Backup of
https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2017/10/phr-04-swimmingly.html.
Ch. 3:
Invitation
Ch. 4: Swimmingly
[JMR202008172359 replace all -- cleanup of first dump from old notebook]
"Late's okay, Mom!"
"So's early."
We left for the pool on foot a little before nine and got there about nine twenty.
The sign above the counter said,
Open swim from
10:00 AM to 7:15 PM
in good weather.
Changing rooms
open at 9:45,
close at 7:30 PM.
Swimming class only
before 9:45.
"Twenty-five minutes, Mom, what're we gonna do?"
"It's enough time for a walk."
Not
much rainfall, so the park there is a little on the dry side most of
the year. But there are baseball diamonds and football fields, and
children practicing. Around the pool and the wading pool, they grass is
pretty green, and they try to keep it green around the picnic tables and
the children's park. More of a yellow-green, the further you get from
the pool.
We read the botanical tags on some of the trees and bushes.
"Western soapberry. Says it can be used for soap."
"Broom dalea, also known as purple sage."
"Desert willow."
"Blue oak. Maybe there's more to like about this town than we thought."
"Wha ...?" I stopped. "Mom, did you just admit you had doubts about this move?"
Mom walked ahead and didn't reply.
We were back at the pool by the time they opened the changing area.
"Where's your swimsuits?" the girl at the counter asked.
We held up our bundles. "Tee shirts and shorts okay in the pool?" I asked.
She looked at our bundles. "Not unless they're clean and you're wearing a clean swimsuit underneath."
We both spread our bundles on the counter.
"Looks clean. Shower and check the rules before you go in."
We
paid our money and went into the changing area. Mom and I shared a
locker basket. We showered and changed quickly and went into the pool
area dripping wet.
"That winds a little cold."
"We'll warm up quick in the water."
Swimming
coaches were still chasing stragglers out of the pool. Life guards were
skimming the water surface with nets to clear leaves. We had to wait.
The
pool is a big Z. There's a diving area on the far end and a kid's play
area on the near end, and a huge practice area ten lanes wide and fifty
meters long between.
"We can do some serious swimming here, Cherry Hill."
"Not until the lifeguards blow their whistles."
Mom
and I dove in the moment the whistles blew, and did laps. Mom still
swims faster than I do when she's motivated, but not much. We stayed
pretty even.
Rusty dove past us on the third lap and
stayed just ahead. His friends started jumping in behind us. One girl
kept up, but the rest lagged behind.
About the tenth
lap, one of the boys was stopped ahead of us, blocking Rusty's path. A
girl that looked like his twin was behind Rusty, and they teamed up to
dunk him. I stopped and the girl who was keeping up did, as well, and we
teamed up to dunk the twins. All his friends stopped and joined in the
water fight.
Then the lifeguards' whistles blew, and I
got to meet everyone. The girl who had kept up was June, the twins were
Karl and Kim. And Karen and Kelly were there, as were their moms.
Mom
got to gossip, well, find out a lot more about the school, the town,
and the people. At first, they teased her about the workout she was
doing while they talked. But she talked them into joining her.
I
think it was Kelly that suggested water polo. We got permission from
the life guards, and they roped off half the length of the practice area
for us and set up goals. My mom and the other two moms did some short
laps while we played.
Rusty's friends may not all be fast swimmers, but they are serious about water polo.
We
had fun playing that for almost an hour, then rested on the sides and
talked, and dove off the diving boards, and played piggy-back wars --
with permission from the life guards, of course.
No, I
was not riding on Rusty's shoulders, at least, not most of the time. We
all took turns being horses and riders, and I was a horse a lot of the
time.
A guy named Joel tried to do a back flip from the
low board, and didn't get his head down. he ended up in a major
back-flop, splashing water to both sides of the pool. It hurt just to
hear him hit the surface. Then he went limp in the water, face up and
sinking.
