A warm spring drizzle graced the city as Ellis waited at the bus stop. He had just finished his last class for the day. His phone was in his hands and he was reading articles about Navajo Myths. The one he was reading gave him a brief description of the Navajo belief that Earth is the fourth world mankind had visited and it was the one the first man and women decided to settle. Locust really came in clutch with the trials there. A text appeared on his phone. His roommate Lisa was letting him know that dinner would be waiting for everyone when they got home.
His bus arrived and he stepped on. It wasn't very crowded as it was the afternoon and most classes had yet to finish for the day. He chose an open seat near the back and watched the rain. Midterms were over and finals were next. He was glad to finally have some time to relax and mentally prepare for the final push before the semester was over. The bus reached its next stop and his roommate Gabby stepped on board.
She was a short, curvy woman who never quite finished her goth phase. Long black hair pulled into a braid. She had a rain jacket and her shirt was damp from the rain. Her breath was coming out heavy and her bag was halfway off her shoulder. It was clear she had ran to the bus stop from her last class of the day. She sat down next to Ellis and pulled out a bag of carrots to snack on. "How did it go?" he asked.
"I'm pretty sure I failed," she said, "I forgot half of the formulas that I needed and I made a lot of mistakes. What about you?"
"About the same. I'm pretty sure my professors threw a few things in that we never covered," he said and looked out the window again. "I can't wait to get home and relax," Gabby said and leaned against Ellis. Ellis let her as they were long time friends. He was tired and mentally exhausted. He spoke, "Be glad the weekend starts tomorrow. We get to sit back, relax and recuperate. Finals are next"
"Don't remind me," Gabby mumbled, "Are we going to do a movie night?"
"Byron has been wanting us to see this new show that just came out. Said it was really good."
"I bet it is," Gabby said and finished her carrots. She then pulled a bag of grapes out of her back and began to eat them. "I think you're stressing too much over your test scores," he said, "You've been chewing through those snacks like crazy.
Gabby didn't look happy, "If I fail, it'll be the third time I had to take the course. My parent's would not be too happy."
"They are paying your rent, right?" he asked. She nodded. Ellis scratched his chin. He knew her parents and how hard they were on Gabby. She was only allowed to move into the house they shared because they knew Byron's parents.
Eventually, their bus arrived at their stop. The rain was still going. Ellis wore a simple hoodie. He pulled the hood up to keep the rain of him. Gabby took the time to get her things and zip up her jacket. They stepped of the bus and began walking home.
They lived in a small house near the university. Four rooms and two bathrooms. The neighborhood had other students living in it. Many of them were still in their classes. Ellis opened the perpetually unlocked door to their home. The smell of chili hit his nose and made his stomach grumble. "Lisa is a saint," Gabby said and moved to the kitchen. Ellis heard Byron in his room yelling at someone he couldn't see.
"C'mon, push the lane!" he heard him say, "We got them on the ropes! Dammit, their Luxa is back! Got 'em! Tower down, going for Crystal! YES!" Ellis peeked in and found Byron doing a victory lap. "Did you win?" he asked. Byron had a set of headphones on and looked at Ellis confused. He pulled them off and Ellis repeated himself. "Yeah we did," he said, "The new team is doing good."
"That's good to hear. Everyone getting along okay?"
"Yeah, there is no drama so far, but I don't know for how long."
"How so?"
"One of them is a girl," Byron said as if it were a taboo subject. Ellis didn't get it, "How is that going to cause drama?"
"Ellis, I'm the only gamer you've known right?" Byron asked. Ellis nodded. Byron explained, "We Gamers are not the most well adjusted people in the world. Yeah our hobby is becoming more mainstream, but there are plenty of creeps out there who have no idea on how to human. Remember Harold?"
How could Ellis forget that man. The only reason he still saw him on the regular was because of the nearby conveyance store. "Yeah I remember him. Is he still hanging around the gaming store?" he asked. Byron gave a resigned nod, "The Sam, the store owner has put him on notice. He still hasn't done anything to get banned, but word is getting out."
"I'll let Gabby know to be careful around there then," he said. Gabby and Harold did not have a good history. "You hitting the gym tonight," Byron said, changing the subject. Ellis thought about it, "Might as well. Need to burn off steam. Midterms were torture."
"I bet, hey is that Chili?" Byron responded and made a beeline for the kitchen. Ellis followed and the door to another room opened. Lisa, the last roommate walked out of her room dressed in work out clothing and had a bag over her shoulder. The sound of metal object taping themselves came from the bag. "Heading to practice already?" Ellis asked.
Lisa nodded, "A few of the Girls and I got some extra time at the gym," she said. Lisa came riding a fencing scholarship. Everyone had watched her practice at some point. She was pretty good with her foils. "You guys heading out soon?" she asked. Ellis responded, "Yeah, with midterms over, I want to get some boxing done. Why don't we all go together and get our workouts in?"
"I like the sound of that. Maybe it'll definitely help Gabby build her confidence."
"Agreed," Ellis said and his stomach grumbled again, "I'm going to get some food. Why don't you meet us there."
