|
|
Post by Daniel Jameson on Apr 23, 2008 22:56:53 GMT -5
Dan was never one to brag about his athletic abilities. However, he couldn't deny just how good he was in basketball. After class, yes, he went to class, he headed over to the gym and thought he would shoot some hoops. After playing four years in high school, three of those years were on varsity, he had some skills. However, he never had hopes of becoming a college or pro player. He just enjoyed being good at something for once. One hundred free throws a day made him this good.
So, of course, he went to the foul line and threw his first of a hundred free throws. About five minutes later, he had made about half of those shots and had fifty left. When he entered high school, he was going through some tough time with the death of his mother and brother. However, basketball definitely helped him. Shooting free throws, like what he was doing now, helped him clear his mind.
Though Dan had worked hard in living a stress free life, it was actually quite stressful. It took a lot more work to act like you didn't care or show no effort. However, that all had to change. Being on academic probation wasn't the best thing Dan had ever done. He had to get his ass into gear if he didn't want to get kick out. Now, that would be one of the worst thing to have ever happen in his life.
Now that he had finished making all one hundred of his free throws, he was looking for someone to play a game with. There wasn't too many people in the gym, but he was pretty sure that there would be a few people walking in, looking for a good game. Of course, at his level, Dan had a hard time to find someone that would be a good competitor. He always had to not show off to much to make the game fair, sometime. Dan continued to shoot baskets until someone came along.
|
|
|
|
Post by Evangeline Rose Vale on Apr 24, 2008 4:31:03 GMT -5
Evie was looking for some instant stress relief. She was generally a little annoyed with bits of life in general. She'd never been particularly athletic but she did have a good stamina and was very quick to predict an opponent's next move and to act on it. That's why she took up fencing, an ideal sport for her, despite her small-ish build. She loved either running or fencing, other than that, she'd been made to play several sports and didn't really mind them but at the same time, liked the intensity of a one on one sport like fencing.
She hadn't bothered with the usual protective gear because she knew for a fact that she probably wouldn't have an opponent. It wasn't like she knew anyone in Connecticut who actually liked fencing. Back home, there had been a few people she loved to compete with. Smiling at the memory, she bent down to tie the shoelaces on her brown, low top fencing shoes. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail with her fringe and shorter strands left hanging around her face. She wore her usual gear, shorts in which her well toned legs were clearly visible and a loose Oasis band shirt. She picked up her épée again continued on her way to the gymnasium, hoping to find some empty space to practice in.
She was starting to get slightly homesick. Manchester was home and she loved it more than any other place on the planet that she'd been to. The music scene, the people, the accent was all part of her and she missed it loads but at the same time, she was really quite glad to be somewhere different. She still had mixed feelings about being in Connecticut but she'd didn't really mind it.
Entering the rather large gym, Evie saw it was empty apart from someone shooting hoops, looking like he might like an opponent. Evie had played basketball at one time and was suddenly keen to see if she was still skilled enough to play reasonably well. She put her épée on the side and began walking towards the hoop, in her usual long, confident strides, "basketball probably isn't as much fun to play alone, is it?" She asked in her strong Mancunian accent, "need an opponent?" She asked, smiling. "I haven't played in a while."
|
|
|
|
Post by Daniel Jameson on Apr 24, 2008 23:47:04 GMT -5
Now, normally, if Dan heard a girl's voice asking to play basketball, he would probably just laugh it off and think the game was just a dud. He would probably end up flirting with her and letting her win, showing her a few pointers here and there. It was all part of the Jameson charm. However, this wasn't just any girl's voice. The accent gave it away. This was Evangeline Vale, the most perfect woman he had ever seen.
He slowly turned around and sure enough was Evangeline standing right there in front of him. She was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but he couldn't help but notice how hot she was looking right at that moment. It took a lot of will power to control himself. For some reason, only she had the power to make him act like this, and she probably didn't even know it.
"Uh, yeah, sure," he said, clearing his throat. The most embarassing thing would have been to have his voice break when speaking. He was a twenty-year old man. His voice should not be breaking anymore. "That's okay, I'm sure you'll be fine. Did you use to play basketball in high school or something?"
He bounced the ball toward her direction and rested his hands on his hips. Dan had a crush on this girl for quite a while now. Ever since they met at a party, he couldn't get his mind off of her. And, here she was, standing right in front of him. He didn't even have to do the work. She came to him. This had to be a sign.
|
|
|
|
Post by Evangeline Rose Vale on Apr 25, 2008 0:27:03 GMT -5
Evie looked at the guy oddly for a moment. There was something familiar about him, something she could almost place. "We've met before, haven't we?" She smiled, hands on her hips and her feet were apart. "Dan...you're Dan, right? We met at that party oooh, it's been a while!" She sounded confident as usual but it was so completely like Evie to never notice when some bloke liked her. She remembered thinking that he was hot and thinking she might just keep in touch with him after the party but then she'd gone and forgotten about it.
