<@Wataru> [January 18th, 2004, an icy sunny Sunday morning in Maine.] <@Wataru> [A series of breakdowns in communication have led Our Hero Satoshi to mull over his life in his dorm room, alone. What will happen? Who knows!] <@Wataru> [Session start!] 06* Satoshi Watanabe is not having a very good morning. It started off well, with a video chat with Wataru, but then apparently he was supposed to stick around and talk over IM instead of doing texts and/or e-mails? And he went off to get breakfast with Liam and Grant (and Joshua!) and forgot about Liam's stupid "no cellphones" at the table rule and so he didn't silence his phone. And then Liam got mad and texted Wataru. And then he shut off my cell phone, and I couldn't get it back on in time, and so I came back here and read the texts and Wataru seems upset. And then I texted *him* back but he's probably asleep by now. So. ... why the hell am I narrating my life to an empty room? 06* Satoshi sighs. "I need to get out of here for a while." He grabs his phone and his charger, stuffs the phone into his pocket and the charger into his bag, slings it over his shoulder, and heads out of the dorm room for Parts Unknown. Well, some part of the U of Maine campus. 06* Satoshi is just not sure what part yet. 06* Satoshi realizes that he's still actually pretty hungry. Storming off in the middle of breakfast will do that to you. Maybe he should hit the student union and grab something. <@Wataru> [The campus is freezing, but a lot of students are out in the sunny morning! Some hooting madmen are trying to play Frisbee on a snow- covered lawn, and a zealous young couple are giving off steam as they make out on a bench near the library. It is an incongruously cheery day for Satoshi's dark mood.] 06* Satoshi kind of ignores the people. It's good that they're out and about and being active, and it's nice to be out in the sun instead of the cold dark. Having people around in general is pretty nice. He's pretty sure that this is better than sulking in his dorm room. <@Wataru> [He may be ignoring the people, but that doesn't mean people will be ignoring him and his flowing locks swept by the Nordic breeze! In fact....] 01 Hey, Sato! 06* Joshua waves at his fellow lineman as Satoshi walks by. He's standing in the mall, near a bunch of the frisbee-playing lunatics. 06* Satoshi instinctively jerks his head in the direction of the person calling his nickname, his hair flicking across his face in a somewhat annoying manner. Even that seems to be going badly today. He angrily brushes it out of the way. "Joshua. Hey." His voice is kind of flat. 01 You feeling better? Seemed pretty pissed this morning when Campbell- Liam's an ass. 06* Joshua blinks and is about to say something when he's cut off by a frisbee player yelling, "BRADLEY. THROW THE FUCKING FRISBEE." ...wait, you're in this game? 06* Joshua looks down at the frisbee in his hand. "Oh. Yeah." He turns and wings it at the guy, who runs after it, and calls, "BE BACK!" And with that, the terminally scruffy Joshua Bradley is jogging off the mall and to the sidewalk. 06* Satoshi cannot help but chuckle a little at that before forcing it down. Liam. Ass. And Joshua was *there*. 01 So, what's up? 06* Satoshi throws his hands up in the air. "Who made Liam the boss of everything? He's not captain! Or alternate! Okay, I kind of *get* the stupid no cell phones at the table rule but he could have at *least* given me the chance to, I don't know, silence it or walk away for a minute to take care of things or something! Now there's this weird text to my friend who's *also* probably pissed at me for other reasons and it's the middle of the night there and he's asleep so I don't even get a chance to *explain*! Or ask *why* he's pissed!" It was just a misunderstanding! 06* Joshua takes a step back and holds up his hands. "Whoa. Slow down, dude." You were there! Why didn't... didn't... goddamit, no, if *I* couldn't react fast enough, why would I be expecting *you* to? 06* Joshua shrugs a little. "Liam's kinda a self-important ass, yeah, but... Your phone was on fire, man. And it was texts. If you thought it was really important, wouldn't you have left the table?" 01 I didn't think your friend was pissed at you. Or whatever. Don't think Liam did, either. 06* Satoshi puts a hand to his forehead. "Ugh. I don't know. I promised him stuff, and then I promised you guys stuff, and then apparently what he thought I promised to do wasn't what I thought I promised to do, and now maybe it's a mess? I don't know. If I got a random message from a friend's cell phone saying I was busy and I obviously wasn't the person who wrote it, I think I'd be pissed?" He seems kind of uncertain. 06* Joshua rubs at the scruff on his chin. "What'd you promise to do?" And he starts walking, waving for Satoshi to come with him, because standing still is boring and he doesn't want to get pulled back into frisbee until he's ready. <@Wataru> [The Linguistics Undergraduate Student Society is selling samosas out of a big foil-lined box! Dollar each or 5 for 3$! All proceeds go to charity!] 