I was close and swam for him. Rusty was on the
other side of the pool, but he was under the lifeguard station and
Sharon, who was manning the station, waved him off so she could get in
safely. She was in mid-air when Joel floated back up, still facing the
sky. He let out a roar, "IH-TEH YAHN KAH!" and started laughing. Then he
rolled gingerly over and stroked carefully for the bank while the rest
of us broke up in relieved laughter.
Sharon made him lie on the bank while she checked his eyes and reflexes.
I asked him where he learned Japanese. Turns out his dad is from Awaji Island, across from Osaka and Kobe.
It
didn't take him long to convince Sharon and Hank, the other lifeguard
on duty that day, he was okay, and he went back to the low board and
turned a perfect back flip. Kim followed with a rolling bomb that
splashed water over the banks, and Karl did a deliberate belly-flop,
shouting, "Feels GOOD!" when he surfaced. Joel dunked him and the
whistles blew again.
Sharon is June's older sister, and Hank is Karen's older brother. They're members of the college swim team.
While
we were resting, Rusty and I got to talking about RFCs 1459 and 2813
and encrypted channels, and suddenly four girls grabbed me and four guys
grabbed him and we went into the water. And the lifeguards' whistles
blew again.
I was having too much fun to think about
it, but it felt like I had known everyone forever. Everybody shared and
everybody was included. No cliques. Well, except for Karl and Kim, but
they have an excuse, and, anyway, they're an open clique.
And everyone wore conservative suits. Mom was right about the shorts and tee-shirt. I never took them off.
Some of the group had to leave about twelve, and others came. Mom and I said our goodbyes and left about one.
That
evening, after Mom and I got back from finishing my registration for my
senior year in high school, I did some web searches for Rusty's name
and his public key. I found out he's on the school's science and
technology team. He runs the school's student servers, and is teaching
several students how to take his place. And his jobs with the ISP and
the newspaper are official.
{join gwydyr.ussw pen9choir=}
{nick cutegeek}
{cutegeek :oxide Hey!}
{oxide alias superpaperboy}
{superpaperboy 'sup?}
{cutegeek had fun today. there long?}
{superpaperboy til 2. ya coming tomorrow.}
"Mom, can I go swimming tomorrow?"
"Of course."
"Thanks."
{cutegeek yeah}
"All week if you want. Can I come, too? It'll be good exercise for me."
"I guess so."
We chatted a little before I signed off and went to bed. IRC is much more convenient than raw UDP packets.
Wednesday
morning, I gave Rusty a copy of one of my public keys before we went in
to change. Mom went again and met Rusty and June's mothers.
I mentioned something about encrypted channels once while we were taking a break and we got thrown in the pool again.
That evening, Rusty and I imported each other's keys and talked shop over encrypted IRC. And other stuff.
{superpaperboy having a party at my house sat}
{cutegeek ?}
{superpaperboy friends from school and church}
{cutegeek oh}
{superpaperboy interested?}
{cutegeek maybe}
{superpaperboy dancin n games}
"Mom, Rusty's having a party at his house on Saturday. Kids from school and his church."
"Yes you can go."
"Just like that?"
"Rusty and his friends are good people."
{cutegeek im on}
We
got thrown in the pool on Thursday, too. Mom laughed, and the life
guards didn't even bother blowing their whistles until it turned into a
water fight. And it wasn't even Sharon and Hank on duty that morning.
We were on unencrypted IRC that night.
{Superdad joined gwydyr.ussw}
{cutegeek Dad?}
"Mom, did you tell Dad about Rusty's IRC channel?"
{Superdad Hi, Rusty.}
"Well, yeah."
{superpaperboy Hello, sir.}
”Oh."
{Superdad I hear you're smooth-talking my daughter.}
{cutegeek :Superdad Identify yourself.}
{Superdad joined sugitahkr.net}
The sugitahkr.net channel can only be joined encrypted, with keys that only Dad, Mom, and I have.
