Lesson 6.

Ms. Wet begs to start with freestyle, rather than with diving. Instructor C tells Ms. Wet she is doing so well that she looks like a lap swimmer, never mind that her lap starts at 4 feet and ends in the middle of the pool at 5 1/2. Ms. Dangerous again struggles with synchronizing breathing. Instructor C repeatedly points this out in case Ms. Dangerous, in her gasping, has failed to notice.

Instructor C wants Ms. Wet to swim to the deep end. Ms. Wet refuses, so Instructor C settles for ordering Ms. Dangerous to do it instead. Ms. Dangerous makes it to the end of the lane, still struggling a bit with breathing, yet showing off her treading skills in 12 feet of water.

"You're treading!" exults Instructor C, who then proceeds to announce that she has no confidence in Ms. Dangerous's ability to swim, but she has total faith in Ms. Wet. Ms. Dangerous frowns, treading furiously, but Ms. Wet has yet to be convinced.

Then, Instructor C gives Ms. Dangerous and Ms. Wet an abbreviated instruction in backstroke. In 2 minutes, Instructor C covers the main points, then holds Ms. Wet's shoulders as she makes an attempt. Ms. Dangerous, already given up as a failure, flips over onto her back and strokes down to the middle of the pool. Ms. Wet stands up and watches Ms. Dangerous slip prettily through the water like Esther Williams.

"You just like the backstroke because you don't have to breathe!" accuses Instructor C.

Ms. Dangerous feigns water in the ears and ignores her. Ms. Wet tries to follow with an uncoordinated tangle of arms and legs. After two minutes, Instructor C declares the backstroke learned.

The lesson ends with Instructor C and Ms. Dangerous trying to convince Ms. Wet to jump in the deep end, or the shallow end, or even into a puddle. Ms. Dangerous leaps right into the deep end, whereafter Instructor C tells Ms. Wet that she is a much stronger swimmer than Ms. Dangerous, Ms. Dangerous is hopeless at the freestyle, and Ms. Wet should really be the one to hop in.

Instructor C tells Ms. Wet that she will have conquered her fear by next week, but Ms. Wet would like to note that she hasn't conquered it in the last 20-odd years and has no confidence that 7 more days will make any difference.




***

*Thanks to mms0131 for sharing your photo.

Lesson One, Part One.

Time: Late afternoon, a weekday
Place: College pool and locker room, deserted

Our heroines make their way through winding hallways, following the smell of chlorine.

“This must be it!” They peer through windowed doors.
“Oooh no!” moans Ms. Wet, “Uh uh.”
“What?”
“It’s 12 feet deep!”
“Well, surely there’s a shallow end!”
“Can you see it?”
They both lean all the way left, peering through the windows, trying to see the other end of the pool.
Ms. Dangerous says, “Well, it has to be there!” but it sounds more like a question.

With manufactured confidence, they venture on to the locker room. Blue and red lockers line the perimeter. They are strung with swim team suits and graffitied with messages. The center of the room has a drain and little else. An adjoining room holds two shower stalls and two miniscule bathroom stalls.

“I’ll change in the bathroom!” says Ms. Dangerous, “Let me know when it’s safe to come out!”

Finally they give each other the go-ahead. They approve the slimming qualities of each other’s swimsuits and they venture forth wrapped in towels, eyes rapidly scanning the hallway for students…faculty...campus police…coworkers…maintenance people…anyone they know, and anyone they might like to know.

Ms. Dangerous accidentally drops her towel more than once. Fortunately, the place is deserted, and Ms. Wet is focusing on breathing and picturing the shallow end.