...altered reality slightly. As of this moment, anyone within a two-block radius of the pool would think any transformations or unusual events newar the pool to be completely normal. Another slight change, and the Tritons trooped off to the changerooms without finishing setting up the lanes. The buoyed lines immediately rolled themselves up. Ty was getting used to these little necessities by now. After all, why risk having to bother to shut someone up when simple prevention took so much less effort?
After a minute, the members of the swim team began to amble out of the changerooms one by one, chatting nonchalantly, waiting for someone, most likely their coach, to arrive.
Each lean, tanned swimmer was wearing nothing but a sleek pair of speedos, navy blue with a bright yellow trident logo on the side. The dark colors accentuated their lean shapes, emphasizing their sleek, toned muscles. Swimmers from each grade were present, because the pool was too busy to have each grade book it separately, and so the smaller juniors were interspersed throughout the larger, more powerful seniors .
During all of this, Brian, Paulie, Hank and Ian had been splashing around in the water, having underwater wrestling matches, and generally just goofing off. Ty planted a thought in their heads, and they swam to the pool edge nearest the team. As they got out, their own speedos altered subtly, matching the shape, size, and coloring of the team suits. Another planted thought, and they were, for all intents and purposes, part of the Tritons. All people aquainted with the team 'remembered' them to be on it, and they themselves thought so as well. Ty hated planting thoughts in his friends minds, but what else was he to do? They would have probably thanked him, had they known. At least Ty hoped they would.
Coach arrived; a compact, balding man with grey hair and a rather large paunch. Fat men weren't always jolly. The Coach was scowling deeply enough that Ty was mildly surprised that the pool water didn't curdle as he passed it. Ty knew him, sort of. He was actually a really nice guy, for all his ferocious facade and fierce manner. He would reap the benefits of his kindness today.
Blowing his whistle and still managing to scowl at the same time, he ordered the boys into the pool.
Oh. wait a minute. With a thought, Ty deepened the shallow end until the entire pool was 'deep end' and sunk the bottom about twenty feet more. He also nearly doubled the width of the pool and extended the length, lounge chairs and the lifeguard's tower jumping out of the way to take up posititons at the expanded pool's edge.
For what Ty had in mind required plenty of space.
The swim team was now doing lengths, and if any of them noticed the fact that the pool suddenly lengthened during their swim, they regarded it as perfectly normal. It was time for that to change.
Ty willed the Tritons immune to the effect of his 'Everything is normal' thought, and watched with glee as abrupt panic broke loose. All the swimmers decided that swimming in a pool that suddenly and inexplicably had expanded was not a good idea, and scrambled for the edge. Ty quickly racked his brains for a plausible way to stop them. An invisible wall was a bit much. Hey! Quickly, Ty tried the most complex change he had ever attempted. When they reached a certain distance from the edge, anyone attempting to get out of the pool would slow down, no matter how hard they were swimming, until they could go no farther when their fingers were a foot or two from the edge.
This, for some reason, upset the coach, who dived in quickly, still in his bathing shorts and tank-top. He tried to yank the boys closer to the edge of the pool, but quickly found he could go no further either. He, too, was trapped!
The only ones who stayed even relatively calm were Brian, Ian, Paulie and Hank, treading water apprehensively in the center of the pool. They were, of course, frightened, but were a little more accepting of the bizarre than their teammates. After all, they had just been transformed beyond all abilities of science to explain.
The shouts of panic from the others were beginning to annoy Ty. With a negligent an completely unnecessary gesture, he quelled the panic of the swimmers and promoted calm. The shouts ceased almost immediately.
Ty began setting up his master scheme. Around the pool area he put a one-way barrier, allowing entry, but not escape. Just outside it he put an illusion of normalcy of startling realism. He removed the everything-is-normal spell from the inside of the area, and induced the suddenly shocked poolgoers to jump in the pool. Despite its enhanced size, it was getting pretty full, so Ty changed it so that it would always be just the right size for as many people as it held. He changed the coaches clothes into a speedo, causing more consternation, but almost immediately changed it into a pair of *long* surfers shorts. (Ugh! He would have to scrub that one from his retinas with steel wool!) He also altered one or two sunbathers who mere having difficulties into competent swimmers, and altered reality again so no-one in the pool would ever get tired. He didn't really want to drown them.
The fun could now begin.