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 Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:21 pm
Keeta walked into the public pool for the first time, her hands each holding a toddler. On her right was Camille in her newly purchased swimsuit with a flower pattern, and she held on to Joel with her left. The half-elf's stomach was in small knots due to apprehension. Today was the first day of swimming lessons.
She had signed them up a couple of weeks ago when she found out that the earlier you tried to teach a child to swim, the easier it was. Plus with Rhine being a water dragon it seemed like they would probably be swimming a lot so...the sooner the better. When she had talked to the pool employee over the phone, she had been a bit nervous at the thought of letting her small children go in the water, even though she knew it would be good for them. The nice lady reassured Keeta that it was perfectly safe and that all the instructors were lifeguard trained, etc. But now that she was here, Keeta felt the fears returning and she gripped the two children's hands probably a little harder than was necessary.
The children seemed to have no such fears, however. Joel was starting to bounce around from the infectious air of excitement that surrounded the pool and at the mention of going in the water Camille's eyes positively lit up. Keeta glanced down at the little green-haired girl, whom she was still getting to know, with a curious smile. Perhaps she enjoyed water a lot because of the painting she was from, but who was to know? Camille never said much to make things obvious.
Keeta must have been looking lost standing just outside the locker rooms with two toddlers, because after a moment one of the pool employees, a woman with dark hair, in a purple suit, approached her.
"Guppies swimming lessons?" the lady asked, getting Keeta's attention.
"Oh...uh...yeah," she stuttered, thinking that that was the name of the class. The dark-haried lady smiled knowingly, having seen many nervous parents.
"Follow me," she said matter-of-factly and turned walking in the direction of the class. The woman headed for a cluster of other parents with small children that were gathered at the edge of the wading pool.
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:05 pm
"Dowannadowannadowanna!"
"But honey, you love the water," DS pleaded, struggling to keep ahold of Bob. It had been nearly impossible to get her into her marbled green bathing suit, and now if she wasn't careful, she would drop her daughter into the pool. She shuddered at the thought, and tightened her grip on Bob's arms. "I'll be here watching the whole time, and you'll be with Vivi-chan. It'll be fun!" she pleaded. Though still quite young, Bob could be forceful when she wanted.
Viviana stood calmly next to DS, holding onto the cloth of the woman's kimono. She hadn't protested when she was put in her red swimsuit with white flowers, but she wasn't brimming with excitement either. Not after last time.
Bob slowly began to settle down, and raised her tear-streaked face to look at her mother. She did love the water, provided it wasn't too deep or slippery. If she was with Mommy and Vivi, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And there were other kids too. Bob liked other kids, but she was still anxious. "Pwomise?"
"Pwomise?" DS repeated blankly. What was she supposed to be pwomising- or rather, promising? But if she asked, she might just set Bob off again. "Of course I promise, honey. You and Vivi-chan will have a great time."
Sniffling, Bob nodded. "Kay," she murmured, letting DS put her down. Still, she wasn't about to take any chances, and grabbed Viviana's free hand.
Though the action took Viviana by surprise, she squeezed Bob's hand tightly. "'S kay," she said. "Ouka's here."
Outcry bobbed next to Viviana, shying away from the pool. No amount of water scared him, but this water felt different, and uncomfortable on his skin. He didn't trust it. But if Vivi was going in, the miniature whale supposed he had no choice but to follow.
Relieved that they had finally calmed down, DS herded the two girls and one whale towards who she hoped was the instructor. The sooner they got in, the better.
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:30 pm
Keeta raised an eyebrow at the nearby parent with the vocal toddler. Well, it appeared not everyone was as eager to do this as Joel and Camille. She supposed it was better being nervous herself. At least she wasn't the one that needed to be convinced to get in the pool. She offered the parent a supportive smile, wondering if the other blue-haired woman was as nervous about putting her....children....in the water. It seemed the other little girl (with... was that a whale?) was hers as well.
Joel looked at the little girl who had been protesting with suspicion. Did he really have to have class with her? He had wanted to be in the water, but he didn't know it would be with other kids. He was getting used to having Camille around, but there were too many other people! He frowned and looked up at Keeta.
Camille was oblvious to the noise. She was only focused on one thing. Water. Her eyes shone and she moved with an ansty excitment Keeta had never seen her display before. Her little body bounced up and down with silent glee.
Keeta's attention was diverted, however, when the instructor held her clipboard above her head and waved it around trying to get the attentions of the surrounding parents at least.
Trying to get the attention of that many toddlers at a pool was a lost cause. When she felt she had mostly everyone's attention, she started to speak.
"Hello and welcome to guppies swimming lessons! I hope in the next few weeks we get to know each other and your little ones will learn the freedom of swimming!" The dark-haired woman spoke in that overly enthusiastic, slightly babyish tone that accompanied people who loved spending their days working with small children.
"I hope all of you are ready to get wet today, because for this first lesson, I'm going to be asking for parent support. It's easier for the kids to be introduced to the water if they have a familair adult figure with them. I'll be going around and making myself known to the kids as we go through the lesson today, so next time, they will at least know who I am before having to trust me in the pool. We're going to start off in the wading pool this morning. This way those children unused to being in a larger pool of water than a bathtub have a chance to acclimate. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?" The dark-haired woman turned her head, scanning the faces to look for any signs of confusion or worry.
