“Fishtank season eight!” said a man covered in white. He wore shoes, socks, trousers, a long-sleeved shirt and what looked like a hockey mask but with translucent black plastic at the eyes. All these supported the matching colour. He clapped his hands together, creating the only sound in the room they were in and looked at the camera located at the ceiling’s corner. This area was your average sitting room with the usual decade old sofa and cream-coloured carpet. It also had a few quirks like a fist-sized hole in the drywall and a poster that simply read “NO PISSING”. The room smelt how you would have expected it to; assuming the expectations aren’t too high.

To his right were two men. William — a young fellow with an average build and Oswald — another man who was more skinny-fat. To his left were two young women. The first one was Bijun, an oriental girl who wore a blue shirt and jeans. The second was Rotha, the slight hunchback with purple hair who wore a skirt and a t-shirt with a Nintendo character on it. They all had the same blank expression on their faces.

“So, uh.” He clapped his hands again. “We’ll be doing two challenges; it’ll be the two boys against each other and the two girls against each other.” A short silence followed. “Also, just to be clear, I was told the girls have an unfair advantage because most people favour them over the boys”—William and Bijun glanced at each other—“so we hope this is fairer than what we’ve done previously.”

“Will and Oswald.” They looked him in the eyes now that their names had been called. “You two will be playing thirty games of Jenga in room four, while listening to ‘Jesus Is My Friend’ on repeat by those Sonseed guys.” William gave a half-smile. “Yeah, and another thing. An online vote will decide when and if you get piss breaks.” He hoped for some sort of reaction but had been forbidden it. “Well, off you go.” And the two headed up the stairs. “And both of you will follow me out to the pool.” He walked over to the pair of glass doors at the back of the room and using a bit of muscle, slid them apart. All three walked out to the light.

The outside patio was defined by the wooden fence that enclosed it in a perfect rectangle. Beyond it was merely an assortment of trees and a roof or two of some larger-than-average homes. Ingrained through the ground was a shimmering swimming pool about three metres deep. Inside the pool were two nets of uneven colours, shapes and sizes on each side of the wall and a camera in between them. In one corner of the patio was a bin containing nothing but a wet pillow and blanket, and opposite that a cool box. Finally, there were three plastic changing cubicles. The first two were green and the final one was purple and slightly smaller.

All three of them spread out evenly by the pool. “So, your challenge is,” said the staff member, moving his gaze between the camera above the doors to the contestants to the pool. “I’m going to be throwing into the pool whatever’s been shoved in this box over here and you’ll have to put it in your end’s bag.” It was light enough he could raise it up with his left hand. “I’m pretty sure you two have gone diving before during holiday?”

“Pretty sure?” asked Bijun.

“I mean… I was told like last week.” 

Rotha nodded her head and simply said, “Yes.”

“It’s too late for a challenge change at this point, anyway.” He gestured to the cubicles. “The middle one is empty. Bijun’s stuff is one the left and Rotha’s the right.” They made their way over to their respective stall to the sound of muffled upbeat music. Rotha gave Bijun one last look before cautiously opening up the door and entering the dimly lit booth that contained various pieces of scuba gear on its shelves.

To Rotha’s chagrin, they had already picked out the single swimsuit she had probably crammed into her pink suitcase. She wasted no time in dropping everything on her to the paved ground and brought the blue bikini to her sweaty body. Her anxieties were validated when she saw that the cloth did just above the bare minium to cover her breasts and ass. With time always moving forwards, she put it on with a wince.

She was reminded what the next step was when her foot rubbed against the cold steel of a diving cylinder. Conveniently, it was already attached to a harness with its gauges indicating an almost full supply. She hauled it onto her back and connected each strap over her. Next, she picked up the pace and tied the weight belt over her waist, pulled the flippers onto her feet and tightened the diving mask over her petite face.

Rotha waddled out to find the other two waiting on her. Bijun wore identical gear with the exception of a red one-piece. Already, her eyes seemed to be pointing at her chest snugged between two pieces of aqua cloth.  “Are we going to do our buddy checks now?” asked Rotha.

“Check what?” asked the staff member.

“Are you scared of *this* much water?” asked Bijun in a snarky tone. Rotha closed her mouth and waddled closer to the pool. She inserted the regulator into her mouth and descended into the water by the pool’s steps. There was a large splash as she witnessed Bijun suddenly appear in the pool with her.

Rotha blinked a few times, inhaled her first breath, exhaled a stream of bubbles and oriented herself with her limbs. She remembered how revealing her swimsuit was when she noticed the black sphere hanging off the wall. Slightly redder now, she raised her gaze to the surface an arm’s reach away from her. What she heard was the sound of her own breathing and the swooshing of Bijun already dunking a wallet into her bag.

The staff member turned to face the camera above the doors and raised his thumb. “They’re probably ready to start now.” He popped open the lid of the box, pulled out a mug with the peace sign on it and tossed it into the pool. As soon as it broke through the surface, Bijun reached out her hand but only pushed it further from her as it floated to the bottom. Seeing this, Rotha gently kicked her legs upwards and met the mug at the floor. She grabbed it by the handle and dropped it in her side’s bag.

