The Much-Anticipated Swimming Class

"Anyway, we definitely didn't know each other before." After saying that, I lay back down on my desk and watched the birds perched on the tree branches outside the window. Kanzaki didn't seem inclined to argue either. He gave a quiet "Yeah," and the room soon returned to its usual bustle.

Besides Kanzaki, I'd managed to get acquainted with quite a few people over the two weeks since school started. There were three of them: Shiratori Naoto, Takashima Yoji, and Okabe Kaito.

None of us had gone out of our way to meet the others. Strictly speaking, the four of us had had no connection at all before we became friendly. We only became friends because we all had a habit of not rushing off after school.

It might not sound entirely logical, but that was the truth. Like me, they hadn't joined any clubs and had nowhere in particular to go after school. They did own some expensive electronics, but those were for after dinner.

Because of that, our group of five often stayed behind in the otherwise empty classroom after school. Kanzaki joined us now and then. I couldn't say when it started, but we gradually became friends.

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

After homeroom, the bell rang, freeing us for the day. With only the four of us left in the classroom, Shiratori let out an oddly eager exclamation. I was working on some exercises and was startled by his strange cry.

"You mean tomorrow, right? I'm really looking forward to it too!" Takashima sprang to his feet, his right hand clenched into a fist, as if he were about to head straight into battle.

"So, are you interested in carrying out the traditional ritual?" Shiratori asked, his eyes shining.

"We don't even need to do that. The answer's obvious," Okabe said dismissively. "Unless you have someone else in mind besides Ichinose?"

Was there something special about tomorrow...?

Damn it. How much had I missed while I was zoning out? This was just like the club orientation the other day.

"At the very least, we have to keep the tradition alive. There are a few worthy contenders, aren't there? Right, Raku?"

"...Can I ask a few questions first?" After hesitating for a while, I decided to come clean.

"What?"

"I have quite a few questions. To start with, I didn't understand what you meant when you said you were looking forward to tomorrow."

"..."

"Did I say something wrong?"

I nervously endured the three of them staring at me as if I were dead. It had been a long time since I'd encountered such heartfelt contempt. Was this what he'd said I lacked? The ability to share a telepathic connection with other boys.

Come to think of it, could boys really share their thoughts? What kind of terrifying thing was that—a global network?!

"We have swimming class tomorrow." Okabe gave a slight cough, offering me a small hint.

"...Then what's the tradition? Or the bet?"

But they looked at me with a mixture of "I knew it" and "this guy's hopeless." Then they said it outright.

"Raku, you're hopeless."

"Yeah, you're completely hopeless. You need to go back and start over."

No, no, please don't deny the meaning of my existence. Give me a little time and I'll connect to your shared network. Actually, forget it—maybe we should just destroy it!

"Has it really gotten that bad...?"

"Of course. You're seriously ill. Haven't you realized the appeal of swimming class?"

"...Maybe I have?"

Quick, tell me what kind of network interface you're using. Is it an RJ-45 port, RJ-11 port, SC fiber-optic port, FDDI port, AUI port, BNC port, console port, or something else?

"No, you haven't! You still don't clearly understand what swimming class at this school is like. Let me explain it to you properly!"

"Swimming is a sport where you use the properties of water and, while relaxing both body and mind, move through the water with continuous, rhythmic strokes. Because it exercises all the muscle groups in your body, you feel unusually exhausted afterward. So, to keep swimming for as long as possible, we humans try to reduce the resistance our bodies create in the water."

Wow, what an impressive explanation! I didn't understand a word, but I was deeply moved.

"You still look a little confused, so let me give you another hint. Almost everything I just said was nonsense. The key point is that we try to reduce the resistance our bodies create in the water as much as possible. If I put it that way and you think back on your past experiences, Raku, you should get it by now."

Takashima pushed up his glasses, a strange smile on his lips.

No, I still didn't get it, so please explain it more clearly.

Shiratori noticed my confusion. "You still don't understand?"

"You caught me..."

"That doesn't make sense. How could Raku not understand? Is Raku really broken? This can't be right... Oh, I know!" A look of wisdom shone in Shiratori's bright eyes.

"There's one thing I forgot to mention: swimming classes at this school are co-ed. Now it all makes sense."

...So the important part was the genders involved? Could it be—

"That's right. In other words, we get to see Ichinose, Shiranami, Amikura... the girls in their swimsuits, as well as... their bare skin!"

"Most importantly, we get to see their—chests! Hahahaha—"

"..." Could anyone really say something like that in a tone that made it sound like a point of pride?

"Now it's time to finish the rankings, too."

"Rankings?"

"The bust rankings. You didn't know about them?" Shiratori asked, looking puzzled. Okabe chimed in beside him.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Raku post in the boys' group chat."

"Were you not invited?"

"That's weird. I thought we'd added every boy in the class."

"But I really haven't seen Raku in the group."

"I see. Then I'll add you now."

"..."

It was supposed to be a good thing, so why did I feel a strange twinge of sadness?

"OK, now we've got everyone. Remember to check the group when you get back, Raku."

"Oh, right."

They were completely ruled by hormones. Looks like I needed to rethink what I'd thought the bet was about. Who could swim the fastest? Who had the best figure? I'd been completely off the mark.

"But how do you judge them? If you just look, it might not be accurate."

"You're not entirely beyond saving after all. You've already spotted the key issue. Don't worry, we have an expert among us."

