“Are we there yeeeet?” Rowan sighed for perhaps the fifth time that hour. He had just accepted a job from 2 busy parents who didn’t have enough time to teach their own brat how to swim. Apparently the kid wanted to help his father on his fishing trips but he didn’t know how to swim… and that’s how Rowan was now dragging a kid to a public pool instead of enjoying himself at home. As a member of a legal guild, Rowan knew that he was obligated to help other people, but he never thought he’d be doing something as menial as taking care of somebody else’s kid. The mage looked back at the young lad, who was dragging his feet as he walked. Rowan figured the kid was about 12 or 13, and he didn’t bother asking. The parents had said that the kid’s name was Jimmy, and Rowan nodded approvingly as noticed that the young lad was built pretty well.
The serenity of the pool was quickly interrupted as the sound of running drew closer. Despite being heated, the public pool was often completely abandoned during the winter, which was perfect for swimming lessons. Rowan was bolting full speed towards the water, already in his swimming attire. He figured he would do a few laps while Jimmy changed into his swimming trunks, and the practice was good for brushing up on swimming techniques. Rowan dove into the pool headfirst and opened his eyes beneath the water, pulling himself forward through the water with his arms. Rowan turned through the water, enjoying how the warm liquid rejuvenated his sore spots and skin. Happily swimming around in the water, Rowan didn’t notice when Jimmy came running up to the pull and made his entrance into the water. What the young child didn’t know was that the exact spot where he was jumping into, was were Rowan was currently swimming beneath the water.
A few minutes, and bandages, later, Rowan was sitting at the edge of the pool, rubbing the back of his head. “Ok… jumping on people in the water is definitely not something you do to swim…” The mage scrutinized Jimmy, whose face was turning red in shame. “Look! I said I was sorry… anyway! Hurry up and teach me to swim!” The child quickly recovered from his embarrassment, which was replaced now with eagerness. Rowan exhaled heavily through his nose, before scratching his face. “Well.. okay let’s start with floating, go ahead and walk into the deeper area of the water, you’ll notice that you automatically float, which is useful if you’re tired of swimming.” Jimmy immediately waded away from the shallow water and, once he was far enough, gave floating his best try. Rowan was surprised the the kid was successful on the first try. He noticed that Jimmy was kicking his legs and flapping his arms to keep his head above water, which was usually something that had to be taught. “Alright, enough with the easy stuff, let’s pick up the pace!”
Rowan leaned back in not-so-comfortable chair that sat next to the pool. He watched as Jimmy swam from one end of the pool to the other in relative ease. Only occasionally did the kid get tired, but even then, he heeded Rowan’s words and just floated for awhile to regain his energy. The entire teaching process had been surprisingly easy. When Rowan had decided to first show the swimming techniques to Jimmy before teaching it verbally, but as soon as the mage finished demonstrating the movements, Jimmy was already trying it out for himself. In no time flat, the kid was working hard at improving his swimming and Rowan had nothing to do but watch. He saw a strong determination in the kid’s eyes, and Rowan nodded in admiration. Li’l Jimmy had acted like a complete brat all the way to the pool, but once Rowan got him going, the young child had instantly matured. Taking a look at the time, Rowan saw that it was almost sundown, and he called Jimmy in. “Alright! Look’s like you’ve learned well! Time to go home!”
Rowan and Jimmy strolled down the cobbled streets of Magnolia Town side by side, neither of them speaking. The sun was just about to set and its orange light blazed right into the backs of the duo. Rowan was surprised at the kid’s lack of complaint, but he figured it was because Jimmy was all tired out from the swimming. The mage thought back to how determined Jimmy was to learn swimming, and he decided to ask about it. “Soooo what made you want to help your dad fish so bad?” Rowan arched an eyebrow as he continued the little stroll. Jimmy actually stopped for a moment, before jogging a bit to catch up with Rowan, who didn’t stop. “Well.. my dad works really hard to keep us fed… so I really wanted to help out…” The pair continued to walk in silence for awhile after that. Rowan was quite surprised by the answer. With an approving tustle of Jimmy’s hair, Rowan dropped Jimmy off at his home, without another word spoken between the two.
((865 Words))
The serenity of the pool was quickly interrupted as the sound of running drew closer. Despite being heated, the public pool was often completely abandoned during the winter, which was perfect for swimming lessons. Rowan was bolting full speed towards the water, already in his swimming attire. He figured he would do a few laps while Jimmy changed into his swimming trunks, and the practice was good for brushing up on swimming techniques. Rowan dove into the pool headfirst and opened his eyes beneath the water, pulling himself forward through the water with his arms. Rowan turned through the water, enjoying how the warm liquid rejuvenated his sore spots and skin. Happily swimming around in the water, Rowan didn’t notice when Jimmy came running up to the pull and made his entrance into the water. What the young child didn’t know was that the exact spot where he was jumping into, was were Rowan was currently swimming beneath the water.
A few minutes, and bandages, later, Rowan was sitting at the edge of the pool, rubbing the back of his head. “Ok… jumping on people in the water is definitely not something you do to swim…” The mage scrutinized Jimmy, whose face was turning red in shame. “Look! I said I was sorry… anyway! Hurry up and teach me to swim!” The child quickly recovered from his embarrassment, which was replaced now with eagerness. Rowan exhaled heavily through his nose, before scratching his face. “Well.. okay let’s start with floating, go ahead and walk into the deeper area of the water, you’ll notice that you automatically float, which is useful if you’re tired of swimming.” Jimmy immediately waded away from the shallow water and, once he was far enough, gave floating his best try. Rowan was surprised the the kid was successful on the first try. He noticed that Jimmy was kicking his legs and flapping his arms to keep his head above water, which was usually something that had to be taught. “Alright, enough with the easy stuff, let’s pick up the pace!”
Rowan leaned back in not-so-comfortable chair that sat next to the pool. He watched as Jimmy swam from one end of the pool to the other in relative ease. Only occasionally did the kid get tired, but even then, he heeded Rowan’s words and just floated for awhile to regain his energy. The entire teaching process had been surprisingly easy. When Rowan had decided to first show the swimming techniques to Jimmy before teaching it verbally, but as soon as the mage finished demonstrating the movements, Jimmy was already trying it out for himself. In no time flat, the kid was working hard at improving his swimming and Rowan had nothing to do but watch. He saw a strong determination in the kid’s eyes, and Rowan nodded in admiration. Li’l Jimmy had acted like a complete brat all the way to the pool, but once Rowan got him going, the young child had instantly matured. Taking a look at the time, Rowan saw that it was almost sundown, and he called Jimmy in. “Alright! Look’s like you’ve learned well! Time to go home!”
Rowan and Jimmy strolled down the cobbled streets of Magnolia Town side by side, neither of them speaking. The sun was just about to set and its orange light blazed right into the backs of the duo. Rowan was surprised at the kid’s lack of complaint, but he figured it was because Jimmy was all tired out from the swimming. The mage thought back to how determined Jimmy was to learn swimming, and he decided to ask about it. “Soooo what made you want to help your dad fish so bad?” Rowan arched an eyebrow as he continued the little stroll. Jimmy actually stopped for a moment, before jogging a bit to catch up with Rowan, who didn’t stop. “Well.. my dad works really hard to keep us fed… so I really wanted to help out…” The pair continued to walk in silence for awhile after that. Rowan was quite surprised by the answer. With an approving tustle of Jimmy’s hair, Rowan dropped Jimmy off at his home, without another word spoken between the two.
((865 Words))
