For a moment after speaking she stared off into the distance and he found himself staring at her...
Ace felt his lower lip tremble slightly and it was all he could do to not slap himself and shake his head forcibly. She was really cute sometimes. Often. Always. The running back couldn't help but being at a loss for words at some points. She only gave him a brief respite, lost in her own thoughts momentarily before turning her attention back to him. His eyes perked up and he realized that, y'know, that he had to actually contribute to a conversation if he wanted to continue it. That was the rules, right?
"Wait, let me write it down...Primal...Sean...O...Loughlin..."
He tore off a piece of his brown paper lunch bag and scribbled down the name of the song with a blue pen that had taken up residence behind his ear, in the apartment right about the headphone. His handwriting was big and blocky and quickly the paper was folded and placed in his pocket.
"Nuthin' wrong with nostalgia, things are called classics for a reason, nah?", he offered her some would be wisdom, "You still talk to your middle school band buddies...?"
Ace had grown up in the same city, in the same house, dealing with the same people all his life...there was safety in being a big fish in a small pond but it left you a poor navigator. Meilin had already worked her way through plenty of streams with the required amount of finesse. Ace admired that and envied it, but he didn't think it was easy. He knew, that even 4 years later, it couldn't be totally easy for her to deal with that stuff. Especially if maybe she was seeing photos online of all her old friends having crazy high school memories or something. If she was compensating for that by being such a social butterfly and so active at GHHS, Ace could understand it completely. He made the same decision himself many a times. Life happened and it cared little for your desires or opinions. It was better looking at things half full.
On that note he took another bite of his sandwich and a swig of coke, emptying the aluminum can with one last gulp.
In Our Bones
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BlizzardeyeWonder
- Posts: 1086
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:41 pm
- Location: the shadow realm
Meilin thought she caught for a brief moment Ace looking at her with some sort of new glint in his eyes, but he took to his new task of jotting down a note before she could really question it. So, she brushed it off.
"Oh yeah, of course I do!" she replied to his question about her middle school bandmates.
Admittedly, there were some sacrifices to be made walking the fine line between a social life, athletics, and academics. Namely normal sleep times, but that was just the baseline for a modern high school student, it seemed. Which was a little sad now that she thought about it. Anyway, the other sacrifice to be made was quality conversation with her old friends. After all, no matter what you did, you had to live in the present and keep trucking on into the future. Still, whenever she found the time, she'd arrange a call- and boy was the wait worth it.
"I call them whenever I have the time, they make my whole week!"
At that, she looked back down at her notebook, which had been mildly neglected in the rush of conversation. She noted a section of faded out text that she had erased before, but she had forgotten why already. Thinking it over, that sentence didn't seem so bad. So, she wrote it back down.
She typed into the keypad- 1934- and then, with a click, the door of the safe swung open.
"Oh yeah, of course I do!" she replied to his question about her middle school bandmates.
Admittedly, there were some sacrifices to be made walking the fine line between a social life, athletics, and academics. Namely normal sleep times, but that was just the baseline for a modern high school student, it seemed. Which was a little sad now that she thought about it. Anyway, the other sacrifice to be made was quality conversation with her old friends. After all, no matter what you did, you had to live in the present and keep trucking on into the future. Still, whenever she found the time, she'd arrange a call- and boy was the wait worth it.
"I call them whenever I have the time, they make my whole week!"
At that, she looked back down at her notebook, which had been mildly neglected in the rush of conversation. She noted a section of faded out text that she had erased before, but she had forgotten why already. Thinking it over, that sentence didn't seem so bad. So, she wrote it back down.
She typed into the keypad- 1934- and then, with a click, the door of the safe swung open.
"That's great, I mean, it like, shows that you're a good friend y'know? That there making and maintaining relationships and junk..."
He was running out of things to say and beating himself up about it internally, but at the same time, another voice in his head was exuding a great amount of comfort. He was sure in how unsure he was. He was secure with how insecure he felt. It was all complicated and really tough to articulate and he'd probably write a pretty bad rap verse about it later, but hey, that was the way his mind worked. Eighteen years into thinking like he did was a little late in the game for a change of perspective.
