The sun was blazing overhead, not a single cloud in the sky, and the air shimmered with heat. It was the perfect Australian summer day—the kind where even walking outside felt like stepping into an oven. That’s why James, 15, and his older sister Grace, 19, did the only logical thing: head straight for the backyard pool.

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” James shouted as he kicked off his slides and sprinted across the hot concrete.

“James, wait—!” Grace started to warn him, but it was too late. He cannonballed straight into the water with a giant splash, soaking the poolside and half her towel in the process.

She stood there, hands on her hips, oversized sunglasses on and wearing a light blue one-piece swimsuit. “Seriously?” she laughed. “You just drenched me.”

James popped his head out of the water with a grin. “You needed to cool down anyway.”

Rolling her eyes but smiling, Grace stepped carefully down the steps into the pool, letting the cool water rush up her legs. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today.”

The pool was crystal clear, the surface sparkling under the sunlight. A couple of floaties drifted in the deep end—one shaped like a pineapple, the other a giant pink flamingo.

James swam toward her. “Bet I can hold my breath longer.”

“Oh please,” Grace scoffed. “I’ve got years of experience on you.”

They both took a deep breath and went under. Bubbles rose to the surface as they sat cross-legged on the pool floor, eyes open, staring each other down like underwater statues. After about twenty seconds, James shot up for air.

“Okay, you win,” he said between gulps of air. “You’re a fish.”

Grace surfaced calmly and flicked water at him. “Told you.”

After that, the afternoon was all splashing, games of who could swim across fastest, and Grace trying to film a few pool clips for Grace’s Room without James photobombing them in the background. Spoiler: he always did.

As the sun started to lower, casting golden light across the backyard, they climbed out and wrapped themselves in towels, sitting side by side on the edge of the pool.

“This was fun,” James said, brushing water from his hair.

“Yeah,” Grace agreed, glancing over at him. “We should do this more often.”