Steam crept out into the locker room as the door to the sauna opened. Stepping through, Herman sat down next to Oren, who had been in there for quite some time already. They sat in silence for a couple minutes, letting the heat wash over them and burn away the soreness of the day's activities. Oren had practically run into the sauna after the mock expedition, to nobody's surprise. Herman took a moment to regard the young man. His skin, the color of coffee with cream, glistened as sweat covered him in the haze of the sauna. The guy was practically glowing, defined muscles glistening under the fluorescents. Herman was no slouch himself, but he was willing to admit that he'd lost some tone in the decades he held over Oren. Most notably however, was Oren's blue-black hair, which he had in a messy bun, with two uneven strands hanging down the front. The older man sat back in jealousy, as his own bald head reflected the light like a mirror.
Herman broke the silence with a quiet chuckle.
"400 points. Four-fucking-hundred points. Kid, that's insane. Do you know how many striders you would've had to kill for that?" Herman said, flabbergasted. He looked quizzically at Oren, leaning toward him a bit, clearly begging for a response.
"78 striders. That's 390 points. Plus the 10 for the wraith at the end." Oren replied, staring at the pile of burning coals in the center of the small sauna with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Christ man, you know the maintenance team has to clean that up? And Robotics has to build more, right?" Herman's tone was sarcastic, though a little venom peeked through his words.
Oren lifted his head up from his gaze and turned toward his coworker, revealing a playful grin on his face.
"Dude, don't try to guilt me into going easy on you next time. You're lucky they don't account for style, or else I would've completely left you in the dust."
Oren was absolutely right. The young man had come into the job two years ago, at the age of 16. He was in high school then, only working late nights, but he'd quickly become a crowd favorite. After a year, he would be the one on the posters for the "Fun Run Amusement Park Dive Show!", doing a flashy pose. Six months after that, Oren was the one chosen to be the host, after the previous had quit the job. The kid was absolutely prodigious, and he only got better as time went on.
"Like you didn't already. I only got 155 points. Would've been more if the time wasn't so short."
"You sure about that? I'm pretty sure I saw you getting pinned down by a wraith at the end there."
"Hey you—" Herman stopped to take a breath and let the words die on his tongue. "You're right. I know I should've ditched the blaster, but I'm not good at melee like you or Mary."
"It's fine right? As long as the kids love the show—and they certainly did—it doesn't matter how well you played." Oren reached over and put a hand on Herman's shoulder.
The older man replied with a sigh, hanging his head a little lower. "Oren. I'm not young like you."
Oren looked at him with confusion.
"When I was a kid, I'd watch the NADL with awe. I always wanted to be one of those divers. I actually had a favorite one. He was the yellow Spectrum Diver—"
"Grant Golden?" Oren interrupted.
"Wow what a history buff." At that comment, Oren's face flushed slightly. "Anyway, I wanted to be just like Grant Golden. I did some Chasm Diving in high school and college, even got to represent my university a couple times, but I wasn't good enough for the big leagues. After a while, it became obvious that being a professional Diver simply wasn't my calling. So I quit, met someone, fell in love, had a kid. And a decade and-a-half later I got an offer at a local amusement park to become a 'Showdiver.' I thought to myself that it'd be a chance to live my dream, even if it was a little different."
Herman took a pause, not looking at anything in particular as he gazed ahead.
"Oren, this is all I got. The closest I'm gonna get to being like my childhood idol. I'm not bitter, I promise, but spare me a some competitive spirit. I'm not getting much better at this, and it does hurt a little to see youngsters like you and Mary besting me at what I loved so much."
"Wow, Herman I didn't know. I'm sor—"
"Don't sweat it kid. Like I said, I'm not that bitter."
"For what it's worth, I think you're a great diver." Oren said, getting up from his seat. While Oren wasn't the most socially adept person, he could understand when a conversation had reached an awkward end. As he headed for the door, Herman stopped him.
"Hey kid?"
"What's up?"
"You're one of the best divers I've seen at your age. How come you didn't try to play for college?"
Oren cocked his head at the question. It wasn't one he got asked often, so he hadn't a response readily available. Oren had gotten offers to play for colleges, but he'd turned them all down to stay home. Not knowing exactly how to articulate himself, a jumbled mess of thoughts came out of his mouth.
"Well, all the colleges that have a good diving program are too far. Closest one is in Manhattan, but that school's crazy expensive. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I'm skipping college. Gotta make money to help the family, you know? Jacks' medical bills are getting higher. Mom and Dad can't pay by themselves. Even Penelope's helping out. She's working at the theater. A-and this gig pays really well!"
Herman nodded in acknowledgment before replying, ignoring Oren's awkwardness.
"But what about the NADL? Even for Qualifying Class, I heard that they pay a hefty sum to the players at the end of each season."
"Maybe, but I'd have to be scouted, or win the lottery to go to the training camp. I haven't seen any scouts around, and I'm not gonna waste money on a lottery ticket, so it's a no-go for me. And even then, I'm not sure if I'm good enough. I know I do cool tricks but it's different in a real match."
The NADL is the North American Diving League. Out of the seven major leagues of Chasm Diving around the globe, it is the oldest, and second largest after the Pan-Asian Diving League. It's players draw from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean Islands and Mexico. Growing up, nearly everyone was invested in Chasm Diving. It had reached a point where major matches would become whole-day events and schools would let out their students early in honor of them. The most important of matches, such as the Spectrum Tournament, would be national holidays. As confident as Oren was in his ability, he wasn't sure he could compete on that stage, even if he was given the opportunity.
"Kid, I've seen you out there. Trust me, you're good enough, and with training you can be amazing. I can already see it. All those eyes on you, cheering your name. It suits you." Herman said, putting up an encouraging thumb.
"Thanks Herman, I appreciate that."
Without another word, Oren left the sauna and dried himself off. It was his last show of the day, so he decided to put on his regular clothes. He wore a white shirt, faded jeans, and a blue and black stylized letterman jacket with the letter A emblazoned on the front. The jacket was part of a line created for Alex Azul, the current #2 diver in the NADL, and Blue Spectrum Diver for 6 years. Oren had looked up to the woman ever since she rose through the Chroma Class and became the official Blue Spectrum diver at the 2170 Ceremony of the Sky. Alex Azul was a showman, much like Oren aspired to be, and is what caused Oren to dive in the first place. Oren would become the best diver in his high school, winning them championships. Although he had gotten offers to schools around the nation, the universities were too far from his family, and he wasn't too keen on leaving them alone. Though, if he got an offer to the NADL, that might be too good of a deal to pass up. The amount of money gained would be ridiculous. His family wouldn't have to worry about medical bills anymore. And, if he got into First Class, let alone Chroma or Spectrum Class, they wouldn't want for anything anymore. Not to mention the fame, the lights, and the biggest stage for Oren to put on a show.
Sadly, as enticing as that sounded, there weren't going to be any scouts looking to give him a once-in-a-lifetime offer.
Right?