Ouch (Open)

Pendleton's life was full of ups and downs. Literally. However, even so, this was one of the BIGGEST downs he had ever had. He had tripped, and fallen down a set of stairs, and was now laying on the ground, letting out a pathetic groan now and then. he had suffered a LOT of bad trips, but this was easily one of the worst. Plus, there was the fact other students had seen it, and, for the most part, seemed more amused than concerned by the fact that he was barely moving. He was quite aware that he was in a large amount of pain (more so than usual after one of his falls) though, he doubted he had any serious injuries. He was lucky that way.

He slowly picked himself up, certain he had a few new bruises that he couldn't see. He scooped up his glasses, and quickly darted from the hall. Right, it was time to just vanish until Lunch Break was over. He felt...well, it was hard to describe, but it certainly wasn't positive. A change from his usual demeanor. He took a few deep breaths, rubbing his arm, and closing his eyes. Strangely enough, he wasn't hungry at all, at that point. Just embarrassed.

While Lui was going through a mental checklist of what he had to finish for tonight, he heard the sounds of thuds and smashes as a slightly taller blond student took a nasty spill and kissed every step on the way down with his face before lying in a pile of misery and embarrassment, broken in several meanings of the word. While the kid picked himself back up and the surrounding students giggled at the incident, Lui gave them a cold, sharp glare to cut their antics.

"Yeah, real funny. Bet you wouldn't be laughing if I tossed YOU down the stairs. Ugh, people are idiots..."

As he was preparing to comfort the kid, the boy had bolted down the hallway. Silently cursing to himself, Lui took after the kid at a fast pace, trying to wiggle through the slow students to reach him. Once reaching him, Lui would walk beside him as they walked, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

"You alright, kid? Kinda took a nasty spill back there. You don't look that injured, but I'd check up with the nurse in case. Still, all those stupid kids cared to do was laugh and record. People like them are... irritating to say the least.

If you're off to lunch, mind if I sit with? I'd prefer not to sit on my lonesome for once."

Pendleton wasn't expecting anyone to follow him, and if they did, he was just expecting laughter, or ridicule. What he wasn't expecting was someone actually coming to talk to him. He seemed a bit taken aback by the it, if he was being honest. "Er...yeah,
I'm fine...you're probably right about the nurse, but honestly,
it's really embarrassing, no matter how I look at it...I guess that's not a reason to go get checked though, is it?" He sighed. At least he had managed to avoid any serious injury, if nothing else. Still, he wasn't an expert...an actually check would probably be for the best.

He made a confused sound at the question of lunch. "I mean, we can if you want to, I just figured nobody would! Especially after what just happened." It could be a set up...but somehow, he kind of doubted it. "My name's Wallace Pendleton...but everyone just calls me Pendleton anyway..."

The kid, apparently going by Pendleton, seemed shocked that Lui was actually coming over to chat without mocking him. Was this kid used to being mocked and/or falling down stairs? Must take quite the conditioning to get used to that... Still, Pendleton was embarrassed about the whole event. To lighten the matter, Lui gave a small and convincing smile and patted his shoulder, trying not to bring to attention the fact that he was just a bit shorter than him.

"You won't be the first stair injury the nurse sees, Pendleton... or do you prefer Wallace? Just checking. But yeah, not all injuries show up on the surface, so it wouldn't hurt. But I guess you could eat some lunch if it doesn't hurt to move."

"I mean, we can if you want to, I just figured nobody would! Especially after what just happened."

"Well, I'm not like those other brats. I understand that when you fall down, someone should at least pick you up. We've all been there at one point. But yeah, I don't usually have someone sitting with me. Figured I'd treat the both of us, yeah? Here, grab a seat."

Sliding over to an empty seat, Lui set his bag down in his chair, pulling a bagged sandwich out of the pocket as Pendleton either brought out his own prepared lunch or went to get some. Remembering that he hadn't introduced himself, he sat forward and extended his hand in expectation of a handshake.

