Don't Make Me Work Out.....(Kahn)

'Three minutes.......two minutes...........cmon cmon!.......One minute..........' Lorielle Rutherford was fidgeting in her seat until the sweet ring of the bell gave her relief. She immediately stood up to leave as quickly as she could. She almost bumped into another kid but luckily she acrobat-ed her way around the confused boy as she speed-walked out into the halls. She went to her locker shedding her backpack and putting it in preparing in advance for gym class next period. She adjusted herself so her black jacket that she liked to wear in place of a uniform was more comfortable. It was a darker shade of black, but it seemed similar enough that no one seemed to notice.

Her first instinct was to reach in again and grab her lunch. She had no idea what was in it, only that her father decided to make it for her. She was interested, yet horrified at what it might be. She closed her locker up and almost bounded up the steps to the third floor. She then walked up to the rooftop door and walked outside breathing in the cold, crisp air. She loved the winter, especially the breezes. She went to sit down on a bench near the fenced off roof to look at the bottom as she pulled out her food.

"And.......a sandwich....? Creative...." she said aloud to herself. Nonetheless she pulled it out and took a bite. And the taste was pure horror. It wasn't because it was bad, not directly at least. But she knew the disgusting taste..."Potato Salad..?!" She coughed up dropping the sandwich with a grossed out look on her face. She paused trying to gain composure.

Kahn sighed as the teacher used the last couple of minutes to remind the students to do the work he assigned and to study hard. Same old routine with this teacher, but nonetheless the work would be done before the next period. The bell rang and he noticed a girl, Lorielle Rutherford, if the attendance sheet was anything to believe dart out of the room as fast as she could. Granted, she almost plowed over another student in her hurry, so Kahn could only guess she was more than happy to be done with this class. The red-haired young man stood slowly and took his time gathering his stuff for lunch...though where would he eat today? As he stowed his backpack securely in his locker, an idea stuck him. Perhaps he would have lunch on the roof. Granted it was winter, but it was a better winter day not nearly as cold with only a slight breeze. Kahn zipped up his olive green jacket to protect him from the cold as he made his way to the rooftop.

The second year opened the rooftop door and felt the cold air blow through his hair and chill his exposed skin. While it wasn't nearly as bad as previous days.... it still wasn't quite pleasant. Good news is that the sun was out, which made a big difference in Kahn's mind, and it appeared as though he wouldn't be alone. In fact it appeared that Lorielle Rutherford was up here as well, nearly running over the boy didn't seem to slow her stride one little bit. Rather than be awkward Kahn approached her, and noticed that she was rather grossed out with the sandwich she was eating.

"Are you okay Lorielle? Is something wrong?” Her peer would ask her though his green eyes glanced over the sandwich she had taken a bite out of. Apparently, cooking was not a forte of whoever made the sandwich. Though a potato salad sandwich was a healthy choice for those who are watching their weight...if it is made right. Otherwise it could be an epic failure.

"Oh, forgive my bad manners." Kahn said, "My name is Kahn Azame, we're in the same class together." The second year then gestured to the place next to her on the bench, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Lorielle was grumbling, with half of what was basically death in her mouth as she lowered the sandwich. 'I don't even remember how many times I told him...!' she thought to herself. She was about to spit it out and turned her head when she heard and saw a boy walk up to her. 'Kahn...oh from my class...!' she remembered. She had a predicament. She could spit and gross him out, or swallow and ruin her soul and taste buds for life. It was the hardest thing she had to do. But for better for worse, her body took the middle route for her. She coughed again placing a hand to her mouth. Most of the food was swallowed. But some got on her mouth.

She wiped her mouth with her hands, and pretty much slapped the fence getting the food off. She still had the sandwich in her left hand when she looked back at him. "Oh! Hey Kahn. Didn't think I would meet you up here," she said giving a smile. "Yeah sure, go ahead and sit." She then scooted her backside near the side of the bench. Hopefully that was enough to give him room.

Kahn saw her slap whatever didn't make it down her throat on the fence, apparently her taste buds or stomach didn't agree with a potato salad sandwich. However, she did make room for him to sit, and it was more than enough for him. The second year sat down and leaned back against the bench before answering her question, "Yeah, well I don't normally come up here during the winter, but today since it was a nicer day I changed my mind." He paused for a brief moment before asking her a quick question, "What brings you here on this chilly winder day?"

