Brittany runs near the front of the pack as the class did their laps.  Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the red haired girl that copied her move just before the coach asked her to do her introduction.

Brittany adjusts her position so she's now running right alongside the red haired girl.

"Hi.  I'm Brittany.  That was a pretty impressive move you did.  Are you a cheerleader? Or gymnast?  I'm guessing you're on some kind of sports team.  In my experience, the kids that work on the yearbook can't do those kind  of moves."

Tori joined in the groans at having to do ten laps. Not that she minded really, but the groan was expected! She settled into an easy pace near the front.

"I'm Tori. I'll be trying out for cheerleading, but I also do taekwondo."

Billy was glad Brittany had made the most of a bad situation but was extremely glad to have her be the one to go through it and not him.  He shifted gears and put on a stoic face when the ten laps were called.  He cut loose and started off strong... but flagged and ended up running toward the back of the pack.

Billy appeared to be moderately exerting himself, not pushing all-out as if he had something to prove, but definitely trying.  The coach was definitely not wrong about him being heavier after break, though the change had been a slight vertical upgrade, not horizontal decay.  Even though he was in his body the whole time it was changing, the rapid rate of change left him working a little harder on coordination, even as his muscles worked to adapt to the new weight.

He counted out the footsteps that he took on the four sides of each lap.  For the fun of it, he tried adjusting his stride to make each side a prime number.

After the ten laps are completed along with some other exercises, the coach calls the class's attention to the vaulting horse and springboard at the center of the gym.

"Okay kids, we're going to do a very basic gymnastic exercise today.  You run to the springboard, then jump on it, then place both hands on the vaulting horse, then go over the horse one leg at a time and land on the other side as gracefully as possible while having your legs touch as little of the vault as possible. It's an elementary gymnastics move.  If you're on the gymnastics team, you could probably to it with your eyes closed."

"Here, I'll show you." The coach charges towards the springboard, jumps on it, then vaults over the horse one leg at a time and lands gracefully on the other side without his legs touching the horse. The class is impressed.  The coach move pretty well for an old guy.

"Okay everybody line up right here a few yards from the springboard and take a turn jumping over it.  When you're done go to the back of the line until it's your turn again."


The class lines up.

OCC: Have your character take a turn doing what the coach described.  No roll necessary.  Just roleplay it accordingly based on your character's athletic ability.  You can impress the rest of the class or embarrass yourself, depending on what you think works for your character.

Liam didn’t go first, but was unfortunate enough the line started right near him.  He stood and looked at the vault and springboard as he tried to envision how this was going to work.  After a moment to psyche himself up, he started his run.

Springboards were not something he dealt with or ever practiced before.  His attempt used the board more as a step than a spring.  He stepped on it with on foot and pushed off.  Hands on the vault.  He swung his left leg over the side as his body rotated to face the vault.  His right leg caught the horse and dumped him sideways unceremoniously onto the mat.

Liam, now red faced, quickly got up and rejoined the line as he ignored any snickers.

Hopie watches Liam and sees the problem.  She thinks it's as much a problem with the method as with Liam's abilities.  It's probably safer to do...

She takes a run up and launches herself into the air, touching the horse only with her hands, which she uses to flip herself over, flying gracefully through the air and landing on her feet in a move that owes more to circus performances than it does to gymnastics.

The class is impressed with Hopie's move.

Several class members give her a burst of applause.

The coach looks annoyed.

"Very impressive Hopie. But next time do it the way I demonstrated it.  When you're the teacher, you can decide how we do our exercises."

Being a former army man, the coach gets annoyed when people don't follow orders.

Hopie keeps her mouth shut as she joins the end of the line behind Liam.  She's not entirely sure she can do it like the coach said but now he's said it, she supposes she'd better.

“Wow.  That was really good.  Made people forget about my disaster.  Thank you.”  Liam turned and spoke quietly to the new girl that seemed to have a circus background.

Hopie grins.  She's not new but she is glad she drew attention away from Liam's attempt.  "You're welcome Señor."  She may be congenitally incapable of following orders.  No doubt that will be discovered if true later down the line.

“Oh, I’m not a senior.  I’m a sophomore.”  Liam corrected her with a cheesy grin on his face.  He often thought it was funny how similar words appeared in different languages and didn’t mean anything close to each other.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Thu 21 Apr 2022.

Consummately mediocre, Billy stepped up when it was his turn.  He made the run and the jump.  His hands went on the horse, and his feet went over it... but both legs banged fairly solidly on it as he did so.

When he got down he went to the end of the line again, immensely glad that he had not bitten it like Liam.