He saw her take to her notepad and he took an opportunity to finish his first sandwich very quickly, wiping off his mouth with a folded up paper towel his father had placed for him at the bottom of the bag. He still had another sandwich but he could save that until before Football practice. Protein and what not.
"Hey!", he exclaimed, a eureka moment coming to him just when he needed it, "I mean, I don't start football practice in Memphis until August--maybe we all do a little road trip or something to Wisconsin! I ain't ever left TN, it'd be pretty fun for me to do something like that. A little adventure before we act all grown up and shit. You could see your buddies before they and you go off to college and like, I'm sure we can find a couple of people to tag a long so it isn't such a hit on the wallet, right?"
He didn't know how serious he was about this plan, but it was an idea wasn't it? Ace had been given the opportunity by the University of Memphis to start practicing with them early but had passed on it to enjoy his last few months of high school and his self declared last summer in Chattanooga. He could think of worse ways to spend the summer than a road trip with Meilin and any other of his or her friends they could convince to tag-a-long. He was getting ahead of himself...but he didn't mind it.
Hope for tomorrow was as good a way as any to get through today.
He was running out of things to say and beating himself up about it internally, but at the same time, another voice in his head was exuding a great amount of comfort. He was sure in how unsure he was. He was secure with how insecure he felt. It was all complicated and really tough to articulate and he'd probably write a pretty bad rap verse about it later, but hey, that was the way his mind worked. Eighteen years into thinking like he did was a little late in the game for a change of perspective.
He saw her take to her notepad and he took an opportunity to finish his first sandwich very quickly, wiping off his mouth with a folded up paper towel his father had placed for him at the bottom of the bag. He still had another sandwich but he could save that until before Football practice. Protein and what not.
"Hey!", he exclaimed, a eureka moment coming to him just when he needed it, "I mean, I don't start football practice in Memphis until August--maybe we all do a little road trip or something to Wisconsin! I ain't ever left TN, it'd be pretty fun for me to do something like that. A little adventure before we act all grown up and shit. You could see your buddies before they and you go off to college and like, I'm sure we can find a couple of people to tag a long so it isn't such a hit on the wallet, right?"
He didn't know how serious he was about this plan, but it was an idea wasn't it? Ace had been given the opportunity by the University of Memphis to start practicing with them early but had passed on it to enjoy his last few months of high school and his self declared last summer in Chattanooga. He could think of worse ways to spend the summer than a road trip with Meilin and any other of his or her friends they could convince to tag-a-long. He was getting ahead of himself...but he didn't mind it.
Hope for tomorrow was as good a way as any to get through today.
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BlizzardeyeWonder
- Posts: 1086
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:41 pm
- Location: the shadow realm
She nodded in response to what Ace was saying about maintaining friendships, something like that. That was when it hit her- gah, she'd erased this sentence for a reason!
Not only was the code for the keypad off, but she'd planned to have the character here talk a little bit about 1936, what that year meant, how it was important. Not like, in a super obvious way though. Just enough to build up to why she thought that was the password. Then- oh ho ho, and then! That was when the real bombshell would drop. The reveal everyone was reading for, right inside that safe. Sure, she could do the explaining after the thing, but then it would feel more like... explaining it? Well, it just wouldn't feel right somehow, not as right as the order she'd decided on. So, she turned her pencil around, and erased the sentence yet again, with a dash of unintelligible grumbling.
However, then Ace mentioned the idea of a road trip to Wisconsin. At that, her head jerked up from the page, and a smile once again adorned her face. It was quite possibly the best possible way to spend the summer, on a grand road trip! Seeing her friends in person again was a big plus. So he'd never left Tennessee, huh? Well, he'd better be prepared for her to never shut up once they were in Milwaukee, she had so much to share about it, so many fond memories.
"That sounds like a great idea!" came her enthusiastic response. "And the more the merrier, right? I was thinking I could ask Leslie to come along, maybe Faith too! Anyone you're thinking of?"
Not only was the code for the keypad off, but she'd planned to have the character here talk a little bit about 1936, what that year meant, how it was important. Not like, in a super obvious way though. Just enough to build up to why she thought that was the password. Then- oh ho ho, and then! That was when the real bombshell would drop. The reveal everyone was reading for, right inside that safe. Sure, she could do the explaining after the thing, but then it would feel more like... explaining it? Well, it just wouldn't feel right somehow, not as right as the order she'd decided on. So, she turned her pencil around, and erased the sentence yet again, with a dash of unintelligible grumbling.
