Would he chalk Octavia's long pause also to happy mental images? When in reality it was just about her sighing about how to answer that question.

Only know how to float, remember

It wasn't a lie. The three times she'd visited the pool on the mainland this week hadn't been enough for her to progress much past that, especially with her reluctance to actually ask anyone for guidance.

Youtube videos and other tutorials were kind of hard to recall in the water.