"But I had floaties..." || Callie and Stella
Callie liked summer for several reasons; she had an excuse to wear sundresses every other day, and she got to go swimming. Her new apartment complex had a small pool, but it got so full that it became unappealing to the blonde. The community pool was big, and on a Thursday it was usually too crowded, save for a couple summer swim classes that usually took place.
There was extra flip in the movement of her flip flops as she navigated the dark expanse of gravel that made up the parking lot. When her things were safely stowed in a locker, and she'd shed down to a silver bathing suite, the petite girl padded out to the pool area, pleased to see that there was only one person in the pool itself and several older gentleman over in the hot tub area. Callie wasn't an olympic level swimmer, but she liked being able to dive underwater without fear that she might bump into someone.
She decided to jump in from the lowest diving board, a graceless descent feet first into the cold water. There was something exhilerating about that initial burst as the liquid swallowed you up, the way your body tried to tell you it was too cold, and then promptly changed it's mind. Callie broke back up into the air, filling her lungs, a satisfied smile on her face. It took her a moment of wiping the hair from her face before she realized that the girl she'd seen earlier had waded into the deep end.
There were no lifeguards on duty at this hour, no one but Callie too notice the panicked look on the woman's face and the way she was failing. The blonde hastened to swim over to her.In the water the fact that she was tiny made no difference. "You're okay, just relax," she said softly, coming to a stop in front of the girl. "Here hold onto me shoulders and I'm gonna pull you back to the shallow end."