"The name's Lui Saito, Captain of the Fencing Club. Pleased to meet you. I may not amount to much at this school, but at least I'm... comfortable with that."

"I prefer Pendleton, honestly. Wallace kinda lends itself to some uncomfortable memories about a terrible nickname." He sheepishly admitted. "And very true! I hear about weird internal injuries all the time...so I'll go after Lunch just to make sure." Hopefully, he'd at least be over it by the end of the day, and someone else would make a fool out of themselves by the end of the week. And Pendleton WOULDN'T laugh, because only JERKS did that.

Pendleton took a seat, as instructed, pulling a bag of chips out of his messenger bag. He blinked. "Lunch is fine, I think. It doesn't hurt to move, so much as the pain you feel when you know something's going to bruise..." He admitted. "I can deal with bruises though! I've always been..a bit...clumsy." He mused.

Pendleton stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, before shaking it. "Nice to meet you. I'm not in any clubs, but I do like a bit of writing in my free time...and, on the weekends, as a part time job."

"Pendleton it is, then. But man, this is regular for you? Sure, I've had my share of cuts and bruises with fencing, but chronic damage isn't good. Yeah, get that checked out. Don't want your next potential fall to give you a concussion or anything..."

Lui ripped his sandwich apart piece by piece, eating each bit as he moved to the next. Apparently this Pendleton was a writer for both hobby and work. It was certainly satisfying for one's job to match up with their interests, as Lui could understand from his time at the dojo. He could use a friend who was skilled with his words...

"Understandable. It's always nice to have a job that matches your interest. I work part time at the dojo, so I get to double up on my training. That being said, my club isn't elitist or anything. Almost all of our members had no background in swordplay, so I've taken care to train them myself. Give it some consideration.

If I may ask, what kind of writing do you excel at? Fictional, nonfictional, newspaper, novels, etc?"

"I mean, it's possible, but I doubt it. I'm pretty lucky when it comes to not being hurt!" Pendleton chirped. "It was WAY worse back when I was a kid, you know? I has a lot more bruises and stuff. But it happens a bit less now." He ate a chip, seemingly not to concerned.

"Fencing, huh? Maybe I'll check it out...never actually been interested in swordplay before. I've seen a few matches, but I don't really know the rules or anything. It was kind of a school event sorta thing." He hummed. "I've actually published a novel, back home. I like writing horror, it's fun. I've only written one novel, but I write a lot of short stories for my job. Oh, right. I'm not actually FROM here. The US I mean. Transferred from UK."

Well, at least he seemed in better spirits now. Indeed, Pendleton had a rather paradoxical sense of luck, one that kept him from serious harm yet showed little hesitation in throwing the kid down flight after flight of stairs.
"Pardon? It was WORSE as a kid?! Made of some tough stuff, Pendleton, to make it this far. But yeah, fencing is a unique beast in swordplay. The point is to go for an opponent's weak point, but it ends up a balancing act between offensive and defensive as the advantage in a match can be changed by a single strike. It takes agility, keen senses, and a quick with to truly master it... and I happily teach any student who's willing to give it a shot, no matter what you knew beforehand. We have meetings after class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so feel free to swing by.

Already a published author, and from the UK, no less. Well done, man. I'd love to read about your little horror stories. Reminds me of the time Sumi and I tried to write a story together. It was fun; she handles the main character and story, and I built up the NPCs and the world it took place in. We had long debates over how things should work, duties changed hands plenty of times, but we finished eventually. Ah, good times... You have any interest in those Cadets, by chance?"

"Yep, I'm pretty hardheaded!" He joked. "I'll try anything once, even if swords aren't really my thing. Who knows, I may actually end up liking it!" He mused. Lui sure seemed to like it, at least. "I don't know how many of those things I have, but I guess I'll find out! Physical abilities aren't used too much in writing, after all. But I always thought Fencers looked cool, at least."

