Mallory was at the front of the line again.

Most of the regulars at the pool knew exactly what they wanted, getting the same series of snacks every trip. Mallory tended to hold up the line with his indecisiveness, often making casual conversation with Artemis, who worked the concessions.

"You're going to have to go back to your post before you make up your mind if you don't hurry up," Artemis murmured, watching the other lifeguards signal to each other that the ten-minute rest break was ending soon. "And I have a line waiting on you."

Mallory crossed his arms. "Alright, fine." He hastily grabbed a bag of chips off the counter and replaced it with a wad of cash. "Keep the change," he mumbled as he made his way back to the chair he'd been situated in, fumbling with the whistle around his neck.

Artemis picked up the money he'd left, counting it as per his routine. Seven dollars. Frowning, he double checked he hadn't made a mistake. Stated on the chalkboard beside him in neat cursive was the price: a dollar and fifty cents for a bag of chips. He'd been given nearly five times the right amount. Did Mallory not understand the concept of tipping?

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted his thoughts. "I said I wanted a Pepsi."

Artemis' eyes darted up to the kid on the other side of the counter, waving a fistful of quarters at him. "Right, sorry. Gimme a sec." He cursed himself for getting distracted, digging a can out of the cooler. "Here."

"Took you long enough," the kid sneered, dropping his change into Artemis' hand and eagerly taking his soda. He raced off, earning a few shouts to stop running from Mallory.

"You're welcome," Artemis mumbled bitterly, wiping the water from the cooler off on his shorts.

A sharp chorus of whistles indicated the break had ended, sending a handful of kids in line rushing back to the pool. Artemis ran through those remaining with little issue, smiling slightly at the empty pavement before him. Most pool-goers waited until rest break to get snacks, leaving him with nearly an hour to himself.

"Hey!" Mallory shouted across the pool. "Tyler, cover my post!"

Artemis froze as Mallory rushed back over to him, throwing open the door to the crammed concessions shack. "You're not stealing anything again, are you?" Artemis asked, frowning.

"No, the camp's signing in at the main office. No way I'm dealing with that mess again."

Artemis put his hands on his hips. "And you chose to take refuge in a sweaty shack with an equally sweaty worker?"

"Well when you put it that way it sounds like a bad idea," Mallory laughed, grabbing a cup off the rack and overfilling it with a slushie. "When in reality it's an amazing idea."

"You are stealing things," Artemis pointed out, reaching to take his drink.

"Two dollars," Mallory dodged his hand. "Take it off the seven."

Artemis stepped back, realizing what Mallory had planned. "You—"

"A dollar fifty," Mallory cut him off, waving a bag of popcorn in his direction. "Nice pin, by the way."

Artemis' gaze fell on the pin he'd clipped to his lanyard, a simple dollar-store button of a rainbow. He'd assumed it'd gain minimal attention. "Thanks."

Mallory tossed a kernel in Artemis' direction. "You free Saturday?"

"What?" Artemis fumbled for an answer, feeling his face redden. "Uh, yeah, why?" He silently prayed he wasn't making himself look like an idiot.

"There's a new café downtown. Wanted to know if you wanna grab a coffee sometime."

Artemis watched a line of campers struggle to find a place to sit to distract himself. "Sure."

"Cool," Mallory scribbled something onto a slip of paper and set it on the counter. "Call me when you get the chance."

"Mallory!" A voice Artemis couldn't immediately recognize shouted. "Get back out here!"

"Dang." Mallory downed the last of his slushie and tossed it aside. "Tyler is gonna kill me."

Artemis laughed slightly, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one was waiting on him. "Better get back out there, then."

"I guess." Mallory pressed his lips against Artemis' cheek, mumbling something Artemis couldn't understand before rushing out the door.

Stumbling back, Artemis caught himself on the wall, the feeling of something crumpling in his hand snapping him back into reality. A candy wrapper fell to the floor as he pulled his hand away.

"Fifty cents!" Mallory called back at him as he left.