However, then Ace mentioned the idea of a road trip to Wisconsin. At that, her head jerked up from the page, and a smile once again adorned her face. It was quite possibly the best possible way to spend the summer, on a grand road trip! Seeing her friends in person again was a big plus. So he'd never left Tennessee, huh? Well, he'd better be prepared for her to never shut up once they were in Milwaukee, she had so much to share about it, so many fond memories.
"That sounds like a great idea!" came her enthusiastic response. "And the more the merrier, right? I was thinking I could ask Leslie to come along, maybe Faith too! Anyone you're thinking of?"
Beats' Beats: Ab-Soul - Empathy
He grinned and clapped his hands together instinctively, unable to hide his own enthusiasm to her response. Was that too much? Eh...too late now.
The music in his ear had changed again and it seemingly did awhile ago because he didn't remember hearing the beginning or this song or the end of the last one. Such was the way things went when the music was nearly always in the background, it tended to fade in and out even if it was always there. This song in particular caught his attention due to it's subject matter and lyrics...
Ugh! Can't be playing this right now! Skip! Skip! Skip!
He fumbled in his pocket for his phone before taking it out and hitting the button once...
Beats' Beats: 50 Cent - 21 Questions
C'mon shuffle mode! How thirsty could I be?! Skip!
Beats' Beats: Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold
Fuck you phone. You win.
He shook his head and placed his phone in his pocket again. The universe was messing with him and he decided not to fight it. Whatever. He liked this song anyway.
"Er...", he thought for a moment...he hadn't really been thinking of anyone else in specific just her but could he tell Mei that? Not if he didn't want a restraining order, "Faith was for sure one of 'em and uh...maybe my buddy Ramsey? As long as you're there I think it'll be a fun time no matter who else we bring."
Smoooooooooooooth
He grinned and clapped his hands together instinctively, unable to hide his own enthusiasm to her response. Was that too much? Eh...too late now.
The music in his ear had changed again and it seemingly did awhile ago because he didn't remember hearing the beginning or this song or the end of the last one. Such was the way things went when the music was nearly always in the background, it tended to fade in and out even if it was always there. This song in particular caught his attention due to it's subject matter and lyrics...
Ugh! Can't be playing this right now! Skip! Skip! Skip!
He fumbled in his pocket for his phone before taking it out and hitting the button once...
Beats' Beats: 50 Cent - 21 Questions
C'mon shuffle mode! How thirsty could I be?! Skip!
Beats' Beats: Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold
Fuck you phone. You win.
He shook his head and placed his phone in his pocket again. The universe was messing with him and he decided not to fight it. Whatever. He liked this song anyway.
"Er...", he thought for a moment...he hadn't really been thinking of anyone else in specific just her but could he tell Mei that? Not if he didn't want a restraining order, "Faith was for sure one of 'em and uh...maybe my buddy Ramsey? As long as you're there I think it'll be a fun time no matter who else we bring."
Smoooooooooooooth
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BlizzardeyeWonder
- Posts: 1086
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:41 pm
- Location: the shadow realm
"Yeah, it's a fun outing for the lot of us no matter how many people end up going!" Meilin cheerily responded. Ace was right, as long as at least the two of them were on the trip, it was bound to be a good time! What did he say? As long as she's there-
Huh. Something about that seemed, uh, not off but something else. Eh, she'd figure that out later.
"So I guess we have our party- Us two, Leslie, Ramsey, and Faith. Is that good with you?"
Her pencil hovered over the margin of the page, ready to jot the names down as soon as Ace gave the word. Well, she could write down the thing she was meaning to write down first... and so her pencil wavered over to the blank space she had created a few moments earlier. Or she could write down the names and write the other thing later... at the risk of her forgetting again. So the final decision was made, she put the pencil to the paper, and started writing.
