazy… and he's probably right.

Kat went sometimes, but usually the other older kids would be happy to go so she'd stay back home and watch the others who didn't want to go. Gramps would go sometimes, but normally he used the chance to stock up on food and stuff," explained Sylvie.

"Great," said Alice with a smile. "That means between the two of us Penny should be extra safe! We can probably get to the big pool quickly!"

"What is the place like?" asked Sylvie.

"Oh, well it has three pools but also sort of two? So like, there's the little pool, the big pool, the slide, and the lap pool but the lap pool is like… WAY in the back and behind a bunch of trees. I didn't know it was there for sooo long. It's for boring people mostly. The little pool is right near the entrance and its sort of like being in the shallows at the beach?

You can always stand up though they have a big bucket they dump on you sometimes.

"The big pool in the middle has a couple of things. Right in the middle is the big slide and it always has a line. On the middle island but like… half in the water are a bunch of little playground areas. Like, they've got monkey bars over water and a swing and stuff like that. They're pretty fun but not as fun as the big slide!

But you gotta climb a bunch of stairs for that… and like I said the line is pretty bad," explained Alice.

"Still, sounds fun," stated Sylvie with a nod.