Seung-Hui Jeong / Tast 4.2, 4.4 / Thursday 1-3PM

Task 4.2

             The smell of chlorine hits my nose first. I pad towards the source of the smell bare footed, with the rough floor digging into my feet. I could hear the sounds of water splashing, whistle blowing, and people yelling and laughing. I could hear someone heave out of the water by the sound of a rather large amount of water spilling onto the edges of the pool. My first dip into the pool feels cool on my toes as the rest of my body warms up from the sun. I carefully climb into the water so as not to scare my nerves from the sudden change in temperature and I gasp gratefully as I finally sink myself in the cool water to get the last remaining heat out of my body. I can taste the chemical of the unpleasant cleanliness of the water as I dunk my head under water and out again. My feet graze the tiled floors of the swimming pool and as I glide over to the shallow side of the pool, I have to kneel down in order to still have my upper body underwater and my knees grate the tiles in the process. I could feel the water pressure tighten around my chest but it doesn't feel bad. I feel my face beginning to absorb heat and I dunk my head in the water quickly for the coolness. The contrast between the heat of the sun and the coolness of the water is such that it feels invigorating to go back and forth between them. I drown out my teacher's voice into a distance hum as I dunk my head underwater again.

 

Task 4.4

Sight: shelves of children's books, children in uniform, circular hanging chairs dangling from the ceiling, green, red

Sound: sound of children giggling, librarians hushing children, my friend humming

Smell: cleanliness, fresh laundry

Touch: cushiness

 

My old school had all the grades from kindergarten to high school all in one place. It was divided according to buildings, but my then high school self could walk into for instance, the elementary area quite easily. Which was what I did often with a friend. No one else in my high school did this, unless they had a sibling to pick up after school. But my friend and I always hated the lack of privacy in the high school section, which was how we ended up in the elementary section. It was by pure coincidence when we stumbled into the elementary sector that we realized how much better it was. It was a place where all our childhood rested and it seemed very much like an ongoing childhood memory. Always there, as though that particular section of the school was an everlasting piece of the past. We were both nostalgic for the past and longed for pieces of our childhood and made this place our very own sanctuary. It may have seemed rather odd since not only did we stand out like giants among the children, our uniform shirts were navy whereas the elementary had red shirts. We stood out like two dark towers amongst the perky bright bouncy children.

We would go to the elementary library, which in my memory felt like Willa Wonka's for books. There weren't any smelly high school boys, everything was petite and clean, with giant cushions and carpeted stairs for kids to lounge around freely. But what grabbed our attention and made us moan with jealousy were the hanging chairs dangling from the ceiling. They resembled giant clear orbs and was open on one side for people to get in. They dangled two feet off the ground with red plushy cushions inside them. As we hopped in, the plushy cushions engulfed us and made us instantly unable to get out. I sank deeper into the cushion and into the smell of fresh laundry. My feet dangling off the floor, I immediately had a desire to kick my shoes off and snuggle deeper into the chair. As the chair twirled around from the chain it hung from, I was forced to take a look outside. I could hear rain thudding against the windows and the library suddenly seemed a lot cozier. I saw one kid smuggle a cookie out from his bag, broke off a small piece and pushed it sneakily into his mouth with his two eyes never leaving the page of the colorful book he was reading. A few kids who just came in tossed their bags randomly in a corner and went directly for the shelves, leaving a light muddy path of footprints in the carpet. One kid had a finger in her mouth, which was gently open as she skimmed the shelves, pondering carefully over which book to read. As it became time to leave, we regretfully heaved our bodies out from the orbs, and slouched our way to the entrance. As soon as I smelled the rain outside, it made me long for the warmth inside the library.