Eventually his eyes drifted down to her half eaten sandwich, and he decided to comment on the obvious."I guess, you're not a big fan of a potato salad sandwich huh? That's a shame because they can be really good and healthy. Evidently, you're not one of the lucky one." He chuckled a bit at that before asking what he considered a more important question, "Is that all you have to eat? Because I think I made an extra sandwich if you wanted it." Lorielle's peer said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a peanut butter and banana sandwich contained in a plastic bag. Then he reached back in and pulled out a bottle of water and set it by his feet.

She was recovering from the obvious damage the meal caused her. This means she was going to go hungry. A fate almost worse than death, however this was worse than death because she also had to eat something she didn't like. She smiled and scooted a reasonable distance back to him when he sat down. She looked at him when he spoke and nodded. "I adore the cold, it is a nice change from the heat. Especially when most of the year is heat," she said. "I just decided to eat up here cause I thought it was going to be pleasant eating a nice meal in the cold. But only one part of that was done right," she said grimacing at the sandwich in her left hand.

She tossed it to the garbage can near the bench and watched it bank around the tip before finally going in. She did a small fist pump into the air. "It's ok, potato salad is evil anyway," she said. She nodded. She abhorred the gross thing. "Healthy my foot. I have had healthy foods that taste better than this. Hell, collared greens are better and those taste like grass," she said. When he saw him reach and pull out a meal that surely was his own she put her hands up in front of her chest slightly. "Oh no no, it's fine. I will be fine. I don't want you wasting your food," she said. 'Nice guy,' she thought.

Kahn nodded at her answer for being on the roof. "Yeah, sometimes a change of pace can be a rather nice thing. Heck its why I came up here instead of eating in the classroom, I just wanted to see the sun in the middle of the day." Lorrielle's peer watched her fist pump when her sandwich landed in the garbage can near the bench, and this got a laugh out of him. Then she went and said how potato salad is evil and how it is worse than collared greens. This made Kahn laugh a bit more, "Well we can't always get what we want, but sometimes we might want to make do with what we have. Also it could be worse, you could have potato salad for dinner too! Though that is the first time I've heard potato salad called 'evil'." Clearly he was joking, but it was becoming apparent that he didn't hide his optimism.

When she declined his offer, he frowned a bit before pulling out a second peanut butter and banana sandwich, "I knew that I had made extra to eat later, but I think you need it more now then I will later." He said before adding, "Also giving you my food wouldn't be a waste at all, quite the opposite in my book. After all humans need to eat to perform to the best of their abilities." The word abilities suddenly caused him to recall his peer's fancy footwork when she left the classroom. She was rather graceful when she maneuvered around that boy, who seemed a little dumbfounded.

"By the way you had some rather fancy footwork earlier. Are you an acrobat of some kind or are you on a sports team?" The red haired young man asked his peer before quickly adding, "Or is it just natural talent?"

She looked back at him frowning. She was practically puffing her cheeks out. "Don't do that, cause then it will happen and I will have you to blame for inciting my back luck," she said. She then shivered from a recent cold wind, which brought a smile to her face. She then looked back at Kahn. "Potato salad is evil. You don't except it's mashed horror until you are force-fed it. Then it is too late." She intentionally near the end gave a bit more of a comical accent to her voice. She liked the boy's seemingly good nature. She had her own kind of optimism, not really similar to his, but hey, they come in different flavors.

She was hesitant at first, even when he pulled out his second sandwich. "You sure....? .......Alright. Thanks." In the end she reluctantly grabbed the sandwich slowly and opened it up. She didn't like bananas, but the last thing she wanted to say was that, after saying other things she didn't like, and sound ungrateful. "Performing is hard for me. I barely work out as it is..." she said taking a bite out of the sandwich. And she had to admit, after not liking bananas, this sandwich wasn't half bad, and even took another bite before even swallowing her first and chewed.

It took her a few seconds to try and savor the sandwich and swallow, when he asked about what she did with that boy, when she bounded around him. She tilted her head. "I wish it was natural. But I had to take gymnastics for a year when I was younger....and I took kendo for fun last year. But moments like that rarely come up. So I guess you could say it is basically natural now," she said as she continued to eat.

He chuckled a bit when she puffed out her cheeks, it was pretty funny, her little show was rather funny to Kahn, "Little do you know, potato salad and I are in cahoots. We are plotting your demise with the dark lord known as broccoli." His tone became much more sinister at the words 'We are plotting...' and he ended by performing the best evil laugh he could. Though he ended up having a little bit of a coughing fit. Needless to say he wouldn't be doing that anytime soon. He just hoped that she enjoyed his little act as well, even if he did seem a bit silly doing so, as long as she laughed it was worth it.

