Chapter 2: Diving In
My hand flails around looking for the alarm as it jolts me awake. Why am I up so early? Do I even need to exercise? Laying in bed I stare at the ceiling, willing myself to get up. I promised. This is good for me. Exercise is good for me. Let’s go.
There’s a chorus of shadows cast onto the school building as I make my way across the campus. Only one figure is visible standing by the nurse’s building. Ooe. Last again I suppose.
“Ah, good morning, Hisao. I’m glad you made it.” Ooe speaks first but promptly turns around and enters the building.
“Yeah I’m glad too.” I follow her into the already familiar hallway.
“Nurse should be in already. I’ll wait outside.”
“Thanks.” I knock on the Nurse's door and enter when I hear a response.
“Mr. Nakai, nice to see you early this morning. What can I do for you?”
“Er, I was told I could get a school swimsuit from you if need be. I plan to try and get some laps in today.”
“Swimming? Was the cute running assistant not enough?” He stares at my blank face for a second before laughing. “As long as you’re moving around I’m happy. I’ll get the suit for you.” He begins to open cabinets and pull out boxes.
“A medium is alright for size.” A thumbs up is his response as he fishes through the last box.
“Got it right here. There’s a locker room by the pool. Do you need someone to show you?” He pulls out a long blue set of swimming shorts.
“No, Ooe is showing me around.” Nurse grins and raises an eyebrow.
“Alright, well just for today take it easy. Swimming is a bit harder than running if you’re not used to it, so please take your time. There will be a lifeguard if you start to drown, but she’s still in training so come get me if there’s an emergency. Of course, have fun,” Nurse smiles.
“Got it. I will keep all of that in mind. Thank you for this,” I raise my hand with the trunks. “I’ll see you after.”
“Stay safe, Nakai.” As I exit I notice Ooe leaning against the opposite wall.
“All ready to go?”
“Yup.” As soon as the word leaves my mouth Ooe turns and begins to walk again. Not one for early morning conversation it seems.
“How long have you been swimming?”
“Only since I started school here.” Ah. That makes sense, she did mention it was physical therapy so it must relate to her reason for being here. Similar to mine.
“Have you been here long?”
“This is my third year.” While we walked further along the corridor the smell of chlorine became more apparent. Must be getting close to the pool.
“Did you meet Naomi when you got here?”
“Our second year.” Still one sentence answers. I didn’t notice before but she’s also walking awkwardly this morning. Slower than usual. Maybe she’s just not having a good morning.
She gestures to two doors on the side of the hallway. “The right one is yours, the left is women’s.” Ooe opens her door and enters without waiting for confirmation. Upon entering the room a familiar sight of tiles, lockers, and benches become visible. The last time I swam was some years ago but the locker room is universal. I also notice a set of showers tucked away in the corner. Unfortunately I did not bring any toiletries with me so I’ll have to keep that in mind if I come back.
While I change I wonder what’s up with Ooe. She seems a lot more business today, but I suppose she was also like that last night. Although nowhere near the same level. Probably just because we don’t know each other that well. If I keep up with swimming perhaps that will change.
I finish changing into the shorts and spare shirt, which give quite a bit of room where they need to while being tight on the waist, and head out through the door opposite the entrance. The shirt will make swimming a bit harder but I don’t really want my scar exposed yet. I’m greeted with a large room, a clear half olympic sized pool in front of me and what appears to be a separate, smaller pool on the other side. That must be the heated pool. My nose is attacked by the chlorine in full force, no longer diluted by walls and distance. There’s not many people here. One lifeguard sitting in a chair on the left, and what looks like a nurse over by the other pool. Similar to the feeling of the track yesterday. Not many are crazy enough to wake up this early for exercise.
“I’ll be going now, Hisao. There’s towels over behind the lifeguard when you’re done.” Ooe comes out from behind me and gives me a scare.
“Okay. I’ll see you later.” She simply nods and moves away. It looks like she was given a school issued swimsuit, a blue one piece that gives plenty of coverage. On the slick tile she seems a little unsteady. I didn’t notice before but her arms seem to have little muscle on them. They’re not thin or large but rather undeveloped. On the other hand her unsteady legs are above average despite their unsteadiness. I turn away and get ready for my swim.
