ArchivedLogs:Niche Sport

Niche Sport
Dramatis Personae Dakota and Katheryn Pryde	2017-02-05 "We're only here because the other schools don't want us."
Location <XS> Playground
Set on the still-expansive grounds around the side of the school, this area is to the outdoors rather what the rec room is to the indoors. There's a large basketball court out here; a fenced-off tennis court adjacent. Further distant there are setups for other sports -- a large track, a soccer field. Closer in to the school, though, in its own large enclosure adjacent to the basketball and tennis courts, is the playground, a huge expanse of equipment set up on alternating plots of slightly squishy flooring and mulch. Centrally there is a large sprinkler-fountain, not always /on/ but it can be turned on with a push of a button; spreading out around this is the actual playground equipment, sturdy and varied. A huge dome constructed in honeycombed interlocked poles and rope netting rises hiiiigh for climbing; a large swingset holds four pairs of swings. A large roundabout in bright colours stands in one corner near a long see-saw. The huge bridge-and-tunnel castle structure at one end has many routes of entry, from poles to climb up (or slide down) to a small climbing /wall/. Monkeybars. Four different slides of varying lengths and spiraling. For the adventurous, between things to climb on and jump between and bounce across it is probably possible to skirt one end of the playground and back without touching the ground, though it might take a particularly adept feat of balance and agility. Or possibly wings. The scene opens on well-worn cleats stomping through grass and a rhythmic thwacking sound. The camera zooms out to show Kitty performing field hockey drills in the green surrounded by of the Xavier School's track. She's dressed in field pants and a windbreaker. As the camera zooms further out, we see that there's only one other student out there on a cold, February afternoon.Kitty stops her drills, picks up her ball and tucks her stick under her arm. She walks towards the edge of the green, and pauses for Dakota to pass. She sits down on her gym bag and takes a big drink of water from her bottle. Dakota is wearing a tracksuit with the Xavier's logo on it and has passed her roommate a few times on her determined job on around the track. As the other girl takes a break from her practicing, the fifteen year-old deviates from her course and slows to a stop nearby. "I don't get it," she says bluntly, squinting her eyes at Kitty as she begins stretching. "Why are you out here? No one -else- is practicing field hockey that I can see." Kitty stares at her roommate dumbstruck for a moment, then says "I uhh ... I know it's a pretty niche sport. It's just what I'm used to doing from back before I got my powers. Doing the drills ... " She stares at her cleats, unable to make eye contact with Dakota. <<There's a storm of emotion with Kitty. Fear, homesickness, guilt. Is it OK to say it reminds you of when life was easier, before you were a mutant?>> Kitty speaks, and her voice is tiny, "Doing the drills is comforting to me, even though nobody else plays here." Dakota remains silent for a minute or two after Kitty finishes speaking, eyeing her roommate suspiciously as she lowers herself to the ground to continue her stretches. Her eyes flick away as she asks, "Does it work?" A pause. "Is it comforting? I miss my life before my power." Another moment of quiet. "My power is useful. It can be...handy. But it's-- I miss my friends." Apparently the teenager has decided to simply cut to the chase rather than avoiding what is on her mind. "I don't know," says Kitty still looking at her shoes. She continues, "In some ways, it's great because I can put all my attention into it." She looks up at Dakota and says, "In other ways, it's very lonely." We're not an engineering school nor religious nor an athletic one. She straightens her shoulders with an audible pop, and asks, "Have you found much common ground with the other students? I've gamed a bit, and took a few trips into The City, but I haven't exactly made great progress." "We're a mutant school. We're only here because the other schools don't want us. -I- didn't ask to come here." Her tone bears an indignant touch. As she finishes stretching and begins standing up, she shakes her head. "No. I don't know how. They're all dumb. And I've only been to the city a few times, but I can't stay as long as the older kids. I met the new teacher yesterday. Ms. Kemsit. Have you met her?" Kitty stands as Dakota does the same. She says, "I don't know much about her, mostly rumors some say she's cool, others say she's too intense." She crosses her arms, "You're not going to change the topic on me that easily. Are you saying your parents sent you here against your will? I didn't think the school allowed that! That's absurd!" Some sweat still glistens on Dakota's face as she folds her own arms with a shrug of the shoulders. "I got expelled. Twice. It wasn't my fault. We didn't have much of a choice. I wanted to just drop out of school and stay home. I didn't want to leave my friends. I don't feel like I fit in here. I don't have any friends here either. I just want to go home." It sounds as though, perhaps, the fifteen year-old is simply making excuses for some reason or another. “You could drop out in,” Kitty squints, “about a year...?” she ends on a questioning note. She shakes her head, dismissing the thought. “I wouldn’t recommend it, though. This is a safe place. A place for us to build our own culture. Like the my moms’ mentors did in the 70s,” Kitty says enthusiastically. She steps towards Dakota offering her hands. "I think my parents would ground me for life if I dropped out," Dakota replies, the hint of an amused smile playing on her lips. "But I don't know much about the seventies. -That- history course is -next- semester," the teenager informs the other girl with a slight groan and a roll of the eyes. When she sees Kitty stretching her hands out towards her, the fifteen year-old frowns as she narrows her eyes. Still, she unfolds her arms, somewhat reluctantly, and takes the other girl's hands in her own, a quizzical expression on her face. “We’ll work to bring people together.” Kitty says, in full optimism mode. “Um... maybe we should aim a little lower first. I was intimidated by the new environment my first term, and I don’t want that to happen to you. Let’s join some clubs. Kisha’s talked a bit to me about robotics, and there’s a math club, chess club,” Kitty says before realizing she might be losing Dakota. “How about the rock climbing club? Once we find our footing, we can work at building some athletics.” There's an eye roll from Dakota at Kitty's 'bring people together' statement, but she still listens to the other girl. Glancing down at their hands and then looking up again, her mostly indifferent expression begins to soften. "I'm not intimidated," she counters quietly and a bit uneasily. "I'm just not sure I belong here. Do you really think clubs will help with that? Robotics seems wicked cool and stuff, but I don't know much about it. Math -might- be okay, but it sounds pretty boring, if you know what I mean." A small smile begins to form on her face. "And let's not even talk about chess. Rock-climbing sounds -way- cooler -- like at least twenty percent cooler. What kind of athletics are you interested in?" It seems that Kitty has succeeded in capturing Dakota's enthusiasm, though the younger girl might not be one to admit it. Kitty says, “OK! Let’s join the rock climbing club together. I’ll see if I can talk to Kisha about the robotics club. I don’t know anything about how robots actually work, but they are so cool.” Kitty lets go of one of Dakota’s hands and turns towards the athletic field. She says, “I’m mostly good at field hockey, and I’m decent at soccer. I don’t have any interest in the American Pastimes of football or baseball.” Kitty makes an air-quote around “American Pastimes”. She continues her list making sports gestures with each item, “I have no aim in basketball, or volleyball, or tennis, but they could be fun. Come to think of it, it might be easier to build a club around games that only require a team of 2 to 5 instead of ones that take 10. Maybe I could make a survey.” "Yeah, I've really only ever played soccer," Dakota confesses to her roommate, freed hand dropping to her side. "I'm really not tall enough to play basketball, but baseball doesn't sound too bad. I like running." This simple statement is accompanied by a small shrug. "I don't really know about sports that only involve two people that aren't tennis or ping-pong, but I -guess- you could do a survey." Looking down, she wriggles her other hand free of Kitty's and folds her arms again. "So when does this rock climbing thing start?" Kitty says, “That’s a good question. How about we get something to eat? I’m starting to freeze from standing out here anyway.”