03 november 2025 swc daily, week 01 . "come on!" adrien cried. "why must you be such a slowpoke all the time?" "it isn't my fault someone put my wellies under the porch. benny does what he wants." anna gave the panting golden retreiver a few affectionate pats as he wagged his plumed tail. "well you could have looked faster," adrian complained. anna rolled her eyes as she jumped up and grabbed adrian's hand. "now, adrian, remember the rules. no running away, no screaming loudly, no talk of stupid movies, and-" (this part they said in unison) "no telling mum and dad." "you've told me a lot of times now, anna. let's just go already!" anna sighed. "all right. come on. we've got no time to lose. we're already late." adrian kept his hand in his sister's and followed willingly. anna was still unsure about bringing him on this trip in the first place. since the roberts family had moved to dunbar, many strange things had become normalities and many things once seen as normal had become strange. adrian had only been five when they left their birthplace in london to find a quieter life, so he was used to it all. anna had been ten. she found some things in dunbar strange still. especially when she had her little brother around. five years had passed since their move to dunbar, and still anna would not let adrian near the train station alone, accompanied him to the fairgrounds and walked him to school. why? well, one never knew. one never knew when one of those
+ "do you like swimming, adrian?" theo asked. "theo," anna groaned. "couldn't you have brought it closer?" "yeah, sure, but where's the fun in that?" anna rolled her eyes. theo was one for mischief, pranks, anything that could get him a laugh. it was not very funny to her that he picked today, the one day that she brought her little brother along, to try another one of his "hilarious" tricks. nevertheless, the three got in the water and swam. it was a good thing they had lived in dunbar so long. had they grown up in london they wouldn't know how. a few minutes of swimming and a lot of splashing from theo brought them to their destination. adrian's brown eyes lit up with joy and wonder when he saw it. michael's sailboat. the jellyfish. "is that it?" adrian asked, his voice hardly above a whisper. anna grinned. "yes, it is. come along." the three swam toward the boat and climbed the ladder that was offered to them. once they were on deck, they were surrounded by several other boys and girls anna's age. "ahoy, there, matey." the first to greet them was a boy of sixteen and the captain of the boat, michael freyer. "welcome aboard the s. s. jellyfish. i see yer older sister, the brains, we call 'er, was kind enough to bring ya here. good on ya, anna." anna laughed and joined the line of teens to look at her little brother, whose expression had become not just filled with excitement but also with a bit of nervousness. "no need to fear, young adrian," said a red-haired girl called lucy. "we're a friendly lot." "indeed. we're the friendliest." "the smartest," anna said, a grin still lighting her face. "the funnest," theo added. "the secretest," added another girl, margaret. "for we are .." michael looked at his friends. "the jellyfish pirates!" they all said in unison. adrian tilted his head. "why are you called the jellyfish pirates? what's this got to do with jellyfish?" theo smiled. "captain freyer, would you like to show him?" "it would be my pleasure," michael replied, bowing gallantly before stepping behind the wheel. "anchors away!" he called. the anchor was reeled in. the boat rocked back and forth. the seagulls, with their constant chatter, circled overhead. the boat creaked and turned. and just like that, they were off. when they were far from the shore, michael looked to theo. "shall we cast the anchor?" "we shall," theo replied. with a splash, the heavy anchor was tossed into the water. maggie, who knew about boats the way michael did (though after five years, they all knew their fair share), assembled the sails so they would not carry the crew away. then anna opened the small storage compartment and fished out a jar of lightning bugs. "would you like to see something extraordinary, adrian?" adrian nodded, his eagerness now knotted up with nervousness, and watched as anna opened the jar and let the lightning bugs land on the water. "i don't see anything," adrian complained after a few seconds. "wait," anna replied quietly. and just then the two were splashed- not just by anything, but by a jellyfish- a flying one! it was blue and glowed like a lantern, leaving behind it a trail of glittery dust its same colour. adrian's eyes were like the brightest stars as he watched one after another, all different colours, emerge from the cold water, streaking their glistening trails like paint on a canvas. everyone watched and laughed in amazement- even the pirates, who had seen the show hundreds of times. "do they always do this?" adrian asked. "they aren't always this bright," lucy said, settling beside the young boy. "but they are now, and do you know what that means?" adrian stared at anna. "what does it mean?" michael pleasured himself in answering the next question. he stood adrian up and looked him in the eye, placing two firm hands on his shoulders. "it means that you're the next jellyfish pirate." "huzzah!" they all cried.