"An expert..."

"Of course. We haven't wasted the past ten-odd years of our lives."

Were life experiences really meant to be put to such strange use? That was completely wrong. What kind of job could you get with experience like that?

Professional body measurer? Tailor?

I kept turning these complicated thoughts over in my head until I parted ways with them. On my way back to the dorm, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

If boys at this stage of their lives thought about things like this, did girls do the same?

Chapter 10: The Much-Anticipated Swimming Class

"Oh, here they come!"

The boys were incredibly excited, like rookie soldiers who had never seen battle. They'd never been through a brutal beating, so they could still keep their spirits up.

We filed out of the changing room in a group. I didn't know who was leading the charge or who was shouting, but I knew it was safest to stay at the very back of the line. I relaxed my muscles as much as possible, even drawing in my stomach a little to make it look as if I had a slight belly.

As long as nobody took a close look at my body, there shouldn't be any problems.

At most, boys only sized each other up like they were comparing sizes. People politely pretended not to notice, sparing each other's feelings. They didn't look at the differences between themselves and others, not out of insecurity or self-satisfaction, but simply because it was the "conventional" thing to do.

After understanding this rule on a deeper level, I became even more certain that this well-behaved class wouldn't do anything to hurt me.

Of course, they'd still ask the occasional question.

"Can you swim?" Kanzaki asked as he walked alongside me.

"Are you looking down on me? I passed a childhood intelligence test. I'm a normal human being."

"Who knows?"

"..."

"I can swim, more or less. I'm just not very good at it. When it comes to being in water, I prefer having solid ground under my feet." As he spoke, I stamped on the floor twice. "That kind of hurts."

"I don't know whether your intelligence is normal, but you're definitely the delicate, soft-skinned type."

"Yeah, yeah."

I'd given up trying to defend myself against comments like that. No matter what reasoning I offered, Kanzaki had already labeled me a near "good-for-nothing" in his mind. Maybe he'd even settled on "good-for-nothing."

"Come to think of it, your muscles are surprisingly well-defined."

"The way you said that makes me feel like you're evaluating pork at a market. Is that just me?"

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he raised a hand and pinched my biceps.

"Soft... Just as I thought. What was I even expecting?"

"..."

Following the topic he'd brought up, I looked him over from head to toe.

"Whoa, abs." The distinct gridlike outline on Kanzaki's stomach was exposed to view. Those were real rectus abdominis muscles.

"Didn't I tell you? I used to be in the track and field club. We did some planks and reverse crunches during training."

"Do track and field athletes need to do those exercises?"

"I don't know. I just did what the teacher told me. I wasn't that committed to the track and field club to begin with. I only joined because of a chance encounter."

"I see."

"If you had any affinity for exercise, you wouldn't be so soft." As he spoke, he teased the "flab" on my arm again.

"Maybe that kind of thing just isn't for me. To be honest, I haven't really exercised in a long time. These days, I just do a little activity to keep my body functioning."

"Wow! The pool looks great!"

"Whoa, can we get in the water right away?"

"Warm up first!"

Bits of excited chatter reached my ears from the back of the line. A wall of people blocked my view of the pool. I moved a few steps toward the empty space on the side, and a fifty-meter swimming pool appeared before me. Its width wasn't bad for forty people. Even if everyone played in the water at the same time, we wouldn't get in one another's way.

"The water looks pretty good—clear and clean," Kanzaki commented beside me.

"You pay attention to things like that?"

"Yeah. I once heard that people relieve themselves in swimming pools. I can't stomach the thought, so now I always pay attention whenever I go to a pool."

"...That happens?"

"Hadn't you heard?"

"I don't go to pools very often, so I haven't heard much about that sort of thing..."

"Fair enough."

Just as Kanzaki said, the water was clear enough to see to the bottom. And since the pool was indoors, it wasn't affected by the weather outside.

"Is Ichinose's group here yet?" someone asked.

"They're girls, after all. They always take longer to change."

Not long after that conclusion was reached, I heard a commotion of soft voices coming from the girls' changing room. A moment later, the girls came out chatting and laughing, led by Ichinose.

"Oh, here they come!"

Since this was a class arranged by the school, the students' swimsuits were restricted. There wasn't much to say about the boys'—they were the usual square-cut trunks. If the school hadn't imposed restrictions, I think I'd have worn something that covered my whole body, like a sharkskin swimsuit. That would've hidden my figure nicely.

The girls, meanwhile, wore one-piece Rose swimsuits. If I remembered right, that was what they were called. They were usually made of nylon and Lycra. This kind of swimsuit covered the private areas quite well while still looking a little alluring. Apart from that, their fully exposed thighs also stood out. Most of them were smooth, fair, slender, and pretty.

Hmm?

I glanced back at the boys. In an instant, every one of them was staring at Ichinose. To avoid anything suspicious, I decided to look over there too.

Bigger than I'd imagined.

My observations on the bus had been too superficial. Even though the swimsuit looked like it was compressing her, that didn't change the fact that she was probably a D or an E cup. I wasn't sure of the exact size, but it should've been around there.

Then I immediately looked away. It wasn't for any other reason—I'd noticed the people around me starting to look distracted.

They'd been talking so enthusiastically in the group chat, but in the end, it was all just talk. There was a word for this, wasn't there? Something like... all bark and no bite?

Still, it was another stretch of peaceful days. It was nice to be reminded of them.