06* Joshua gets distracted by samosas. "Hey, check that out. Linguistics, huh. Want one?" And then he goes and gets two without waiting for a response from Satoshi. 06* Satoshi follows, because... why not? He's maybe starting to feel slightly less angry and slightly more... something that isn't angry? Or at least isn't angry at Joshua. And then there's samosas, and Joshua buys two and hands him one. "Uh. Thanks." Okay, so... <@Wataru> [The freckled-face girl who hands Joshua his samosas, and whose curly black hair is exploding in every direction from under her red beret, grins at them! "Thanks!" The other two Linguistic majors behind the table - a skinny white boy and cold-looking Asian girl - echo said thanks.] I was video chatting with a friend back in Japan this morning. And we were trying to keep it short because we didn't want to run up his internet bills. So we set up a timer and everything, and we decided to cut it off early and just take it offline. Well, off video. And so I thought he meant we'd just text and e-mail and stuff like we usually do, and he apparently thought we were going to hop over to IM. But by that point I'd already texted Liam and Grant that'd I'd be able to meet them for breakfast, and my friend sent me an e-mail so I thought it was cool and that was what we were doing. 01 Yeah? Sounds cool so far. 06* Joshua eats some samosa and glances back at the students. The girl with the red beret is really cute, he doesn't say. And I sent him an e-mail back. And ... I don't know, this seems kind of silly now. I like talking to him. It's fun. But I thought talking for an hour meant talking for an hour. And then maybe e- mailing later. I was kind of disappointed when he suggested cutting it off early, but, well internet bills. Am I even making sense? I'm not entirely sure I'm making sense. 06* Satoshi takes a bite of samosa. 01 Yeah, you're making sense. So he thought you were gonna jump straight to a chat thing, you didn't, and then you sent an e-mail explaining what you meant. What's the problem? He e-mailed me back, I sent him a text, I went on to breakfast, then he sent some more texts and Liam stole my phone. He seemed kind of upset by the confusion, but I don't know? But I didn't get a chance to explain because phone. Liam didn't have to take it. 06* Joshua huhs and blows on the samosa before taking another bite. "Your friend know English?" he asks around it. Yeah. 01 And he knew you were going to breakfast? Yeah. But seriously, you don't steal a guy's phone and text people with it! 01 Nope. 01 But you're probably more upset because you think you upset your friend. Or, uh. Liam upset your friend. 06* Satoshi takes another bit of samosa and chews thoughtfully. "Yeah," he says, finally, after swallowing it. "I just want to explain. Well. I did explain. But it's night over there and he probably won't see the phone until the morning. I just... I don't know. The suspense is bothering me. And I don't want Liam to think he can pull that kind of shit on me all the time." 01 Then you gotta make it clear to him. Take it out on him in practice or something. Liam's an ass, but you know he mostly means well. 06* Joshua pops the rest of the samosa in his mouth and chews. "And," he says, after he swallows most of it, "your friend's gonna see your texts first thing in Japan-morning. You explained as soon as you could, right?" What, do I just call him out on the ice or something? 06* Joshua grins. "Sure. Coach'd probably okay it, and it could be fun to watch." 06* Satoshi points dramatically with his left hand. "Liam Gavin Campbell, I, Satoshi Watanabe, challenge you to a shootout!" ...probably Grant shouldn't be in goal for that one, though. Unless he wants to be. 06* Joshua shrugs and says, philosophically, "He could use the practice. Dude doesn't get enough time on the ice as is." 06* Satoshi sighs. "Yeah, actually. Not a bad idea. It's not like we have to alternate goal sides or anything. ...god, I hope those rumors about using shootouts to determine wins after overtime instead of just having ties don't turn out to be true." 01 ... Yeah, that'd be something. Just gotta wait and see, right. Also these lockout rumors. *Not* liking those one bit. 06* Joshua actually frowns now, but just a little bit. "Well. Rumors are rumors." He wipes his hands on his jeans. "You wanna get breakfast?" 06* Satoshi blinks. "Wait, didn't you eat breakfast with us? Well, uh, Grant and Liam. Since I kind of stormed off and all." 01 Yeah, but I'm like a hobbit. Can always go for a second breakfast. 06* Satoshi thinks he knows what a hobbit is. There were movies about them, right. "Second breakfast sounds good. Oh, and to get back to what you were talking about earlier... I should stop worrying so much. My friend'll see the text in the morning, and we'll talk, and we'll work it out." 06* Joshua grins. "You got it." He puts his hands in his pockets and starts for the Student Union, which is where Satoshi was heading all along. <@Wataru> [The Student Union food court has numerous options for hearty breakfasts! When Satoshi leaves it again, he will notice the sky has clouded up a bit, and by the time he heads to that team meeting he got notified of in the morning, a light snow is falling from a grey sky. The meeting will take place at their usual practice spot....] 06* Satoshi walks into the locker room a bit before the meeting starts, knowing that Liam is probably going to be there already. * Liam has been all "hail fellow, well met" this practice. More so than usual. Grant had gotten there early to get himself a little more practice ice time before the meeting. 