"Sumi?...Sounds fun...was it like, an RPG campaign? I played one, once. I thought it was okay." Pendleton hummed. RPGs were kind of fun, but really, he had way more fun being the DM. He got to do all the writing and story telling! "Ah.. The Cadets? I wouldn't really call it an interest. I know the town likes them a lot, but really, I'm just interested in learning!"

Well, if the kid would be actually attending the class on his own two feet instead of Lui having to remind him like Frogerio, he might turn out to be pretty useful. Nevertheless, having an author enter his fold of accomplices wouldn't be such a bad thing. While Lui would love to keep digging, he recognized that their time in lunch was growing shorter. Attempting to finish off the rest of his fruit flavored drink, Lui tried to hook Pendleton in a little closer and answer his questions.

"Well, a good thing you are hardheaded, or we might not be chatting. Still, glad to hear you're the adventurous sort. We accept skill levels of all sorts; I can mold you into a real swordfighter should you want to be one. But in exchange, I'd love to read some of your works sometime.

"Sumi?...Sounds fun...was it like, an RPG campaign? I played one, once. I thought it was okay."

"She's my sister. But, thinking about it, it could've become a campaign for some tabletop game. But no, it was more... collaborative storytelling than anything. Just a little fantasy novel written by two different hands, seen through two different eyes. It's the best, and possibly only, example of how we can cooperate nowadays. As for the Cadets... be careful. I don't want them coercing you into cooperating with them. They may be seen as the heroes, but... I've always preferred my anti-heroes."

Lui stood up to pack his empty lunchbox into his backpack before sitting down, leaning on the elbows plastered onto the table.

"So... can I expect to see you on, say, Tuesday after school?"

"Hmm...yeah, that seems fair." Pendleton decided. "I've got everything I write stored on a flash drive? Do you live at the dorms? If so I'd be more than happy to show you on the weekend, if you can teach me the basics of sword play. And...if you do, I can try and teach you some of my favorite story telling techniques. Maybe next time you write with your sister you can put it to use!" He offered, standing up to throw his chip bag away.

"Tuesday it is! Can't wait, maybe I can be a cunning master of the blade yet." Pendleton agreed. "...Anti-Heroes? Their stories CAN be awfully compelling, I have to admit." Pendleton agreed. "I don't know...I mean, I'm already kinda ignoring them. Everyone seems to act like they're celebrities."

As Pendleton got up to toss his chip bag, Lui reclined in his seat as he thought to himself. Not only was this kid excited to learn some proper swordplay, but having a wordsmith such as an author in his back pocket would prove rather useful. As he leaned back, Pendleton may note how Lui seems to look directly behind him as if somebody were talking to him. In truth, Shirokishi had spoken up to contribute to his mental notes.
"A thought occurs. Were you not struggling with finding "the right words" in your notebook earlier?"
"Oh, right. I was having trouble with that. Course that could just be burnout from all that brainstorming. Still, might help keeping him in mind."

Realizing that lunch would be wrapping up soon, Lui jumped back onto his feet and set his phone in front of Pendleton, his number displayed on the string.
"The works of swords for works of pens. Quite a fair trade, I assume? Here's my number; text me if you got any other questions later. But for now, I have to bolt. Class is all the way across the courtyard. Watch your step next time, okay?
Later!"

While Lui wasn't exactly in a rush, he quickly sped through the crowds to break out of the sluggish masses. Another useful opportunity to extend his reach a little further had quite literally stumbled into his path of life, and if he could nurture the partnership for a little longer, he might divulge his greater task to Pendleton. Maybe he would make the difference between rejection and acceptance...

~~Lui has EXITED~~

Pendleton entered the number into his phone, with a nod. "I mean, I think it's fair at least...but if you aren't sure...I'' text you if I have any questions about anything, then. Thanks!" Pendleton hurried away, more willing to face the rest of the school now, at least. It...looked like he was going to have to start learning the sword. Lui was nicer than anyone he'd met at the school yet...hopefully, if he did well at Fencing Practice, they could actually be friends...

END.