Chapter 2
[If the kids can hide so well, that's their talent. It's not like they're actually going to get lost or anything.]
Even the live chat was hyping her up.
[Totally! These rich ladies are so simple-minded. Whenever something happens, all they do is cry!]
[Yeah, and shoutout to Juniper for giving us such a wild drama!]
"Just shut your mouth!"
Finally, some of the other parents shouted as they couldn't stand it anymore.
They started tearing into Juniper.
'What if the kids suffocate in there? What if they end up choking on the water?"
"If anything happens to any of these kids today, can you even cover it as the manager?"
"We pay tens of thousands every month for property fees, and this is the attitude we get? And for your information, Mayor Eleanor Cross's daughter is in there, too!"
As soon as those words left their mouth, Juniper's expression changed dramatically.
She held up her phone and swept her gaze over all of us, disheveled parents.
Her voice was laced with frustration.
"Alright, alright. You all come up, and I'll go down and look for your pampered little princesses and princes, okay?" she said.
"Seriously, it's just a game. Why do you have to butt in and make things complicated?" she complained.
As her sarcasm hung in the air, that icy feeling spread through me again.
My heart sank again.
My feet weren't even touching the ground, so how was I still getting wet?
Was it still leaking? I wondered.
Soon enough, the other parents caught on too, and the whole place was filled with anxious sobs.
Vivian was so freaked out that her teeth were chattering.
"Felix, Oscar, don't scare Mommy like this! Come out right now!" Vivian called out.
"This game isn't fun at all! You're gonna scare me to death!" she cried.
I squeezed my eyes shut in despair, my toes anxiously kicking about.
I couldn't even picture what Emma was going through right now, so I kept struggling, hoping to reach her.
Suddenly, my knee brushed against something soft.
Wait, that was a kid!
I quickly reached down and hauled them up as hard as I could.
The kid's face was already bluish-purple from not breathing...but it wasn't Emma!
"Felix! That's my Felix!" Vivian called out from a distance, her voice shaking with panic.
Vivian saw me holding the child from afar and cried out in fear.
Then she pushed me along, and together we struggled to get Felix out of the water and onto the shore.
Other parents scrambled onto the shore, and when they saw what was happening, they were totally freaked out.
"How is it this dangerous?" one of them blurted out.
"Seriously, how could it not be dangerous?" I shot back, spinning around in anger.
I couldn't hold back my fury anymore.
"The balls up top can make you suffocate, and the water underneath can make you choke to death," I shouted.
"In an environment like this, how could the property management be so reckless..." My anger was boiling over, barely letting me finish the sentence.
I was so furious I could hardly speak.
"How could the property management actually encourage the kids to hide in there?" I yelled.
Juniper completely ignored all the parents' complaints, acting like she didn't hear a thing.
Right there on the shore, she smiled brightly and danced for her livestream fans, totally unfazed by the chaos around her.
Once her dance was over, Juniper rolled up her sleeves, walked over, and started shaking Felix.
"Wake up! What, trying to save your parents a few bucks on property fees? Don't make me the scapegoat here!" Juniper snarked.
"You've already been found, no point in keeping your eyes shut and faking it!" she said.
Felix let out a couple of coughs. It seemed that Juniper's scare tactic actually got to him.
He awkwardly opened his eyes, then immediately started bawling.
"Wahhh, how did you find me?
"I don't care...this doesn't count!" Felix cried.
Meanwhile, everyone in the stream was cracking up, the chat bursting with laughter.
The comments were flying across the screen, cheering and mocking how we parents were getting trolled like idiots.
Watching Felix making such a scene, I felt completely worn out inside.
Was he faking it? I was stunned.
Splash!
I turned away in silence and dove back into the ball pit.
The whole place fell silent again, with only the soft rustle as I searched through the balls.
My frustration surged uncontrollably, and I started tossing balls aside, venting my anger.
"Emma, where are you... Where are you?" Desperation was rising in my chest.
Sticky ball pit spheres were stained with tiny spots of crimson.
Somehow, my ring finger nail had split, blood smearing across the nail bed, and pain gnawed at me, sharp and merciless.
Despair started at my toes and flooded every inch of my body.
As tears streamed down my face, I caught a glimpse of Vivian rushing out.
Oscar still hadn't been found... What's she up to? I was confused.
Crash!
Before I could even think, my foot slipped, and I went tumbling into the ball pit.
My once-pristine suit was now wrinkled and rumpled.
Even my clothes were covered in marks and scuffs.
The worst part was tossing out the balls one by one—it felt like trying to drain a lake with a teaspoon.
It was a drop in the bucket!
That was the moment I snapped. I broke down completely.
I punched the ball pit hard, scattering balls everywhere in a wild burst.
"Hey, why are you taking it out on the ball pit?" Juniper scoffed, her tone full of mockery.