Disclaimer:
All official MegaMan characters are property of Capcom.This chapter was influenced by my university's Polar Bear Dip and the Undergrads episode "Traditions".
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CHAPTER 54
Traditions
"Well, it looks like it's almost that time," said Tory as he, Lan, and the others sat around the lounge near the HUB lobby doing homework and studying.
"For what?" asked Lan.
"The university's annual Polar Bear Dip," Tory answered, "I'm kinda excited."
"Why?" asked Sean, "It's just an event where a bunch of university students get together in the QUAD and swim around in a pool of icy water in the freezing cold naked."
"Excuse me?" asked Lan.
"I said…"
"I heard what you said. How come I never heard anything about it."
"I dunno. Have you been walking around blindfolded again?" asked Tory.
"Not since the incident," said MegaMan.
"Quiet you," said Lan.
"So, anyone else here gonna swim in the Polar Bear Dip or am I going solo?" asked Tory.
"Wait, you're going to be there?" asked Lan, "Last I remember, you were embarrassed to be in an Aki-chan outfit, let alone be stark naked in public."
"Lan, that was eight years ago," said Tory, "I was still prepubescent."
"I think I'll go," said Dex.
"I'm not," said Sean, "Unlike some of you, there's a thing called dignity that I like to preserve."
"I can't swim in cold water!" said Yai, "I'd prefer my own pool back home."
"I'll pass," said Maylu, "I don't really like the cold."
"I might give it a shot," said Lan, "After all, I swore I'd take part in college traditions as often as I could. So when's the dip scheduled for?"
"It should be this Friday," said Tory.
"Well, good luck. You'll need it," said Sean as he got up off the big comfy chair and went upstairs.
"I'm going to bed, too," said Tory before he turned and left.
"I think I will too," said Maylu, "Good night, Lan." She kissed Lan lightly on the lips before going up with Yai right behind her.
"No use sticking around here," said Dex.
"I'm going up, too," said Lan as he got up off the bean bag seat and headed for the elevator.
o o o
A plasma bullet shot across the field and knocked the pixelball away from MegaMan's grasp as Axl dove in and snagged the ball before spinning around and passing it back to the blue Navi. MegaMan leapt up and did a backflip before kicking the ball straight into the goal that had been set up using two programs.
"We're back!" Lan announced as he and Sean re-entered the room.
"Welcome back, guys," said Axl.
"Want me to open your mail, Lan?" asked MegaMan.
"Sure, go ahead," said Lan. MegaMan nodded and opened up the e-mail window.
"Here's the first one. 'Pardon me, my good friend. But I am Nigerian royalty and I need you to send me money. Please ignore the fact that I don't know how to spell Nigeria or royalty.'"
"Just delete all the spam," said Lan with a heavy sigh.
"Okay," said MegaMan, "And it looks like you've got a couple of other e-mails, too."
"I'll read them later."
"Alright, fess up. What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"I know when something's wrong, Lan. I'm your brother slash NetNavi."
"I told the others that I'd participate in the Polar Bear Dip."
"Oh. Alright, then. I'll just… You did what?"
"I can't believe it either," said Lan as he laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"So, you gonna do it or what?" asked MegaMan.
"I don't know," Lan sighed.
"Well whatever you decide you better make it before it happens," said Sean, "After all, Maylu will most likely be there to see you stark naked." This comment caused Lan's face to turn beet red.
Crap! He's right!
he screamed mentally, What am I going to do? What am I going to do?o o o
"So that's basically my problem, Tory," said Lan the following morning. He and Tory had gone down to NcDonald's for breakfast and Lan decided to take that time to talk to him about the upcoming Polar Bear Dip.
"Yeah, I can see why you're nervous," said Tory, "Maylu's going to see you naked for the first time and you two haven't even done it yet."
"Tory, stay on topic please," said Lan.
"Oh, sorry. Anyway Lan, it shouldn't matter if Maylu's there or not. Just blend in with the crowd. But if you still think that's not enough, you could just get into the pool, swim around a bit, and get out before Maylu even gets there."
"What makes you suggest that?"
"She said something earlier about going on a shopping trip with Yai and won't make it until later."
"Tory, that's perfect!" Lan exclaimed as slammed his palms on the table and accidentally knocking Tory's coffee onto the floor.
"Dude, that was my coffee."
"Sorry, Tory."
"S'okay. Anyway, the only advice I can really give you is you either do it or you don't. Plain and simple. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a study session to go to so I'll see you around." And with that, Tory finished up his hash brown, grabbed his bag, and left the NcDonald's leaving Lan alone amidst a trayful of crumpled wrappers and ketchup-stained napkins.
Lan, shouldn't you get going, too?" asked MegaMan.
"Yeah, I should," said Lan. He stuffed the rest of his sausage NcBagel into his mouth and tossed out the trash before grabbing his bag and heading out.
o o o
"So anyway, your final will cover everything from the beginning of the year up to Wednesday's lecture," said Mr. Famous, "If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate. You can book an appointment with me in my office by e-mail."
