Chapter 01 - Pool
It was just another boring day. Except Tomo was around--
then you just KNOW things are going to get crazy.
This time, the girls (all of them, as usual) had decided to
go to the city pool. When they got there Tomo went wild
with excitement, which is to say she acted normally.
"It's the pool! Pool! Pool!" Tomo cried.
"Yes, Tomo, that is indeed a pool," responded Tomo's level-
headed best friend Yomi. "Now I can finally work off those
calories from last night's fried rice," she thought to
herself.
"Pool! Pool! Pool!"
"Shut up Tomo!"
"Pool! Pool! Pool!"
smack
As expected from Yomi. The two bickering buddies
had it out right there until Chiyo-chan made them stop.
Later, they had changed into their swimsuits and they were
standing at the poolside when Tomo suddenly got that look
on her face.
"Tomo--" said Yomi.
"Whaaat?"
"I know that look. You're gonna do something stupid."
"No I'm not! I just got this awesome idea!"
"I rest my case."
Tomo stepped dramatically towards the edge of the pool.
"Behold!" she cried.
Yomi held her head. "Oh God, what now?"
Tomo turned to face her friends. "I present to you--the
Ultra Tomo Cannonball Special!"
"Huh? Tomo's got a special cannon?" Osaka wanted to know.
Yomi: "I worry about you sometimes, Tomo."
Kagura: "Cannonball? Uh, Tomo, you really shouldn't--"
"HYAAA! HERE I GO! FORM OF--WATERMELON!"
"Form of a watermelon? Is that even a real martial arts
form?" Kagura wondered aloud. "And what IS this girl's
obsession with watermelons anyway?"
Suddenly Tomo leaped into the air (loudly, as always) and
balled herself into a cannonball, landing in the pool with
a giant splash that soaked everyone.
ka-ploshh-shonk!
"Ow! My calves!" Tomo yelled as she--stood upright in the
pool?
Everyone, especially Kagura, burst out laughing at Tomo,
who was standing waist-deep in the pool.
Finally Kagura calmed down enough to say, "Tomo you idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
"You, that's who! I was tryin' to warn you--this is the
kiddie end of the pool." Kagura pointed toward the far side
of the pool where "3m" was written proudly in blue. "That's
the deep end. 3 meters. THAT'S where you should go diving."
"Uh..." was all Tomo could think of to say. And then: "Fine
then! I'll just swim over THERE and perform the Ultra Tomo
Cannonball Special AGAIN!" She grinned. "You all probably
wanted an encore anyway."
"Need I remind you again, Tomo," said Yomi, "that this is
the shallow end?" She pointed to the side of the pool,
where the word "1m" was written. "It's only a meter deep.
We're all in high school. You're too tall to swim here."
Undeterred, Tomo attempted to kick off from the shallow end
of the pool. When that failed, she grabbed the rail and
half-ran, half-dragged herself through the water until she
reached the "2m" (two meters) mark and started swimming.
And then Osaka had another random thought. "Hey, if Tomo
drowns--"
"--where does this spaced-out girl get such morbid
thoughts--" thought Yomi.
"--here, she'd float to the top," Osaka continued, "but the
water ain't deep enough here, so she can't float--does that
mean she'll float to the deep end, and THEN float to the
top?"
"Forget Tomo, I worry about you too," muttered Yomi.
"Let's go find out!" shouted Kagura. She was in goofing-off
mode again, and everyone knew it. "Tomo! TOMO!"
Tomo splashed her head out of the water. "Huh?" She looked
around dramatically. "Did I just hear an idiot call my
name?"
"No, Osaka didn't call you, I did," snapped Kagura. "You
know what? I oughta DROWN you for bein' so stupid. THEN
we'll know the answer to Osaka's question!"
As stated, Kagura was in goofing-off mode again, so nobody
really took it too seriously. Even if Kagura and Tomo (and
sometimes Yomi) tended to "goof off" rather violently.
"I heard Osaka's question, you know," replied Tomo. "And
with those big breasts of yours, I bet YOU'D be the one
floating to the top!"
"What did you just say?"
Tomo changed direction and swam toward the middle of the
pool. Kagura (an expert swimmer) ran to the deep end, dove
in, and chased after Tomo.
Seconds later Kagura caught up with Tomo and both heads
disappeared underwater accompanied by loud splashes and
various limbs flailing around.
"Yare yare," muttered Yomi. (Translation: oh boy.) "Well,
as long as bubbles are still coming outta that pool, I
don't care," she said. Yes, it was truly just another day.