{Superdad@sugitahkr.net Hi, Cherry.}
{cutegeek@sugithkr.net Hi, Dad.}
{Superdad@sugitahkr.net exited}
{cutegeek@sugithkr.net exited}
{cutegeek meet my dad}
{Superpaperboy Hi, Dad.}
{Superdad Just wanted to say hi.}
So
Dad joined us that night. Mom joined us, too. Rusty suggested I pass
his public key to Dad and Mom, and I did, out-of-band. (Sent it in
encrypted e-mail to Dad, just handed it to Mom.) So we established an
encrypted channel, and talked a little shop. Rusty's dad also joined for
a bit.
After Rusty and his dad logged off, Dad and I got back on the encrypted channel.
{Superdad@sugitahkr.net So ...}
{cutegeek@sugithkr.net Haven't mentioned the computer room, Dad. Or anything about your work.}
{Superdad@sugitahkr.net Get as much information as you can.}
{cutegeek@sugithkr.net OK!}
{Superdad@sugitahkr.net And watch yourself.}
{cutegeek@sugithkr.net ok}
{Superdad@sugitahkr537738.net And don't have too mucho fun. ;-).}
Dads.
[JMR202008172359 replace all -- end]
[JMR201710220339 original dump from old notebook]
"Late's okay, Mom!"
"So's early."
We
left for the pool on foot a little before nine and got there about nine
twenty. But the swimming classes weren't finished yet, so we walked
around the park. They had a children's playground with interesting , and
there was a small garden with local flowers and plants.
"Maybe there's more to like about this town than we thought."
"Wha ...?" I stopped. "Mom, did you just admit you have doubts about this move?"
Mom walked ahead and didn't reply.
We were back at the pool by quarter to ten, and they had opened the changing rooms for everybody.
"Where's your swimsuits?" the girl at the counter asked.
We held up our bundles. "Tee shirts and shorts okay in the pool?" I asked.
She looked at our bundles. "Not unless they're clean and you're wearing the swimsuit underneath."
We both spread our bundles on the counter.
"Looks clean. Shower, and check the rules before you go into the pool area."
We paid our money and went in. Mom and I shared a locker.
We finished showering and changing and went in to the pool area, dripping wet and just a little cold because of the wind.
Swimming
coaches were still chasing stragglers out of the pool. Life guards were
skimming the water surface with nets to clear leaves.
The
pool was a zigzag. There was a diving area on the far end and a play
area on the near end, and a huge practice area ten lanes wide and fifty
meters long between. We could do some serious swimming here.
Mom
and I dove in the moment the life guards blew their whistles, and took
laps. She still swims faster than I do, but not much.
Rusty joined us on the second lap, then several of his friends. He and one girl (June) kept up, but the rest fell behind.
About
the sixth lap, a guy and a girl (Karl and Cris) dunked Rusty. I stopped
to help him dunk them back and that stopped the laps and started a
water fight. The life guards' whistles stopped the water fight and Rusty
introduced me to his friends.
Karen's and Kelly's moms
both came, and Mom got to gossip, I mean, find out a lot more about the
school and the town. At first, they teased her about the workout she
was doing while they talked. But then they joined her.
Rusty
introduced me to June and the rest, and I think it was Kelly that
suggested water polo. We got permission from the life guards, who roped
off half the length of the practice area for us and set up goals. My mom
and the other two moms did a few short laps while we played.
Rusty's friends may not all be fast swimmers, but they are serious about water polo.
We
had fun playing that for almost an hour, then rested on the sides and
talked, and dove off the diving boards, and played piggy-back wars --
with special permission from the life guards.
No, I was not riding on Rusty's shoulders, at least, not most of the time. We all took turns being horses and riders.
I
was having too much fun to think about it, but it felt like I had known
everyone forever. Everbody shared and everybody was included.
And everyone wore conservative suits. Mom was right about the shorts and tee-shirt. I never took them off.
Some
of the group had to leave about twelve, and others came. Mom and I said
our goodbyes and left about one. Rusty stayed, he told me later, until
two.
