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You sit at the bottom of the pool, the weight of the water pressing against your chest. You find the school’s pool to be relaxing after school. The icy water surrounds you, muffling all sound and offering a moment of silence. You’re seen as something of an outcast and you only have a few friends; Engel, Claire, and Bubble.

Once you come out of your thought, you find your breath had run out. You swim up back to the surface of the pool, taking a deep breath. You rest your arms on the ledge of the pool to stay above the water, slightly hunched over. Maybe it is too quiet, all you can hear is your own breath.

As heave for air, you see Engel, standing there with towels in hand, a small gesture of kindness. He stays after school too, but he does tutoring.

“Hey, you’ve been here for a while.”

Engel gives you a light chuckle, smiling sheepishly. He doesn’t understand how you can’t spend hours in chlorine water and under fluorescent light.