Outswim Your Mind

[Zachary Elwood]

As his head emerged, Zach took a deep breath. It barely lasted a second before he was back underwater and hit the pool wall with his feet to propel himself forward. The sounds of the other people around in the other corridors or on the other parts of the pool were muffled around him, he could almost pretend he was alone. This left plenty of room for his thoughts. While the noise of kids playing was barely perceptible, the voice of his mother rang quite clearly to his ears. The woman probably thought the conversation went well. She has always been a strange mix between a hippie and a tyrant. At least with a phone call he could cut short more easily and get away from her. But now that he his sense of hearing was impaired by the water, it was as if his brain chose to fill this silence with his mother’s voice. And it was worse.

Zach picked up the pace. He couldn’t outrun his train of thoughts but he could still try. He focused on his movements, on his breath. He wasn’t sure just how many laps he did so far. Normally he tried to keep count. Today however, he didn’t come here for training, he did to chase the frustration away.

He reached the wall again and stopped this time. A hand placed against the border to hold himself, he pulled the goggles off his eyes, moved them up. He didn't realise he was out of breath. He stayed there, still, for a minute maybe before he swam towards the nearest ladder and got out of the pool. He was hearing the kids playing now. A lot of people were there today.

Zach took his goggles and cap off. He put a hand in his wet hair and pulled it away from his face. He walked towards where he placed his towel and saw someone sitting right next to it. “Excuse me,” he said as he neared them. “Excuse me,” he repeated to get their attention. He then pointed at the towel on the bench.

[Viona Sherman]

Viona had never liked the pool. She liked swimming, but her own home had a pool, and she went there all the time. However, today's forecast called for millions of children screaming at the top of their lungs as they peed inside an already filthy pool, and surrounded by people?

Yeah, no thanks.

She would've left at this point, if not for the fact that she had to be there. Why? Well, you could thank Mr. Bloomer for giving them a photography project to catch normal life in a still image, "forever captured." The thought made her smile, even if it was just a little bit. She did take a liking to the teacher, knowing that if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be in community college for longer than five weeks. His class was the only one she could actually tolerate, while the rest were... hmm... Boring. Uninteresting. Sloppy. Need she go on?

For now, she was sitting in the shade of the umbrella, her camera around her neck and pointed towards the pool, unaware that she was being approached. As soon as she was, though, she looked up, before looking to where the other man was pointing. "Oh? Well, if it's your's, take it," she said, monotone voice sounding disinterested with the whole situation, which she was. "I'm in the middle of something here, so if you wouldn't mind...?"

She shooed him away with a dismissive gesture, before taking her camera again and beginning to take pictures.

[Zachary Elwood]

Zach knew you could meet all sorts of people the moment you walked out of your place but he didn’t expect that kind of attitude while at the pool. The girl sat right next to his towel. So close you could almost say she was sitting on it. No doubt if he came to pick it up she would have been bothered by his presence or feel the towel touching her as he grabbed it. It was the reason why he spoke out to get her attention. Still, he didn’t expect her response.

He dealt with bitchy before but not quite like that. Not in that circumstance. It took him by surprise and made him flinch. This girl came to the pool, gave him this attitude and all she seemed to be doing was taking pictures. More than just the words, the tone used shocked him. She was in the way and he was the one that did not matter and bothered her. Unbelievable.

Scoffing, Zach grabbed his towel, not really caring about her but not hitting her on purpose either. He dried his hair, not really bothering about moving away despite her gesture implying she wanted him out. “What kind of person goes to the pool to take pictures?” he pointed out. He couldn’t help, as he turned around, to try and see what exactly she was trying to capture. “I’m surprised no one has come already to call you suspicious with your camera. What are you taking pictures of anyway?” It better be the half-naked guys. It was better to imagine her being a pervert than another kind of pervert, he thought as he looked at the kids playing.

[Viona Sherman]

Viona heard the scoff come from the other, and looked at him with her peripheral vision, a long sigh escaping her. She was starting to get annoyed, if she were being honest, which was more often than not. But how was she going to get this done, when someone was right there, bugging her and being a general pest?

The towel was grabbed from next to her, and she could feel it touch her, wet with pool water and maybe even sweat. She shuddered lightly, before giving him a glare. "Oh? And what's that supposed to mean," she asked, standing to look at him at her full height of five foot four, which was meager in comparison to what must've been six feet, at least. She glared at him, though, unperturbed by his height advantage, and more than a little frustrated. She didn't feel angry. Not yet, anyway, but she was getting there.

"If you really must know, I'm trying to catch life in a picture. Normal life. Every day life," she said, holding and pointing to her camera as if to prove a point. "I'm not some kind of pedophile, if that's what you're saying, which I sincerely hope you're not." She growled the last part, fists clenched.

[Zachary Elwood]

She may consider him the annoyance but to Zach, she was. She gave him an attitude that was not justified. If she hated people so much, she shouldn’t go someplace she risked meeting them. The whole world would be happy with her locking herself in her mother’s basement for all eternity. A part of him felt bad for thinking that. He could just hear his mother say that he shouldn’t think stuff like that, that there could be a reason for her behaviour and that he should be nice to her. But, really, it was hard to when the only interaction she dared giving him, when he had been nothing but polite, was to dismiss him as though he was nothing but an insect disturbing her peace. Zach couldn’t help feeling attacked by her attitude and grew irritated after only a few words.

Maybe he could have chosen his words more carefully, or the tone at least, not make it so defensive. It sparked something in her apparently, as she stood up to confront him. There was something humorous in that tiny thing standing on her two feet and glaring at him. Just the fact he had to look down to meet her gaze was enough to neutralize whatever impression she hoped to make here. Zach didn't want to be even more aggressive despite her taunt however. “I’m just saying some might find it inappropriate for someone to take pictures of their children if that don’t know what it’s for,” he replied, trying to sound nonchalant as he shrugged. Did it work? He was not sure.

She justified her actions. Life in a picture? Yeah, okay, if she wanted. “Not sure you picked the best spot. If you really wanted to capture everyday life, why not go to a mall, or a gas station or something?” To him, that sounded more like everyday life than a pool. “Who tasked you of that anyway? You’re in a photography club or something?” He knew Bellefonte offered such a club. The girl looked a bit old but he was well aware that they offered college classes as well. He didn’t want to mention the school though. If she was not from there, she could very easily use it to throw some more venom at him and he was in no mood to send her more ammunition.