Ching Tai, Thursday Evening

[puppy_fair]

If there was just one thing that Zack could say about being sent to high school, it was that it was already doing a good job of keeping him on his toes. He hadn't been sure what to expect on his first day of classes, but if anyone had told him that it would wind up with him being set up on a date with another boy because of a Sexual Anthropology assignment, he probably wouldn't have believed them.

Not that he didn't like Sam, of course. Sam seemed like a great guy! But the notion of tacking the word 'date' on to 'dinnertime spent with a guy friend' was almost as weird as some of the food names on the menu that Zack was attempting to decipher as he waited for his... er... his date to arrive.

"Moo goo gai pan? Huh?"

[The date is for the Winchester, but Ching Tai is, of course, open to anyone else who wants to get their fortune cookie fix!]

Comments

[likethegun]

When it came to being on dates with guys, Sam was pretty Petersexual, but Zack seemed like a nice guy, so he didn't think it was going to be a terrible hardship sharing a meal with him. "Hey," he said, giving Zack a smile. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

[puppy_fair]

"Just long enough to look at the menu and find myself completely lost," Zack laughed, giving Sam a small wave and a sheepish grin. "Please tell me you know what some of this stuff is, Sam?"

Zack knew what a chicken was, easy, but the 'kung pao' part had him more than just a little concerned.

[likethegun]

"I think I know most of it," Sam said, taking a menu and looking it over. "I've had more than my fair share of Chinese food in my life. Are you a vegetarian or anything?"

[puppy_fair]

"Nope! I'll eat just about anything that gets put in front of me." Zack was really not a fussy eater. It was a wonder he'd never been caught chewing on a pair of shoes of something. "So if you tell me something is good, I'll probably just go ahead and get that. I trust your judgement, man."

[likethegun]

Sam laughed. "You sound like my brother. He'll eat anything, especially if it's pie," he said.

[puppy_fair]

"I like pie," Zack chirped, grinning as he tapped a finger to the menu. "Though I have my doubts there's any on this menu, huh? Then again, you did mention cookies..."

Zack had totally come for the cookies. And the company, of course. But mostly the cookies.

[likethegun]

"The cookies come at the end of the meal," Sam promised. "Just make sure you take the little paper fortune out of the middle before you eat it, or it might taste gross."

[puppy_fair]

"Mmmm, paper."

It was tree-pulpy and delicious!

"I think I can hang in there until the end of the meal," Zack decided. "I'll just point at whatever has the weirdest name, and go with that in the meantime." A beat. Conversation! Date-like, small-talky conversation! "What kind of stuff do you do to keep busy around here? I mean, aside from going on random dates with guys you barely know for class assignments, and all."

[likethegun]

Sam laughed, more than happy to have some small-talk time. "Well, I work at the library, and uh, I'm on the cheerleading squad." Funny how after all this time, he still blushed a little when he talked about that. "And I spend time with my family. They're all here, which is kind of weird, but I wouldn't change it for anything."

[puppy_fair]

"I think it would be nice to have my family around," Zack shared. "But I couldn't convince them to check out Midgar, nevermind trying to get them to come visit a completely different world. You're lucky!"

There was a pause while Zack mulled over that, and then he shrugged and was grinning again. "There's a cheer squad, huh? So this place must be pretty involved in sports and stuff, once the school year gets going?"

[likethegun]

"Yeah, I know I'm pretty lucky," Sam said, unable to keep from laughing a little at the question. "We're...not really involved in sports besides cheerleading," he admitted. "I mean, there's the basketball class, but there's no actual team. If someone wanted to start a team though, that would be pretty cool."

[puppy_fair]

"No team? At all?"

That sounded almost blasphemous, actually. It wouldn't do!

"Who do you figure I'd have to talk to in order to get something like that set up? I'm sure the cheer team is really good and all, but they'd probably be better off if they had someone to cheer, right?"