Do I dive right in or use the ladder to get acclimated first? Seeing as Nurse told me to take it easy today, the ladder seems like the best choice. Moving slowly down the rungs my feet touch the water first and I pull back. It’s a bit colder than I expected. Probably hasn’t had time to warm up properly this early in the morning. I push off from the ladder to get it over with.
I enter the water and then bounce back up. I surface shivering and my breath starts to pick up and so does the intensity of my heart beat. I try to slow things down as I adjust to the water. I keep one arm on the wall as the other rests on my chest. Damn. That was not a good idea.
Ba-dum…ba-dum…..ba-dum……ba-dum.
After what feels like an eternity my heart calms down. Okay. I’m okay. This is fine. Letting go of the wall I kick my legs to stay afloat. I stay like that for a minute until I’m sure my heart is steady and begin to use my arms to move slowly around the pool. The entire time I stay a meter from the wall, using it as my safety net. I’ve fully adjusted to the temperature at this point and the water feels good. It slides off of my arms as I slowly glide through.
Every few minutes I stop to check my heart but it stays at a normal pace. I could probably kick it up a bit but I’ll listen to Nurse, just for today. It doesn’t feel as intensive as running but I’m definitely working my body. A look at the clock shows a time of 7:20. I better get out now. I still have to see Nurse and shower before class. While getting out I look towards the other side and notice Ooe has also finished up for the day. Will she see Nurse as well?
My feet plop onto the floor as I enter the locker room with a towel. I dry off quickly before changing back into my dry clothes and head down to see Nurse. Knocking on the door I hear the usual response and enter his room.
“Ah, Nakai. How’d it go?”
“Not too bad. I had a bit of a shock at first with the temperature, but I adjusted after waiting by the wall.” He lowers his smile briefly before bringing it back up.
“Yes the body does react quite strongly to colder water. The regular pool temperature should be high enough for your condition, but if it causes too much of a stress next time I’d suggest the heated pool.” The heated pool? It seems a little restrictive compared to the regular. I’ll have to just get used to the water better. “Other than that, all good on your first day?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good. Let me do a quick check and you can be on your way.” I take off my shirt and feel the cold touch of his stethoscope onto my chest. Although I’m used to it by now the initial feeling still always shocks me. While he listens, the door slams open.
“Nurse! Hisao bail- oh!” Emi bursts into the room and freezes.
“Emi Ibarazaki! How many times do I have to tell you to knock before you enter? I see other patients too!” Nurse takes the same serious tone with Emi that he did with me the other day, and her face turns red as she backs up.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” She closes the door shut behind her. I really hope she didn’t get a good look at my scar.
“I swear, that girl never learns.” He sighs. “You can put your shirt back on, although she already got a good look. Your heart is fine, so you should be good to go a little harder tomorrow. Notice that I said a little. Too much of a jump and you’ll just cause more problems, got it?”
“Yes sir.” He smiles in response.
“Good. Please send in Emi as you leave.”
“Alright” I say goodbye and exit the room to a troubled looking Emi. Did she get a look at my chest? How would I determine if she did?
“Did you like what you saw?” She looks at me and her face shows confusion and panic.
“I saw nothing! Sorry!” She squeaks out a response and runs into the office. Great, I said that incredibly embarrassing line and she definitely saw my chest. This is not something I wanted to deal with in my first week here. I shake my head and look around the hallway. There’s no sign of Ooe so I head towards the showers to get ready for class.
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When the bell for lunch finally rings, I think about what to do. Shizune is probably still sore about yesterday, and I only just met Ooe and Naomi. As I pack up my things Emi appears at the door. How is she here that fast? Isn’t her class on the other side of the floor?
“Hisao! I got something for you!” I head over to the door and move out of the classroom with Emi. Hopefully things aren’t too awkward.
“Uh, hey Emi. What’d you need?”
“I’m really sorry about this morning! To make it up to you, how about lunch with two beautiful girls?” Well, that’s something. On one hand, lunch is settled. On the other hand, she seems worried about this morning.
