Realistic or Modern Summer Daze (Toastie x Edric)

[usagi froggy]

Iris Drake
​

Iris wiped her forehead as she walked into the rec center, finally done with her lessons for the day. She wore a baseball cap on her head, trying her best to hide her sweaty, scraggly hair, ruined after an entire day in the hot sun. Sure, she enjoyed her job, but damn was it difficult in the summer. She was looking forward to going home so she could wash all of the sunscreen off of her skin. That was the worst part. Not only was it thick and greasy, but she had always hated the smell of it.

She wanted to go right to her car and drive home, but she was parched. She filled up her water bottle and just sat in the lobby, giving her feet a moment to rest before she had to go home. Despite already being accepted into college with a pretty good scholarship, her parents were still gonna make her practice her violin and do some weird business prep workbook. She hadn't told them yet that she'd already decided she was majoring in English.

She stared at the hockey rink that was right next to the entrance of the lobby. Large windows gave anyone who walked in a great view. She was honestly kind of jealous of everyone that got to work or play in there, during the summer at least. Granted, she didn't understand a damn thing about hockey, but it was free AC at the least.

Edric Blight

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Kallgren
​

It was a hot summer day. Ironic that Thomas was down at the rink helping with a sport that screamed winter- hockey. The blonde haired boy ran a hand through his soft hair, taking a deep breath. One of the perks of his job and working in at the ice rink was that he was inside the building in the AC all day, so he didn't have to suffer in the hot summer sun and the warm weather. But Thomas always felt that the ice rink was where he belonged. Hockey was his passion, and he was more than happy to be an assistant coach with the youth league's team here. Plus, the older adult coach did most of the work. Thomas simply helped with the kids when he was needed and served as an example for various different drills and techniques that were being taught to the kids on the team.

In high school, and even before then, Thomas had been a hockey player. He started skating at the age of 7 and began playing ice hockey at that age as well. When he was younger, first it was little pee wee leagues at the local hockey rinks. Then in middle school, he joined a more advanced traveling hockey team where he would have to travel to various different states to face other teams in tournaments. Luckily, his parents completely supported his love for the sport and were more than happy to take him to his different tournaments, even if they were in a few states over at times.

But once he got into high school, Thomas had joined his school's ice hockey team, where he played for all 4 years there. In his junior year of high school, he was named one of the team's alternate captains, denoting his skill from the rest of the team. But now high school was over and it was summer time. Sure, Thomas missed skating on the rink and playing for a team- specifically enjoying his four years playing for his high school team and playing against rival high school hockey teams, but he knew that soon he would be getting to play hockey at a very high level- in college.

Thomas had been accepted to one of the nation's top colleges, and one of the many things it boasted was a very skilled Division I men's ice hockey team, one that had lots of talent and produced many famous successful professional athletes. Due to his recognition for his play in high school, the school had offered Thomas a scholarship to come and play there. Ecstatic, he happily accepted, being offered a scholarship to that college being one of the proudest days of his life. So sure, he had to wait a little while before he could get back out on the ice again and playing some hockey with a real good team, but coaching this little league team as an assistant would have to do, and would be enough to hold him over for now. He still got to lace up skates and show the kids how to do certain things. But he sure was glad that his future was secured and that he would be going to such an excellent college to continue to play the sport he so dearly loved for his entire life.

But now, there was time for break in the action of today. Practice was over for the day and Thomas had satisfied his assistant coaching duties for the day. It was a relatively hard day of drilling today with the kids on the team, and the boy had not much time to really take a break nor get himself something to drink. So, he did just that, feeling extremely thirsty from the day's practice. The sport took a lot out of a person, so Thomas needed to quench his thirst. Luckily he knew of a water fountain in the lobby just outside the hockey rink part of the complex that he would always go to and grab a quick cold drink of water if needed. As Thomas made his way out from the hockey rink, with the intentions of going to the water fountain to grab a quick drink and head back home, he noticed a girl staring out at the hockey rink from the lobby. He squinted his eyes a bit, his heart racing as he could have sworn he recognized the girl from one of his classes before. He knew for a fact that he had not once ever spoken to this girl before in his life, but Thomas was always awkward in these situations and hated seeing people he somewhat knew of out in public. It was always tense and weird for the very shy and timid boy. Yes, despite being an attractive and athletic hockey player, he was actually very quiet and mostly reserved to himself. Sure he had his friends and what not, but for the most part, Thomas hated talking to people and just hated making new friends in general. He was a very shy person, something his few close friends from the high school hockey team knew and often harassed and teased him for it.

 

[usagi froggy]

Iris had only been absent-mindedly paying attention to the hockey rink, so it took her a few moments to even register that there were people exiting the door. Mostly kids, but there was someone her age too. Someone that she definitely recognized. Thomas? Was that his name? They had definitely been going to school together since they started high school, and they'd probably even had classes together. But they weren't apart of the same social circles. She was pretty sure he hung out with the jocks, though he was definitely one of the quieter ones. Most of the jocks either hit on her or teased her, so she was surprised that he hadn't made much of an impression on her.

