Lesson Three.

Ms. Dangerous and Ms. Wet wade through oppressive humidity to the campus pool. The cool water feels good, but wooly dark clumps have settled on the bottom of the first two lanes. Ms. Dangerous looks up and notices that the ceiling is shrouded in gray fuzz. She figures that they'll soon be swimming in asbestos, and she decides to work really hard on not swallowing the water.

Both wear goggles and realize that being able to see where you're going helps as much in the water as it does on land. Our heroines' enthusiasm motivates their instructor, and she outlines a focused lesson.

They begin practicing kicking with the kickboards. Ms. Dangerous, true to her nature, paddles all the way to the deep end, feigning confidence and entreating Ms. Wet to join her. Ms. Wet pretends that she not to hear and does laps back and forth between the shallow end and 5 feet.

The lesson progresses to freestyle, and the swimmers focus on perfecting their strokes. They strive to breathe when their mouths are out of the water, the threat of asbestos providing ample motivation for coordinating their movements. They practice breathing to the left and the right, lifting their heads on every 3rd stroke. Ms. Dangerous and Ms. Wet splash around awkwardly, hoping that coordination is a skill acquired through practice. Their instructor claps and cheers, crowing and applauding their progress, much as she would to her toddler class.

Sadly, before they can master coordination, the lesson ends. Practice is in order before Lesson 4.