“It really wasn’t that big of a deal, Emi. It’s quite alright.” Her excitement lowers as her face turns into a pout. Uh-oh.
“Please? It’ll make me feel better about the whole thing.” That face is too strong. I can’t ignore it for long.
“Okay okay, I will.” Her face switches in an instant and she begins to hop up and down.
“Really? Yay! Let’s go.” She grabs my hand and begins to pull me along the hallway. Eventually we walk up a set of stairs and push out through a door. The sun blinds me momentarily as gravel crunches under my feet. Lunch on the roof can’t be that bad.
We walk over to where a familiar red haired girl is laying down looking at the sky.
“The clouds are boring today. There’s no fish.” Without missing a beat Emi responds.
“Hmm but there’s a cow. Look!”
“I see those all the time. They just take up space from the better clouds.” Rin replies without looking over and Emi shrugs.
“So you always talk like that, and it wasn’t just me.”
“Talk like what?”
“Ah nevermind.”
“Do you two know each other?” Emi looks at me confused.
“Er, kinda. I met her the other day and helped with mixing paint.”
“She’s always getting people to help her. I don’t know how she does it. Here, Rin, I brought lunch.” At this Rin quickly sits up.
“Mm? A little scrawny for lunch. Not much meat and no rice.” Her eyes aren’t looking towards Emi or her lunches.
“Here. I made bentos. One for each of us. Now eat up.” As she unwraps the boxes I start to smell a savory aroma. Fresh rice, a few pieces of chicken, tamago, some vegetables and a small sweet. This must have taken a while.
“This all looks great. When did you find the time to make it?”
“Oh it didn’t take that long. It’s mostly leftovers from the previous week and the rest I made in about an hour duringthemorningclasstime,” her voice becomes quiet and speeds up at the end. I feel bad that she missed class to make it for me, I’m sure her homeroom teacher will get on her for it.
As I prepare my chopsticks Rin is already eating. It still impresses me how dexterous she is with her feet. The first piece of fried chicken enters my mouth and it tastes as good as it looks.
“Amazing Emi! You really made all this?”
“Of course! I’m rather good at cooking.”
“She rarely makes me anything this good, she must like you.” Emi’s face turns red and I’m sure mine does as well.
“Rin, that’s not true! I make lunch for you all the time, you just don’t eat it fresh.”
“Eh. Fair enough.” Time to pivot.
“Hey Emi, I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about this morning. Running was a little hard for me so I thought I’d try swimming.”
“Ah that’s okay! As long as you’re working out I guess it’s good, no matter what it is. Although now I’m back to lonely runs.” I feel a smidge of guilt in my stomach.
“I might join you again in the future. It wasn’t that bad, I just don’t think I’m ready for it yet.”
“I can understand that. Sometimes running can be more mental than physical! I like that aspect too, though. Like painting, right Rin?” Rin furrows her brow.
“No one can see mental paintings. It’s stuck in your head. That’s why we use canvas. But what if you could look inside someone’s head? Does my skull have little canvases all around it? Hmmm.” I’m not quite sure she knows what Emi was going for but it’s close enough.
“How did swimming go?”
“It wasn’t too bad. The water was a bit of a shock early in the morning but it felt good after a while.”
“Anyone show you the ropes?”
“Ooe was there, but she just showed me the locker rooms and not much else. She was kinda quiet compared to last night, she must not be a morning person.” Emi looks at me curiously.
“Last night?”
“Yeah, she and Naomi invited me to dinner in the cafeteria together. She was a lot more talkative then.”
“Oh? Look at you, Hisao. One week here and you’re eating meals with all the ladies.”
“It’s a good thing there’s nothing wrong in your pants.” Emi bursts out laughing at Rin’s statement and I begin to blush, something that has become more common around Rin.
“Rin! That’s not what’s going on here. They just wanted to meet me is all. Or, well Naomi did.” Emi finishes laughing and starts talking again.
“Don’t take her seriously, Hisao. It’s a losing game. I’m glad you’re getting to meet people around here. What did you think of Natsume?”
