Pool_1

Bastion - were printed alongside the front page accounts of the dedication service, the games, the many food stands, the amusements and pony rides, and the prize drawings - all of which never took place. Dedication? There wasn't anybody there when it was claimed to have occurred except the new lifeguards, all white college kids, doing push ups and water laps to get in shape. A lot of money got spent - on paper - as reported in the papers. Oh, it was spent. Tax payers did pay. Guess where it really went. Frank went on that this place was henceforward called the Charles Darling Snatch Dipping Facility, or just Charles Darling. No sense calling it anything else, even some of the official papers have that name on it. The Ink Well would have been a sure bet, until Charles Darling came along. Kids love it. "I love it," Frank smiled with squinty eyes. Frank was, in the non-summer seasons, a principal of the local school and a probable successor to the superintendent position, pending power shifts. He was not part of the gang running the city, but he and only he, controlled the population of this region. Besides being a local sports hero, he had a Ph.D. "You're a doctor?" Marcus was astonished. "Of what? Hugeness?" "Education. Wanna make something of it?" doing a beast from beyond gesture. "Nope. Hi boss doctor monster person." Marcus did a suppliant bow. "Welcome aboard. Freddie will have to clear you on water skills, and credential you. He is not easy. Be prepared to work - hard. It's fun though. You'd better get that truck back. I'll clear a turn around path." That was just a simple arm gesture, but from his arm, totally effective. "I assume your name isn't Ajax Laundries," Frank pleasantly prompted as Marcus climbed into his truck. Somehow, in the free-for-all, formality of surname had lapsed.