Zoey's Daily Patrol

It was a hot summer day in May, just far enough into the year for school to still be in session, but close enough to the summer that the beaches were warm and the waters all the same. This time of year, in addition to the early weeks in August before the local schools began their new year once more, were the time locals were most often seen frequenting the public beaches. In the summer, tourists crowded all the island's beaches to max capacity, which left all the locals scrambling for spots at more secluded, secret beaches away from the public eye and unprotected by the small contingency of lifeguards.

Zoey stepped into the small, old building that used to be an old post office, and didn't even bother looking towards the office on the right upon her entry through the glass doorway. Her presence was announced with the ringing of the bell on the door, but Zoey knew nobody else was around to hear it. Her boss usually hung around the office to man phones, write paperwork, and hold down the office. But today he was gone to city hall to talk with the council about acquiring additional funding. This meant the building was empty, and noiseless aside from the background noise of the humming fans that circulated the hot air to counteract the lack of air conditioning.

Zoey moved off to her left, and into the long, thin room that was only partitioned away from the office by a purple curtain thin enough to let light through from the glass doorway. Inside was a line of 10 lockers, and a single table that looked large enough to seat 8 people easily. Zoey slung her backpack off her shoulder, and onto the table in front of her. She quickly paced to the locker labeled "3", before quickly twisting and turning her way through the combination. The lock came undone a few seconds later, and Zoey was quick to pry the locker open, and reached her hands down to the hem of her white T-shirt.

Zoey stood still for a moment, throwing a glance to the curtained door. She quickly shook her head, as if dismissing something, before pulling the shirt overhead, revealing a grey sports bra with a black outline on the edges. The garment stopped just underneath her breasts, and was carefully designed to let her breasts sit comfortably inside, without giving them enough freedom to move as they pleased. Zoey placed the shirt on the table next to her backpack, before reaching down to unbutton her beige shorts. Another glance towards the door was offered, before Zoey pushed the shorts down to her knees, and then all the way to her ankles. A matching pair of grey panties of similar style outline were all she wore underneath the shorts, leaving Zoey standing in just her underwear in the small locker area for the female lifeguards.

Zoey was just about to continue, when the ringing of the door stopped her in her tracks. Zoey raised an eyebrow, and watched as the purple curtain was pushed aside by a girl wearing a basic red one piece suit, a red whistle, sunglasses, and a hat that spelled “Life Guard” in large white letters. The girl noticed Zoey quickly, and offered a smile in her direction.

“Hey Zoey. On your way in huh? Shouldn’t be too bad. Water’s been fairly calm all day.” She offered, as she moved towards Zoey, her eyes zeroing in on her locker.

“Good to hear it Megan. Makes my job easier. You seen Gary today?” Zoey questioned, deciding to hold off on stripping further for the moment. She leaned against the table, relaxing herself.

Megan raised an eyebrow, before starting to undo her locker. “Hmm, I saw him a few hours ago, but he’s been messing around at the south end of the island and hasn’t come back yet. Maybe he went for a dip where nobody would see.” The lock came undone with a loud click.

Zoey sighed. “Guess I better go fish the bastard out. I’d think it’s not that hard to stay out of the water, but he still manages to sneak his way in every day.”

“Yeah. Boys are gonna be boys I suppose.” Megan said with a shrug, tossing her hat on the table. The sunglasses, and whistle were quick to follow, and Zoey averted her gaze as she reached to push the straps of her swimsuit off her shoulders. The red suit was unceremoniously shoved to the floor, revealing Megan’s naked body to the air. She was quick to scoop up the suit in her hands, before throwing it into the laundry basket at the end of the room.

Megan grabbed for a bottle of soap, and shampoo, before walking off towards the showers installed in the corner of the room. It was then that Megan smacked her forehead with her fist, and motioned to the curtain.

“Ah, damn it. Forgot to punch my time on the clock. Hey Zoey, can you go ahead and hit it for me real quick? I’d go myself but...” Megan said, motioning to herself. “I’m not exactly dressed.”

Zoey was quick to nod her head in agreement. “Yeah, sure. I got you. I’ll do it right after I get my suit on.”

Megan groaned. “Aw, but you know ol’ Henry gets mad when he sees us not clocking out before we take a shower. Because it’s ‘wasting my money!’”

Zoey had to admit to herself that Megan’s accusation was true. In light of his absence, it was likely he’d check the footage just to be sure nobody had tried to sneak more hours on the clock than they were supposed to. Zoey looked down at herself, and blushed lightly. “Well... I’m not walking out there in my underwear...”

Megan shook her head dismissively. “Psshh. That barely even counts as underwear. You’re wearing a sports bra and some plain looking panties. If anyone sees you, they’ll probably think it’s a bikini or something. Not to mention, it’s just us gals.”

Zoey thought for a moment. While she was not so keen on walking in the office space in her underwear, her obligation both as a supervisor and a coworker meant she couldn’t turn down the request for assistance, even if it was at the cost of a little embarrassment.