“Ooe? Well she seemed friendly last night but this morning something seemed off. She was more quiet and was walking a little weird too.”
“Ah. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. She’s like that sometimes. Well, most of the time really.”
“Do you talk to her much?”
“No, not really. Naomi is always the one interviewing me after track meets, while Natsume stands off to the side taking notes. It’s just her personality. I think.” Well, at least it’s not personally related to me. She must just be shy, which is surprising for a newspaper editor. I keep eating my lunch thinking it over and Emi interrupts my train of thought.
“What do you think of her looks? Isn’t she quite pretty?” This question is most definitely a trap. It doesn’t matter what I think, I cannot answer this question. Although now that I think about it…
The bell rings signaling lunch is over.
“Would you look at the time! Better run, thank you for the lunch Emi. Bye Rin.” I shove the last bit of rice into my mouth and disappear from the rooftop.
“Hey! Running is my thing!”
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The end of the school day comes and I’m left with the same question I had at noon, what to do? Shizune and Misha never came back from lunch, and I don’t feel like helping Lilly with her class project some more.
“He looks just like a lost puppy, doesn’t he?” Naomi’s voice emerges from behind me and I turn to face her. “Oh hey Hisao. Fancy seeing you here.” She is smiling while Ooe stands a little behind her.
“Hey Naomi. Ooe.” I nod my head in her direction.
“Got any plans after class?”
“Not really-”
“Great! Come with us to the newspaper room. I promised to show you some time right?” Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do. I suppose I could go take a look.
“Sure, I’ll follow along. Lead the way.” Naomi and Ooe head out of the classroom and I follow behind.
“Man, class sure was boring today. Nobody was paying attention.” Naomi looks towards Ooe as she speaks.
“Everyone has a lot of work left to do for the festival. Including us if you remember correctly.” Naomi nervously laughs.
“It’s not like you’d let me forget. Are you helping anyone for the festival, Hisao?”
“No. I’ve helped a few people here and there but I haven’t done anything major.”
“Hmm? That’s too bad. Even if you’re new here you should do a little something. Then the festival will be a result of your hard work and dedication! A symbol of grit and ingenuity. Or something.” Ooe looks at her in confusion.
“I had to push you to interview the classes on their stalls for days! And you just barely finished a couple days ago so don’t talk all high and mighty.” I laugh a little to myself watching them. It reminds me of Takumi with Shin. It was fun watching Takumi shut down Shin’s antics from time to time. By now we’ve made it to a door that has a sign on the front. NEWSPAPER ROOM. Must be it.
“Here we are! Home sweet home,” Naomi leads the way in.
I’m not quite sure what I expected a newspaper room to look like. There’s a printer against the left wall surrounded by stacks of paper. In the center of the room is a big table covered in various printings. Old newspapers, written notes, edited manuscripts, ink, pens, markers, drinks and old food boxes are cast all over. On the right side of the wall sits a lone computer on a small desk, with just enough room for a keyboard and mouse. It’s cramped and messy, with a large paper calendar next to the printer that has Saturday marked in a big red circle.
“It’s just you two in here?”
“Yup! Me and Natsume run the whole thing. Excuse the mess, we’ve been a little rushed with tomorrow's deadline.”
“Why tomorrow? Don’t newspapers usually come out on Sundays or Mondays?” This time Ooe answers.
“Yes, but our deadline is the day before. We have to print everything and put them together by hand before putting them out. And this one is a special edition, so it needs to be done right.”
“What makes it a special edition?”
“Well, normally we write about everything around the school. New food items, events, sports, and sometimes a few personal interviews. But this one is all about the festival,” Naomi holds her head up with pride as she explains. “I went and found out about every booth getting set up Sunday and we are making a guide for those attending.”
“It’s one of our biggest undertakings of the year, so it’s been a challenge for the two of us, but we manage.” Ooe sighs and sits at the computer. I can imagine how tired they must be. A newspaper run by two people is most definitely a challenge. With only one computer too I imagine Ooe does most of the editing.
“How does the process normally work? For example, who does what?”
