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Chapter 11 continued...

"I have a solution," XL said to Beeba, "I'll give you my answers to copy. As soon as we are home, I will scan the pages where I wrote my answers and E-mail that to you. It will only take you a few minutes to copy the answers later tonight. So you can come swimming with us now!"

Beeba wasn't convinced. "There are two problems with that," he said. "First of all, I won't learn anything that way. How am I to keep up in math class when we move on to more difficult work, if I didn't learn the basics?"

"Secondly," Beeba said, "it's cheating!"

"Nobody will know," said XL.

"I'll know," replied Beeba.

"You could still do the work on Monday night if you need to learn it," said XL.

"No, it's not the same," said Beeba. "I would have to lie on Monday morning to say I did it myself when I didn't."

Max had overheard this conversation, and he commented to XL: "I'm glad you have a friend who is honest. I hope that you don't ever copy someone else's homework."

"No, I don't," said XL. "And I normally I don't let anyone copy mine either. It's a lot of work to do homework, and I don't like it when other kids think they can get me to do their work for them. But Beeba is my friend and I was trying to be generous."

"It's usually good to be generous," said Max, "but sometimes a person needs to do something for himself."

"By the way," Max added as Saucer 1 came to a stop, "we're here now."

Saucer 1 was parked over a street in front of the spa. The spa building was located in a small village beside a lake. It was just across the street from a beach, except now the beach was covered with snow. The spa had two buildings joined together: one for the spa's indoor pool, and the other for a hotel.

"Are you sure you will be O.K. staying in the airship by yourself?" XL asked Beeba.

"Yes," said Beeba.

"There are some tables and chairs in the Spa, at a snack bar that overlooks the pool area," said Max. "If you wish, you can come down there to do your homework."

"If I am feeling lonely I might do that," said Beeba, "but it might be distracting so I'll start by doing my homework here."

"O.K." said Max.

Max set Saucer 1's controls to hold its position. Then XL and his dad went down in the elevator. They went inside to the front desk, where Max paid their entry fee. They entered the change room, and five minutes later they walked into the pool area in their bathing suits.

The pool was divided into two sections. The closest section was laid out kind of like a maze. Immediately in front of them the water was very shallow, starting only a few centimeters deep. Entering the water there, they followed a path about 2 meters wide that gradually got to about waist deep. This then divided into two other paths, each wider than before, with underwater ledges on each side for sitting on. The water was nice and warm, so it was very comfortable as they walked into the water. It was saturated with minerals, especially salt, and it had a gold-coloured tinge to it.

Just beyond this pool there was a deeper pool, in a more traditional rectangular shape. XL found his sister, Anna, in that pool with Sophie, Beeba's sister. Sophie was only 5 years old, and Anna had been taking care of her at the pool.

XL climbed out of the water, leaving Max behind. He crossed a short deck and entered the deep pool by a ladder at one end. He walked on the bottom of the pool toward the deepest end, and soon the water was above his head. XL was amazed that he floated in the pool, even without moving! He could stand in the water without his feet touching the bottom; at the same time his head was out of the water, and his arms and legs were still.

He tried leaning back, and that worked well tool. He could lie in the water on his back floating, with only his face out of the water at one end and his toes sticking out of the water at the other end!

XL went to Sophie and explained that Beeba couldn't come to the pool because of homework. Sophie was disappointed. She had been playing with Anna, but they had run out of things to do and Anna was tired of trying to entertain her. Beeba would have brought new fun for Sophie.

Sophie pulled herself out of the pool and sat on the edge. After a minute, she got up and sat in a chair next to XL's mom, Larissa. Larissa was sitting on a deck chair, relaxing while reading a book. Sophie had brought some books with her too, so she pulled one of the children's books from a bag next to Larissa and began reading.

Anna left the deep pool to return to the warmer, shallow pool.

Meanwhile, XL floated around for a while in the deep pool. It was pleasant, but it would have been more fun if his friend Beeba were there. He stayed in the deep pool for ten minutes and then returned to the shallow pool to sit on one of the underwater benches along the edge.

After a while the light coming in from the windows began to take on a reddish tinge, as the sun began to set. It was time to depart.

XL, Max, Larissa, and Sophie each went to the change rooms (separate for males and females, of course), and they met back in the entry to the spa. There was a snack bar nearby that served hamburgers and hotdogs. XL quickly went back to Saucer 1 to fetch Beeba for supper.

Beeba had almost finished his homework, and he was very happy to come down for a break. Larissa placed a food order, and soon they were all at a table eating supper.

"XL, did you discover anything about Fred at Blarney Island," asked Anna.

"Yes," answered XL. "He used to live there, but it looks like he moved away. His yard has a play set for small children. Apparently he has a family."

Beeba joined in the conversation: "At the post office, the clerk said Fred had moved to a place with sea lions, so he could fix submarines, but that it was far from the sea."

"It makes no sense." added XL.

"Maybe it does," said Anna. "I know a place where there is a huge indoor water-park, complete with waves big enough to surf on, and a beach. In the same complex there are sea lions, and also a lake with an old sailing ship. At one time, it used to have submarines too. You should know. We've both been there."

"The West Edmonton Mall!" exclaimed XL. "I should have thought of that before!"

They finished their meal, and soon all six of them were back in Saucer 1, returning home. XL was thinking about Fred. They were one step closer to finding him, but it would take a while longer.

It was pretty flying over the country side with the sunset fading on the horizon. While XL looked out the windows, Beeba was seated by a fold-up table finishing his math homework. The table had a lamp mounted on it, just bright enough to cast light on the surface. Saucer 1 flew smoothly and quietly through the air, and it was no problem for Beeba to concentrate on his work.

Soon Beeba had finished, so he moved to a chair next to XL and looked out the Windows. Sophie came over too. She brought some of her books with her, and asked Beeba to read one of them to her, which he did.

It was dark outside by the time their home town was in view. The airship glided over the town, until it reached Beeba's house and parked itself over the front yard. XL accompanied Beeba and Sophie in the elevator, and said goodbye to them as they entered their home. Then he went back up to Saucer 1, to return home with his own family.

Copyright Arthur de Leyssac, 2017. All rights reserved.