And that's how it was I was swimming with
Superpaperboy and his friends during the mornings the whole rest of the
week. Of course, I did not call him Superpaperboy.
And
we didn't talk shop at the pool. Well anytime we said anything like RFC
or packet protocol, four of the girls would gang up on me and four of
the guys on him and we'd end up in the water. And the life guards would
blow their whistles.
The fourth time it happened in as
many days, the life guards warned me and Rusty to quit talking tech
around the pool. As if it were our fault!
We also
chatted over IRC in the evenings. IRC is much more convenient than
assembling UDP packets by hand. Rusty introduced me to some of his white
hat friends on the 'net, too. Sometimes he changed his nick to
superpaperboy, and I changed mine to cutegeek.
Wednesday
evening, I mentioned the computer room, and he sent me the name of a
friend of his father's who could do the final check-off. I asked Dad by
IRC, and he got a little upset. He contacted Rusty's father, and then
the friend, a mister Whiteall, himself, and messaged me back later on an
encrypted session to say it would be okay.
But he told
me to watch like a hawk when he was there for the check off. And to
sweep for bugs after. Like I wouldn't. He also told me not to let Rusty
look at the computer room until he said it was okay. And he told me to
double-check after any time Rusty came over. Dad is a little too
paranoid sometimes.
On Thursday, Rusty told me he was
having a back-to-school party at his home on Saturday, with dancing in
the back yard and board games and stuff inside. I said I'd think about
it.
Friday, just as Rusty, June, Jake and I had
finished eight laps and were resting, Karl was sneaking up behind Cris
to dunk her, and everyone suddenly became just a little quiet. It felt a
little eerie. Some of my new friends were looking at the entrance to
the changing area. Some were looking anywhere else.
Rusty
looked up and waved. There was a small group of four students I hadn't
met yet coming in. These students were different. The guys were in
speedos and the girls were in bikinis. Tiny, expensive bikinis. Without
thinking, I looked down at my tee-shirt. I had worn a one-piece under my
tee and shorts every day after the first, and suddenly I was doubly
glad. I would have looked positively under-endowed standing next to any
of those four in my bikini.
They waved back, and a
woman followed them out carrying a baby. One of the girls turned around
and took the baby and lifted him up to see the pool. Maybe she was
showing him off to the students I was with. He beat the aiMom and I left
on foot at nine the next morning, and got there about nine twenty. But
the swimming classes weren't finished yet, so we walked around the park,
exploring the children's playground and looking at the trees.
"Maybe there's more to like about this town than we thought."
"Wha ...?" I stopped. "Mom, did you just admit you have doubts about this move?"
Mom walked ahead and didn't reply.
We were back at the pool by quarter to ten, when they opened the changing rooms for everybody.
"Where's your swimsuits?" the girl at the girl's side counter asked.
We held up our bundles. "Tee shirts and shorts okay in the pool?" I asked.
She looked at our bundles. "Not unless they're clean and you're wearing the swimsuit underneath."
We both spread our bundles on the counter.
"Looks clean. Shower, and check the rules before you go in the pool area."
We paid our money and went in. Mom and I shared a locker.
When
we finished showering and changing and went in to the pool area, hair
and bodies dripping in the hot morning sun, swimming coaches were still
chasing stragglers out of the pool, and life guards were skimming the
water surface with nets to clear leaves. The pool was a zigzag, with a
diving area and a play area on the ends and a practice area ten lanes
wide and fifty meters long between. We could do some serious swimming
here.
Mom and I dove in the moment the life guards blew
their whistles, and took laps. She still swims faster than I do, but
not much.
Rusty joined us on the second lap, then
several of his friends. He and June kept up, but the rest fell behind.
About the sixth lap, Karl and Kris dunked Rusty, and the water fight
that caused stopped us doing any more laps until the life guards'
whistles blew.
Karen's and Kelly's moms both came, and
Mom got to gossip a lot, I mean, find out a lot more about the school
and the town. They teased her about the workout she was doing and then
joined her.