As Lan left his Virus Busting class, his mind kept wandering over to the Polar Bear Dip. Things on Friday didn't help either especially when he saw the pool being set up out in the QUAD that morning.
"I still don't think I can go through with this," said Lan at lunch.
"Lan, I'm going to take a minute to speak to you as Hub Hikari," said MegaMan, "You remember the times when we went to the hot springs?"
"Yeah."
"Can you recall that one mixed spring?"
"You mean the one that I went into without realizing that it was both guys and girls in there?"
"That's the one."
"What of it?"
"Just imagine that this whole Polar Bear Dip thing is exactly the same only colder."
Lan thought back for a moment at the mixed spring incident. He had started off embarrassed at first, but then he gradually got used to it and even enjoyed it.
"And now I'm going to say this as MegaMan. I just talked with Roll and apparently Maylu's not going to get there until later. So if you hurry, you can get in, swim around a bit, get out, and get dressed all before Maylu gets there."
"MegaMan, thanks." Lan picked up his PET and hugged it before setting it back down on the table and finishing up the rest of his lunch.
o o o
"You seem to be in a cheerful mood, Lan," said Sean, "That look of despair is no longer etched on your face."
"Let's just say we had a brother-to-brother chat," said MegaMan.
"Well, I'm doing it!" said Lan, "I'm gonna swim in the Polar Bear Dip!"
"Well, you've got two hours to get ready," said Sean as he looked up from his English anthology and glanced over to the window, "Hey, it's snowing!" Lan quickly rushed to the window and looked outside. Snow was indeed falling.
"Two hours to prepare," said Lan, "Perfect."
"Where are you going?" asked Sean.
"To get ready for the Polar Bear Dip!" said Lan.
"I give him a half-hour," Sean whispered to his Navi.
"I give him three minutes," said Axl.
o o o
When Lan got outside, several people were already swimming around in the pool. Leaving his towel close by, he climb the ladder and slid into the freezing water.
"Damn, that's cold!" he nearly screamed.
"Hey Lan! I see you made it!" Lan turned and saw Tory swim over to him.
"Hey Tory. Good to see ya," Lan greeted back, "Well, you know what I mean."
"C'mon Lan, you gotta actually move around if you don't want to freeze your ass off," said Tory.
"How long have you been in here, anyway?" Lan asked.
"Five minutes," Tory answered.
"Five minutes? I thought you were in for longer. How come you're not shivering like everyone else here yet you've only been in for five minutes?"
"Lan, I take cold showers, remember?"
"Good point," said Lan between chattering teeth. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the side and started to swim a few laps. As he swam around, his confidence started to build up.
"So Lan, how does it feel?" Tory asked as Lan completed his seventh lap.
"Great," Lan answered, "This is great and I owe it to MegaMan's support. I don't know why I was so nervous."
"Speaking of support, Maylu's coming," Tory reported. Lan quickly glanced over the side of the pool and sure enough Maylu was heading their way.
"Shit! Has it been that long already? I thought she wouldn't get here for a while longer," said Lan.
"You're horrible," said Axl as MegaMan snickered.
"Sorry, but that's just what brothers do," said MegaMan, "We prank each other every so often."
"Actually Lan, it's only eight-fifteen," said Tory as he looked at his watch.
"I am so going to kill MegaMan when I get out of here!" said Lan, "Speaking of which, how am I going to get out of here?"
"I'm sure something will turn up," said Tory.
"Like what?"
As if on cue, clouds of white fog started covering the entire QUAD. It wasn't long until the clouds reached to about four feet high off the ground. Seizing his chance, Lan grabbed his towel, got out of the pool and slipped away unnoticed.
"Hey Tory, have you seen Lan?" Maylu asked, "I came to show him my support."
"He just left," said Tory, "Anyway, I'm gonna spend another hour or so in here." And with that, he pushed off the ledge and resumed swimming in the ice-cold water.
o o o
Sean had just finished making himself a cup of tea when Lan came in.
"Back so soon?" he asked.
"Shut up," said Lan as he closed the door dripping wet while still keeping one hand on his towel.
"Go warm yourself up and I'll make you an extra cup of tea," said Sean as he refilled the kettle. About half an hour later, Lan sat on his bed in his sleepwear holding a steaming cup of tea.
"Thanks for the tea, Sean," he said.
"No problem," the younger teen replied, "So, did you have a good time?"
"Well, it didn't last long and it wasn't really all that fun. But I guess it's better to be humiliated some time than never try anything," said Lan, "But I wonder, just who used that fake fog to set up that smoke screen, anyway?"
o o o
"Well, that's done," said MegaMan.
"Think we did a good job?" asked IceMan.
"I'm pretty sure we did," said MegaMan as he shut off the fog machine program and logged out with IceMan.
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CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan:
It's do or die. It's finals times.MegaMan:
Five exams spread out over the course of two weeks. you're gonna have your work cut out for you.Lan:
It's not just me. Everyone is doing their last-minute cramming. It's pure chaos here.MegaMan:
C'mon Lan, you can do it. When you finish, your term will finally be over.Lan & MegaMan:
Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, "Term One's End".MegaMan:
This is it. The big decider.Lan:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!