Today was the new student welcome ceremony. Kou wanted us to come out in our swimsuits to showcase our best muscles, but there was no way I'd go out in front of the whole school in my swimsuit.
Kou was waiting for us outside with Nagisa and Rei. The ceremony was going to be held first thing before class.
Kou linked her arm with mine. "Are you sure you don't want to go on stage with everyone else?"
"No thanks. Besides, I'm not the secretary anymore. It wouldn't look right if someone who wasn't an officer went on stage."
"You're no fun, Riku-chan!" Nagisa pouted.
"I'll be cheering you on from backstage," I smiled as we headed to the club room.
The boys had gotten changed, and during that time, I looked over my math notes. I really didn't want to fail today's test. I didn't have much time to study, however, because when the boys were finished, we headed backstage to let them go over their lines.
Instead of going over his lines, Haru ended up watching the film club's presentation. I was going over Nagisa, Makoto, and Rei's lines while Kou was trying to pull Haru back to the group.
"I guess anyone can make an action movie. We should have done that instead," Nagisa said.
"Now isn't the right time to be expressing second thoughts." Rei looked at Nagisa.
I sighed, shaking my head. But I tried to reassure them anyway. "Whatever happens out there, stay on script, and we're golden. Gou's not about to steer us wrong."
"Right!" Nagisa and Rei said in unison.
"Break a leg," I said.
"Why would you say that, Riku-chan?" Nagisa whined.
"Actors and actresses say 'break a leg' before a performance for good luck. Saying good luck is bad luck," I explained.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Kou asked as she finally pulled Haru back to us.
"Yeah! New members will be lining up!" Nagisa pumped his fist in the air.
The boys got in position just as the vice principal announced our club.
I watched the audience's shocked faces as Nagisa and Haru took off their swim jackets. When it got to Rei and Makoto, they looked unamused. I had a feeling we weren't going to get a lot of members from this demonstration. Hopefully, at least one or two people would join. It would be nice to know that the club would be alright after we graduate.
.oOo.
Math was my last subject for the day, and I tried my best to get a good grade on the test. I knew I was going to be a nervous wreck until I got it back. At least I had the swim club to take my mind off of it. We planned on meeting on the pool deck in hopes that new members would come.
Haru was looking at all the other clubs through the fence, waiting for someone to show up.
I sighed as I looked at Haru; he was really determined to get more members.
"I told you that we'd just look cheap up there! Couldn't we have been tasteful and subtle?" Rei cried.
"Don't start with me! You got off on strutting your stuff, and you know it!" Kou argued back.
"Everybody, calm down. The show was fine. It's just a bad time of year to get new recruits. If they could see us swim, they'd be flocking here in droves," Makoto said in an attempt to diffuse the tension.
"So you're telling me there's nothing we can do to drum up a little interest?" Nagisa looked back at us.
"Bath toy plushies of ourselves, maybe," Haru suggested.
Kou gave him a look. "We're not going there."
"We could have someone draw us as comic book characters." Haru spoke.
"We tried that last year, remember?" Kou sighed.
"We can just parade around in our swimsuits twenty-four seven," Nagisa said.
"Perfection!" Kou's eyes were sparkling.
"That's not going to happen." I crossed my arms.
"You're no fun," Kou pouted.
"Maybe we can convince Ms. Amakta to let us open the pool early. If people saw how nice the pool was, it could get us some members," I suggested.
"That's a great idea, Riku," Makoto smiled
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Nagisa asked before running off to the faculty room.
The rest of us followed behind Nagisa. Hopefully, he would wait for all of us to get there before talking to Ms. Amakata. If Nagisa got too excited, sometimes he would be the first to say something.
Nagisa was catching his breath outside of the faculty room, waiting for us to arrive. As we opened the door, Ms. Amakata looked at us, "What's up, kids?"
"We wanted to ask if we could open the pool early," Makoto said.
"Open the pool?" she asked.
"Yeah, so we can start practice earlier!" Nagisa added, leaning forward.
"And maybe we can get a few new members interested," Makoto added.
"I get where you're coming from, but even if I could open it—isn't it too cold?"
"The cold doesn't bother me at all," Haru said.
"You may think it doesn't bother you, but you'll end up getting sick anyway." I looked at Haru.
"There's no reason swimming can't be a winter sport," Rei added.
"We're begging you, sensei!" We all said with a bow.
"Boys and girls, please. Let me think for a moment… What about Coach Sasabe's indoor pool? I think it's opening soon," she suggested.
She did have a point, and Makoto didn't like practicing at my place so much. It was only for when it was raining outside, or when we would swim for fun.
.oOo.
The first order of business was to clean out the pool. Makoto was right about it being good PR. Nagisa tried to get me to paint a cool design at the bottom of the pool again, but I declined.