"Ah, Madeline's Doll Emporium," she mused, a fond smile on her face as she looked over the poster again. "An old, old thing. This wasn't the founding year, just when the first Swiss location opened. I'd always wanted one as a kid, but I'd never seen a real doll of theirs in the flesh. Not until I was 17."
Huh. Something about that seemed, uh, not off but something else. Eh, she'd figure that out later.
"So I guess we have our party- Us two, Leslie, Ramsey, and Faith. Is that good with you?"
Her pencil hovered over the margin of the page, ready to jot the names down as soon as Ace gave the word. Well, she could write down the thing she was meaning to write down first... and so her pencil wavered over to the blank space she had created a few moments earlier. Or she could write down the names and write the other thing later... at the risk of her forgetting again. So the final decision was made, she put the pencil to the paper, and started writing.
"Ah, Madeline's Doll Emporium," she mused, a fond smile on her face as she looked over the poster again. "An old, old thing. This wasn't the founding year, just when the first Swiss location opened. I'd always wanted one as a kid, but I'd never seen a real doll of theirs in the flesh. Not until I was 17."
I should prolly let her be, only got so much lunch left and junk and I don't wanna interrupt the process and all that.
"Yeah, that sounds perfect to me!"
He glanced at her writing but he didn't really read it and he didn't wanna be craning his neck over the table anyway--that seemed a little creepy and that was the last thing he wanted to seem. Still, it seemed like a good way to spend the summer did it not? He didn't really know Leslie but Ramsey and Faith were both fairly good friends of his...or at least good school friends. Ace was an incredible homebody though so school friends went pretty far in his mind.
He bopped his head to the song in his ears, Meilin was a good friend and making that awkward the last few months of high school would be a pretty bad cost/benefit analysis. Ace didn't pride himself on making rash decisions. He had big dreams. He wanted to be the first person ever to win the Heisman Trophy and then a Grammy. He had worked hard to earn that stuff. Besides he was gonna be in Memphis in August and where would Meilin be? Knoxville?
Yeah, because that's soooo far away...
Not the stuff I need to think right now, alright?
"I should let you write, I want to be able to read the story tonight after all," he grinned at her again, wide and full of teeth, "Send me the link when you put it up?"
"Yeah, that sounds perfect to me!"
He glanced at her writing but he didn't really read it and he didn't wanna be craning his neck over the table anyway--that seemed a little creepy and that was the last thing he wanted to seem. Still, it seemed like a good way to spend the summer did it not? He didn't really know Leslie but Ramsey and Faith were both fairly good friends of his...or at least good school friends. Ace was an incredible homebody though so school friends went pretty far in his mind.
He bopped his head to the song in his ears, Meilin was a good friend and making that awkward the last few months of high school would be a pretty bad cost/benefit analysis. Ace didn't pride himself on making rash decisions. He had big dreams. He wanted to be the first person ever to win the Heisman Trophy and then a Grammy. He had worked hard to earn that stuff. Besides he was gonna be in Memphis in August and where would Meilin be? Knoxville?
Yeah, because that's soooo far away...
Not the stuff I need to think right now, alright?
"I should let you write, I want to be able to read the story tonight after all," he grinned at her again, wide and full of teeth, "Send me the link when you put it up?"
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BlizzardeyeWonder
- Posts: 1086
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:41 pm
- Location: the shadow realm
Meilin kept looking down at her writing. Well, shoot. Lunch was closer to over than just started, and she hadn't even edited this chapter to an extent where it would be good to pass along to a beta reader. She nodded as Ace confirmed the road trip crew, and scribbled in the margin of the notebook-
Faith, Leslie, Ramsey, invite road trip.
One of the nice things about notes to yourself is that nobody but you was gonna read them, so you write them down as you think them, no matter how many grammar errors or other nonsense your thoughts have. Say, what was the adage again? To remember something, you had think it thrice, say it out loud twice... no, you had to hear it twice- no, that can't be it, but there was definitely something about having to write it down once. Or was it more than once?
Oh, the irony.
Well in any case, writing it down helped. She lifted her head to look back at Ace with a smile.
"You know it!"
Faith, Leslie, Ramsey, invite road trip.