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:28 pm
From the number of children and parents there, it seemed clear that DS was in the right spot. However, she was a bit confused when she saw that many of the parents were in swimsuits themselves. She hadn't gotten the impression that this was a class in which the parents were expected to participate, but she could be wrong. Or else, they were just parents who liked to swim.
Although she was still nervous, Bob looked confident for a girl who had been screaming at the top of her lungs only moments before. She pointed at the other kids and babbled somewhat nonsensically to Viviana. "Issa wata 'n big big tub 'n!"
Viviana just nodded, the bulk of her attention on the teacher. It looked like that was the "in charge" person, and so she should listen... even if she didn't entirely understand.
To Outcry, on the other hand, distinctions like "in charge person" meant nothing. He swam through the air in his bubble, inadvertently brushing against some of the kids.
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:48 am
No one in the class seemed to be voicing any questions or objections, so the teacher started directing them into the water. She went to stand in the middle of the shallow pool so that she was more easily accessible to everyone.
"Just coax your little ones into the water, and go slowly so they don't become afraid. If you need me to help, just call me over....." The woman paused, realizing something.
"I never introduced myself did I? I'm sorry, I got so caught up in the excitment of the first day that I forgot. My name is Linda Draper, but you guys can call me Miss Linda. " She grinned.
"Now, I'll be in the middle once everyone is in the water and I will work with the kids, but for at least this first lesson, I would like parents to stay in the area or even better in the wading pool. If you didn't bring a suit, do your best to get your children in the water near me and hang out on the sidelines please."
Keeta was about to nudge Joel and Camille towards the water when suddenly Camille let out a little shriek of surprise and ran to Keeta, gripping her tightly. She did her best to remain upright at the impact of the toddler against her lower-body.
"Camille? What's wrong?" she asked, wondering what had gotten the girl frightened all the sudden. She had been so excited a moment ago. Water was one of her favorite things!
"It touch me!" Camille said, a small green hand pointing at the floating minature whale that Keeta had noticed earlier.
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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:27 am
Oh no, it was one of those classes where the parents were expected to participate. DS sulked. She had a swimsuit packed away in her bag, but would rather not change into it if she didn't have to. Besides, that would mean they would miss part of the class. What to do, what to do?
While DS was busy deliberating, Outcry landed in the pool with a small splash. That was nice. Almost made coming to this place worthwhile.
Ouka! Come back! Viviana insisted, frowning as the whale paid her no mind at all. It seemed she would have to go in after it.
DS frowned as she felt Bob pulling on her arm- which she noticed was because Viviana was pulling on her arm. "Vivi, dear? What's wrong?"
It wasn't Viviana, but Bob that answered, pointing towards the pool. "Ouka in pool!" Then her finger pointed at Camille. "Hurt girl?"
"Oh dear," DS muttered, gently pulling both girls in the direction Bob was pointing in. When she reached the other mother, she stopped and bowed suddenly. "I'm very sorry! Did Outcry- the whale, that is- did he hurt someone?"
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 8:15 pm
Keeta shook her head and tried to give a reassuing mother who looked rather overwhelmed...not that Joel and Camille were being easy to deal with either.
"No, no. I think it just brushed against her and she was startled is all." Keeta tried to soothe Camille by rubbing her back.
"So that is a whale then," she commented softly, half to herself.
Camille was not to be so easily reassured and she took this opportunity to cling to Keeta and bury her face in her mother's leg. She was not getting in the pool with that scary thing in there!
Joel on the other hand had found the whale immensly curious and started to waddle towards it, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Joel! Come back!" Keeta called after him, unsucessfully trying to follow him with Camille wrapped around her.
((feel free to control the instructor NPC if you wish))
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 12:30 am
((ACK. So sorry for late reply x.x))
"I see," DS murmured. "Well, I'm glad she isn't hurt, but I apologize. Is there anything I can do to help?" She frowned, more out of concern than any real annoyance. Her hopes for an uneventful day were dashed already!
"Yeah, whale!" Bob said loudly. Not that she knew what a whale was, exactly, just that Ouka was one. "Ouka's Vivi's," she tried to explain to the lady.
Viviana was also moving towards the edge of the pool. She didn't like it when Outcry went too far away, and now that the other boy was following him, it made her even more nervous.
Outcry, for his part, merely swam further away, though he carefully avoided the gaggle of kids starting to invade the pool.
Finally noticing, DS gave a sharp cry. "Vivi, don't go any farther! Bob, stay here."
Bob did as she was asked, and stayed put, for a solid five seconds. Then, curiosity getting the better of her, she followed everyone else. Why were they leaving her there?
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 8:19 pm
"Um, nothing I can think of at the moment," Keeta said in response to DS's question. "I'm just going to wait for her to calm down and I need to get my son."
One of the children was talking to her, saying that Ouka - presumably the child's name for the whale that the adult had called Outcry - was a whale, which the adult had already said.
"That's nice, " she said distractedly as she freed her legs from Camille's grip, before picking the girl up and trotting after Joel.
"Excuse me," she said hurridly as she stepped away.
The instructor was a paitent woman, but she was starting to get frustrated with the commotion that was going on at the edge of the pool. A few of the parents had managed to get their children into the water and were now standing uncertainly as they waited for the others. Some were milling around watching Keeta and DS with their families, trying to decide if they should join the others in the water.
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