Chapter 276: Splashes of August I
With Creed choosing the most ideal occasion and location to drop the heavy and new projects they've been holding... they've maximized the reach of the ripples that their splash has made.
With Comic-Con being the gathering of the most passionate nerd-culture fans that there is... the flow of information and word of mouth should be guaranteed.
They probably didn't even need to do the usual publicity routes of niche newspapers and comic book-focused publications... Creed had been topic-worthy for those publicity mediums to take the initiative themselves.
The ripples in society would take a long time to spread that way but it was more than good enough.
In the meantime, Alexander was more focused on making a different type of splash this August.
Not the metaphorical kind but the real and watery kind!
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From the cemented edge of a pool, all it took was a leap for a boy to plunge into illusory-blue water.
A splash was made by that. However, instead of focusing on the ripples it made, the boy focused on the sensation of the water washing over him.
There's the usual comic book publishing and little boss responsibilities... but then there's also taking up voice acting... Chaos Monster re-surfacing... shoddy " Moore style" challenge... a succession of accusations... necessitated preparations... theatrical film handling... and then convention booth organizing.
Alexander had a lot of fantastical advantages and was outwardly un-expressive but that didn't exempt him from being human.
Doing that succession of stressful things had built up tension in him as well.
With August being the last month of summer, he just wanted to take a break and refresh himself before a new wave of challenges hit him.
Hence, the reason why he is enjoying the pool in this little-known San Fernando Valley Country Club.
For Alexander's neighborhood community which has a lot of reclusive wealth, it made sense for them to have a collective place to pool their luxuries and all the while keeping it a secret.
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Of course, as Alexander let himself sink in the water for thoughtful contemplation, the sound of two plunges breaking the pool's surface could be heard.
He looked up and could visibly see a youthful woman's body in her prime and an extremely youthful girl in development.
Both are in swimwear and the view from Alexander's perspective was a pervert's or criminal's envy.
The boy named Alexander just symbolically sighed by the pool floor though. He can't seem to get away from this little re-life entourage that he inadvertently got acquainted with from varying instances.
Seeing them trying to rush in a panic towards him, it was highly probable that a misunderstanding must have occurred.
With a kick and a vertical stride, Alexander grabbed hold of the struggling Milla and surfaced to grasp air
"What are you guys doing?" He asked. "Especially you, Milla. Do you even know how to dive properly?"
"We thought you drowned, so..." Courteney explained to the both of them as she floated towards the poolside.
"Yeah. We're being heroes." Milla said with pride whilst clinging to Alex because she was genuinely afraid for the both of them.
"I wasn't drowning or in any danger at all." Alexander sighed for real this time and just dragged himself and Milla to rest by their benches.
""Thanks to us."" The two girls took credit but he just answered with a. "Yeah... you did not!"
His pool-floor relaxation has been thwarted but the pool-side recliner seat option should be good too.
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After a while, the drown-scare did cool down and Alexander wanted to find some semblance of peace and relaxation again.
With a seating line-up of himself in the middle with the girls to his sides, it was enviable again, however, he had something to say about it.
"What made you guys want to tag along anyway?" He had already asked this while lobbying for their club guest passes but asked again as a veiled complaint about the relaxation disturbance that they are.
"Are you even surprise with little Milla tagging along with you?" Reiterating her early answer to this question, Courteney was sure that someone as mature as Alex should have noticed that Milla-thing by now.
"And as mentioned before, I just want to go for a little vacation, so I tagged along on a trip where I have acquaintances." She was a bit shifty with this. "Of course, I'm also curious as to what relaxing is to you."
"To think that it would be sinking to the bottom of the floor." Courteney found something odd to add to the odd things that he does, so she joked as well. "Just tell us if you're alien or something. We promise not to tell anyone else."
"Sitting at a bottom of an artificial body of water is not even anything remotely alien. It's about your skills in holding your breath and having your calmness lord over it." Alexander just drooped in his recliner as he added. "If you so as much panic about your breath running out or the far swim to the surface... it's just going to be a boring lap to the bottom and back up again."
"It is still odd." Courteney commented as she leaned on her own recliner and inadvertently showcasing her sexy, thin figure.
Milla, on the other side, was busy picking up stuff from their cooler and took it to herself to distribute the refreshments.
"Cherry Coke for me." She set it on her seat while handing out the other soda cans for the others.
"New Coke for Alex."
"And Diet for Old Courteney." Of course, she still held a grudge for the "boy friend" debacle and for being the third wheel in this summer excursion.
Courteney didn't mind the little girl's antics as she just said to Alex. "See... you're even supporting New Coke. If you're not odd, then I don't know what is?"
"I don't like New Coke per se. I'm just relishing much later than others." Alexander reasoned. After all, with all the busyness, he completely missed the atmosphere of the New Coke outrage.
It is one of the greatest polarizing products of the mid-80s and had a lot of interesting conspiracy theories behind it. Before it gets transitioned to Coke II and disappear forever, he wanted to try it out.
One of the absurd theories was that Classic Coke had changed forever and New Coke was just a cover-up for Coca-Cola's deception.
It is too bad that they didn't pack the revived Classic Coke or a Classic Coke from 1984. He could have myth-busted right here in this instance.
There's no need to cry over spilled soda though and he just straightforwardly opened the New Coke lid... then gulping the contents for its supposedly sweeter, bolder, and better taste.
"So... how does it taste?" Courteney was curious as she gulped her own Diet-version. Even Milla with her new Cherry-version was listening in.
"Sweeter than normal, I guess." Alexander made a succinct comment with a twist. "Could have been handled better for more profit though."
"Haha!" Milla just laughed at that, even Courteney joined in with her commentary. "Of course, it's so you to put business into things."
Alexander couldn't deny that. "Must be an acquired habit."
"Like I said... you're odd, Alex." Courteney felt to emphasize that point for the 3rd time.
If someone recorded this interaction, this would have made for an interesting commercial.
There's the sexy Courteney Cox, the young Milla Jovovich, and the extremely mysterious Alexander Creed talking about Coke products. This should interest quite some people as this was an interaction before the trio could take off and truly make their corresponding metaphorical splashes unto the world.
After that bit of Coke pandering, the trio did hit the pools from time to time to enjoy its coolness against the summer season they are in.
It was clear that Creed Entertainment's SDCC splash wasn't the only splash of August!