There Was No Student I Couldn't Teach

I applied for a purchasing position. Like Li Guang, I had an SP visa. My salary wasn't as high as his, but at least the work was easy.

When Naja heard I'd found a job, he said he wanted to celebrate with me.

"Shall we go swimming? Can you swim?" he asked.

"A little," I said.

"I can't. Could you teach me?"

"Absolutely," I said confidently. "My first job was teaching. As long as you do what I tell you, there's no student I can't teach. Where should we go swimming?"

"I'm staying with my brother. He bought an apartment in Farrer Park, and there's an outdoor pool there. We can swim and have a barbecue," Naja said softly, fluttering his long eyelashes.

"Great idea!"

Since coming to Singapore, I'd never had the leisure or inclination to go swimming! Now that I had my work visa, I was about to start a new life. I might as well begin by properly unwinding!

The outdoor pool in Farrer Park.

We stood in the shallow end, where the water came just above our chests.

"Naja, I have a great method that'll teach you to swim in three minutes. Believe me?" I asked with a sly wink.

"He, I'm a slow learner. I've tried learning a few times before, but I always get scared. I might not learn that quickly. You won't think I'm stupid, will you?" Naja muttered, lowering his head miserably.

"No problem. Trust me and just do what I say," I encouraged him confidently.

"First, take a deep breath and hold it. Count silently and see how high you can go."

He stood up straight, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes to count.

"Thirty-six," he said, opening his eyes.

"Very good. That's plenty. You're already halfway there," I said.

"Huh?!" He looked bewildered.

I smiled. "Do the same thing again: take a deep breath and hold it, then relax your whole body and lie facedown in the water. Start counting silently. I'll help you up before you reach thirty. Sound okay?"

He thought it over, then nodded firmly as though he'd made a momentous decision. Taking a deep breath, he tipped forward into the water.

By about the count of six or seven, he was floating.

I pulled him up when the count was somewhere in the twenties.

He wiped the water from his face and exclaimed in delight, "He! I can float?!"

"Yes." I raised my eyebrows.

"Try again. When you reach ten, tuck your legs up toward your lower belly. Your lower body is heavier, so you'll go upright. If you're still not up by twenty, I'll pull you up. Okay?" I asked.

"No problem!" His eyes sparkled with excitement.

He tried it once and successfully stood up!

"All right, lesson over! You can float on your own now, so just paddle your arms and legs however you like, and you'll move forward. When you're tired, stand up and rest for a bit.

"Once you get used to floating, you'll learn to keep your head above water. Then you'll be able to swim farther without having to stand up so often. Got it?" I explained.

He smiled happily. "He, I was really just scared before. I always thought I'd sink if I fell into the water. Now that I know I can float, there's nothing to worry about. It's just a question of whether my swimming looks graceful."

With that, he happily went off to practice on his own. I watched for a while, and once I was sure he was doing fine, I went to swim a couple of laps in the deep end.

When I came back, I asked smugly, "Three minutes. There's no student I can't teach. What do you think?"

"I love you," Naja said, blinking his large, watery eyes as he gazed at me affectionately.

"Hahaha!" I laughed. "You mean 'I like you,' right?"

"No!" he said earnestly. "I love your intelligence, your confidence, your composure. In my eyes, you shine like an angel. Love can transcend gender. Don't you think?"

He blinked those big, wet eyes, speaking such bold words in a gentle voice.

Looking at his expression, I twitched the corner of my mouth. "I don't think so. I'm an ordinary guy. I can't transcend gender. I still like girls."

He looked as heartbroken as a shattered doll. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Can we still be friends, then?"

"If you're hoping to transcend gender, I'd say it's better to get the pain over with than drag it out," I said gravely, cutting off all his hopes.

And just like that, I lost my only friend from Sri Lanka.