//chapter//\\seven\\

Malory led the girls towards the large lake that made up the center of the resort. It was only about twenty feet away from the stairs that they had just descended. They reached the sidewalk which was the only thing between them and the beautiful white sand beach which lay ahead. The sun was setting an they could feel the warmth from the sidewalk right through the soles of their shoes. From where the four girls stood they could see the entire resort, and what a beautiful sight it was. They were directly across the lake from Port Royal, as Malory had said they would be. The sun lit the sky causing a swirl of pink, purple, gold and blue to dance across the horizon. There wasn't a single wave on the lake except for the ripples made by the many ducks and fish. The other three girls stared in awe as Malory tried to pull them away from the beautiful sight that she had seen so many times before.

"Let's go see the pool," said Jenica as her stare was torn away from the light show of the setting sun.

"Alright," Malory exclaimed. "but, let's wait to get in. You guys haven't seen the Port Royale pool, yet. I think you'll like that one a lot better.

"I didn't mean to go swimming," Jenica said. "I just wanted to see the SIGHTS at the pool."

"If there are any," Jenni said pessimistically.

"God Jenni, what's up? You haven't even smiled since we got here," Katie said, sounding truly worried about her friend.

"I was just thinkin'," Jenni replied with a shrug.

"I thought I smelled somthin' burning," Malory said with that same stupid grin plastered on her face.

"Funny," Jenni said without emotion.

They entered the courtyard like pool that was amidst the Aruba buildings. They walked under an archway to enter. The pool was L shaped and there were very few people there. Mostly elderly and small children. The girls left almost immediately.

"Well, nothing nice to look at there. Except for that one guy in the corner," Katie said.

"What, you mean that three year old?" Malory cried.

"I'm sure that he wasn't three. Six, maybe." Katie said giving Malory an elbow in the side.

"Katie, you're sick!" Malory and Jenica cried in unison. Jenni still said nothing.

"Earth to Jenni!" Katie said. "It's alright for you to come back to us now."

"Thinkin' about the concert, Jenni?" Malory asked.

"Yeah!" Jenni exclaimed, finally showing a spark of her old enthusiasm. "I was wondering what Scott was gonna wear... and how much of it he's planning to take off for us."

"Aren't we all!" cried Malory.

The girls laughed as they crossed the bridge to the island. On the left side of the island was a large wooden playground. To the right was a small path leading you to a few different menageries with tropical birds. The third path led directly to the other side of the island. Each path was separated by a dense forest of bamboo that stood twenty or thirty feet high, and the three paths met on the other side of the island where the other bridge was.

As the girls began crossing the bridge, they found themselves heading towards what seemed to be like Spaniard Ruins from the 1700's. The ruins were beautiful and almost completely engulfed in vines. There were two towers connected by a bridge that passed directly over the pool. If you were to stand on the bridge and look towards the Port Royale building, you would see below you, the shallow end of the pool. To the other side was the larger portion of the pool. This part was divided into three sections by ropes. The first was connected to the shallow end and passed directly under the bridge. The second was where the waterslide poured out frantic children into the churning water, and the third, Malory's personal favorite, held the most beautiful waterfall that you have ever seen. The water poured down probably about seven feet into the pool. On either side was a stone column with a lion's head carved into the side. A steady stream of water poured down from each of the lion's mouths'. Behind the waterfall was an almost completely enclosed bench. Malory pointed it out telling her friends where to bring their hunnys' if the found any out here.

The entered Port Royale after a full tour of the pool area. Malory showed them quickly, pointing out the Disney store and the restaurants. Then they visited Malory's father at the outdoor calypso bar. He said hi and quickly returned to the Bahama Mama he was drinking and the conversation about football that he was having with the man sitting to his right. The girls then eagerly decided to go back to the pool and hang out a while to scope for fresh blood.

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