Sports weren’t really Aria’s thing. Well, that isn’t quite true, she enjoys practicing yoga, a short run or even some laps swimming from time to time, but often it was just postponed, leading into cancelling the plans altogether. She believed there were other more important matters for her to spend her time on. That didn’t take away however from her being supportive of her friends and people who cared about sports, her brother did, and most of her friends were decent athletes actually. She gave Liv a kind smile, “Sounds like you had a pretty active summer, especially with all that volleyball conditioning. I can imagine it keeps you busy! Spending time with family in Auckland sounds nice. My summer was good, thanks. Lots of reading and working on my blog.”
Aria quickly wanted to take the focus away again from her summer, it had probably been boring compared to everyone else’s. At times it bothered Aria to see how her friends here had all this access to fancy holidays, Aria didn’t come from money and at times it frustrated her, even if she felt blessed with the things she did have. She never blamed a person for being better off than her however, more so there was a lot of frustration about the system that kept inequalities in place. So to deflect from herself she ended with, “Anything exciting happen back home with your brother and sister?”
@ChayChay05 - Liv
Owen paid careful attention towards Lila. He could notice something was occupying her mind, some thoughts distracted her. He was not sure what was going on in her brain, but Owen felt like she was struggling with something.
“Hey! Field hockey scholarship. That’s impressive, and super awesome!” His sister had told him time after time again how there were so many inequalities when it came to gender still, he had not seen many girls get at this academy on a sports scholarship. “Must be a blast being part of the team. As for me, I’m into basketball, just like my old man. Trying to live up to his legacy, you know? How’s the field hockey scene here? Exciting?”
He then took a small break before continuing to speak in a softer reassuring tone, “Lila, I couldn’t help but notice you seemed distracted, everything okay? Totally fair if you don’t want to, but I am here to talk.” Owen always wanted to see the people around him happy, and it this moment he strongly got the feeling something was bothering Lila. He just wanted to let her know if she needed it, he would be there for her.
@ChayChay05 - Lila
“Hey there! No need to get all worked up, mate.” Jasper flashed a friendly grin, but beneath the humor, there was a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “I just heard the guitar, and I thought, ‘Now that’s something.’ Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.”
As he spoke, Jasper’s animated gestures seemed a touch exaggerated, a subtle attempt to mask the unease he felt. He raised an eyebrow playfully, showing he was more amused than offended by Brex’s initial reaction. But if you looked closely, there was a hint of tension in his shoulders, a telltale sign of the internal struggle and touch of intimidation he felt in front of this guy.
“Base and electric guitar, huh?” Jasper’s eyes widened in genuine interest, though there was a slight hesitancy in his body language. He leaned slightly forward, trying to maintain an air of confidence. “That’s impressive. I’d love to hear you play for real sometime. What kind of music are you into?”
The tension lingered in the air, a silent dance between intimidation and bravado. Jasper’s laughter, while genuine, carried a subtle edge, revealing a struggle to navigate the unexpected encounter.
@bpalmer - Brex