That ceremony went on for too long. It was morning when they entered, and it was late afternoon when the thing finally ended. Oren's neck hurt from holding it up to watch the stage. He massaged it slowly as he walked alongside his peers through the courtyard of the campus.
After the entrance ceremony, they had sent all of the families home. The Pro Diver Training Camp had officially begun, and only participants and staff were now allowed on the premises, at least until the final expeditions at the end of the camp.
As he got closer to the dorms, he realized just how small they were. Despite the GCTF's status as the largest, most advanced training facility, it only harbors so many people for the training camp. Of course, professional divers can come and use the facilities at any time, but the live-in trainees consisted only of 300 people.
The dorms were split into two halves, presumably for men and women. In the center was a flower garden and a fountain, with many benches and tables for people to sit and relax. In fact, he saw a couple people already doing so. One person in particular caught his eye.
A brush of curly crimson hair blew in the wind, falling across another young man's face. The glasses wearing young man scrolled absentmindedly on social media, resting his elbows on his legs. As strands of hair kept falling before his eyes, he blew them away time after time, until finally pushing the red locks behind his ear. When he pushed up his glasses, Oren caught a full view of the man's eyes. They were a sparkling green, a shade that Oren knew all too well.
"Loran Mandis?" Oren called out.
The young man lifted his head at the sound of his name, locking eyes with Oren. A wide smile grew on both men's faces as they approached each other.
"Oren Astor. Still mad about getting second place?" Loran's voice was a little nasally, and carried some pretentiousness in its tone.
"Nope, because I know I'll never lose to you again."
The two stared intensely into each others eyes before grabbing each other in a firm hug.
Loran had gone to a private school in the district adjacent to Oren's. The two schools were considered rivals, having decades of history. Each school traded Chasm Diving Championships year after year. As a high school freshman, Oren managed to secure a spot as one of the representatives for the championship tournament of their region. He won the championship for his school that year, and went on to do it again his sophomore and junior years of high school. Loran was always just a few behind him, in second place. That was, until senior year, where Loran somehow blew Oren and the rest of the divers completely out of the water. Over the years they had become friends, sometimes training with each other, most of the time trying to psych the other out for the next time they would face off. It'd been a few months since the championships though, and they hadn't seen each other outside of the occasional hologram-chat.
"How are you? Its been a couple weeks since our last chat." Loran said, voice brimming with joy.
"I'm great, now that I'm here! I honestly wasn't expecting to be, and I certainly didn't think I was going to see you here."
"Oh c'mon. How could I not be? I'm…me. I practically had scouts chomping at the bit to get me." He playfully put his arm around Oren's shoulder and ruffled Oren's hair with the other.
Oren rolled his eyes and shrugged Loran off. Loran was a few inches taller than Oren and was much lankier. He thought it was funny to see such a tall skinny man throw around his limbs like that. It was kinda like those funny inflatable tube people in front of car dealerships that he'd see in vintage video archives.
"Right, right. What I mean is—didn't you have that internship with the broadcasting company? I thought you said they were going to give you a job."
"They were, but this is my calling. I had my dad pull a few strings and I was able to secure a spot here."
"By 'pull a few strings' you mean…?"
"He paid. A lot of money."
"Oh really? I thought scouts were 'chomping at the bit' to get you."
Loran's cheeks flushed.
"I-um, meant college scouts! For college! Anyway, the point is that we're both here, and I get another chance to beat you. Until then, let me walk you to your dorm."
"Sure." Oren looked at his I.D. card again, with Loran looking over his shoulder.
"Room 5-243? That's my room!"
With that, the two headed swiftly to their room.
~
When the two got to their door, they heard the sound of a vacuum.
"That's interesting. I was here before and the room already seemed clean. Maybe the maintenance staff here really is that thorough" Loran said quizzically.
Oren decided to open the door, hovering his I.D. card in front of the lock, causing the door to automatically slide open.
The room was not a room—it was a suite! Oren's eyes were greeted by a comfortable living area with a holographic television, kitchenette with beautiful marble countertops and state-of-the art appliances, and a small hallway that presumably led to the bathroom and bedrooms. Most interestingly though, was the sight of a large adult man furiously vacuuming and sweeping the floors. Sweat beads fell down the man's forehead as he worked tirelessly. The man, tan skinned and bearded with a buzzcut, didn't even notice the two enter the room.
"Hello?" Oren said.
No answer.
"Um, Hi?" Loran said, even louder.
Still no answer.
It wasn't until Loran walked over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder that he noticed. The man turned around, confused at Loran's touch before recognizing the situation.
"Oh, you guys must be my roommates. My name's Julian. Julian Tanner. Nice to meet—"
Julian stopped in his tracks, and his eyes focused on the floor, looking from Oren's feet to Loran's feet.
"No, no NO. I just cleaned that area. Jesus. Please take off your shoes. I'm tryin' ta keep this place spotless."
The pair of boys quickly took off their shoes, as the look in Julian's eyes did not betray a willingness to compromise. It also helped that Julian was at least 6'4" and built like a tank. Oren and Loran sat on the couch in the living room in silence and awe as Julian finished cleaning the living room.
"Sorry about my outburst earlier, I'm kinda serious about cleanin' and stuff. I sure as hell ain't mean ta scare ya into silence." Julian bashfully chuckled. The man had a clear southern drawl, and all the sweetness that came with it.
"Like I said, the name's Julian." He stuck out a hand to the pair.
"Hey Julian. My name is Oren Astor"
"And I'm Loran Mandis."
The three shook hands before Julian walked over to the fridge in the kitchen and grabbed a beer.
"Uhh, I'll take one." Oren said hesitantly, trying not to reveal that he wasn't of legal drinking age. To this, Loran rolled his eyes, and Julian nodded, knowingly.
"So, Julian. What brings you here? You're clearly quite a bit older than us. Are you Unqualified by any chance?" Loran abruptly said.
Oren punched Loran lightly in the side, giving him a side-eyed glance. Loran responded with shrug. Walking back from the kitchen, Julian laughed and tossed a beer to Oren.
"I'm ain't that much older than you kids. I'm 29. As for why I'm here, well I guess I got bored of cleaning the expeditions up. I wanted to be the one that makes the mess" He chuckled.
"You were a maintenance diver?" Loran chimed.
"Yeah. Been cleanin' for about 7 years now. A couple months ago I realized—"
DUMMMMM
A sudden ring shook the room, causing the trio to look around for the source of the noise. Then, an artificial voice sounded from speakers hidden within the walls.
"Attention. All members of the Pro Diving Training Camp please report to Gym No.1 for conference."