"I'm Evie," she paused to think before adding, "in case your memory is nearly as bad as mine." She wondered if he might remember her but she knew it wasn't likely. Evie wasn't usually one to stand out of the crowd. She heard him clear his throat when he spoke to her and laughed, "you all right?" She walked a bit closer to him, rolling up her sleeves at the same time, just as she always did before she was going for a run.
She stepped back and caught the ball easily and started dribbling it a bit, "I did play some basketball but fencing was my sport most of the time. I think I'm probably a bit out of practice." She did a quick but not particularly brilliant wraparound before commenting, "definitely a bit rusty." Because she was close enough to the hoop, she did a quick and almost perfect layup, smiling as she scored and then running over to catch the falling ball before she passed it back to Daniel.
"I think I'm up for a challenge," she smiled, "so, would I make a worthy opponent?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Daniel Jameson on Apr 25, 2008 0:46:37 GMT -5
Okay, so he was a bit hurt that she didn't remember his name. That's okay. Now would be a perfect opportunity for her to know and remember it forever. He nodded when she recollected his name, giving her a nervous smile. He's normally not like this. Shy? That's not even part of his vocabulary. If his friends could see him now, they would probably tease him until there was no tomorrow.
"How could I forget your name," he said to her, realizing how corny that must have sounded once those words left his lips. As she moved in closer, Dan's palm was getting sweaty. What was wrong with him? "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered her. "I think I'm just a bit thirsty, that's all. But, I'm okay."
"Fencing," he said impressed. Dan had no experience in fencing but he had always seen it in movies and stuff and it looked pretty cool. He wondered how good she was. "That's pretty cool. I always wanted to try that, but no one around here really gives fencing lessons."
He watched her do a layup and gave her a smile of approval. Catching the ball, he dribbled it over to the three point line. "Yeah, sure," he said, as he shot the ball and made it in. "If you think you can handle me." Now, this was the real Dan coming out. He ran over to get the ball and dribbled it back to the foul line. "Ladies first," he said, as he handed the ball back to Evangeline
|
|
|
|
Post by Evangeline Rose Vale on Apr 25, 2008 2:42:26 GMT -5
Daniel's comment about not forgetting Evie's name made her laugh, "now that's why I remember you. I thought you were loads of fun and made the most bizarre statements -bit like that one just now." It's not like she was pretending not to notice, Evie simply didn't notice he might actually like her. She wasn't used to getting loads of attention from most men. "Just so you know," she added, smiling, "that was the epitome of cheesy."
She nodded as he said he was just thirsty; she wasn't sure she believed him but she couldn't think of a different reason, "oh, I can understand that." She looked back to where she'd placed her épée, "and I've forgotten my own water bottle anyway." She shrugged, showing that it wasn't an inconvenience, "doesn't really matter."
She noticed that he'd sounded slightly impressed when she mentioned fencing. She smiled, "it's an interesting sport, very good for stress relief, just stabbing people. I haven't done it for long though," she paused to think, "only about five years, I think and I've been competing for only four years. If you'd like lessons, I'm always around."
She watched him shoot and smiled in approval, "you're good." She caught the ball again and the neatly spun it on her index finger, "I think I could definitely handle you" She began dribbling again and this time moving towards him and then quickly pulled a spin move and kept going. She was determined to do her best
|
|
|
|
Post by Daniel Jameson on Apr 27, 2008 23:04:22 GMT -5
Dan felt a bit embarassed with the fact that those words actually came out of his mouth, and that was the only way she would remember him. He scratched the back of his head when she said it was really cheesy of him to say something about never forgetting her name. "Yeah, sorry," he said, chuckling a little. "Stupid things come out of my mouth all the time. If you hang out with me long enough, you'll get use to it."
The fencing lessons sounded great. "I might just have to take you up on that offer one day," he said. It was a perfect excuse to hang out with her even more. However, he couldn't be more impressed that it only took her a year before she started competiting. "Did you win anything," he asked her. He wondered just how good she was. Just because you competed, that didn't always mean you were the best.