Rusty introduced me to June and the rest,
and I think it was Kelly that suggested water polo. We got permission
from the life guards, who roped off half the length of the practice area
for us and set up goals. My mom and the other two moms did a few short
laps while we played.
Rusty's friends may not all be fast swimmers, but they are serious about water polo.
We
had fun playing that for almost an hour, then rested on the sides and
talked, and dove off the diving boards, and played piggy-back wars --
with special permission from the life guards.
No, I was not riding on Rusty's shoulders, at least, not most of the time. We all took turns being horses and riders.
I
was having too much fun to think about it, but it felt like I had known
everyone forever. Everbody shared and everybody was included.
And everyone wore conservative swimming gear. Mom was right about the shorts and tee-shirt. I never took them off.
Some
of the group had to leave about twelve, and others came. Mom and I said
our goodbyes and left about one. Rusty stayed, he told me later, until
two.
And that's how it was I was swimming with
Superpaperboy and his friends during the mornings the whole rest of the
week. Of course, I did not call him Superpaperboy.
And
we didn't talk shop at the pool. Anytime we said anything like RFC or
packet protocol, four of the girls would gang up on me and four of the
guys on him and we'd end up in the water. And the life guards would blow
their whistles.
The fourth time it happened in as
many days, the life guards warned me and Rusty to quit talking tech
around the pool. As if it were our fault!
We also
chatted over IRC in the evenings. IRC is much more convenient than
assembling UDP packets by hand. Rusty introduced me to some of his white
hat friends on the 'net, too.
At some point, I
mentioned the computer room, and he sent me the name of a friend of his
father's who could do the final check off. I asked Dad by e-mail, and he
got a little upset. He contacted Rusty's dad and the friend, himself,
and mailed me back later to say that it would be okay.
But
he told me to watch like a hawk when he was there for the check off.
And to sweep for bugs after. Like I wouldn't. He also told me not to let
Rusty look at the computer room. And he told me to double-check after
any time Rusty came over. Dad is a little too paranoid sometimes.
I
think it was Wednesday Rusty told me I was invited to a back-to-school
party at his home on Saturday, with dancing in the back yard and board
games and stuff inside. I said I'd think about it.
Friday,
just as Rusty, June, Jake and I had finished eight laps and were
resting, Karl was sneaking up behind Kris to dunk her, when everyone
became just a little quiet. It felt a little eerie. Some of my new
friends were looking at the entrance to the changing area. Some were
looking anywhere else.
Rusty looked up and waved.
There was a small group of four students I hadn't met yet coming in.
These students were different. The guys were in speedos and the girls
were in bikinis. Without thinking, I looked down at my tee-shirt. I had
worn a one-piece under my tee and shorts every day after the first, and
suddenly I was doubly glad. I would have looked positively under-endowed
standing in my bikini next to any of those four.
They
waved back, and a woman followed them out carrying a baby. One of the
girls turned around and took the baby and lifted him up to see the pool.
Maybe she was showing him off to the students I was with. The baby beat
the air with his feet and hands and laughed.
I looked at Rusty and saw an odd expression on his face. His face was often unreadable, but now it was a mask.
The
new group came around the pool and some of our group went over to greet
them, Rusty among them. He looked back at me with another expression I
couldn't read, so I followed.
The baby's sister seemed
to single me out. She smiled. "Hi. We heard Rusty found a new girl to
join the group. You must be Cheryl."
While we played
water volleyball, I noticed that the girl whose mother had brought the
baby seemed to be holding back a little. Her bikini revealed a certain
lack of tone around her stomach. I was not intending to look closely,
but I noticed a fresh scar that reminded me of the one my mother carried
from when I was born.
When we ended up on the same team, they introduced themselves to me.
"You must be Cheryl."
"I am."
"I'm Pietra. I'm with Kazu." I guessed she meant they were going steady.
"I'm Mandy. Jimmy's my man over there. That's my mom, Clarinda, with little Jimmy."
