“…Help wanted, huh.”
The noodle dragon was, currently, staring at the front door of the local rec center – they’d apparently lost a lifeguard for the day shift earlier this summer, and, well, the pay seemed… fine. Being a lifeguard couldn’t be that hard, could it? Sit in a chair, swim a bit, occasionally help a kid or two out of the deep end?
The free admission to the pool and gym facilities were just a bonus at that point, really.
Pushing the door to the lobby open, Eris was surprised to find how chilly it was inside, but that didn’t really deter them from trotting over to the front desk, a bored looking secretary sitting behind it typing away at her workstation in an attempt to pass the day that little bit quicker.
“Can I help you?” She asked, glancing up over her glasses at the dragon.
“Um. I’m interested in the lifeguard job?” Eris offered, trying to muster up a smile.
“Finally got a bite, huh. Go down this hallway over here, sweetie. Last door on the right.”
Eris nodded, wondering how long the interview would take – they’d originally come up here to swim, anyway. Hopefully not long enough that they’d have to try again another day, right?
Pushing the door open, Eris padded down the hallway, peeking into offices and rooms as they passed. It didn’t really seem like all that many employees were actually here, today – and they hadn’t been told who they’d be meeting for the interview…?
Finally, they stopped at the door the secretary had mentioned – a plain wooden door with a little handle, which they, after taking a deep breath, pushed open.
…It wasn’t an interview room.
Lockers lined the walls, a few scattered benches here and there with various pool-related belongings occupying the space that wasn’t empty. The secretary had sent them into the locker room for the pool?
They were starting to turn to leave, figuring it had to be some sort of mistake, when… something caught their eye. On the nearest bench, almost positioned as if to catch the eye as someone turned to leave, was a little box, a “New Hire” label on the lid conspicuously staring back at them.
“Uh…huh.” Eris said aloud to no one in particular, stepping over to take a closer look. A cursory shake certainly didn’t yield anything special.
Neither did the sniff test.
The lid being lifted off, however, just brought more questions than answers. Inside, was a small red scarf emblazoned with LIFEGUARD and a “+”, and a pair of goggles.
Not… particularly standard affair, but whatever works, they supposed?
Slipping the scarf on, Eris was surprised to find it was actually quite a bit bigger than they’d thought at first, falling down around their upper chest easily enough. The goggles came next, fitting snugly against their head…
…They felt weird.
Standing there, in the chilly pool locker room, the distant sound of splashing in the pool and laughter echoing around them, they felt… tight.
Sqrk.
They heard it before they saw it – their tail began to scrunch in on itself, shrinking down as it fattened up, fluffy noodle dragon fur smoothing out and lightening as the tail began to grow more orange, a ring of blue tipping it. Blue rings began to pop up around their wrists as well as they watched, their whole body beginning to swell and shrink all at once as their balance grew weird.
Eris wobbled in place as their tummy swelled, new little valve peeking out of their shirt as their proportions grew somehow stubbier and longer all at once, ears shrinking down into little orange circles as their snout swelled, nose turning a welcoming bright blue…
…and in a blink it was over.
Drift rubbed their eyes for a second, draped in unfamiliar clothes and surrounded by fluffy fur all over the floor. Sheesh, the cleaners must not have come by yet today!
Tugging their goggles down over their eyes (and tugging the weird shirt off and stepping out of the shorts), the toy otter squinted at the schedule on the wall. Gosh, they were late!
With a few sqrks, they hurried out to the pool, the newest hire of the summer!