"Well, we need extra hands for some maintenance." Viola explained, and you quickly breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't asked you to do something like spend the day with Hope or some other horrifying task like that. In fact, you could even hear a soft 'aw man' coming from the blonde love-struck giantess behind you.
You crossed your arms. "I've done a fair bit of that sort of work in the past. What are we talking about, exactly?"
"A clog in the shower pipes in the women's locker room." Viola clarified. "All of our tools have failed, so we'll have to resort to the contingency plan that Grace developed. As usual." The redhead chuckled, and it warmed your heart to see how dearly she cherished her affected daughter.
As if on cue, Grace herself appeared, sliding into the office from, of all places, an air vent. Your jaw dropped as you watched Grace descend from the vent, utilizing a folding paper glider to carry her all the way to a gentle landing right in front of her mom. The precocious tiny girl then folded up her glider, set it down by Viola's hand, and turned to smile at you.
"Good morning, Mister Jacobs." She nodded politely, ever the well-mannered politician. "Great to have you working with us today." Her voice, high-pitched and a little more girly than you knew she liked from past discussions, still was in such stark contrast to her word choice and demeanor. It was a sore spot for Grace, but she really did sound like an adorable teen despite being an exceptionally capable and brilliant twenty-one-year-old.
You took a second to take in the sight of Grace, marveling at how she'd ended up the perfect fusion of both of her mother's despite only being biologically birthed to Selena. You supposed it was simply the magic of modern medicine that Viola had been able to contribute some of her DNA before Selena underwent artificial insemination. Regardless, Grace was the spitting image of them both, with Selena's richly tanned skin and dark eyes, but Viola's lean petite frame and fiery red hair.
Grace was, in all honest, kind of incredible. Raised with care and cuddling by Selena, and tough love and life lessons from Viola, she very well may have been the most competent, trained, skilled, and determined affected you'd ever met. Sometimes she felt a little like a fairy tale heroine, impossibly amazing in every which way. She was brilliant, and had a keen mind matched only by her sharp wit and skill at debating and arguing. She was athletically superior to most tinies you'd encountered, able to make insane jumps and clear vast distances faster than a bullet. She was also a whiz at whipping up ideas for new affected-positive inventions and regulations.
She was, of course, not actually a flawless being, because no one is. She got into accidents just as much as any other tiny, and could sometimes make colossally stupid mistakes if a cute girl was near. Cute girls were, after all, her one true weakness, and Grace had been crushed many a times by staring like a deer in headlights at an approaching giantess that struck her fancy. She could also get blindsided right at the moment of triumph, letting herself get carried away by the temptation of victory. You knew one of her most sore memories was losing the 12th grade debate competition right at the closing remarks because she tripped over her words and accidentally gave her opponent an opening when Grace had thought the victory already in the bag.
Still, she was pretty incredible, and you felt that the future of affected kind was safe in her capable hands, especially considering her intention to go into politics after graduating Weston with her Public Policy degree.
You congenially shook Grace's hand. "Happy to be here, Grace. And, since we're working alongside each other, you can just call me Matt for today."
Grace nodded succinctly. "Got it, Matt."
You and Grace then left the office to head to the women's locker room, and Hope was dismissed as well, leaving only Selena and Viola.
Selena rolled her shoulders. "Alright, while they're doing that, I'll go meet the plumber at the door. She's gonna fix up some of the other locker room's pipes while Matt and Grace are cleaning the clog. Two birds with one stone, right?"
Viola allowed herself a small smile. "Who knew your pretty, silver-haired head could be so smart, babe?"
Selena stuck out her tongue. "Whatever, Vi-Vi! I'll be back once the plumber is all set."
*****
You were, once again, floored by the ingenuity of Grace once she led you to the pipes.
From the ground up, the pipes had been built with affected access in mind. To that end, they were lined with rails, which a harness system could be attached to. A tiny could slip into the harness, hook into the railed line of the pipe, and then easily (thanks to lubrication) pull themselves anywhere they needed to through the pipes. The harnesses included a breaking system, and could also switch tracks whenever the pipes hit an intersection. It was pretty ingenious, actually, and yet another way Grace was helping pave the way for more affected to get jobs across the country.
