Survival Of The Fittest

((continued from The Ropes))

It was hard to describe; you'd have to be there. Then you'd see just what was so great about some beach in Jersey. There wasn't a cloud in the sky save for one that had supposedly shown up early and was just kinda hanging around waiting for the others to get there. The horizon didn't get much more tangeable than this, clearly defined between the clean blue water and the even bluer sky. The sounds of the distant amusement park were easily dwarfed by those of the long shore beside it. Occasionally a gull would cry out, and another would answer as if it as if to say, "yeah, I exist too". Then the crescendo of rolling waves would drown both of them out and they'd begin bleating at eachother over and over again in rapid turn, and the others would follow suit until everyone was firmly aware of eachothers presence, then finally it would die down and the cycle would start over again.

'Gulls are idiots,' Bryan thought, squinting in the midday sun. He could admit he was a fairly simple person; he wasn't at all deep, and he didn't try to fake it by saying things that sounded profound but were just bullshit. He had simple desires. He would've been quite happy just standing on that beach forever, listening to the sounds and watching the neverending stalemate between sand and surf and just whistling a familiar tune to himself. That would've been good enough for him. He'd pass on such pointless efforts as trying to figure out the meaning of life. Was that really for anyone to know? People'd been puzzling about that one since man first walked the earth and they didn't seem any closer now. He wasn't particularly religious, but he did believe there was a God, and that it was a benevolent one. It was also the perfect scapegoat. It seemed that whenever someone encountered some hardship with no one to blame it on but themselves, it was always God's fault. Some people were such fuckin' babies. 99% of life was what you made of it. If Bryan had a problem, he'd damn well solve it, usually with his fists. If he couldn't solve it, he'd get the hell over it. And he definately wouldn't complain like some punkass bitch. Look at Neilson. He fought in the Korean War, where he lost most of his friends in a fucking jungle and got grenade shrapnel in his spine. His wife was killed by a mugger and his brother died in a car accident a year later. He'd steadily lost the use of his legs after dedicating nearly his whole life to martial arts, and just last year he'd been forced to give up the club downtown and set up shop teaching Muay Thai in his own house for $30 a month. His relatives were all long dead and his kids and grandkids never visited. And it was good enough for him just to sit in his wheelchair, in his empty living room, wearing his old tracksuit and club shirt, teaching the art of Muay Thai to five or six people. And he never complained. Ever. That was good enough for him, and this was good enough for Bryan.

He hoped Tori would appreciate the beach as much as he did. They'd taken the city bus, but'd ended up walking quite a ways just the same. Just to sit on a beach. As memory served, chicks dug that kind of shit anyway; it was 'romantic'. He took a deep breath but didn't say anything. He didn't feel the need to explain Denton's treasure to her. In fact, he'd be just fine saying nothing at all. They'd talked plenty on the way there (for him anyway). About school, family..music...he'd asked her if she liked dogs...the point was, they'd talked. He kinda hoped she was done. If she piped up again it would kill the natural high he had going, but he didn't want to be rude; he wouldn't tell her to shut up or anything. He was trying to make a good impression, dammit. Now that he thought about it, it might be a good idea to say something himself. "Whaddaya think?" he asked, hoping it wouldn't take a whole lot of words to describe what she thought.

((Continued from: The Ropes))

'Wow' Tori thought to herself. She looked out over the sight of the water, it was sparkling in the sun, like a thousand diamonds. She'd only seen things this beautiful in pictures from overseas that her father showed her. It was peaceful and quiet outside, with the occasional honk of a seagull. As much as Tori was annoyed by the damn birds, she had to admit that they added to the whole picture of things where Bryan and her were.

She was in mid reflection about her life when Bryan asked her what she thought. Not wanting to sound cheesey, and also wanting to go back to her thoughts, she decided a nice simple answer would suit.

"It's awesome."

There. Now she can reflect. Bryan was cool, it wasn't that she didn't want to talk or anything, she just figured that if she talked anymore about anything, he'd just walk away. Tori knew well enough that guys didn't always want to listen to a girl yack on and on and on. Plus, she didn't want to get into a big huff and puff about her ex boyfriend again.

Her ex boyfriend had always told her that he planned on doing something nice with her, and take her out, and treat her like a princess, but the truth is, he never did. He hated that stuff in the first place, so she just got used to the fact that he'd never keep to his word. If she ever wanted to go out anywhere, she'd have to go with someone else because he just didn't want too. Then, here she is, with someone she doesn't even know full well, at a beach with beautiful weather just enjoying someones company.

You dont always have to talk to the person you're with. Sometimes everything can be said in the silence between the two people. Tori looked around, and decided to sit where she had been standing on the sand. Lounging back on her elbows, with her legs crossed infront of her, she tilted her head and continued to gaze into the sight of the water.

"Wanna take a seat?" she asked Bryan. deep down she hoped that he'd want to go swimming, but then again, it didn't look like his thing, so settling with sitting next to eachother and enjoying the weather was good enough for her. She figured that maybe they'd sit and then walk along the beach so she could put her feet in the water.

'Right,' She thought, 'This might as well be a cheesey romance novel.'