[likethegun]

"We'd love to have something to cheer for," Sam said. "You'd need to talk to a teacher to be the sponsor, and probably the principal too, but that would be it. What sports do you like?"

[puppy_fair]

"Just about anything, I guess. You mentioned that there's a basketball class, which is pretty cool. And swimming is fun, but it would probably be pretty difficult to cheer for a swim team. Baseball, maybe? There are plenty of people around here who like to hit things, and I'm sure there are a lot of good runners. It shouldn't be too difficult to get a bunch of people together who like to run and hit things with sticks."

[likethegun]

"You know, that is a pretty good combination," Sam admitted. "And the people who like to hit things with sticks are probably good at actually hitting things, and with good aim too."

[puppy_fair]

Zack grinned a little wider, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"And find somebody with a decent throwing arm, and we've got a pitcher, too! It probably wouldn't be too hard to throw together a Fandom ball team, so long as I can get the word out. And from there, it's a matter of finding a teacher willing to sponsor it. I mean, no offense to the cheer squad at all, but we need more than that, with so many active people running around!"

[likethegun]

"Oh, no offense taken," Sam said. "Part of the reason I let myself get talked into trying out for the squad was because I wanted to do something athletic, and it was the only thing around."

[puppy_fair]

"That's as good a reason as any, I think!" Oh, he had to laugh a little at that. But just a little, really. "If I can't get a ball team organized, I might end up having to do the same. And that can't possibly end well."

He could jump and tumble and flip with the best of them. But remembering a cheer? Hah.

"Are you ready to order?"

[likethegun]

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get the beef with broccoli," Sam said, snickering. "I know - vegetables, ew, but I'm weird." He smiled at Zack. "I don't know if there's anything I can do to help you get your team set up, but if you think of anything, I'd be happy to help out."

[puppy_fair]

"Maybe I'll get what you're getting. There's nothing the matter with vegetables," Zack said seriously, "unless they're trying to eat you."

He preferred to eat his first, for probably very good reason.

"I think I'll start by asking around to see if anyone is interested in getting involved in a sports team, and then go from there. Clubs start up in the fall, right? That gives some time to organize it. But then I guess we'll have to contend with the winter, too, huh? Does it get really cold around here in the wintertime?"

[likethegun]

"It gets pretty cold. Chilly enough to snow, at least. But not until late in the winter," Sam said. "I don't suppose indoor baseball is an option?"

[puppy_fair]

And there went Zack, laughing again.

"I just have this mental image of someone hitting the ball, and then it hitting the wall, and then flying back and conking someone on the head or something," he shared. "Would that be considered a home run, or a ball?"

[likethegun]

Sam couldn't help but snicker too. "I guess it would depend on whether or not the person caught the ball after it hit them in the head."

[puppy_fair]

"Full-contact, indoor baseball," Zack mused, waving a little to get the attention of a waitress. It felt as though they were ready to order, to him! "I wonder how much padding this team is going to need. Knowing the people around here, if we ever do face off against another team, they're going to have to sign a waiver beforehand."

[likethegun]

Sam waited until the waitress had taken their order before laughing more. "They'd have to agree not to hold the school or any of us if they end up in the hospital."

[puppy_fair]

"Ours would be the first team to make them change their definition of a 'home run' so that it means 'fleeing out the nearest door for their lives,'" Zack grinned. "I wonder if the school board will let us make up our own rules. Baseball would probably be better if we were allowed to tackle, don't you think?"

[likethegun]

"It would make sense for a school like ours to make up our own game," Sam said. "Baseball plus tackling, maybe with some flags thrown in?"

[puppy_fair]

"Oooh, like a capture the flag thing? Instead of touching the batter with the ball, they have to steal his flag before he's out?" Zack was clearly liking this idea. The wiggling in place possibly made that much apparent. "That could be where the tackling comes in. I can't imagine anyone on Fandom Island just letting someone take their flag, after all."