She ignored him and levered herself onto the rail, “You can watch,” she told him, crouched, getting her balance.  “Or, you can help me.”  Arms slightly away from her body, Mitsui slowly stood straight and took two steps, then stopped.  With a touch of alarm, she immediately realized something was wrong.  This rail felt different under her.  She looked down at her feet and saw it was shiny and slick, where the other rail was dull and rough.
    Mitsui frowned, “What--” She tried another step, then stopped with a gasp as her right foot slipped off the rail.  Halting, one foot on and one off, she froze.  Not daring to turn her head, she saw The Captain lunge forward from the corner of her eye.  Barely moving, she held out her left hand, “Stop!”
    The Captain stopped.
    Mitsui, frozen on her left foot, slowly brought her right foot back onto the rail.  Leaning to her left, she jumped down and The Captain relaxed.  They did not speak, just stood, staring at each other.  Finally, Mitsui took a deep breath and turned back to the rail.  Running her hand over it, she asked in a shallow whisper, “Why is this rail so smooth?  It is nothing like the other one.”
    The Captain walked over to her and explained, “This ship is many years old.  In that time, hundreds--perhaps thousands--of hands have gripped this rail.  It is only natural for it to be worn this way.”  He pointed at the other rail, “That one is a spare from below decks and has not been used, so it still retains much of the original grain.”
    Hand still on the rail, Mitsui did not speak for a few moments.  Then, “Is there something I can use to make this rough, like the other one?”
    “Yes.”
    She nodded, still touching the rail.  With the rope holding her and The Captain right there, she realized she was never in any true danger.  Even so, Mitsui still felt a small shiver of dread from what had almost happened.  She could swim, but had never been in the ocean before.  It felt . . . different.  Bigger.
    She shook her head.  Sensei Nakai was always telling them to learn as much as they can about the environment around them.  She could not believe she had missed the condition of the rail.  Mitsui sighed, “Can I do it now?”