Sleeping in the employee quarters honestly wasn't that bad, sure its dank and cramped, but I have my own bed and the people around me tend to mind their own business, the bathrooms are not too far away and are separated by gender surprisingly; I never really see bathrooms separated by gender.
The sun is just barely rising when everyone begins climbing out of bed and walking exhaustedly to get ready for work. My job starts later in the afternoon, so I have some time before I need to actually get ready. I should take this time to wander the area, scan through everything, find good escape routes or areas I can blend in if need be.
The beach is shockingly busy this early in the morning, exhausted parents still wearing their pajamas drag their kids over to a sunny brunch table, stacked with fruits, meats, grains, and dairies. Young couples walk hand in hand in their swimwear, smiling widely while admiring the views and sipping a cold beverage from a coconut.
In one area of the beach, about a ten minute walk away from the homes above the water, there is more water, except this one smells of chemicals and have many little metal devices spraying it everywhere. The younger kids pile around a massive bucket that's slowly tipping over, their cries of excitement making my ears ring.
Then it begins to spill, and their screams make my heart drop; I rush in, bolting for the crowd of children and attempt to cover as many of them with my own body, the hail of water heavy and nearly making me fall over, risking crushing them, but I hold myself up, protecting the children.
They whine and cry, and when I look around, I find many disapproving faces glaring at me. One little girl, no more than five years old, breaks into tears and runs to her mother, screaming about how mean I am.
Why are they upset? That amount of water hitting them all at once would've surely hurt their necks or knocked them to the ground. I ran in to protect them from that.
Is that not what's going on?
Confused, I walk away, leaving the children and parents to their own devices. Until, one stops me, it's a father holding his son's hand, he's probably around ten years old. "Excuse me," He speaks softly, like I'm some kind of extraterrestrial. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Carefully scanning my surroundings, I shake my head and respond innocently, "No, I've moved here just recently."
"Hey, you just got here and you're working at a pretty high end resort, so you got that going for you. Have you ever worked at a resort before?" His smile and voice are kind and welcoming, like a loving father who knows that everyone is new to something. It makes my eyes burn. "You see that play structure with all the water?" He gestures back to where all the kids are, running around and splashing each other joyfully. It's crazy how many wet structures they have, what about the rust? There are slides, tubes, stationary guns, three massive buckets, one of which is about to spill again; I pierce my palms with my nails, holding myself back from running in once again. "That's called a splash pad, it's typically where the parents bring their younger kids that can't swim competently yet, but the bucket tends to be their favourite, no matter the age."
"Won't it hurt their necks? With all that water?"
The father laughs, hands on his hips and gestures to his son to go play, "Sometimes, but it's just a little bit of water, they'll be sore for a couple of hours, and then will bounce back like their brand new. In fact, it's easier for the parents if their kids are sore since they'll just wanna lay down, give them some snacks and a book and they're all set."
"I see, so parents bring their kids here to get them hurt so they can go back inside?"
"No, not at all," He guffaws deeply. "It's sometimes just a fun side effect."
"I see," I mumble, scratching at my chin. So I'm not working at a beach with a ton of amenities, I'm working at some kind of luxury resort. Does that make me stand out too much? Perhaps I should search for a different job.
"Perhaps we could catch up and grab a drink sometime? I know the swim up bar opposite of here has a pretty good variety, do you drink? If not, I know a good smoothie parlour, I can show you around."
Show me around? But I work here. "What's your name?"
"Gene Kuin, my grandfather founded Goin Kuin and my brother runs the resort, so I know the place pretty well. What about you? What's your name?"
Sticking around him wouldn't be very 'laying low.' "Juniper," I say, lightly. "Juniper Torrye."
"Excellent, Juniper, what time do you get off work tonight?"
Did I ever tell him that I work here?
Something's wrong.
"Twelve in the morning, I start work pretty late."
"Sounds like either the adults only wing or the meditation corner," He looks me up and down, scrutinizingly. "Meditation corner for sure." I laugh and begin turning to move away, he picks up on it instantly and pulls away, "I'm sure there's a lot you'd like to get done before starting work, have a good day and I'll see you tonight."
"Well you, thank as well!"
Shit.