Her eyes followed him, watching as he went to the water fountain and took a sip. She hadn't even been doing it consciously. Just her eyes focusing on the (somewhat) familiar. As he turned around from the water fountain, their eyes locked. Oh, god... It's not like she wasn't social or anything, but she had never talked to him before... it was just kinda awkward... should she wave? Should she ignore him? She decided she would just... wave. That was good enough. She could just wave at him and then they could forget this little awkward encounter for the rest of their life.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas panicked internally. He absolutely hated seeing people from his school that weren't his few friends out in public. It wasn't that he necessarily hated this girl, but it was just that the timid boy wasn't a fan of the social interaction aspect or recognizing someone from his high school classes. He briefly glanced at her, noticing that she was staring back at him. But he went about his business, not trying to draw too much attention to him. But the blonde haired boy knew he had recognized the female from somewhere. Of course, the two hung out in completely different social circles. Thomas, for one, hung out with a group of jocks. He stuck around the jocks and athletes on the high school's boy's hockey team, although ironically he was very quiet. He was the quiet one in a group of bold and often confident (borderline arrogant and cocky) male athletes. He'd sit with them, walk with them, hang around them, but he was mostly reserved and silent. It wasn't even that the boy disliked hanging out with the jocks, since of course a few of them on the team became his legitimate friends, but he just stuck out like a sore thumb being the only humble and timid jock of the group, while also being essentially invisible in the group since he didn't talk much and he certainly didn't flaunt himself about the school.

Thomas took his sip of water from the fountain. He bent over and pressed the button as a clear liquid squirted from the dispenser. But as he was taking his little drink, he noticed something- movement, from the corner of his eye. It was that girl from before, a female whose name he admittedly couldn't remember for the life of him. She was waving! He paused, stopping his drinking and looking up from the fountain, now staring back at her. He was sure she had just waved at him now. He squinted, tilting his head to the side a bit like a confused puppy as he analyzed the girl. He must have looked so weird with his reaction like this to something as simple as a friendly wave. In not wanting to be awkward, the female, thanks to Thomas, had made it a bit more tense due to the boy's social awkwardness. But Thomas was raised right, he was raised to be polite and respectful to others, regardless of who someone was (something that a lot of the boys Thomas hung around forgot often). It was ironic that Thomas hung around such a group back in high school. He did manage to keep a few of his jock friends though- the more respectful ones though. He wasn't just going to leave the girl hanging. So, he decided to reciprocate her action and return the favor. With that, Thomas brought his right hand up to give her a weak little wave back, standing there frozen like a statue in front of her, at the fountain, as he forced a weak yet friendly smile to form with his lips.

 

[usagi froggy]

Iris was not awkward socially in the slightest. She was a cool girl who got along well with other people, whether she tried to or not. But, admittedly, there was an underlying anxiety for her whenever she talked to someone that she didn't really know. Granted, Thomas wasn't exactly the most intimidating of people, but they were from totally different social circles and there was some weirdness about the two of them interacting in public like this. She didn't even know why she waved at him like that, because this was definitely more awkward than if they had just locked eyes and gone their separate ways.

The two had locked eye contact, just waving at each other. She smiled back at him, something that was a bit uncommon to see, unless you were one of her close friends. And then, she did the unthinkable: she stood up. She walked over to him, unsure exactly why she was doing this, but it felt... right? Like, if she saw someone she knew it would be weird to just wave and then not talk at all? She'd just say hey and then they'd both go their separate ways.

"Hey, I didn't know you hung out here," she said, taking a sip of her water.

 

[Edric Blight]

The two had locked eyes- something insane for Thomas to do with someone who he didn't exactly know well. It was quite ironic actually, Thomas was a jock and hung out around all of the other jocks on the hockey team, yet he was the quiet one of the group and didn't exactly scream confidence- at least not socially. Sure, some of the jocks were assholes at time, often only interested in inflating their own ego, being cocky about their sports skills, and hitting on girls, but Thomas was certainly not like that. He was a quiet and humble boy, respectful, but quite socially awkward. The only people he really felt comfortable hanging out with were his friends on the hockey team- specifically his few closer friends. He was friendly with the whole team obviously, but he was especially closer with a small group of boys that had played on the same line as him back on their high school team.

But then, the unthinkable happened- at least the unthinkable to Thomas. There was a stark contrast between the male and the female. Iris was a female with confidence about her and Thomas was a bit of a socially awkward, quiet, and reserved dude. He was surprised to see and hear the girl come up to him and actually begin talking, seemingly trying to strike up a casual conversation. He felt his heart rate increase, as it so often did when he was in an uncomfortable situation, or just generally in a social interaction with someone he didn't know too well. Iris wasn't exactly a stranger, since the two had went to the same high school for four years, but neither Thomas nor Iris knew each other as friends or even acquaintances since they both hung out in completely different social circles back in high school- social circles that would never be seen intertwining or socializing with each other. Thomas was just dragged along with the hockey jocks, doing whatever they did and going where ever they went, sitting with them at the lunch table or hanging out with them outside of a certain locker and talking.