"I will," Lisa said and left the house. Ellis, Gabby and Byron sat at the dinner table and ate their dinner. Lisa was an amazing cook. It fit due to her entering culinary school. It became an everyday occurrence for Lisa to test a new recipe on the household every evening since she took all of her classes in the morning and had the afternoon off to cook. Byron was the only one who didn't attend the university greatly appreciated the meals. So did Ellis and Gabby, who often came home too exhausted to do anything.
After their meal, Ellis proposed that Gabby join them at the gym. Gabby accepted and went to get a bag together. Ellis and Byron took the time to clean up the kitchen while they waited. Ellis washed the dishes while Byron put the extra chili away. "Lisa really needs to stop making so much food," Byron said, "Our fridge is getting to full again."
"She'll be at the gym, let her know then," Ellis said, "I was thinking about playing a board game tonight."
""Which one?"
"Risk? Lisa loves that one."
"If you are talking strategy, I just picked up a new one called Pantheon."
"What is that one about?" Ellis asked. Byron smiled, "You create a god and build up your follower base. It has an awesome Legacy system with replay ability." At this point Gabby finally put her gym bag together, "What are you guys talking about?"
"We were talking about doing a game night," Ellis said, "Byron picked up a new one that he would like to try."
"Let's do it," Gabby said with excitement. Ellis and Byron grabbed their bags out of their rooms and their water bottles. The three of them left the house and loaded up into Byron's car. As they drove to the gym, Byron explained the board game to Gabby. They arrived at the gym in a few minutes and everyone checked in.
The gym they were at was the one attached to the campus. Byron had to pay extra to get in while Ellis and Gabby were students and were able to get in for free. It was a light workout for both Ellis and Byron. Both were physically fit.
Ellis was broader in the shoulder that Byron with dark red hair. Byron was an inch shorter with raven black hair. Both were covered in lean muscle and were very athletic. Gabby was the opposite.
Short and overweight. The only time she went to the gym was when other people invited her. Due to her lack of physical ability, the work out was adjusted compensate.
The warm up was a mile run on the treadmill. Gabby could only go a quarter of a mile. Next was three sets of of ten of weight lifting. She did better at this, but she was behind on the weights while both men were curling fifty pounds easily with each hand. To finish out the workout before the cool down, both Ellis and Byron produced MMA boxing gloves and took turns with the bunching bag. They borrowed a set from the gym for Gabby to teach her how to fight.
"When you punch, you want to turn your body into it like this," Ellis explain and demonstrated. Byron held the bag in place. Gabby attempted to replicate it and overextended. "Crap," she said. Ellis stepped in and took hold of her arm and placed his hand on her back. "Like this," he said and moved her body in the way it was suppose to move, "Make sure you put your foot forward as you punch so you don't over extend." It took several more tries until Gabby started to get the hang of it. After everyone had their turn with the punching bag, the cool down began.
Everyone stretched and walked on the treadmill. Gabby was covered in sweat and breathing hard. Byron was stretched out on the floor. Ellis was making his way to another section of the gym where he herd the sound of metal on metal.
Lisa was near the end of fencing practice. Ellis saw she was currently sparing with one of the girls on her team. She was using a foil that was shaped for fencing with a sabre. From what Ellis understood, the sabre form was Lisa's favorite and she was very good at using it.
Her opponent was using a stance for a rapier. The woman stepped in to stab at Lisa. Lisa stepped out of her range and parried the strike. When it turned out to be a feint, her stepping back helped. Lisa had explained to Ellis once that the right distance at the right time was key to any sword fight. She had it. After a swift parry, she stepped into her overextended opponent and struck her on the chest. Both women removed their protective masks and shook hands. Lisa spotted Ellis and walked over.
"How did it go?" she asked. Ellis shrugged, "It went well, we dragged Gabby along and she did well. I'll talk to Byron about making it a regular thing."
"That's good. What did you think?"
"I didn't expect it to end so quickly."
"Hollywood makes sword fights last much longer than they actually do. Ten strikes at most." she explained, "Meet you out front in a few minutes. Did Byron drive?"
"Yeah, we'll probably stop by the Station and get some snacks," Ellis said, "You up for a game night?" Lisa smiled, "You ready to lose horribly again?"
"You are lucky the gods favor you," Ellis said and made his way to the locker room. Byron was already changing out of his workout clothes. Ellis opened his locker and did the same. "So, do you like Gabby?" Byron asked out of the blue. "Huh?" was the only response Ellis could muster, "Where is this coming from?"
"I've been watching how she acts around you," Byron elaborated, "I'm checking to see if you feel the same." Ellis thought about it, "You know, I've never really thought about it. We've been friends for a long time and I am comfortable around her and can see she is comfortable around me." Byron slipped into a pair of pants, "Well, think about it. And if you don't feel the same, let her down gently. And let us know what happens so we know to keep clear for a while." Ellis laughed, "I will."
Both men, having changed into clean clothes, walked out into the cool evening air. Gabby and Lisa walked out a moment later. He didn't know if it was what Byron said, or it was how the light hit her. He saw Gabby differently. He decided to give it time and determine whether his feelings were real. Byron wrapped his arm around Lisa's shoulders and they both laughed at a joke between the two of them. Gabby stepped up close to Ellis and he pulled her into a side hug. It was a good memory, one that shone bright into his mind. One he would look back on to keep him going in the future. At the time, he did not know why, but he spent some time to burn it into his mind. Then he broke the silence, "Hey, lets hit the Station before heading home."