The Swimming Hole - Prologue. Prologue

The boys’ bathroom was another milestone in public education. The first time you walked in and faced a row of urinals with no dividers, you understood that privacy had not yet been invented...or at least had not reached our school district. Some gifted souls stood back, planted their feet, and demonstrated to the world the pneumatic pressure their kidneys could produce. Naturally, some smart aleck decided to place bits of toilet paper on the floor as distance markers, and just like that, civilization took another step backward. Then there were the rest of us, the cautious ones, whose bodies practically melded with the porcelain. Neck muscles locked, eyes straight ahead, elbows tight, breathing shallow...statues of dedication praying no one said anything funny before you finished or got back to your next class before the bell.