When we'd cleaned most of the pool, we stopped by Coach Sasabe's pool. Maybe he could give us some advice on recruiting new members.
Once we got into the pool area, Haru immediately took off his clothes and dove in. Nagisa was all for dragging the rest of us in too, but I had to decline. My mom was expecting me to help with dinner. I also wanted to get my homework done sooner so I could call Rin.
.oOo.
The rest of the way home, I broke out into a sprint. It was good exercise, and I wanted to know how Rin's first day as the captain went. Hopefully, he would also tell me why he didn't look happy when Mikoshiba gave him the news.
When I reached my front door, I took a few moments to catch my breath. I didn't want my mom to wonder why I was panting.
"I'm home!" I called as I walked through the door.
"Did you guys get any new members?" My mom called back from the kitchen.
"No, but Ms. Amakata let us clean out the pool. She's going to see if we can get it filled. We went to go visit Coach Sasabe's indoor pool and ask him if he had any advice for us," I explained as I entered the kitchen.
"You can chop those." My mom pointed to the onions near the cutting board. "I'm sorry about you guys not getting any members. Maybe if they see the pool filled, some people will want to join."
"I hope so. It's my last year, and Makoto and Haru's. If we leave without bringing anyone else in, they might have to disband the club."
"I'm sure you guys will get new members. Once they see you guys in action, they'll be pouring in," she hummed.
"Thanks, mom," I smiled at her. After a few moments of silence, I decided to ask her about something else. "So, Yukari asked me if I could ask Rin if he'd be a part of her next project. I was going to ask him after the Samezuka farewell meet, but then he became captain. When should I ask him?"
"Maybe the next time he comes over to help you study. You should ask him when it's just you two. The others might tease him about it," she smiled.
"Nagisa would never let him live that down," I laughed. I felt a little bit better now. When I was done chopping the onions, I took out my phone to text Rin.
Me: Hey, can I call you after I finish my homework?
Rin: Yeah, of course.
I figured I could start off with how the assembly went, and then ask him about the team captain business. The look on his face still bothered me, I thought he would be happier about it.
Before I had a chance to put my plan into action, my mom told me to get changed and tell my father that dinner would be ready soon.
My father has been pressuring me a lot more about looking at colleges lately. I had been putting it off since I still didn't know what I wanted to do. Thankfully, he hadn't figured out that I didn't want to follow in his footsteps. I tried not to get too stressed over it because I wanted to focus on my swimming. I was determined to make it to nationals!
Once dinner was finished, I rushed up the stairs to do my school work. I didn't have a lot to do, but I wasn't sure if I was going to interrupt Rin from his homework. Sometimes he would have more homework than me and vice versa, though he was more diligent than me. I enjoyed a distraction every now and then.
I fell back on my bed as I finished the last bit of my work. I reached for my phone to call Rin. He picked up after a few rings.
"Hey, babe, how did your test go?" Rin asked.
"I think it went well. You should have seen the performance the guys had to do. Haru looked really into it."
"Knowing Gou, it had to do with muscles. Did you end up getting any new members?"
"No, but I'm hoping we will once they see what we can do in the water." I sat up and took a deep breath. "How's being the team captain?"
"I don't think I can be a good team captain. I'm not qualified." I could tell he was frowning.
"Don't say that! You are more than qualified to be the captain. Look at how far you've come! Samezuka is going to be an amazing team because of you. Mikoshiba believes in you, and so do I."
"Do you really think that?"
"Of course I do! And I'm not just saying all of this because I'm your girlfriend. I'm telling you this because I genuinely believe in you."
"Thanks, Riku."
"I'm always here for you," I smiled.
"And I'm always here for you too."
"Are you going to be at the city tournament? I can't wait to see you as team captain!"
"We are, but it'll be no different from what Makoto does," Rin laughed.
"That doesn't matter because it will be your first tournament as captain. I want to beat my personal best."
"I think you will. You've been working hard, but you still have a ways to go if you want to beat me." Rin teased
"No way! By the time we get to nationals, I'll be swimming laps around you!"
"I'd like to see you try," Rin said.
"It's going to happen." I looked over at my clock. It was getting late. I should probably go to bed now. Time always flew by when I was talking to Rin. "I should probably get to bed. I'll see you this weekend."
"I'll see you then. Goodnight, Riku."
"Goodnight, Rin," I said before I hung up the phone.
I plugged in my phone to charge overnight. I felt my lips curl into a smile. I was glad that Rin opened up to me. Hopefully, my encouragement helped him deal with his feelings too. I'd tell him how qualified he was as many times as it took until he believed. Rin has really come a long way—from swimming overseas to falling back in love with swimming.
Mikoshiba had made the right decision. Rin would lead the Samezuka team to greatness. I just knew it.