That’s How I Met Sensei At The Pool

Through the holiday, studying for my exams was my top priority. I took little breaks in between, but the times I did, I barely did anything besides look at my phone for a few minutes. Karou had also been revising, but she didn’t need to try as hard as she was always at the top of our class. Meanwhile, my sister was continuing her recovery with outpatient therapy.

One day, Karou burst into my room and begged me to go outside with her. I knew that we needed to go outside and get some sunlight, so I complied. Little did I know she and the others wanted to go to a public swimming pool.

“Are you sure you want to come? You’re still in recovery.”

“I’ll be fine. I just won’t swim.”

“Sozen, it’s only been a month or two since you started. I get that you want to get better sooner rather than later, but don’t you think you’re rushing it?”

Recently, I had been getting used to being close to large bodies of water. I could manage to dip my feet in the water, but I was still trying to get used to fully submerging myself in the water.

“I’ll be fine, Karou.”

“But—“

“Hey, you two! You’re gonna be late!”

“Come on. Let’s go.”

“Okay, but if it gets too overwhelming for you, let me know. Got it?”

“I will.”

After packing our bags, we went to the front door.

“We’re off.”

“Have a good time.”

I was sceptical about leaving my sister alone in the house, but she promised me that she would be fine.

The public swimming pool near our house was quite large and busy. Childish giggles filled the air as kids joyfully splashed around in the water whilst parents lounged by the poolside, basking in the sun’s warmth while keeping a watchful eye on their children. Yoshi was actually working there as a part-time lifeguard for the summer.

“You’re just here to look at the women, aren’t you?”

“No. How could you accuse me of such antics?”

While Karou and the others swam around in the pool, I decided to sit on the side with my feet submerged. The water used to be a menacing monster that haunted me, but now I could somewhat feel its calm nature. Carving something to cool me down, I got up and went to the poolside restaurant. Inside felt cooler than outside, so it was refreshing. Inside, I was surprised to see Sensei sitting alone, eating some chocolate mint ice cream. She was in a black bikini, but her bottom half was covered by a black sarong. I knew it would be rude to stare, but I found my eyes slowly etching themselves towards her. Seeing as she was alone, I mustered up the courage to go talk to her.

“Sensei.”

“Ah, Kurosawa. What a coincidence! What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with some friends. How about you?”

“Ah, I was just chilling.”

I could tell she was hiding something. “It happened again, didn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You had a date, but they didn’t arrive. Am I right?”

She sighed in disappointment at how I had been correct. “Yes.”

Why won’t anyone date her? How could anyone ignore this beautiful woman? If I could, I would date her.

“Huh?”

After realising that I had said that I would date her out loud, I instantly deflated onto the floor, embarrassed by my idiotic mistake.

“Then, would you act as my date?”

“What?”

“Pretend you’re my boyfriend. Maybe they keep cancelling on me because I don’t have that dating appeal.”

Me as my Sensei’s boyfriend? On a date? What a magnificent yet unbelievable idea!

“If you’re okay with me, then I’d—I’d be willing to do it—act, that is.”

“Well then, have a seat.”

After taking a seat on the chair opposite her, we began our dating experiment.

“Now, darling—“

Darling! She called me darling! Will my heart be able to cope with this?

We continued our experimental date, pretending to act as a lovely couple who shared playful glances and subtle smiles with each other. Our lighthearted banter created the illusion of being boyfriend and girlfriend. I couldn’t believe we were actually pretending to be a couple in public.

“Hey, sweetie!” Two men came over to our table. “Why don’t you ditch this guy and come hang out with us?”

Who do these boys think they are? They were blatantly hitting on Sensei just then. Just because they are muscular and good-looking doesn’t mean they have the right to go up to any woman and flirt with her.

“Sorry, but as you can see,” Sensei placed her hand on top of my hand and said, “I’m with my boyfriend right now.”

Her hand—it’s making contact with mine! I can’t bear this any longer.

“He’s your boyfriend?” One man said

“Yes.”

“He looks a bit young to be your boyfriend,” said the other.

“And you look a bit old to still be this immature.”

I could not believe what Sensei just said.

“We’re not that old!”

“Then neither am I. Now buzz off.”

“Come on, dude. Let’s get out of here.”

That was awesome! Sensei stood her ground and didn’t let them get the upper hand on her. “That was awesome, Sensei.”

“Thank you. I hate it when people try hitting on me.”

“I can tell.”

I realised she still had her hand on top of mine. “Uh, Sensei. Your hand—“

Realising where her hand was, she quickly removed it. “Ah, sorry.”

After finishing our ice cream, Sensei and I went back to the pool. Yoshi saw us and called out to us.

“Hey! Sozen! And Sensei? What a surprise.”

“Hello, Muto-san. Are you hard at work?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Yes. He was hard at work, staring at women.

“That’s good. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Sensei and I sat on the side of the pool. 

“Oh, Sensei!” Karou called out after noticing Sensei was with me. “Come join us!”

“Maybe later!”

“Okay!”

Our feet kicked around in the cool water, creating ripples. Its touch sent shivers of refreshing sensation up our spines.

“Have you made progress lately?”

I assumed she was referring to my goal to overcome my trauma, so I replied, “I’m getting better thanks to you.”

“I can tell by the fact that you can submerge your feet in it. How does it feel?”

“It feels—nice.”

“That’s good.”

“But I still can’t get my entire body in the water.”

“You’ll get there. Just take your time.”

She patted me on the back, but it was a bit too hard. And before I knew it, my body was heading to the water. Before I could hit the surface, I felt something wrap around me and pull me away from the abyss.

“I’m really sorry, Kurosawa. I didn’t mean to hit you in the back that hard. Are you okay?”

My heart was racing for two reasons: one was the fact that I almost fell into the water, and the other was the fact that Sensei had her arms around me.

“I’m okay, Sensei. Um, you can let go now.”

“Ah, sorry.” She removed her arms from my waist.

“Thank you, Sensei. I thought I was about to die.”

“Saying you thought you were about to die is a bit exaggerated, don’t you think?”

“True. But if I had fallen into the water, I don’t know what I would do.”

“Well, if you did fall into the water, I would save you all over again.”

In the quiet stillness of the moment, Sensei’s words hung in the air like a promise. My heart shivered, caught off guard by the sincerity in her voice. A tentative smile graced Sensei’s face, and at that moment, all my worries disappeared.