Chapter 80: Early Swimming

Starlight stretched her arms over her head, feeling the pleasant pull of tired muscles.

Maybe an early morning swim wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

She had been meaning to check out the swimming complex ever since she saw its picture in the magazine that came with the academy’s welcome package, but with everything that had been going on lately, it had completely slipped her mind. Now seemed like the perfect time to finally take a look, and she was fairly certain the place would be deserted at this hour.

Starlight really needed a way to burn off the tension she had accumulated since stepping into this cursed academy and loosen her muscles, or she might spend the entire day bitching at everybody. If she hadn’t missed combat class yesterday, she would have worked off some of that tension there. She would have gone for a run yesterday evening too, but the doctor had insisted that she take the rest seriously and give her body a proper chance to recover. Now, at least, swimming would give her a chance to ease back into physical activity without pushing herself too hard. At the very least, it would help clear her head. Decision made, she quietly swung her legs over the edge of the upper bunk. The mattress creaked softly beneath her weight as she carefully climbed down the wooden ladder with practiced ease, one rung at a time, making sure not to wake any of her roommates.

Her bare feet touched the rugged floor without making a sound. Moving silently across the room, she opened her section of the wardrobe and pulled out the only swimsuit she had brought with her. Grabbing a towel, she slipped into the bathroom, only to emerge a few moments later fully changed into the suit, with a light jacket pulled over it. She glanced around at her sleeping roommates. Satisfied that she hadn’t disturbed any of them, she slipped out into the quiet, chilly hallway and let the lock click shut behind her.

Starlight swung the heavy door of the swimming complex open, and just as she had expected, the entire place was completely deserted. Not a single soul was in sight in the vast facility, and the only sound was the low hum of the ventilation system as she stepped inside, the door slowly swinging shut behind her.

"Holy shit, this place is freaking massive," Starlight gushed, staring at the enormous space before her. The swimming complex was enormous. Judging by the picture she had seen, she had expected a decent-sized pool, perhaps something similar in size to the public swimming pools she was used to, but this was on an entirely different level.

"Mehn, Asterion really likes ’em huge."

Starlight shook her head in disbelief. The academy really had an obsession with making everything ridiculously massive. Huge classrooms, huge hallways, and restrooms bigger than some apartments she had seen back in the district. Even the beds in the dormitories seemed larger than necessary. Now she was standing in front of a swimming pool that looked more like an international competition venue than a school facility. "Seriously, does this place ever do anything normally?" she muttered, shaking her head as she stepped further into the facility. The main pool stretched across the center of the facility like a miniature competition arena, long and impossibly wide, with multiple perfectly straight lanes divided by floating lane ropes. Starting blocks stood at one end, each one positioned with such precise spacing that she immediately thought of professional competitions. Tall platforms and electronic timing boards lined the far wall, while rows upon rows of empty spectator seats rose along either side of the pool, extending far enough to make her wonder how many people this place could accommodate during an actual competition.

The ceiling soared high above her, supported by enormous steel beams, while huge glass panels stretched along the upper walls, allowing the faint early-morning light to filter into the otherwise quiet complex. Even the changing areas, showers, and surrounding walkways seemed unnecessarily spacious. Everything gleamed beneath the overhead lights, from the polished tiled floor to the crystal-clear water reflecting pale ripples across the ceiling. Starlight slowly turned her head, whistling under her breath as she took it all in with growing disbelief.

"I’ll give it to them, they sure know how to go all out," she reached the edge of the pool.

Shrugging off the light jacket she had thrown over her swimsuit, she tossed it onto one of the nearby chairs and rolled her shoulders. She stretched both arms above her head, then leaned from side to side, loosening the stiffness in her back and legs. After a few more stretches, she stepped closer to the edge, took one last breath, and jumped into the pool with a huge splash.

The cold water swallowed her instantly.

Starlight surfaced a moment later and immediately fell into a steady rhythm, her arms slicing smoothly through the cool water while her legs kicked behind her. The familiar sensation of moving through the water brought a small smile to her face. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed this, the quiet, the weightlessness, and the way the water seemed to wash away the tension that had been sitting in her body for days. She pushed herself toward the opposite end of the pool, keeping a comfortable pace as the silence of the enormous complex surrounded her. With every stroke, her breathing settled into a familiar pattern, and the stiffness in her muscles gradually began to ease. When her fingertips finally brushed the wall, she turned without stopping and pushed herself back in the opposite direction. She swam all the way to the other end, turned again, and kept going, allowing herself to settle deeper into the familiar rhythm until a pleasant burn began to spread through her arms and legs. When she finally climbed out, she sat on the edge for a moment, water streaming from her hair and dripping down her shoulders.

Starlight took a deep breath, feeling lighter and more relaxed than she had in days. "Oh my goodness, I’ve really missed this," she breathed, wiping the water from her face.