Bryan snorted. 'Awesome?' Awesome was shit compared to this. This was...well, he wasn't good with words. It was something better than shitty 'awesome' though. Way fuckin' better. She sat down and his eyes followed her. She was really something to look at. Her brown hair glowed faintly red in the sun, and strands of it swayed erratically in the breeze. She had soft, almost childlike facial features that were warm and inviting. Was this what natural beauty was like? He'd been at Bathurst so long that it'd become a foreign concept to him. She sat down in the sand, and his memory of her psycho-drama outburst dissappeared for a second and she was perfect. She asked him to sit with her and he said "Ok," because who the hell was he to refuse? She was twice as much as he deserved.

He approached her and went about the awkward business of sitting down next to her. He didn't want to sit too close....well, he did want to sit close, but he didn't want to scare her away. He hesitated halfway down and ended up squatting for a second. He adjusted the distance a bit and finally sat down, crossing his legs but not leaning back as she was. He felt like an idiot, but was soon comforted by the view of the rolling waves and shimmering sands again. He glanced at her once, subtly while she wasn't looking, and looked back at the shore. His stomach growled again, louder and more distinct than last time, and he remembered how hungry he was. Why the fuck hadn't he eaten that health bar--oh yeah; answered his own question...

Tori was happy that he had accepted her offer to sit with her. Not quite satisfied with the distance between them, she moved a bit closer to him, just as his stomache yelled for food.

'Wow', She thought, 'He sure does get hungry alot.'

it was a beautiful day, and beautiful site, and she wasnt just talking about the water.

"you hungry?"

He still hadn't eaten anything all day. He'd skipped breakfast as usual; who had time? And his lunch was still at home sitting in a plastic bag in the fridge. What time was it now? 1 something?

"Yeah," he admitted, "I'm starving." He cast a glance at the amusement park in the distance. It was a bit of a walk, but damn if he couldn't go for a corndog right now...

"Do you want to head towards the park?" he asked, gesturing in its general direction with his thumb. He couldn't really think of any reason other than food, but he liked the way the ferris wheel looked against the sky, and the flashing lights and many distractions to feed his ADD. He'd walked back and forth through that same park several times without spending any money at all; just because he liked being there. Just because everyone there was enjoying themselves, and he was too. He didn't have any money on him (as usual), but her earlier inquiry led him to believe that she did, and maybe she would treat him to something. How could he refuse?

Tori glanced in the direction which Bryan was talking about, and nodded along. She was kind of upset that he hadn't responded to her advances, so she thought that maybe another walk would do them some good. Maybe she'd even grab his hand along the way.

"Let's go then," She said as she got up and brushed the sand off her back. not wanting him to see her butt, for it was probably covered with the grit, she turned to face him as she brushed the rest of herself off.

Assuming that he'd want something to eat, she searched her pockets for some change. Thankfully she still had that five dollar bill that her father gave her that morning. Then it came to her, a plan so simple.

"Listen," She began, with a cute smerk coming over her face, "Okay, I'll buy you some food, because I'm guessing that you dont have any change on you, but the deal is that if I buy food for you today, You have to buy Me dinner."

Tori gave the proposition a second to sink into, then added, "So, you'd be taking me out on a date."

There, now she was satisfied. hopefully he'd go along with it.

Dinner? How the hell was he gonna pay for dinner? What kind of dinner was 'dinner'? He sat for a second and squinted as he looked her up and down again, but more cynically this time. She didn't look like an idiot. Did he have the word yuppie written on his forehead? Coincidentally his brow was itchy, and he scratched it with the palm of his hand. She was saying something else now, but he was too busy wondering where she expected him to get money from to listen. He was a highschool student with no job, for chrissake. He could go to his old man...but then again, the last time Bryan asked his dad for work to do around the house for cash he'd ended up spending his whole weekend listening to him babble on about the Iraqi government. He definately wasn't up for that. What about...shit...

Bryan was so busy thinking he'd missed the last good chunk of what Tori was saying. Fuck--uh...nod, Bryan, nod! Oh for fuck's sake...

"Yeah yeah," he grunted, getting up slowly and dusting himself off. "Next time's my treat."

Tori couldn't help but laugh at the chump while he dusted himself off.

"Wow, You really Are clueless aren't you?" she laughed, as she lightly punched his shoulder. "Just forget it."

She began walking towards the park, knowing that he'd follow and catch up. A couple seconds distance between them for a minute gave her time to think about her day so far. It had been alright, with the acception ofnot being able to find her way around. Maybe she should hold off on the whole Calvert thing. He obviously couldn't be That dumb, so she had to assume that he was just nervous or something and wasn't looking for a relationship right now. Either that or he was just an idiot. Who really knew.

As she continued to walk, she made a mental note of all the stuff she had to get done when she got home, though truthfully, she was just looking forward to a good nap.

"Come on!" She yelled at Bryan, still standing there brushing himself off. "Let's go already!"

Bryan didn't get what she meant; had he missed something? Whatever. Time to get some food. God was he ever hungry.

"I'm coming, keep yer damn pants on," he said indignantly, taking a couple seconds to stretch before catching up to Tori. The ferris wheel towered in the distance. The gulls organized loudly by the shore, but were abruptly dispersed by a rolling wave. 'Stupid gulls,' he snorted, shaking his head. He couldn't help but smile. He cast a glance at the spot they'd just departed from. That was his spot. He'd come back for it.

((continued elsewhere))