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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 2, 2016 16:34:27 GMT -7
Grant was starting his daily training regimen early in the day. He had woken up at 4AM in the morning, had a quick breakfast, said bye to mom and dad, and off he went to Viridian Park. While not the closest place around, it was near enough to their apartment around the downtown area of the city. At most, it was a half hour walk from home to the park, which was a good warm up for the real work. After stretching for a while, Grant was off on his 2 mile run. He did this just about every morning, for seven days a week. Stamina was important when wrestling, getting exhausted during a match was one of the worst things that could happen, and Grant needed to take pains to avoid that from happening. After he was done with this, he would be doing sprints. Short, powerful bursts of energy were important in wrestling. Wrestling was a lot more than just muscles, it was skill and fitness that won the day. And that was what Grant needed to get that scholarship...
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 3, 2016 21:33:07 GMT -7
Tristan had woke up early and couldn't make himself fall back to sleep. Resigned to the fate of being tired all day, he decided that an early morning walk might be just what he needed to be more than a shambling zombie later in the day. Within ten minutes he was out the door, too tired to make food for breakfast. He didn't really plan on going anywhere specific, and before he knew it he was at the park. With a tired yawn, he continued forward.
He was in the middle of yawning a little later when he almost made the mistake of walking into the path of somebody. "Pardon me," he said sleepily, "I wasn't watching where I was going. My apologies." Tristan took a moment to look at who he had bothered only to find that it was one of the popular athletes from the school. He couldn't remember the exact sport the young man played, but judging from his intimidating physique, he doubted it was swimming. All of a sudden, Tristan was extremely nervous. The other guy looked like he ate smaller kids for breakfast and asked for seconds. Still, if the guy recognized Tristan from school (unlikely, but Tristan was sure there was a slim chance), it was probably too late to avoid a conversation.
Tristan could only hope he wasn't so tired he'd say something stupid and offend the hulking giant.
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 4, 2016 0:04:39 GMT -7
In the middle of his run, Grant started thinking about other things, like his meeting with Kasty at the university, or Minnie figuring out that he was still in high school. It was because this daydreaming that Grant was unaware of someone walking straight into his path until he almost collided with. Forcing himself to a sudden stop, Grant managed to avoid smashing into the smaller person in front of him. Grant wasn't expecting many people to be at the park, especially this early in the morning, so he thought he could afford to let his mind wander a little bit. Evidently not, as the person in front of him seemed to affirm. Getting a closer look, Grant thought he knew who this guy was. Spending a few moments trying to figure it out, Grant finally managed to remember where he saw him before. He was from Gardner High, and they were both in the same English class if Grant was remembering correctly. Nonetheless, Grant felt the need to apologize for his own clumsiness.
"Sorry, I...wasn't paying attention"
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 4, 2016 0:25:22 GMT -7
Tristan smiled at the larger guy. He was incredibly soft spoken, especially for his size and build. Needless to say, the smaller of the two was surprised. He even apologized for me walking in front of him, Tristan thought to himself. What an astoundingly nice guy.
"It's nothing," he said with a grin. "Totally my fault, I should've been paying more attention to my surroundings. I'm Tristan, by the way." Tristan looked up at the other man. Now that he thought about it, he could swear they had a class together. He just couldn't put his finger on which one, and it would probably be rude to ask. He'd just have to keep an eye out next time they were at school.
"Say, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something important," Tristan said, "but would you mind if I asked what you are doing out here so early?" It seemed an innocent enough question, but he really didn't want to bother the other guy if he didn't want to talk. He was just curious if they had similar reasons, or if he had interrupted him on his way somewhere or something else important of the like.
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 4, 2016 0:37:40 GMT -7
The smaller teen in front of Grant seemed to become less nervous once he apologized. Grant did kind of have that effect on people. He didn't really talk that much, and he must have had some sort of intimidating neutral expression, since most people were on edge when he was around. As if they were expecting him to pummel them if they so much as made the wrong move around him. Grant wasn't like that at all, but he understood that he looked a little bit mean, at least for their first impression of him. The more he looked at the guy, the more apparent how familiar he was to Grant. He was pretty certain that they were in the same English class, but the other guy didn't seem to recognize him back. Weird. Anyways, Grant answered the teen's question happily.
"Getting some training done"
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 5, 2016 1:01:06 GMT -7
Tristan gave a small chuckle. He hadn't really known what to expect, but in hindsight it actually seemed kinda obvious. What else would a star athlete be doing out and about, running in the park this early? "Now that I think about it," Tristan smiled sheepishly, "that almost seems like a kinda stupid question to have asked."
He couldn't shake the feeling that he had a class with the other teen, and every moment he spent around him the more it bothered him. "Oh, hey," he said quietly. "I'm sorry if this seems rude, but we're in a class together, yeah? Would you mind terribly if I ask which one? I'm not trying to act like you're forgettable or anything, I just try and tune everyone out, and I don't really remember details all that well because of it."
Tristan sighed. "Sorry. That's a lot more depressing sounding than I realized it was going to be."
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 5, 2016 1:20:08 GMT -7
Man, this guy seemed to be as clueless in social situations as Grant was. Which meant leading a conversation was a case of the blind leading the blind. Or at the very least, a shortsighted one eyed man leading the blind. For a moment, Grant realized how he must have come off to a lot of people. It wasn't the most pleasant picture. At least the guy finally managed to remember that they had been in a class together, though he still had trouble figuring which exact class they had been in together. Grant kind of just stood there in silence as he attempted to justify not remembering his fellow classmate, before giving up. Eventually, the taller teenager answered the awkward inquiry.