Brittany stepped up for her turn.

She charged towards the springboard, hit it perfectly, then instead of vaulting over the horse like the coach said, she executed a perfect handstand on the horse.

Brittany holds her handstand position for several seconds, then flips over to land on her feet.  But she's not done yet.

As soon as she lands, she executes a series of five consecutive front handsprings, reaching the end of the mat, then turns to see the reaction from the rest of the class.

Hopie applauds Brittany's performance, clapping her hands loudly and, when she comes back to the line and says with a smile, "Brava Chica, eso fue muy buen.  Awesome Chica!"

Billy's jaw dropped.  Esperanza and Brittany were both excellent athletes, with skills far more advanced than his own bit of natural talent.  He closed his mouth and narrowly kept himself from giving Brittany a thumbs-up... coach had already warned Esperanza about doing what he said instead of what people felt like.

Brittany's flying in the face of that warning could mean trouble (even if the coach deserved it for setting her up earlier) and he did not want to get on the coach's bad side.  After just a moment of thinking he realized that the class was likely to get some kind of discipline to try to make them not like her, so he gave her the thumbs-up anyways.

The class is impressed.  Several class members join in with Hopie in clapping their hands. A few giver Brittany a thumbs-up as Billy did.

The coach is most definitely not amused.

"Young lady, this is gym class!  It's not the cheerleading championships on ESPN!  Now get to the back of the line and next time do it like I showed you!"

Liam stared with his mouth hanging open.  I hope coach doesn’t make us try that.  He was lucky to make it over the horse.  Tumbling certainly wasn’t his thing.

Tori... well, Tori gaped at Hopie and Brittany's vaults. Especially Hopie: she had no idea she could do anything like that. She applauded both vaults.

Doubting she could match that level of gymnastic ability, Tori concentrated on speed and height, hitting the springboard hard and practically hurdling the vaulting horse. Her landing wasn't too graceful, but she kept her feet after a stumble.

She trotted back with a grin.

Brittany gives the coach her most dutiful student smile.  "Whatever you say coach!"

Somebody needs more fiber in their diet  Brittany thinks to herself glancing in the coach's direction without being to obvious.

On her way to the back of the line, she stops for a second to talk to Hopie.  "Thanks for the applause.  You've got some pretty kick butt moves yourself.  I guess next turn, we'd better do it like the coach wants or we'll be running laps until Easter."

She then takes her place at the back of line behind Billy.  "Thanks for the thumbs-up tiger.  When you didn't say hi to me when you came out of the locker room, I was afraid you were blowing me off already."

Brittany watches Tori attempt at the exercise and applauded.  The girls got some moves.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:24, Fri 22 Apr 2022.

Hopie gives a thumbs up to Tori on the way back and nods to Britanny.  "Of course, next one's in good girl mode."

"Nah.  I just didn't want to keep you from being able to meet others by eclipsing you with the overwhelming light my overwhelming awesomeness."  He said with a grin.  "Coach took care of that for you, either way, though.  Nice job."

The coach groans at Tori's attempt.

"Hands Tori!  Use your hands girl!  Don't do the 'Look Ma, no hands!' routine"


Can't these kids follow instructions?! the coach thought.

The rest of the class goes smoothly with no one making a radical departure from the coach's instructions.

"Okay kids, that's it for today.  Can I have five volunteers to stay for just a couple of minutes to help me pack up this equipment?"


The coach looks around at class.  "Hopie!  Tori! Brittany!  Thanks for volunteering! Now can I have two more volunteers!"




OCC: Will Billy and Liam please be helpful students and also volunteer.

Liam’s hand shot up before he could really rationalize why.  He had heard the coach call out the Charlie’s Angel squad and some how he processed that he had a great reason to hang out with them before the jocks did.  He might get beat up once they saw the grin on his face.  It would be worth it.

Or this was punishment for them screwing up the vault.  It didn’t matter, all the girls were beautiful.  Either way, his friends would never believe his luck.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Fri 22 Apr 2022.

Tori was longing for a shower to wash the sweat off, but grinned ruefully at being 'volunteered'. Her own fault, and she knew it.

"Joining us, Liam?"

Oh shit!   She’s talking to me!  Liam’s face started to redden.  He couldn’t be seen to be totally embarrassed in front of the rest of the class!  He would never live that down!

Liam took off his glasses and faced Tori.  His demeanor changed to one of more confidence.  “It would be an honor Milady.”  He gave her a formal bow and added a flourish with one arm out to the side.

There were some snickers from the peanut gallery.