Skin and Water
Copyright© 2025 by Danielle Stories
Chapter 6: The First Plunge
The walk to the locker room was a funeral procession. The varsity team had left the deck, their casual confidence lingering in the chlorinated air like a challenge. The silence among us juniors was no longer just scared; it was thoughtful, heavy with a decision each of us had to make.
Inside, the usual chaos was absent. No one slammed locker doors. No one laughed. We stood in a loose circle on the cold, damp tile, still fully dressed, staring at each other.
Ann was the first to break. “I can’t,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I’m sorry.” She turned, fumbled with her locker combination, and started shoving her books into her backpack with trembling hands. A few other girls followed suit, their faces pale with misery. They couldn’t meet our eyes as they fled, the door swinging shut behind them with a sound of finality.
My heart ached, a physical pain in my chest. We were fracturing.
Then Symone stepped into the center of the circle. Her face was set, a mask of grim determination. Without a word, she pulled her t-shirt over her head, then her jeans. Her movements were stiff, deliberate. She kept her eyes locked on mine, a silent plea for solidarity. When she was down to her underwear, she paused, her breath hitching. Then, with a final, sharp motion, she removed her bra and underwear and stood before us, naked and trembling, but unyielding.
“It’s just a body,” she said, parroting Wilson Byrd’s words, her voice barely a whisper. “It’s the machine.”
Allan was next. She stripped quickly, efficiently, her jaw clenched. Her anger was a shield, and she wore her nakedness like armor. “Screw them,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, not in modesty, but in defiance.
One by one, the rest of us followed. It was the most vulnerable, terrifying moment of my life. The air felt alien on my skin, a thousand tiny needles of exposure. I focused on the tile beneath my feet, on the sound of my own breathing, on Symone’s unwavering gaze. When I finally stood with nothing on, I felt a wave of dizziness, as if I might simply dissolve.
“Okay,” Allan said, her voice cutting through the tension. “Let’s go.”
Walking out onto the pool deck was like stepping onto the surface of the moon. The vast, open space felt a thousand times larger. Every sound—the drip of a faucet, the hum of the lights—was amplified. I was hyper-aware of every inch of my skin, of the way my feet slapped against the wet concrete.
And then I saw them.
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