Continued Earth Tourism, third period

[unusual_sith]

"Welcome back, everybody!" Lana said. "We're heading to Australia this week. It's a continent and a country." She led them onto a lovely beach. "As I mentioned in a previous class, over seventy percent of Earth is covered by water, so we really ought to spend some time under it. I wanted to take us to the depths, but apparently that's considered too risky, so there aren't many who do it, and unless I can get a submersible from Manaan, it's out of the question. Maybe later." She shrugged.

"So, for today we'll be walking on the sea floor. No swimming or diving experience needed! And the Great Barrier Reef is apparently truly spectacular. If you still don't want to, you can enjoy the beach, and I have plenty of sunscreen available. Also there is a dive shop. Otherwise, let's get going!"

They supplied wetsuits and giant helmets, so hopefully this meant everybody that wanted to would be able to participate. There was a brief safety lecture, and then you'd be heading down to the reef!

Comments

Re: Class activity

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor smiled up at Kamala softly, digging her slightly webbed toes a little deeper into the sand.

"I was a little worried," she admitted, "that if I didn't come back now, I might not be able to convince myself to come back at all."

She knew how that probably sounded, so she also felt compelled to shake her head a little and add, "Plus, I kind of hate those helmets."

She then patted the sand next to her. "Want to sit with me for a bit?"

Re: Class activity

[slothbabyproductions]

"Uh, yeah!" Kamala said with a wide smile and promptly planting herself down on the sand. "I'd never say no to that offer!"

She took a deep breath of the sea air and smiled. "I will never get tired of classes like these. My friends don't get to go to beaches at their universities and it's so good to feel the sun like this."

Re: Class activity

[what_big_teeth]

"Yeah," said Eleanor, taking a moment to turn her face toward the sun that Kamala mentioned and just sort of feel it soaking into her skin. Just for a moment, though, before her head turned toward Kamala and she opened her eyes to look at her with the soft smile still on her face. "We're pretty pretty lucky, aren't we?"

She wasn't really just talking about the trip classes, either, but her attention shifted back toward the horizon.

"There's so many places and experiences that I would have probably never in a million years have gotten to experience if it wasn't for this school."

Re: Class activity

[slothbabyproductions]

Kamala smiled, pulling her knees up to her chest as the warm sand shifted beneath her. She watched the waves lap at the shore, the closeness reminding her of the day she and Eleanor had spent at Laguna Beach just a few weeks ago.

"Yeah, we’re lucky," she echoed, though now her gaze shifted to Eleanor, not the horizon. "I mean, you’re right. I never would’ve even imagined doing stuff like this. Swimming around the Great Barrier Reef, getting powers, going to space… all of it feels like something out of a dream, right?"

Her smile grew softer, a little more bashful. "But it’s not just the school. It’s everything that’s happened since. There’s so many things I wouldn’t have even thought possible if-"

She hesitated for a second, then continued, her voice a little on the shy side. "Well, if I didn’t have you to share them with."

Kamala nudged Eleanor lightly with her shoulder. "Calling it 'pretty lucky' almost feels like selling it short."

Re: Class activity

[what_big_teeth]

That hesitation was enough to pull Eleanor's gaze back to Kamala, with a faintly sheepish grin of her own as she wondered if she was going where Eleanor thought she was it it and then the blushing satisfaction that went with the confirmation that, yup, that was exactly where she went with it.

She ducked her head a little, as the blushing almost got to be too unbearable, but when Kamala's shoulder nudged hers, Eleanor nudged her shoulder back...and then just remained there, her head tilting closer, almost as if to rest on the shoulder a little, while her slightly-webbed hand reached for Kamala's absolutely not webbed one.

"I've always been a big fan of understatement," she noted.

It helped to balance out the magnitude of all the things inside.

Re: Class activity

[slothbabyproductions]

Kamala took Eleanor’s hand and gave it a squeeze, interlocking her fingers with Eleanor’s. And when she felt Eleanor lean her head on her shoulder, Kamala tilted her head so it rested against Eleanor’s.

“If we miss the portal back that wouldn’t be too bad would it?”