The scene opens with a description of the swimming pool, which is described as a "splash" . It is a large pool with a large number of shallows. The mermaid, who is the main character of the story, is swimming in the pool. Denis, the teacher, enters the scene and asks the mermaid to tell him about the third time she has gone to the toilet in the last three days. She tells him that it is not because she is hungry, but because she has been "swallowing" in her mind. She says that if she dies in the toilet, she will be the one "who's ashamed" as the teacher's deskmate. She asks him why he would send a challenge letter to his teacher, and he says that he has decided to do so because he has "been liking kiky a long time" and he wants to follow his advice. He tells Denis that he put the challenge letter under his desk the day before, but now that he finds it, he wonders why he did not give it to the teacher when he gave it to him.