“Well first I do the fieldwork. Either finding something interesting or interviewing. I’ll take my notes back to Natsume and we’ll both split up the stories based on what we would rather do and write them up. I’m not very good with computers so she handles the editing and formatting of the paper.”
“That’s underselling it. Last time you used the computer you deleted hours of work, and we were lucky I kept backups or the paper would have been late.” Ooe responds without looking up from the screen. Naomi rubs her head.
“Yeah… Like I said, not good with computers. But I can get a mean story. Last year's story on the student council meltdown was perfect. We printed extra just in case and there still weren't any papers left.” Student council meltdown? I suppose it has to do with why it’s only Shizune and Misha. I shouldn’t ask.
“That seems like a lot of work for you two to do. How come there’s no one else?”
“Well the newspaper club was kinda dead when we got here. A senior asked us to help her revive it before she graduated but we couldn’t really get any newcomers. Recruitment isn’t our strong suit.” Ooe sighs as she finishes.
“Really? It seems like a newspaper club would attract at least a couple.” Ooe’s eyes dart back to the computer as Naomi speaks.
“It’s a long story. People come and go for a lot of reasons. Usually it’s fine, but sometimes we have a lot of long nights. Like tonight and tomorrow.” Everyone’s been working late this week it seems, the festival must mean a lot. Naomi was messing around earlier, I think, but my classmates are all working hard. Maybe I should too?
“Would you like a hand? Tomorrow I mean.” Naomi’s face lights up and Ooe glances up from the computer.
“You’d be willing to help?”
“Sure. I’d feel bad if everyone else did all this work for the festival and I didn’t. Plus a little bit of thanks for inviting me to dinner last night.”
“Ah Hisao, you don’t have to thank us for that! We can’t write that scathing article on the new kid without meeting you first.” Ooe nudges Naomi with her arm.
“We do not plan on writing that! But really Hisao, are you sure? Like we said earlier, many people don’t take to this club.” Ooe speaks quieter than usual, somehow nervous?
“I mean, what’s the harm in helping for a day? It’s not like I’m agreeing to join the club full time, just giving up my Saturday.”
“But still-”
“Natsume.” Naomi interrupts Ooe with a quick glare and then looks back at me. “We would appreciate any help you can give. I also want to clarify that we can do this on our own, but your help would make it a bit easier.”
“No it’s okay. You seem different from the student council.” Naomi laughs.
“In what way?”
“Well, they definitely did seem like they were trying to recruit me. I suppose I can’t blame them either though. They’ve been doing a lot too.”
“Yeah they’ve been busy too, never have time for comment.” Naomi furrows her brow.
“In that case, you’ll meet us after class tomorrow?” Ooe asks, still in that same intonation.
“Yup. I also see you for swimming in the morning?”
“You definitely will! Which reminds me, how’d it go this morning, Hisao?” Naomi asks.
“I was adjusting to it. First day wasn’t too bad, and Ooe was there this morning.”
“That’s good. Keep up the great work, 007!” Naomi laughs and Ooe just turns back to the computer.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it for tonight. I’m going to go grab some dinner and head back to study. I need to get ahead this weekend.”
“Don’t worry, Hisao! We’ll finish editing tonight and have really easy stuff for you to help with tomorrow!”
“Good luck! I’ll see you in class Naomi. Meet you by the front door again tomorrow, Ooe?” Naomi smiles while Ooe continues to work on the computer.
“Same time as this morning” She responds.
“Sounds good.” With that, I wave to the pair and head out of the room.
After a few minutes of wondering where I was, I finally make it to the cafeteria and grab some bread for dinner and head towards my dorm. I hope I can be of some use tomorrow. Seeing how hard Lilly, Shizune, and all my classmates are working has made me feel a bit inadequate. Sure, I’m new, but how much of that is an excuse to not do anything? I want to do something at the very least. Naomi was grateful but Ooe seemed off. Did I already do something wrong in her eyes? I think about this morning but nothing comes up. Whatever it is, hopefully tomorrow proves a little more fruitful. Emi did say that’s just how she is, but is this a normal way to react to people? I head to my dorm room and attempt to study while overthinking the day. Eventually I fall asleep, my alarm set for way too early.
