Survival Of The Fittest

Yeah she was late, so what? It's not like they had to be all about practice. They were supposed to be at least sorta friends beyond just trying to win. Seriously. It was like Iselle and Kathryn said "yeah we know you hit really well Kelly, but we're going to be bitches because you didn't bother to prove it whenever we asked". Seriously.

"Fine I'll cover cheese sticks, but only because they're awesome, kay?"

It was true, they were pretty delicious, but she wasn't going to just be pushed around because she wasn't obsessed with perfection. She'd admit that she needed to work on fielding, but they hadn't worked on fielding today so what did it matter? It didn't, so why didn't they get that?

Stupid...

Lauren apologized. That was good. Of course, given that the apologies had been offered primarily to Kathryn and Iselle, more involved penance would probably be required. Sure enough, Iselle suggested that the stragglers pick up the appetizers. Kathryn went right along with it, adding that she was totally down for getting a lot of stuff. Alda offered to help pay, so there was a little bit of mercy, at least. Susan knew that she'd kick in a few bucks too, just so nobody felt taken advantage of. She also knew that the situation was just a bit too perfect to pass up the chance for a joke.

Kelly gave her the perfect opening, agreeing to pay for mozzarella sticks. Susan tried to keep her face as straight as possible, but couldn't do anything about the way the corners of her lips twitched upwards. Still, she managed to avoid breaking into laughter as she took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

Shooting an exaggerated glare at Kelly, Susan dropped her voice as low as it would go and said, "Apology excepted, Captain Needa."

Okay, she couldn't quite manage Darth Vader's characteristic rasp, but she was no James Earl Jones. It could be forgiven. Susan was mostly just trying to break the ice, get everyone laughing again. Dinner was supposed to be fun. It was going to be fun. There were always a few little speed-bumps with the softball team, though. It was just part of a bunch of strong personalities ending up stuck together in a position where they counted on each other.

"I'll help with the dip," Susan added, letting her voice return to normal. "Maybe we can get a double order, since there's six of us and all. We can't be running out of appetizers thirty seconds after they arrive."

Oh. Right. Text messaging.

Lauren hadn't thought of that. She was half tempted to reply, shoot back some response about how texting while driving was generally dangerous. She wasn't here to start an argument, though; plus, the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that wasn't really fair. She could have sent a text message right after she dropped off Kaitlyn, and she hadn't.

Well. Fair enough. That was unfortunate, but Iselle's suggestion was at least half reasonable. Lauren had intended on chipping in for the meal, anyway, and it looked like Alda and Susan were helping out regardless. After Kelly had her say about it, Susan even cracked a joke. Despite her tenuous standing at the moment, Lauren managed a little smile. Maybe she'd end up enjoying herself after all. It all depended on how long her teammates were likely to hold a grudge, and how long she could tolerate a little hostility.

She was fairly certain the latter wouldn't be a problem.

"Double order or not, I don't mind paying," she said.

Iselle wanted to sit and stew.  Practice was what kept good players in top shape and helped mediocre ones improve.  It was more than a social gathering.  It was what was necessary to a solid team and a winning season.  It was her right as captain to be irritated when people shirked their commitments like practice.

She held on to her anger right up until Susan did her Darth Vader impression.  It was such a horrible impression, and completely out of the blue coming from mild-mannered Susan.  Iselle started to giggle and tried to stop herself.  Rather than cutting off the noise, she ended up snorting softly for a moment.

Okay, so maybe Kelly and Lauren missing practice wasn't the end of the world.  They were at least willing to get the appetizers, and Alda and Susan were making sure they didn't feel the spank too hard by offering to help out.  It was probably time to be an adult and let the whole thing go.  Iselle put down her menu and surveyed the group.

"Sounds like we have the appetizers all covered then.  Everyone know what else they want?  We all set to order then?  I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

((Since this thread has gone on for a while, are we all ready for a timeskip?))

((I'm up for timeskipping, in fact I'm gonna jump ahead to at least the appetizers arriving.))

Despite her teammates attempts to lighten the mood and continue the meal, Kathryn couldn't help be annoyed by her teammate. She couldn't believe that Kelly actually had the nerve to play this off like she wasn't in the wrong. Kelly could've at least acted like she was sorry. Lauren's attitude was a lot easier for Kathryn to handle.

Shaking her head in a last attempt to pull herself out of her bad mood, she had to smile as she spotted their waitress. "Food's here," she said to alert the rest of the group.

Kathryn thanked the waitress as she dropped off their appetizers and promised to return with the rest of their order soon. Kathryn took one of the small plates that had arrived with the cheese sticks. She grabbed one of the sticks, dipped it into the marinara sauce and then transferred it to the plate in front of her. As much as she wanted to dive in, she'd literally been burned before. Kathryn knew that she had to give the cheese stick another minute or two to cool before she could truly enjoy it.

((aaaagh I am so sorry this took forever I am a dumbface))

Alda cringed a bit as the dinner progressed. It wasn't going to be the most comfortable after-practice get together, that was for sure. After all, it wasn't often that girls ditched practice and showed up for food anyway. Still, Iselle and Katy were clearly trying their hardest to be as not-pissed-off-as-possible, so ten points for them.

