isabrella

Emma grins at Rikki and Cleo as the three of them surface in the moon pool. They had a half-day at school for the Teachers’ Union meeting, so they’ve got the whole afternoon to themselves.

“Perfect,” Rikki says with satisfaction, letting her whole body float up on the surface and sighing.

“So,” Emma says, and Cleo looks over at her. “My parents are going away this weekend.”

“Where?” Rikki asks, suddenly looking a lot more interested.

“A crystalware convention.” Emma closes her eyes, then reopens them.

Rikki is staring at her.

“My mum collects figurines,” Emma says, waving a hand.

“You know, the worst part about that is that I’m not even surprised.” Rikki rolls her eyes.

Emma huffs. “Elliot’s staying with a friend all weekend, so the house will be empty… I thought we could do a girls’ weekend,” she continues, ignoring Rikki.

“Aww,” Cleo says, making a pouty face. “I wish. I can’t stay over. Dad’s working and I’ve gotta look after Kim,” Cleo adds. “What about you, Rikki?”

Rikki rolls her eyes again. “Yeah, a sleepover in my jim-jams. You’re kidding, right?”

“Yeah, it’s not really Rikki’s scene,” Emma admits, looking down. She’s almost relieved that Rikki won’t want to come over. If it was the three of them, all they’d do would be facemasks and silly movies—Emma’s mum handed her the 5-for-$4 Video Ezy coupon this morning—and probably end up eating way too much Cadbury’s.

With just Rikki… well, Rikki’s a wild card, and Emma’s been having some odd thoughts whenever she’s with her recently. She’s not keen to explore those further without adult supervision. Or Cleo there as a buffer. “That’s okay—” she starts, shrugging, but Rikki interrupts her.

“Then again, you’ve got cable, widescreen TV, hot and cold running snacks… Why not?” She grins at Emma, catlike in the blue light. “I’ll be there.”

Notes:
Happy New Year all <3
This is my first crack at a drabble - I'm definitely not usually concise so I hope this passes muster :)