06* Satoshi eyes him levelly. "Liam." Sato. I didn't appreciate you taking my phone this morning. I understand that this was in violation of the rules, but you could have at least given me a chance to leave the table first. * Liam replies evenly. "Ah, and have you learned how to manage your fanboy/girls after you step away? Because that intensity of texting plus your facial expression means someone's got a problem." 06* Satoshi was somehow not prepared for that retort, and suddenly all his calm is gone and now he's just all up in Liam's face and poking him in the chest. "You. Me. Shootout. Now." * Liam nods seriously and heads out on the ice. It's a fair challenge, one to be respected. 06* Satoshi looks over at Grant. "You want to be our goalie for this?" Wouldn't miss it. Good. He is *so* going down. 06* Satoshi heads out onto the ice. [Meanwhile in the surrounding stands, Elise sits along with two of her usual entourage at the center ice stands. She rests her chin on her hands, watching with interest.] 06* Joshua shows up just a bit later, when Satoshi and Liam are getting warmed up. He looks around and notes the bystanders, waving at Elise. * Elise waves back with a smile. "Hey Joshua, how's the Nerfherding?" * Grant takes a moment to get out as he gets on his gear but before long he's in the goal. 01 Man, why'd you always gotta ask about the family business? * Liam smoothly skates out, making tight circles as he takes his position. * Elise laughs, "My bad." 06* Satoshi stretches as he waits for things to begin. He is calm... he is calm... he is so not calm. 06* Satoshi attempts to breathe deeply. Think of it like it's a game. It is a game, and Liam... Liam is not his linemate right now. Liam is his competition, and he's still seriously pissed. * Liam gave a quick acknowledgement to Elise but he's all business now. "After that last game, you're a rising star, Sato. I'll let you walk away from the table, but you've got to learn to set boundaries because believe me, breakfast interruptions will just be the start." Boundaries, huh? Like not stealing people's phones and texting their friends? Okay, sure. Boundaries. * Liam grins, not contesting the applicability of the point here. He then bends down, ready to skate. Let's do this. You can even have the first shot. * Sweater wearing girl to the right of Elise coughs pointedly after Satoshi's comment. Elise shrugs and quietly comments. "You got me, do you want a shootout too?" * Liam nods to acknowledge the gesture and goes for it without hesitation. * Sweater wearing girl smiles innocently and then like the rest of the spectators focuses on the rink. <@Wataru> [Liam starts slow, preparing his approach, and then picks up a burst of speed and hits a smooth shot to the lower left of the net. It's in! He smiles at Satoshi, takes a little bow, and gestures for him to go next. Satoshi is ready, having watched Grant try to block Liam. He shoots, trying for a subtle little angle that he's sure he'll make.... except he doesnt. It bounces off Grant's pads and veers off. Satoshi huffs through his nose. He does not listen to Liam's comment, and watches calmly - definitely calmly, so calmly - as Liam shoots one that hits the pole. He catches himself smiling at that... Then it's Satoshi again, and this time it's in, just barely, under Grant's elbow. Yes! He looks at Liam, who is acting as nonplussed as anything. Liam speeds in with a hard, high shot - which lands right in Grant's mitt. Well, so that's that. Liam heads back towards the bench, with a forced nonchalance. "Try to keep your hair out of your eyes this time," he says, passing by Sato. That guy....... Satoshi grips his stick, hunches down, takes a slow, deep breath, and takes off towards the goal, eyes on the prize. The moment his stick hits the puck, even though the angle felt perfect he knows there's something wrong. He glances down before even checking to see if Grant stopped it or not... Only to see that his stick is roughly broken in two. He looks up at the goal, where Grant has pulled back his mask, and is tentatively poking in a huge rip in the net above his right shoulder. Looks like a shocking 2-1 for Watanabe!] 06* Satoshi freezes. This was not what he had intended. This is why he doesn't let himself get angry. Control. Not channel his inner Al Iafrate. But dammit... it still feels good. Tentatively, he raises one arm to the crowd, nods solemnly to Liam, and then skates off the ice. Maybe this can get written off as a one-shot. Ha. * Liam looks it over primarily puzzled. Not so much that he was beat but the manner. The cheering of the crowd, particularly sweater girl, jolts him out of hit and he returns the nod. "Point conceded." <@Wataru> [Session End!]