One of the nice things about notes to yourself is that nobody but you was gonna read them, so you write them down as you think them, no matter how many grammar errors or other nonsense your thoughts have. Say, what was the adage again? To remember something, you had think it thrice, say it out loud twice... no, you had to hear it twice- no, that can't be it, but there was definitely something about having to write it down once. Or was it more than once?
Oh, the irony.
Well in any case, writing it down helped. She lifted her head to look back at Ace with a smile.
"You know it!"
Moments like this he was happy to spend all his time outside...
If his skin happened to just be a shade fairer than what it was he was sure that his flushed face would be visible from space. But this was good stuff wasn't it? Future plans with friends? Life experiences and journeys and all that nice jazz and razzmatazz. Hope for tomorrow was almost always the surest bet when it came to getting through the trials and tribulations of today--though Ace had been lucky enough to avoid a lot of both of those.
Still, for all his philosophizing and shyness and reticence, Meilin's smile effected him more than he liked to admit or allowed. He liked to think of himself as above all the relationship, high school drama, peaks and valleys that came with just existing at George Hunter apparently...but there was always something to knock him off his high horse when he started feeling too comfortable. It kept him humble. It kept him honest. He wasn't sooooo much of a weirdo...
He was just as much a teenager as any and all of them. Not quite a unique snowflake at all. He didn't mind.
"Well," he said placing his arms on the cafeteria table and lifting himself up and then gathering his things, "Umm...", he drifted feeling like it was the right time to go but unable to put words to that feeling...
Hey! Listen!
Why don't you just say, I dunno, goodbye?
"See you 'round Meilin!"
He waved with too much excitement and then found himself walking away far too quickly...
Off to replay his lunch conversation for the next few hours. For no reason. No reason at all.
((Ace Ortega Continued in Just Dance))
If his skin happened to just be a shade fairer than what it was he was sure that his flushed face would be visible from space. But this was good stuff wasn't it? Future plans with friends? Life experiences and journeys and all that nice jazz and razzmatazz. Hope for tomorrow was almost always the surest bet when it came to getting through the trials and tribulations of today--though Ace had been lucky enough to avoid a lot of both of those.
Still, for all his philosophizing and shyness and reticence, Meilin's smile effected him more than he liked to admit or allowed. He liked to think of himself as above all the relationship, high school drama, peaks and valleys that came with just existing at George Hunter apparently...but there was always something to knock him off his high horse when he started feeling too comfortable. It kept him humble. It kept him honest. He wasn't sooooo much of a weirdo...
He was just as much a teenager as any and all of them. Not quite a unique snowflake at all. He didn't mind.
"Well," he said placing his arms on the cafeteria table and lifting himself up and then gathering his things, "Umm...", he drifted feeling like it was the right time to go but unable to put words to that feeling...
Hey! Listen!
Why don't you just say, I dunno, goodbye?
"See you 'round Meilin!"
He waved with too much excitement and then found himself walking away far too quickly...
Off to replay his lunch conversation for the next few hours. For no reason. No reason at all.
((Ace Ortega Continued in Just Dance))
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BlizzardeyeWonder
- Posts: 1086
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:41 pm
- Location: the shadow realm
Meilin enthusiastically waved goodbye to Ace as he retreated from the lunch table. Right after she brought her hand back down to pack all of the remaining tools of the trade, that had gone unstained, away.
All the while, a big smile remained on her face. Talking to Ace would do that, she imagined. There was something contagious about it, did she mention it before? Maybe she did in the past few minutes and she just immediately forgot, heh. She figured she had mentioned it sometime in the past, though.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and was about to scurry off to her next class when a clatter told her the precious pen had been missed. She turned around to pick it up, the last little glimpse of her bag telling her she forgot a zipper. Once she had fixed that problem, it was down the halls she went.
[Meilin Zhou continued elsewhere]
All the while, a big smile remained on her face. Talking to Ace would do that, she imagined. There was something contagious about it, did she mention it before? Maybe she did in the past few minutes and she just immediately forgot, heh. She figured she had mentioned it sometime in the past, though.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and was about to scurry off to her next class when a clatter told her the precious pen had been missed. She turned around to pick it up, the last little glimpse of her bag telling her she forgot a zipper. Once she had fixed that problem, it was down the halls she went.
[Meilin Zhou continued elsewhere]