Alda grinned as the food came, glad to have a distraction. She honed in on the plate nearest her- the cheese sticks- and grabbed one off. She ignored the marina sauce (because marina sauce was disgusting), instead opting to bite straight into it.

She was rewarded with searing pain.

"Agh, holy shit!" She cried, flailing a bit. She dropped the rest of the cheese stick and fanned her tongue with her hand. "Every fucking time, swear to god!" She groaned, taking a gulp of water. "Now I've got to deal with burnt-tongue. Brilliant, that will only suck total ass."

Okay, despite how annoying the two captains were being she had to admit Susan's low voice imitation thing was funny. See, that was why she was on the team, besides softball obviously, because some people were actually fun. Unlike two "authority" figures she could mention.

Whatever.

The marinara sticks came. Best appetizer in the world. Well, maybe, cheese fries were pretty good too but that wasn't really the point. Course, she was smart so she didn't avoid burning herself like Alda did. She couldn't help but smile in reaction. Yeah it was mean, but come on, everyone knew that those sticks were hot.

Obviously.

((Timeskip and such approved))

Susan's joke seemed to defuse the tension a bit, and she was able to relax for the rest of the meal. It was nice spending time with her friends, nice to see even the team members who had not made it to practice. It was also nice to get some really good food out of the deal.

Still, the evening couldn't last forever. After devouring a burger and trading jokes and small talk (and just a bit of good-natured trash talk), the time came for Susan to part ways with her teammates. During dinner, she'd texted her mom for a ride, not wanting to inconvenience Iselle by making her play taxi once again. A few minutes after cleaning her plate of her last bite and slurping down her last sip of Coke, Susan got another text from her mom, telling her that it was time to go.

"Tonight was fun," she said to the assembled team. "I'll see you all next practice. Let me know if you're up for another bet, Alda. I'll be keeping my skills sharp just in case."

Then Susan gave them a wave and sauntered outside. It had been a fun day, but she was looking forward to having a  little time at home, too. She had a few new CDs she'd been waiting for a good opportunity to listen to, and she figured she deserved a reward for being one of the responsible ones today.

((Susan Clarke continued in Three Peaches))

The appetizers came, and the food came, and it all ended up being a pretty good evening after all.

Lauren didn't eat as much as the others. Most of it was fast food, and she'd seen the documentaries about what kind of chemicals they were putting into that. Despite that, she ate more than she would have at a burger chain. It was the local diner, after all; plus, the food was a lot better.

Her job here was done, for now. Lauren knew there'd still be wisecracks about the missed practice next time they met, probably even the next time after that, but she could take it. She'd at least helped to smooth over the roughest patches.

She waved as Susan left, then checked her watch. There was time before she had to pick up Kaitlyn, maybe thirty minutes or so. Knowing her luck, though, it would probably be wise to leave early in case of complications.

As she stood up, she dug in her wallet, finally putting down a few five-dollar bills on the table.

"Gotta go too," Lauren said, tilting her head towards the door. "If the money's not enough, text me." She thought about making a joke about remembering the texting function of her phone, but decided that was just asking for trouble. "It's been fun."

With that, she headed out the door, her worries lighter and her immediate future full of traffic.

((Lauren Rowe continued in game))

Things were winding down, as evident by Susan and Lauren heading out.  Iselle checked the time on her phone.  As much as she would love a sundae, it was probably time for her to be heading home too.  There was still homework to do and a shower to grab before calling it a night.

Iselle picked up the bill and the money left by Lauren, and she quickly tabulated everyone else's portion in her head.  She'd poke Susan about her portion of the bill at school tomorrow.  It wasn't like Iselle didn't know where to her find her.  "Okay, ladies, everybody ponies up $15," she announced as she double checked her math on her phone.  

Reaching for her own wallet,  she counted out the necessary bills and added them to the pile.  "I have to be heading out too, which means anybody who caught a ride with me can either get a ride home or better start making calls for some alternate transportation.  If you're staying, be sure to get your gear outta my car."

"Later, Kelly."  Iselle looked at Alda and Kathryn expectantly as she slid out of the booth.  "Vamos ahora."  She jerked her head towards the door and headed off in that direction.

(Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer continued elsewhere))

Kathryn was half tempted to texting Lauren just to be obnoxious. Not that she'd even get the text, if her earlier excuse was anything to go on.

Kathryn glanced at her watch and was surprised at the time, she'd have to ask Iselle to drop her off first if she was going to make it back when she'd told her mom she would. She grabbed the last couple of fries off her plate as she slid from the booth.

"Không nên vội vã tôi," she said to Iselle sticking her tongue out at her. Kathryn could switch languages as well.

Kathryn pulled out her wallet and dropped a $20 on the table, picking up the five that Lauren had left. "Bye girls, make sure you check your phones for the next practice," she said as she followed Iselle to her car.

((Kathryn Nguyen continued elsewhere))