The girl's head emerges from the water as she takes a much needed breath after finishing strong to the wall. Another girl in the same lane at the wall looks at her questionably.
"Have I--" she begins, as the other girl also blurts out something. A slight pause. A round of shared giggles.
The girl already resting at the wall stops her laughter and says, "You are soooo graceful!"
The other, who was rinsing out her goggles with the pool water, looked up in surprise and her face burst into an immediate smile. "Oh my gosh, really?"
"Yeah! I'm just watching you, and I'm like, 'Danggg, this girl!'"
Laughter. "Thank you so much. That actually really makes me happy! Even if the stroke looks pretty, it doesn't mean it's fast though!"
"No wayyyy... And that back-to-breast flip thing you do. Is that a thing nowadays? Because I see it all the time, and it looks really cool."
The girl, happy to take an excuse to rest from her previous set, immediately replied, "Do you want to learn how to do it? It's actually really easy-- just takes some time getting used to it. My name is Tori, by the way. What's yours?"
A look of surprise flutters across the other girl's face, but it quickly washes away with a grin.
"Nancy. Nice to meet you! That would be awesome!"
From afar, it seems like the two girls had planned to come to the pool to swim together, one watching the other as she attempted to learn a back flip on the wall, and the other breaking through the water's surface just after bouncing off the wall to listen for corrections. The lifeguard walks past as he does his rounds.
When they finish, the teacher says to her student, "I used to teach little kids how to swim, so this... kind of reminds me of it. What a happy feeling..."
They chat, getting know one another just a bit more and end up sharing tips on classes and life. After swimming a few laps next to one another, one of the girls glances at the clock.
"Well, I have to get going. Thanks for teaching me!"
"No problem-- it was fun! Hope to see you later!" They wave, and the girl still in the pool takes a breath before submerging back into the water.
Graduation is soon... I'll probably never see her again, she thinks, as the pool's tiles fly beneath her, but I'm glad to have met her.
~*~
Here is one of the cakes I made last month :)
And my first attempt at stirfry noodles-- mmm, broccoli~
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