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Gently, gingerly edge open the locker room door—then leap all at once to the pool deck, both feet off the ground. Run, run, run alongside the pool, as close to the water as you can manage. Every so often, walk a few steps to ensure that anyone watching will notice that you have been walking, not running. Run, however, directly to the low diving platform. Climb the steps and walk to the lip of the board. Bounce up and down a couple times, then stop. Bounce a few times more. Stop again. Stand still for awhile, as though surveying the fitness of the pool to greet your entrance into it. Finally, take a few steps back and run to the end of the diving board, surging toward the water with your arms stretched forward and out, your legs flat and parallel to the water, for all the world like an oversized flying squirrel. You will hit the water belly first. Do not complain. It is called a belly flop. There is no other way to enter the pool.