Smile (Free! Iwatobi Swim Club fanfic, RinxOC)

Chapter 1: The Falling Girl

Chapter 1: The Falling Girl

The crystal clear water lies before me, trying to lure me in. It tries to give off an air of innocence and pure intentions. It fails to do so, instead appearing to be a monster, a monster of with an indefinite number of limbs. It is a monster with a plethora of methods in which it can kill. It tricks many... Often not treating those who can float and swim with an ill intent, just to attack them later.

My brother foolishly trusts the monster, the liquid monster that can change its form. He splashes about, laughing all the while. I tug on my mother's hand, the hand that isn't holding some book with no pictures. I whimper, and try to tell her that my brother is playing with a monster. She tries to reassure me, telling me that is just a pool. She has fallen for the monster's tricks too...

Taking matters into my own hands, I run towards the monster, and my brother. As I near the edge of the abyss the monster lurks in I slip on the monster's spit, and fall forward. My clothes, stick to me, seeming to have joined to monster's side by making it difficult for me to move. I flail, lashing out at the monster. The monster, a greedy, evil being refuses to release me from its tight grip. I soon run out of energy, and begin to sink. The only thing that escapes from the monster is my breath, that rises to the surface in a series of bubbles. As I fall I can see a blur of color, a snapshot of orange swim trunks.

My eyelids grow heavy, and steadily fall as my brother's face begins to appear in my field of vision. He as an arm extended, reaching, struggling to grab hold of me. I want to ask him if the monster got him too... I want to know if he knows a way to escape. As he approaches, he beeps at me.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

I awake from my slumber to the beeping of my alarm clock. I find myself, facedown, on the floor. Once again, I've fallen out of bed. Once again I've been haunted by that memory in my dreams. At seven years old, I didn't know how to swim. At seven years old, I thought pools were monsters. At seven years old, I was saved by my brother. At seven years old, I nearly died. It was a shock to my father... My brother could swim so why couldn't I? After all, our mother used to be a professional swimmer... Shouldn't we have been BORN knowing how to swim? I furiously shake me head, hoping to drive the memories back to where they came from. There is NO need to remember what happened, NO need at all.

I rise off the floor slowly, lacking the motivation to move at a more reasonable pace. Today will be the first day of my last year of high school. Today will be my first day going to school in another country, a country filled to the brim with people that look nothing like me. Although I'm half Japanese I'll still stick out like a sore thumb, attracting all kinds of attention. Some of it, I'm sure will be unwanted, negative attention. After all, there are racists in every country.

Having took a shower the night before, I merely have to get dressed. I slip on the uniform, and study my reflection in the mirror with a mix of emotions. Surely it is easier to wear a uniform instead of having to pick out clothes, but I'm not too fond of skirts, an article of clothing that shows a lot of your legs. Skirts make me feel too exposed. I tug on my socks, hoping to make them cover more skin to no avail. I'll just have to get used to it I guess. I raise my gaze from the skirt to my hair. My long hair is currently gathered in a side ponytail. It has grown quite a bit in the past year, and I've been contemplating whether or not to cut it shorter or not. With a deep breath, I force myself to make a definite decision. Walking over to my desk, I search through each drawer until I find a pair of scissors. In one swift motion, I cut the ponytail off. The light blue hair tie soon falls to the ground, and lands onto the carpeted floor of my bedroom without a sound. I turn study my new look in the mirror, and shrug. I look strange... I guess my new look will take some getting used to, just like the school uniform.