This though, was a foreign concept to him. It was as if he were an alien who had just landed on a different planet. The two being from completely different social circles, in high school, this interaction would be considered a bit odd, maybe even frowned upon by some of the more arrogant jocks, in high school. But Thomas was raised right, and although he was quite socially awkward, he wasn't about to just ignore or run away from the girl who seemed to have nothing but friendly and good intentions. Thomas stood near the water fountain as Iris began to talk to him, taking a quick sip of her own water.

"Y- yea," he said, rubbing the back of his neck a bit, "I work here, o- over at that ice hockey rink over there," he said, making a pointing motion over towards the ice rink with his thumb, balled up in a fist. He paused, and almost frantically as if someone had given him a cue card on how to react in this situation, he decided he'd be polite and reciprocate her question, continuing the casual conversation on. "Oh uhh, w- what about you? What are you doing here?" Thomas asked the girl, slightly nervously.

 

[usagi froggy]

Honestly, part of the reason Iris went up to him in the first place was that he seemed like a pretty alright guy. He'd probably given her at least 10 pencils and she had let him copy off of her homework a few times. Sure, they never actually talked or anything, but there was a vague familiarity. She kinda thought he'd think she was rude if she didn't say something. That's generally how it goes. Iris had always had a resting bitch face, so people had this pre-conceived notion that she was this scary, mean person. But she wasn't! And part of her wanted to show Thomas that she wasn't. Besides, he was cooler than all the other jocks anyways.

"Oh, really? That's cool," she said, looking over at the hockey rink. She really didn't have anything to say to that... she didn't know a lick about hockey aside from the fact that ice was involved. "I work out in the back on the golf course. I teach little kids how to play," she said with a shrug. "Sorry, I probably look awful today. It's hot as a bitch outside."

 

[Edric Blight]

As Thomas stood there, he analyzed the girl. Now he was sure he definitely recognized for class. He'd maybe done a polite gesture or two for the girl, but he didn’t think he ever remembered really ever talking to her- like a full on real and genuine conversation with the female. But she seemed nice enough, and Thomas had no problems with her. The only reason he knew of her was because of the few classes they had most likely shared over the four years of high school and because some of the more arrogant hockey boy jocks probably tried to hit on her a few times and maybe even teased her. But he didn't know much about her at all, and conversely, since they really never talked with each other, he assumed that Iris - if that was her name and he was remembering correctly - barely knew anything about him as well.

Thomas rubbed the back of his neck and smiled a bit, "Heh yea," he said softly. He nodded his head, "Oh th- that's cool!" Thomas said in response to her describing what she did for her job. It seemed pretty similar to what Thomas did- just a completely different sport. They both worked with and helped younger kids in their respective sports for their summer jobs. "I kinda do something similar," he explained, "I'm an assistant coach with a youth hockey team here, I kinda help around with the kids and stuff," he said. "Oh and uhh d- don't worry about it," he said, closing his eyes and shaking his head as he smiled slightly, "it is hot as hell out here, I probably look all sweaty too from doing all those drills with the team." Thomas said, running a hand through his soft blonde hair, wondering if he too looked like a sweaty mess after the day's work. He chuckled a bit, not really caring that she wasn't in "pristine condition" and was all sweaty from the day. Besides, she was working outside in the hot summer sun, unlike him who was inside for his job.

 

[usagi froggy]

She shrugged at his response. Maybe she'd think it was cooler if she didn't have to do it everyday. Then again, she thought that his hockey was pretty cool, meanwhile he probably thought it was pretty lame. The cold probably got old when you had to be in it 8 hours a day. "Nice. Working with a bunch of kids is probably a lot harder than working with one of them at a time," she mused. Her voice was a bit monotone, but she did genuinely mean what she said.

She shrugged at him, taking a look at his appearance for the first time. She wasn't exactly sure if he was her type, but he looked decent enough. Unless he had pointed, she wouldn't have even noticed his messed up hair. "What can you do? Sports, right?" she said, chuckling and smiling a little bit. "Kinda crazy that this place has an ice rink and a golf course, huh?"

 

[Edric Blight]

He nodded his head, "Yea it is," he replied, surprised he was even carrying on a casual conversation for this ling. "Plus, the actual coach does most of the work, I just have to help around where the coach can't be since he's only one guy, and be the demonstration for the coach for drills- which is easy since I played back on our high school team," he told her. Maybe she knew or maybe she didn't know that Thomas was apart of their high school's hockey team. He found it hard to believe she didn't know, since their school was a big hockey school, but still, he didn't want to be arrogant and point it out that he was on the team, especially if she already knew that. To be honest, he didn't know what she knew about him. He was the quietest kid on the hockey team after all, so at times, when he wasn't on the ice, he was essentially invisible. He wasn't as vocal as some of his other friends and teammates.

Thomas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and chuckled a bit at her little joke. "Heh, yea, guess we're pretty lucky to have a place like this. Who knew, right? Golf and hockey- two different sports." he said. He paused, "Well, not so different if you stretch it," he added. And indeed, if you did stretch it, hockey and golf weren't all too different after all. Both required some kind of a stick or club and involved often swinging motions to propel a ball or a puck.