Anthony first met Clarice in kindergarten. They were in instant accord with each other - total loathing on both sides. Clarice took his crayon. Anthony hit her with his colouring book. That was the start of an ongoing non-relationship, both avoiding the other at all costs.
A decade and a half later and the antipathy was still there. Clarice had her own set of friends and Anthony had his. While some of the friends were mutual to the hostile pair they all learned not to let the two mingle if it could be avoided.
Age and a certain degree of maturity had brought some wisdom to them. They weren't going to get into an all-in-brawl but would content themselves with taking shots at each other without totally disrupting the atmosphere of whatever event brought them together. This is not to say that they didn't both think that an all-in-brawl might be beneficial in teaching the other a lesson.
It was summer of the year that the pair of them had turned eighteen. (That was another irritation to them. A common birthdate.) The weather was hot, which isn't exactly uncommon in summer, and Clarice had gone swimming with some friends. Living in a small country town meant no convenient swimming pool but there was a convenient river within walking distance with some places that were ideal for swimming.
The girls enjoyed themselves, showing of their bikinis and flirting generally, Clarice's enjoyment not impaired by having Anthony there. For some reason he hadn't shown up.
During the afternoon there was some general pairing up, people arrived and people left. As the afternoon progressed there started being more people leaving than arriving, going home for dinner and meeting various commitments. Not having any commitments in particular Clarice stayed on, enjoying the water and the exercise. She swam well and enjoyed water sports.
Returning to the river bank after another energetic swim Clarice was slightly surprised to find that she was now alone. The last few bathers had left while she was in the water. She stood there for a moment, considering. Should she leave or do some more swimming. She was reluctant to swim by herself. If she got into trouble there would be no-one on hand to assist. Maybe she should call it a day.
And maybe she wouldn't, she thought, hearing someone approaching, whistling tunelessly. She glanced towards the track and her heart sank as Anthony came into view. That settled it, she was for home. She stuffed her things into her bag. No way was she getting dressed with him hanging around. She'd slip on her dress once she was down the track a bit.
"Leaving so soon?" asked Anthony, seeing her hurriedly gathering her things.
"Why, yes. I'm afraid the water is about to become a little contaminated," she told him, smiling sweetly.
"Nah, it should be fine," said Anthony with a grin. "You're out of it now and there's a reasonable current. The smell will clear away."
These were the kindest of the words they offered each other, snide remarks flying back and forth. With her bag in her hand Clarice edged over to the side of the track, giving Anthony plenty of room. What followed wasn't her fault. Neither was it Anthony's, although she would subsequently blame him.
Clarice was wearing a new bikini. It was the first time she'd worn it and the bikini pants were tied with a bow on either side. Normally Clarice would add a stitch to the bow to ensure that it couldn't come undone accidentally (or deliberately, with malice aforethought). Being a new bikini she hadn't done it yet, still adjusting the ties slightly to get the perfect fit. The stitch would wait until that was done.
The bikini ties had a small knot at the end of them. This made for easier handling of the ties. An excellent rain during the spring had resulted in equally excellent growth of the shrubbery along the sides of the track. Swinging over to pass Anthony the ties of the bikini flared out to the sides a little. Just enough for the tie on one side to slip along a fork in the branch of a bush, whereupon that little knot got caught.
