Swimming lessons

University had been somewhat demanding, putting the business on pause. I couldn’t wait until my Masters was over so I finally found some time to revisit my contact in Venezia by email. It seemed like it would go through, but they wanted me to come visit for the ceremonial document signings, some pictures, and heh, sample products. Also, it is nice to meet the people you do business with. Maybe these Italians were not so bad? But that was down the line. First things first–

I turned my head and saw the office door slowly creak open. It wasn’t Kim, she sat next to me gaming like she always did. Or, it looked like she was writing some game analysis right now, actually. I rolled my chair back and saw Toby standing there looking a bit flustered.

“Waddup, buddy?” I asked, taking my headphones off. Kim didn’t even turn. She just flicked her eyes back at me, registering that a conversation was going on, and then back to the screen.

“Oh! Erh… I…” Toby stuttered. He seemed a bit surprised for some reason. “I, ehm. I wanted to swim.”

“Pool’s downstairs,” I chuckled. “And yeah, you have permission to use it. I think we told you that when you moved in.”

“No… ugh, it’s not that. I, ehm, I can’t swim so well…” Toby looked over at Kim briefly.

Oh. Maybe he was embarrassed and didn’t want to make a bad impression in front of the lady? At first I thought he had come up here to be his old creepy fanboy self again. Turns out he was just embarrassed. I rolled my chair back and headed out into the stairwell, draping my arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, buddy. Smart thing to not swim alone. I’ll lifeguard you, then. Maybe we can hire a swimming coach?” I asked, guiding him towards the stairs.

“No… I… Thanks, but I think I just need to… you know, get used to it.”

“Trying to get ready for the summer?” I chuckled, slapping my own ripped stomach. Though for once hidden behind a t-shirt.

Toby glanced at me, “Yeah… Something like that.”