You and Grace slipped into individual harnesses, and then hooked into the pipes at ground level. You two then began scaling upwards, no doubt needed to reach the higher elevation near the level of the showerheads. It was easy enough, and a decent workout, though Grace still needed to stop twice to let you catch up. Near the top, an unexpected torrent of ice-cold water tore into you, chilling you temporarily, but the harness break system kept you hanging tight and not shoved along the pipe with the water.
When it subsided, you shivered. "I wasn't expecting flowing water while we were working."
Grace grinned. "It's another benefit of this system, actually. We don't have to close down the locker room for pipe maintenance, because these harnesses keep us safe. We can get our work done, and even use the water flow to help find the problem, and we don't have to inconvenience the Oasis guests and mark down our bottom line of revenue for the day!"
"Pretty genius, Grace." You said, then angled the flashlight connected to the harness down a few nearby pipes at your intersection. "Still, I don't know how you don't get lost in here."
"It's a maze unless you memorize it." Grace admitted. "We're heading towards the showers, but..." She began pointing at various colored pipes that vanished into inky darkness. "That one goes to the sinks, that one goes to the employee-only washing machine, and that one...uh...is best avoided. It goes to the fill tank for the women's toilets." Grace shuddered. "Suffice to say, I only explored down that path once before learning my lesson."
"Yikes." You winced. You then heard a soft tearing noise, and glanced down to notice a little rip in your harness. You furrowed your brow. "Grace, is my harness breaking?"
The petite redhead inspected closely. "Sort of, but it won't be a problem. A little water torrent won't break it completely." She gave you a wry smile. "I know you talk a lot about your luck being really bad, but trust me, you're safe. It's not that bad that this simple little unclogging mission will go poorly."
"Hey, if you say so, master of the pipes!" You quipped, earning an amused eyeroll. You and Grace continued on.
*****
Selena strolled back into her wife's office and planted a kiss on Viola's forehead.
"I finished directing the plumber where to go!" She announced. "Those pipes should be good as new after that air foam clears all the rust and fabric debris out!"
"Awesome work, babe." Viola nodded appreciatively. "Let's hope Grace and Matt are as successful in the women's locker room."
Selena froze, her smile fading. "In...the where?"
"Women's locker room?" Viola frowned.
"N-No...they can't be. That's where I just sent the plumber."
Viola's eyes widened a fraction. "No, the plumber was for the men's locker room, babe."
Selena's heart skipped a beat. "Oh. Shit."
*****
The plumber tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, and then finished unscrewing the pipe entry hatch.
Admittedly, she found it odd that she'd been asked to foam spray a pipe system that was still in use, as it was usual protocol to shut down a locker room during the foaming process. Still, the foam only ate through dirt and clothes until it got dilluted by water, where it then became harmless. She figured the park owners knew what they were doing, and were maybe just being frugal.
Shrugging, the plumber slotted her foam tube into the pipe, and hit the button.
*****
You were the first one to hear the rumbling noise, as Grace was finishing fixing the clog that had impeded the flow of water to the women's showers. Frowning, you shined your flashlight towards the sound, and let out a scream as a massive wave of foam came barreling towards you and Grace. Drawn to your scream, Grace turned to look, and swore under her breath so quietly you only barely made it out:
“Damn it, Matt. You really do have cursed luck.”
The foam hit you like a ton of bricks, the sudsy bubbles eating through your harness and swimsuit, leaving you buck naked. You lost sight of Grace immediately, and as the foam quickly collided with a rush of water, you found yourself spinning head over heels and lost in the dark, silently crying out for help.
And then, the light at the end of the tunnel appeared...
1) You pop out of a showerhead, raining down upon an unsuspecting nude woman showering after her time at The Oasis.
2) You pop out into a soapy sink, as a woman is lathering up and washing her hands.
3) You pop up into a toilet bowl, staring up in horror as, a moment later, a woman walks in to relieve her grumbling bowels.
4) You pop up in the slowly-filling barrel of the employee-only washing machine, right as an unaware lifeguard dumps a load of wet uniforms and towels onto you.
5) *Writer's Choice*
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