"English"
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 5, 2016 19:20:10 GMT -7
"Thank you," Tristan mumbled. "If it's any consolation, it isn't like I had no clue who you were this entire time. I knew we were in school together, I just couldn't place you. When I'm in school, I get really focused on learning everything I can. I'm starting to try and help tutor people, and I feel like if I don't learn everything I can, I can't help them the way I should." He looked up at the other guy and gave a small smile. "You could say that it's my own training, ya know?"
Tristan didn't know if it would be enough of an explanation for the other guy, but he hoped it was. He didn't want the big guy upset in any way, he didn't deserve it. It was Tristan's own stupidity that caused them to be in the terrible situation they were in, so he was doing his best to try and salvage what he could of the conversation.
"Out of curiosity," Tristan said thoughtfully as he struck upon an idea. "How are you doing in there? You don't need any help, do you?" He didn't know what answer to expect, but he wanted to know. He had brought up how he was starting to tutor people. Might as well ask, and if he could help the big guy out, great! It would certainly help ease over the awkwardness of the previous topic.
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 6, 2016 2:08:39 GMT -7
Grant didn't know many details about this guy, since he was always one of those smart quiet ones who didn't do much talking in class. Kind of like Grant, barring the smart part. The whole bookworm feel that this guy had was further enhanced by the mention of tutoring. So he was looking to be a teacher? They practically had completely opposite ambitions that they were reaching for, though Grant's goal was more narrow in comparison. Which was why his grades weren't that great. Sure, he had been getting by with pretty average grades, but there was some pressure on him to do a little better. As if he could read Grant's mind, the other guy decided to offer to help out with his studies. This was a golden opportunity to get on the right track.
"I guess I could use some help"
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 6, 2016 9:14:09 GMT -7
Tristan grinned. "Well, to make up for not being able to place you," he said cheerfully, "how about I offer a lending hand? Free of charge, of course." He wasn't going to judge someone for their grades, he understood that they couldn't help it or had other things to worry about. That was why he started to tutor people, after all. Sometimes people just needed a helping hand and he was more than willing to provide.
"By the way," he started a little awkwardly. "I don't think I caught your name, man." He chuckled nervously. He didn't remember if it had been said or not, but he couldn't remember it if it had. It was probably an awkward thing to be asked at this point, but easily better than if it was asked later.
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 6, 2016 9:32:14 GMT -7
When the other guy answered that he would be offering his tuition services free of charge, Grant felt quite elated at the prospect. Not only had he made a new friend, but his new friend was also going to help out with Grant's grades. His luck was certainly turning around. Perhaps it had something to do with...nah, probably just convenient timing. But with all this thinking about which class they were in school and tuition, the two didn't have the good sense to try to figure out each others' names. Grant had to admit he had a bad habit of doing that. He'd spend a day or two knowing something without knowing their name until it was right in front of his face. It was pretty stupid of him, to be frank, but he was going to work on it from now on.
"Grant. And you?"
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 6, 2016 10:33:43 GMT -7
The young man smiled. "I'm Tristan," he said as he extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Grant." And it really was. Tristan didn't know how, but he seemed to have stumbled into a new friendship with a pretty nice guy. On top of that, he also was now offering to tutor the guy. Those pretty exciting developments, especially for being so early in the morning. It certainly put a good spin for the rest of day. Put simply, he was seriously happy with how things were turning out.
Still, Tristan couldn't help but be a little curious about his new friend. Grant was an unusual sort, even he could see that. He was exceptionally large and imposing, but he certainly seemed to be a big softie. "Tell me about yourself a little," Tristan said cheerfully. "What are your interests? Dreams? Fears? Motivations?" He thought for a moment before continuing. "I get that you aren't a big talker, so you don't have to answer everything, but I have to admit that you've captured my interest. I'm just wanting to know a little about my new friend and student." He grinned as he spoke the last words.
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 6, 2016 12:37:04 GMT -7
Grant shook the extended hand of his newfound friend; Tristan. He swore that he must have had heard that name at some point in register or something, but that was fairly unimportant. Unfortunately for Grant, Tristan was a curious one, and he was a bit caught off guard when he asked him about his interests in attempt to get to know him better. Aside from wrestling...there really wasn't much else. He'd tell him what he told most of everybody; the truth. "Uh...get a wrestling scholarship, maybe get into the Olympics..."
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 6, 2016 13:26:38 GMT -7
Tristan smiled, the surprise quite obviously written all over his face. The Olympics was certainly a lofty goal, and he couldn't help but be impressed. "Wrestling, eh?" he asked, with a hint of a joking tone. "You're certainly built for it, I'll give you that, Grant." He started to laugh a little but suddenly stopped. Grant was out for training, and his long term goal is to get into the Olympics? Tristan immediately went back into his previous awkward state of mind.
"I guess that means I interrupted something pretty important then, huh?" he said uncomfortably. "Sorry about that." If he had known that, he wouldn't have started the conversation to begin with. He would've just said sorry and went his way, but it was too late for that now. Only thing he could do now is offer to let him continue. "If you want, I could let you get back to that, get out of your hair and the such."
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Post by Grant Miller on Jul 6, 2016 13:34:24 GMT -7
Tristan's confused look kind of worried Grant. Was it too ridiculous for him to believe? Sure, it was pretty ambitious, but that was what he was almost solely focusing on, perhaps to the detriment of his grades, hence why he needed Tristan's tuition. The mood made a sudden change when Tristan suddenly felt the need to apologize for inadvertently interrupting Grant's morning run. While it was a diversion from his strict training regimen, Tristan's clumsiness was a blessing in disguise, since they managed to meet and come to an agreement regarding tutoring. Grant opted out of continuing his run to instead keep going with the conversation. "No need for that"
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