Making a Splash

Karen stepped over the flagstone line, her sandal clicking against the smooth concrete. The metal clipboard remained extended like a shield, three inches from Alicia’s chin.

“You do not dictate terms here,” Karen said. “I run this board.”

Alicia did not blink. She stood on the dry deck, feet planted four inches apart. Her shoulders stayed level.

“Step back,” Alicia said.

Karen sneered, her red lipstick stretched thin over her teeth. The floral pattern of her blouse burned under the high sun.

“I do not take orders from tenants,” Karen said.

Her hand shot out. Four fingers dug into the skin of Alicia’s arm. Her nails pinched hard against muscle.

Alicia reacted without a word. She dropped her shoulder, rotated her torso, and snapped her forearm upward against Karen’s wrist. The lever broke Karen’s grip instantly.

Karen gasped, her mouth forming a round shape.

Before Karen could regain posture, Alicia stepped forward. She placed her right palm flat against the center of Karen’s chest, right over the silk blouse.

Alicia drove her arm straight out.

The force sent Karen stumbling backward. Her heels skidded across the damp concrete. Three feet behind her lay the blue edge of the pool.

Karen’s foot caught the stone coping. Her legs went out from under her. Her arms windmilled through the warm air.

The clipboard slipped from her hand, its paper stack fanning out across the light.

Karen hit the water backward.

An eight-foot plume of water erupted into the afternoon sun, dousing the deck and soaking the lounger. The impact sounded like a dropped sack of grain.

Alicia did not move her feet. She lowered her hand to her side and looked down.

The pool surface churned with foam. The clipboard sank fast toward the main drain, its metal clasp glinting on the blue tile. Loose white forms floated on the surface, turning translucent as water soaked through paper.

A flat sandal detached from Karen’s foot and bobbed near the stone edge.

Karen surfaced with a harsh, sputtering cough. Her blonde hair flattened against her face, strands plastered across her mouth. She spat water into the air and clawed at her cheeks.

She grabbed the concrete lip with both hands, her knuckles turning white against stone. Her wet blouse clung to her ribs, water pouring from the hem.

“You touched me!” Karen choked out. “That is assault!”

Alicia stood three inches from the pool edge, completely dry. Her shadow fell across Karen’s face.

“You trespassed,” Alicia said. “You laid hands on me.”

“I am the board president!” Karen yelled. “Police will be here in five minutes!”

Alicia folded her arms across her chest. Her expression remained motionless, like carved marble.

“Call them,” Alicia said.

Karen kicked her feet in the water, trying to pull her white capris onto the first step. She slipped twice, splashing water onto Alicia’s toes.

“You think you can do this?” Karen spat. “You don’t know who I am!”

Alicia bent down slightly, bringing her gaze level with Karen’s eyes.

“No, Karen,” Alicia said softly. “When you find out who I am, you will regret that gate.”

Karen froze. The water rippled around her shoulders as the threat hung in the hot air.

Footsteps crunched heavily on the gravel path outside the open gate.