While we waited for service, Pietra said, "I hear you know a lot about computers."
”Yeah."
I bumped to Mandy and she set to June. June spiked and Rusty blocked,
sending it back to Pietra. She jumped and killed it. We rotated and Luke
took the serve.
"Swim pretty well."
"Sometimes. You play volleyball?"
"On land, mostly."
We won the game. Pietra was asking the questions, but Mandy was listening. Made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Saturday
was the last day before school, and it seemed like everyone in the city
was at the pool. Anyway, there was no room to play water polo, and
there was only room for laps until about nine thirty. The pool had
opened for general swimming at nine. I met more of the students at the
new school, but I didn't have as much fun.
Pietra and
Kazuo were there, and it seemed like they were near me all the time. I
can handle silence, but I'm not sure Pietra can. It kind of seemed like
she was still pumping me for information.
Mandy's mom
had to work, so Mandy was watching little Jimmy and couldn't come. Big
Jimmy was not in evidence, either. Pietra said he had to work, too.
At
one point, Kazuo and Rusty were clowning around with some other boys on
the diving boards, and Pietra said, looking significantly towards
Rusty, "You really ought to show off your curves more."
I
don't know why, but I pulled off my tee and shorts and left them on the
grass, and went for some dives. Competition one-pieces show off curves
in a little different way from bikinis, but they do show off curves.
As
I came of the board, I saw Rusty looking at me with an unreadable
expression of another type. I cut the water as clean as I think I ever
have.
I looked at Rusty and saw
an odd expression on his face. His face was often unreadable, but this
was a mask. The small group came around and some of our group went over
to greet them, Rusty among them. He was careful to be among those who
said hello to the baby. I don't know how I knew it, but he was being
very careful not to be obviously interested in the little boy, and at
the same time careful to be interested.
While we played
water volleyball, I noticed that the girl whose mother had brought the
baby seemed to be holding back a little. Her bikini revealed a certain
lack of tone around her stomach. I was not intending to look closely,
but I noticed a fresh scar that reminded me of the one my mother carried
from when I was born.
When we ended up on the same team, they introduced themselves to me.
"You must be Cheryl."
"I am."
"I'm Pietra. I'm with Kazu." I guessed she meant they were going steady.
"I'm Mandy. Jimmy's my man over there. That's my mom, Clarinda, with little Jimmy."
While we waited for service, Pietra said, "I hear you know a lot about computers."
”Yeah."
I bumped to Mandy and she set to June. June spiked and Rusty blocked,
sending it back to Pietra. She jumped and killed it. We rotated and Luke
took the serve.
"Swim pretty well."
"Sometimes. You play volleyball?"
"On land, mostly."
We won the game. Pietra was asking the questions, but Mandy was listening. Made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Saturday
was the last day before school, and it seemed like everyone in the city
was at the pool. Anyway, there was no room to play water polo, and
there was only room for laps until about nine thirty. The pool had
opened for general swimming at nine. I met more of the students at the
new school, but I didn't have as much fun.
Pietra and
Kazuo were there, and it seemed like they were near me all the time. I
can handle silence, but I'm not sure Pietra can. It kind of seemed like
she was still pumping me for information.
Mandy's mom
had to work, so Mandy was watching little Jimmy and couldn't come. Big
Jimmy was not in evidence, either. Pietra said he had to work, too.
At
one point, Kazuo and Rusty were clowning around with some other boys on
the diving boards, and Pietra said, looking significantly towards
Rusty, "You really ought to show off your curves more."
I
don't know why, but I pulled off my tee and shorts and left them on the
grass, and went for some dives. Competition one-pieces show off curves
in a little different way from bikinis, but they do show off curves.
As
I came of the board, I saw Rusty looking at me with an unreadable
expression of another type. I cut the water as clean as I think I ever
have.
[JMR201710220339 original dump from old notebook -- end]
Ch. 5: Swimmingly
Backup at
https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2017/10/bk-phr-04-swimmingly.html.
