Saturday morning swimming lessons at the pool!

[wildgalegirl]

Having had a great deal of fun 'sneaking' downstairs to the pool, Charlie turned to Graham with a grin. "Ah, nothing like the smell of chlorine in the morning!"

It really was a shame that the pool was used so rarely because it truly was a wonderful place!

"Maybe once we've got you comfortable with swimming we could throw a pool party down here," Charlie suggested.

It was a great place for it, lots of room, little locker rooms for changing or a quick shower afterwards, even a sauna. If only it had a hot tub, the place would be perfect.

But who knew? Maybe there was one hidden away that Charlie just hadn't discovered yet.

"Okay," she said, stripping off her outer garments to reveal a sleek one piece bathing suit which matched her purple hair. "I'm just going to put my clothes in the changing room and then we can get started!"

Comments

[wildgalegirl]

Charlie smiled over at him. "Excellent job. You'll find that this end is actually shallow enough that you can probably touch the bottom on your tiptoes." She demonstrated. "So now hang onto the edge and just bounce a little. Get a sense of just how buoyant your body is."

She bounced a bit. "See, your body just keeps floating up!"

[pun_king]

Graham looked a little skeptical at first, since he'd spent more than enough time thinking of himself just sinking like a rock. But, really, if you thought about it, he was much more stick than rock, and what happened when you threw a stick in the water? It floated. So, with that in mind, Graham grinned a little as he jostled himself up and down a little, pointing his toes to try and see how much bouncing it took to touch the bottom.

"Then how do people sink, if they just float back up?"

[wildgalegirl]

"You need a little bit of effort to start afloat," Charlie said. "Let me show you."

She pushed away from the wall and floated on her back, arms outstretched, legs out, head back, moving in just small enough movements to stay mostly flat and buoyant. "Lots of surface area, very calm, just let your body rest."

She switched to being vertical, treading water while she talked. "This way the top of your head will still tend to stay above water a little, but your mouth and nose will be under water which is when people, rightly, tend to panic a little."

She demonstrated again, letting herself sink down for a long moment before kicking up to the surface. "And once you're panicking and flailing it's harder to calm down and get yourself floating again. But between floating and treading water," which she was doing again, "in still water like this you can stay afloat with minimal effort practically forever."

She smiled at him. "And of course with me here, you're beyond safe. Want to try while I hold onto you?"

If he was willing she'd help him lie on his back while she 'supported' him underneath till he relaxed.

[pun_king]

Graham twisted his body so he could watch and listen without letting go of the edge, his toes also still reaching for the bottom of the pool and feeling grateful every time they managed to brush that reassuring surface.

And when Charlie finished, he let out a slightly nervous laugh that he tried to make not sound so nervous.

"So just don't panic," he reiterated, maybe a little panicked. "Easy-peasy."

But of course he wanted to try it, because appearing brave and bold and willing in front of Charlie was far more important than potentially drowning.

"So, just...lie back, spread out, and....think buoyant thoughts?"

[wildgalegirl]

"And know that I will not let anything happen to you, Graham Cracker. May the Aunties haunt me forever if I do," she teased. "But yes, I'll be holding on to you and I'll make sure you are perfectly safe."

[pun_king]

"Here I would have thought the Aunties were already intending to haunt you forever regardless," Graham pointed out, a bit cheekily, with a grin to match, but that did do wonders for helping him relax, especially when the realized, "after all, you can't spell haunt without a-u-n-t!

"But, okay." He gave a firm, determined now. "On the count of three. One....two...three!"

On that last count, he let go of the edge, put out his arms,and leaned back with a deep intake of breath in anticipation for whatever may happen next.

[wildgalegirl]

Charlie had her hand firmly under his back to make him feel safe as he floated. "See, you're doing it. No, no, head back, just relax, I've got you."

Of course as soon as he raised his head to say he had it he was going to start to sink, but she was prepared for that too. Soon he should be floating pretty easily though.

[pun_king]

Honestly, Graham's first reaction was one of disappointment that his excellent joke about haunting had gone by without remark. Sure, Charlie was probably focused on catching him, but he would happily suffer drowning if it meant appreciation for his comedic wit.

But he didn't raise his head, and he focused on making sure he didn't, murmuring the directive to keep his head back and to relax under his breath so he didn't forget...

[wildgalegirl]

Sorry, Graham she'd laugh with you about it later, right now she was floating you around the pool a little till you were back near the wall. Once there she carefully moved her hand away and let him float on his own.

She didn't tell him, though, she just waited.

[pun_king]

Graham was definitely aware that he was moving a little, as Charlie started to float him around, and he tensed up, just slightly, when she did. Breathing out, he reassured himself that it was fine, Charlie had him. Because of that, he was also pretty hyperaware of the pressure of her hand, so when she moved it away, he tensed just that little bit more and almost....almost succumbed to the small burst of panic that made him want to flail, so he breathed out again and wanted to turn his head but repeated the mantra about not raising his head (he figured turning it was along the same lines) in his head.

Then, quietly, he whispered, "Am I doing it right?"

He hadn't drowned yet, so that felt like a good sign!

[wildgalegirl]

"You. Are. Floating!" Charlie says, grinning from ear to ear. "And I'm still right here if you need me, but you are doing it all by yourself! Now just close your eyes and feel how cool it is to just let the water support you like that!"

[pun_king]

"I'm floating!" Graham repeated, his own face practically splitting with his grin, and he laughed. "I'm really doing it! I'm floating, I'm--"

"--getting way too excited," he realized, as he felt himself bob or dip or something that seemed to threaten the precarious balance he seemed to have struck to allow such an amazing thing, so he tried to take a deep breath and center himself again, and, most importantly, to do as Charlie suggested, closing his eyes and just...feeling it.

"This is..." He declared, in a bit of an awed whisper, "awesome."

[wildgalegirl]

"See," Charlie says with a grin. "I told you. Okay, Now we're going to work on treading water and the elegantly named 'doggy paddle!"