As Evangeline started dribbling towards him, he lazily stuck out a hand to try and steal the ball, but she pulled a spin moved that surprised him. His eyes was opened wider. That was not something expected from her. He turned to chase after her, and was able to steal the ball back from behind. So, maybe he wouldn't play too soft for her, though once in a while wouldn't hurt.
"Okay, okay," he said, taking the ball back to the foul line. "So, maybe I'll have some real competition today."
Dan dribbled twice with his left hand before tilting to the right, and bounced the ball into his right hand. He faked going to the right, then made a sharp movement to go to the left. He drove the ball going down the left side, and put the ball up in a very nice lay-up. The ball went in easily. Retrieving the ball, he handed the ball back to Evangeline. "Want another shot?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Evangeline Rose Vale on Apr 28, 2008 2:14:47 GMT -5
She noticed Daniel scratch the back of his head in embarrassment and then apologise. "It's okay," she laughed, "well it makes me laugh, and even though I've never been cheesy, I know I've made some awfully bizarre statements just because the words pretty much fell out of my mouth before I knew it." She was liking that she could be completely easy and laid back around him, "I suppose I will get used to it, I think I might be hanging about with you a bit more now. I meant to look you up after that party but then I just got tied down with numerous things."
One normally needed about a year of training at least twice a week before starting to compete properly in fencing. Evie nodded in answer to Daniel's question, "I won a couple of silvers in Manchester, just in local competitions and then a gold for Singapore Women's épée fencing but I think that was just really lucky!" She shrugged as if it wasn't really a big deal, "you only need about a year's regular training before you can compete, I enjoy it anyway so how I do in a competition doesn't really matter to me." She smiled as he agreed to her offer, "it would be good practice for me to teach, pick a time and a place and I'll be there. If you're the athletic sort, I think you'll like it."
Evie had seen Daniel stick out a hand as she dribbled towards him, that was exactly why she pulled the quick spin move... it was mostly to surprise him. But then, just as Evie was head towards the hoop, Daniel stole the ball from behind but Evie wasn't far behind him, trying her best to steal the ball back but failing, she watched as the ball went straight through the hoop and then smiled at Daniel, "well done, but I don't think I'll be going easy on you now."
Most of her hair was now falling out of her ponytail and she pulled out the elastic band, letting it all down for just a moment before quickly putting it back up. She caught the ball once Daniel passed it to her and decided not to give him any reaction time as she took off at full speed, dribbling towards the hoop. She was very quick on her feet anyway. When he was closer to her, she did a crossover dribble, abruptly changing pace, hoping to confuse him and then moved to the left, faked moving the left and moved to the right before doing a neat layup and watching the ball go through the hoop.
She confidently passed the ball back to Daniel and smiled, "it's still pretty unfair, you know, considering that I haven't properly played in years!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Daniel Jameson on Apr 29, 2008 23:04:29 GMT -5
The whole "wanting to call you back but got busy" line was something Dan would have used when he met up with a girl that he promised to call back. Yeah, feeding the line that you got really busy just meant that he didn't really took the effort to call her. He wondered if that was the same way with her, was she just saying that? He gave a strained smile and nodded his head, pretending to understand what it was like. This was college afterall. The workload, mixed in with some kind of social life could keep a person extremely busy. Most people would forget to sleep or even be healthy when they get to college.
The mention of Manchester perked his ears up. "Oh, is that where you're from," he asked. Of course, he could tell that she was English from her accent. But, he wasn't exactly trained to tell the difference of the regional accents. "That actually sounds really cool. I'm going to take you up on that offer. I really am. And, this time, so that we don't miss out, I'm going to get your number at the end of all this." Now, normally, it would be a line to get a girl's number. But, it still worked either way.
There was some sign of cockines in his smile and step after making that step. He laughed when she said she wouldn't go easy on him. "Oh, really, is that what you were doing," he asked her with a grin. He couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to her. Why was it that when they first met, he was a bumbling bafoon? And, now, it was as if they hang out all the time, doing this all the time. It was weird, but he actually enjoyed it.
When Evangeline looked like she was ready, he crouched down in a ready position and waited to take her on. However, she changed her pace as she started charging him and that threw him off. A lot of things were surprising him today. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face when he saw that she made it in. Dan was quite impressed with this girl. "Okay, so you're pretty good," he said, taking the ball back from her. "But, don't use that as an excuse after I beat you. Plenty of people say that, but it's never true."
Bouncing the ball a couple of times, he went to the foul line and checked the ball to her. When he got it back, he took a step back, shot, and swoosh! The ball went in. "I believe, that's four-two now," he said, giving her a smile and running after the ball to hand back to her.
|
|