When she turned from her goal, she was greeted by Bijun who swiped down on her bikini top. In the water, she felt like everything was on a delay; she had plenty of time to see this attack on her swimsuit yet her reaction happened a second after she began to move her arms. With a slight jiggle of her exposed breasts, she made chase for her top.

A couple of DVDs appeared at the surface, where they entered a limbo of having enough weight to sink but lacking enough to float. Either way, they were snatched by Bijun. Rotha managed to cover her breasts and stuff the straps of her top between her back and harness. She oriented herself with her arms just in time to watch Bijun earn herself multiple points at once with her new collection.

The staff member raised an opaque medicine bottle and shook it. It made a clinking sound and he chucked it as he had done so many times already. Rotha raised her head in its direction. Overwhelmed with resolve to get at least a single point, she tilted her body towards where she thought it would descend from. But a shadow appeared over her vision and a hand yanked her mask down.

She saw it happen with her own two eyes yet it felt so unexpected to her. Within seconds, she felt the chlorinated water hit her eyes and nose, almost knocking her back with its impact. It stung her eyes, pulling her eyelids down against her will yet she fought to keep them open just a second longer. Her thoughts racing, she extended her arms and snatched the mask just before it hit the pool’s floor. She swiftly put it back on, pushed against the top of her mask and blew out her nose to flush the water out. Even with her face protected again, the feeling she got from the water up her nose still lingered at the back of her throat.

Bijun loosened her grip and the pill bottle fell into her bag. “Well, that’s it,” said the staff member. “I think we can all see who won this one.” He knelt down to the side of the pool that had become moderately more wet over the last trial and jiggled his hand in the water. Rotha’s heart sank as she realised the obvious. 

Bijun got a grip on the ladder that inserted itself into the water and gawkily raised herself up until throwing herself onto the pool’s side. Rotha followed in her footsteps but in a slightly more cautious manner. Shaking, Rotha managed to stand up even with the weight dragging her down. She relaxed her jaw, tugged lightly on her regulator and it fell out. “Who won?” asked Bijun. Rotha pointed her head down.

“I don’t know if you know this,” said the staff member. “But it was you.” A grin grew across Bijun’s face. He returned to his position by the door’s camera and started with, “That’s another point to Bijun. Yesterday, everyone was talking about the results we’d see and honestly, with what happens with the Jenga game…” His voice trailed off as Rotha beelined towards her cubicle until disappearing into it.

“I’ll probably be awhile in there. I’ll come back in when I’m ready,” said Bijun.

“Yeah, alright.” They went in opposite directions, him entering the house and she trudging her way back to her changing room. She went through the song and dance of getting all her dripping gear off then pressed her ear against the door.

Eventually, Rotha left and speed walked her way back into the house. Bijun’s door creaked open and she slipped into what was once Rotha’s stall. She felt her heart beat faster as she closed the door and found herself in a room featuring Rotha’s previous outfit.

She sat down, held the panties to her face and took a sniff. She shook and exhaled as her heart only beat faster. Next, she put the diving mask on and raised the regulator to her mouth. She shuddered at the smell of her face in it and began to French kiss the mouth piece. “Fuck me…” she licked every angle of it. “I probably could’ve pushed the limit more back there…” She took the mask off and licked the inside of one of the flippers. Her legs closed and slowly rubbed against each other in ecstasy. After a few seconds of this, she turned it up by placing her hand between them.

Her body froze. She dropped the flipper with a splat, threw off the diving mask and composed herself. The sound of the muffled music had been replaced by distant voices. She jumped onto her feet and made a dash to the house. 

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Rotha’s muscles loosened up. The pathetic size of her room made it unideal for living but as a getaway at the end of every day, it was pretty good. The three things the room contained was a measly bed, a small stand with one drawer and a camera in the corner of the roof. With her eyes shut, the only two sensations she felt were the relief of the cheap blanket hugging her body and a mild smell of body odour. Her body was one the edge of sleep when she heard footsteps growing louder. She tilted her head towards the door and her senses heightened.

The door creaked open to reveal a shadowy figure. It approached her until Bijun’s face could be made out. “Bijun?” she whispered. Yes, it was confirmed to be her once she was towering over her bed. Rotha was dead silent as her cover was raised enough that Bijun could slip in; she knelt with her knees to the outside Rotha’s legs and planted her palms to the sides of her head. Rotha’s mouth shut. The last thing the camera in the room saw was the blanket engulfing them.

The first thing to hit Bijun was the stench of Rotha. They were both overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions that were polar opposite of each other’s. There was silence, as if they expected the other to open their mouth. “I had such a fun time with your gear today…” She didn’t know if Rotha couldn't or didn’t want to to respond. “Smelt your scent in your mask… tasted your mouth in your regulator…” Rotha gulped. “I have two commands—not requests—commands.” Rotha saw the same grin that had appeared on her face earlier reappear.
	
Bijun’s face went straight. “You’re going to stay away from Will.” Then, her mouth flipped back to the smile. “And you’ll meet me on the 28th of August at Hyde Street; it’s on the outskirts of the town. You’ll see me right outside dive shop there.” Bijun’s expression shifted a bit. She was unsure if what she was exhorting had been registered or not. “I have a fun day for us planned out and I know there’s no one out there that cares for you as much as me.” She forced her lips onto her.