Kahn was a little bit surprised that it was natural after only taking gymnastics for a year, but even more when she said she was a part of kendo club for a year. "Really, it's natural and you don't work out or anything physical. Wow, you must be a fast learner, either that or you're very humble and don't want to admit you had the natural talent." Lorielle's peer replied before taking a drink of water. "I would say that I could help your acrobatics, but I'm more of a weight lifter. I really don't know much about flexibility besides stretching out muscles. Though if you ever wanted to be stronger, I could help you with that!" He said happily, it was an open invitation that she could accept or decline. It wouldn't bother Kahn too much either way.

"Ironically, I'm part of the Kendo club this year. I can only imagine how different this meeting would have gone if we met one another decked out in kendo gear. Introducing ourselves as the bamboo blades collide with one another? No matter how different it would be I have to admit it would be rather funny." He paused for a moment  before asking her, "Why don't you join the Kendo club? I'm part of it, so you would at least have one person to talk to.""

"Broccoli is better tasting as a matter of fact," she said not visually phased by his infliction on his voice, that is until he started to cough. She smirked a bit and looked at him. "You ok? Don't get too too animated or you might need a laugh before I do," she said chuckling at her own joke. She watched him as he grabbed his water bottle then took a sip. Now he won't kill himself with his own voices.'Writing that down for later...' she thought.

Fast learner? Well sure I guess she could say that......"Or that gymnastics is really intense. It is hard enough not being flexible and taking it, since apparently some places that teach it require you to be flexible. To hell with that. As for kendo....I failed with the sword. So I took up a polearm and did ok with it. Then I got bored for whatever reason and quit when this year started," she said rubbing the back of her head looking to the side. She looked at him when he mentioned helping her. "Oh don't make me work out...it is bad enough I can barely keep a steady workout session if I tried. I can't do it regularly," she practically complained.

She frowned and then actually gave a smile. "Maybe if I ever have time. Which I usually do. So I really mean, if I ever get the patience. Which I should, it was kind of fun back then..." she said taking more bites of her sandwich. She took the water bottle he gave and drank heartily until half of it was all drained. She then thought and looked at him with an annoyed look. "You just want to beat me down in kendo don't you?" she said waiting just long enough until she thought he thought she was serious, then started to laugh showing it was all in humor.

"I'm fine don't worry, my throat just got a bit dry, but the point was to get you to laugh. Since the laugh ratio in this conversation, but at least it got you to smile, so it was worth it in my book." Kahn replied, which he was entirely true. As long as he made someone smile, no matter how embarrassing the act was it was worth it. Because he made someone's day a little bit better, regardless of the hardship he or she was facing.

"I don't doubt gymnastics was intense, but I never participated in it to say the least. Not my kind of thing." Then she went to explain how her experience in Kendo went, which was rather interesting. He had used something along the lines of a polearm, which was just a really long pipe, when he took out a few thugs in his hometown. "A polearm huh? That's definitely different, and they let you use that in kendo? All I've seen are sword fighters, but that would be an interesting duel. A sword fighter and a polearm user. One has an advantage at a range, while the other is supposed to be faster and deadlier at a closer range."

When she said not to make her work out, he would shake his head, "I'm not gonna force you to work out, but I'd just suggest giving it a try with a friend to see if you like it. It's a lot better if you have someone to work with, instead of being by yourself." he explained, but his face lit up a bit when she was considering to work out or rejoin Kendo. Whichever one did not matter, but it would be nice to see her again. She was funny, had a nice personaility, and was...cute to say the least. However, when she got an annoyed look and said that "You just want to beat me down in kendo don't you". Lorielle wouldn't have to wait long as he immediately shook his head back and forth rapidly, and it almost made him dizzy.

"No no no! I would never do that! I mean kendo is physical, but I would..." Then she began to laugh, and Kahn realized she was joking. He put a hand on the back of his neck, before replying, "Ha, ha...very funny, you got me good with that one."

Her eyes showed a bit of concern, but she smiled and giggled in spite of herself. 'Yup, he seems nice,' she thought to herself. She then thought about the idea of sword and polearm. "Well they had one in the back that no one used. I was sure it felt lonely so I had to use it. The Naginata doesn't have much strength behind it despite the range, but the issue is anyone with the right tactic can demolish a polearm if the guy using it doesn't know what they are doing. And no, I don't intend to tell you, lest you use it against me," she said smiling coyly and chomping another bite of the sandwich until it was gone on purpose, so she couldn't talk.

