The Regional District School Board Swim Finals was not that important of a competition. It was just a way for the students of the local high-schools to interact and blow off some stress before final exams. The intention was to dispel school rivalries by having a fun way for kids to get to know each other. For Lydia this was not the case.
The swim team was a mess of conflicting personalities. Everyone was always trying to be the best. Their coach was not better; driving them all hard to reach the impossible. As much as Lydia enjoyed swimming she could do without the constant looking over her shoulder. This was the last year that she would have to put up with all this crap. She only wished she could put Monica in her place before leaving.
Lydia entered the damp locker-room and pushed through the heavier than normal crowd. She found her locker and stashed her stuff. The shower from the day before was off to the side and Lydia wanted to linger and daydream about her tail. She could remember the way it had been so flexible. She could bend it any way she wanted and it slipped through the water with such ease. The shower at home did not do the trick, but maybe if she took one here ...
Lydia was forced out of her dream by the crashing of locker-doors.
"Hey, Lydia," her coach called. "Get your butt changed and on the deck, quick. Team huddle before the games start."
Lydia nodded and started stripping. Her team suit snapped home about her body and she took a moment to smooth it out. This one was a shinier red spandex down the sides with a thick, white panel down the middle. Lydia had never before liked the team suit. It looked too much like a flag or a piece of gum. She had often worried that the white panel would become transparent in the water. It had not and now as she dressed in it for the last time she actually liked it. The shiny sides were flashy and the bright line made her seem fast. It did not help that she found the spandex to be soft and enticing.
Before she could once again be lost in her dreams Lydia stepped into her deck shoes and grabbed her towel. The locker-room was humid and hot and she wanted to get out of there. The dampness made her suit cling to her body in a way that was not as pleasurable as she would have liked.
On the pool deck, Lydia found her team. Monica was there scowling at the other teams while Lydia's friend Cindy was trying to start a cheer. Lydia stood next to her coach and tried to listen to what the woman was saying. It was all a bunch of give one-hundred percent jive, and Lydia was finished with caring to listen. A loudspeaker was blaring trying to get everyone to listen for the first race. The stands normally empty were filled with friends and family of other school's participants. Lydia looked for her boyfriend and found him. Waves were exchanged and kisses blown.
"Oh, good," Monica said suddenly in Lydia's ear. "At least you will have someone to comfort you when I beat you, again, for the last time."
"Stuff it, Monica," Lydia barked. "It's all for fun."
"That's probably why you loose so often. You have no drive to win."
"Drive to win? Is that the secret for how you can swim so fast with fake tits?" Lydia smirked.
Monica looked shocked.
"We've all seen you in the change room, Mon. You stuff them in our faces enough, so don't act like they're real. I just surprised they don't flip you over in the water like a life-vest."
Monica was about to say something but chose to turn and stalk away for the first time ever. Lydia felt good for once.
The crowd quieted and Lydia heard the starting tone. Cindy, her friend, dove into the pool and had the best swim of her life. Lydia clapped and cheered her on. When Cindy popped out of the pool as a winner her first thing was to hug her entire team. As Lydia embraced the still wet Cindy she felt an odd tingle over her body. It was the tingle that Lydia had become familiar with yesterday. Congratulations were made and people settled down for the next race.
Lydia ignored this one to covertly inspect herself. Her suit seemed to be normal but she could swear she seemed a little bustier. Lydia started to panic. It was only temporary, she told herself. Her fingers searched for the seem of her suit around her neck. The seem was there and she traced the tight neck line as it rounded about her neck. Did it seem higher than before? Was her suit tighter on her body? Lydia was starting to breath quickly in short, sharp breathes. She tried to pry the suit strap from her shoulder but could not get a finger under it. She looked about to see if anyone was looking but their attention was on the race. She tried the seam around her legs but found them also magically glued like yesterday. She could not have gotten wet enough to cause the change? She had showered this morning and was completely soaked? Why now? Lydia pinched at her belly trying to pull the suit away from skin. The clingy fabric was tight and she could not pinch it without also getting her skin also.
Or, as she feared was the case, her skin was now, once again, spandex.