“Oh, wow… I haven’t seen a photo-op spot like this in years!”
Intell was, of course, referring to the little cardboard cutout display that decorated the welcome area of Drift’s Lagoon – a brand new waterpark that had opened this summer. The otter-y mascot was plastered all over the place, bright orange squeaky plastic and welcoming face bringing in crowds by the hundreds… really, who wouldn’t want a photo with them?
The human hurried over to the display, peeking around at the various spots for photos – Drift on a reef with a snorkel and goggles, a beach-y scene, a little mock lifeguard tower you could sit in with a cardboard otter… and one of those old tourist trap style “stick your head through” scenes, Drift’s lower body standing cutely under the hole.
Well, obviously he’d have to do that one. The others didn’t even come close!
Setting his phone down at the right angle (and out of view of the crowd, he hoped), Intell set the shutter to ten seconds, hurrying around to stick his head through.
Flash!
The camera’s flash blinded him for a moment, the spots resisting even hurried attempts to blink them away, so he reached up, rubbing his eyes with a paw.
Hm.
He stared at the squeaky orange-and-blue appendage for a moment, turning it over to peek at the blue pads printed there, before shrugging. Weird that he’d never looked so closely at his paw before, but, hey, he was having fun. A little oversight could be forgiven, right?
Setting up for the next photo, Intell positioned the phone facing the lifeguard tower’s top, clambering up and struggling a little to fit his big ottery tail (which, he noticed, had pushed his trunks down in the back. Hadn’t he bought a size bigger to avoid that?), but with a few squeaks and a few extra shoves, he managed to make it fit.
Flash!
Blinking away the blindness, his snout stuck out in front of him as it always did – big blue nose cutely shining in the sun, slightly transparent but all the cuter for it.
He started to get up, his toy tummy barely touching the handrails of the lifeguard stand. Huh. Had he been this big when he got up here…?
Waddling over to the phone, Intell peeked at the photos – sure enough, he’d been this same size and shape the whole time. Weird that he’d forgotten?
As Intell set up for the last photo, a passing guest stepped on his tail – the air, with nowhere to go but in, traveled up his body… until, with a FOOMP, his glasses went flying, just in time for the flash to off.
Drift shook their head a little, paws resting on their overfilled tummy, and they huffed. There was no phone, no trunks – just their goggles, their scarf, and a sense of being a little too puffy due to the hot day!
Sun must be hotter than I thought!