She nodded. "Yeah I can probably go there. It is looking more and more like I might go. We will have to meet there one day after school," she said. When she successfully got him well, she nodded her head confirming her clear victory. "That way, when I join, I will be able to do more than a single pushup," she said calmly. It would be an impressive feat for her.

Kahn realized that he had yet to eat any of his sandwich, and he finally took his first bite out of his sandwich. Then another and another while she was explaining, and one more before she finished speaking. He then took one last bite while thinking about her reason, "That's a unique way to chose a weapon, if I must say so myself. Though I didn't expect you to give away your weakness, that would just be a little silly if you ask me, and I like a challenge." He replied offering a coy smile in return to hers.

"Well just let me know whenever you want to give working out a try, and I hopefully I will have time. Who knows, you might even come in during my shift one day, which would be coincidental more than anything." The young man said, and when she declared her one goal he smiled, "Setting goals for yourself can really help, and if that's your goal, then I will help you achieve it as much as I can." He said confidently to her, "After all, you're a friend and I enjoy spending time and helping my friends."

She smiled at him. "It was as though the polearm needed a family, so I gained motherly instincts far too quickly," she joked. She grabbed her muscle putting her fist into the air as another chill flew by her, causing her arms to fly to her body and shiver. No matter how bad it looked, she loved the feel of it all. And she liked this guy. With some trepidation to boys she usually takes, it was nice to see a boy who wasn't spreading the rumor about her, which is always a plus.

She finished her sandwich and looked at him curiously. "Shift? You have a job as a trainer?" she asked. She didn't like the idea per se, but she owed him something, so she made a mental note to come into wherever he worked to have a nice, pleasant, painful, horrifying workout. She drank the rest of her water and smiled. She held her hand out to him for a shake. However, all too soon, the bell had rung to end lunch. It actually disappointed her, she wanted to be out in the cold more. Plus she also made a new friend. "Oh dammit all. I wanna be out here more..." she said exasperatedly.

Kahn laughed at her little joke, it seems as though they really clicked together and enjoyed each other's company quite a bit. He took another bite out of his sandwich before he realized that she made him laugh again, "Next time we meet, I'm going to have to make you laugh a bit more, because all you've done is made me laugh. You need to laugh more...after all you have a nice smile." He mumbled the last part, as he meant to keep that to himself rather than say it out loud. Curse Freudian slips, and their inconvenient timing. Lorielle's peer hoped that she didn't quite catch the last part...it might save him some embarrassment.

Kahn briefly made a flexing pose when she asked him about his job, trying to be funny rather than show his muscles which were hidden under two layers of clothing, "Part time and I'm still learning. I'm meant to help people with their form when lifting weights, keep the dumbbells and kettle-bells in order, clean the machines, and ensure their are clean towels for the people to use." Kahn took her hand and shook it firmly when suddenly the bell rang.

"Oh well, all good things must come to an end, but that doesn't mean we can't meet later. Here, I'll even give you my number so you can keep in contact with me!" He said as he took out a notebook and ripped off a piece. He then wrote down his number with a pen, and handed it to her, "Call or text that number at anytime, except for during school, and I will do my best to answer." The cold made him shiver a bit, but during their time out here he had gotten used to it. Not to mention he wore a thicker jacket than Lorielle did.

She smiled. "Well say more funny things and we will talk about it," she said smiling. A chill came by again which blurred her vision so she wasn't particularly able to hear if he said anything at the end of his sentence. As he struck a pose explaining his job, the descriptions of it just got worse and worse. Count her out of the dumbbells and weights, she could barely lift a suitcase of clothes. But she would dare not say that out loud, lest he encourage her even more. Cleaning seemed easy enough, as she had the abilities of a proper housewife, not that she was completely alright with that. Cleaning is after all, boring.

He looked up at him as he tore off a piece of paper and took it from his hand putting it in her pocket. She would have to keep it in mind for one day. She nodded. "Yeah, sure. We will hang out again sometime," she said getting off the bench, grabbing her trash and tossing it away. She went back to him and took his hand, shaking it smiling. Her smile became more calmed and less overt. "Alright, good day," she said adjusting her jacket and opening the door on the roof to go back to her next class waving to him a bit before she left.

((EXIT))