Challenge #03: Phase Table of Doom! (Slowpoke)
Title: Good Luck
Prompt: Slowpoke
Word Count: 518
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original: The Song Inside Me
Pairings (if any): None
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/etc): None
Summary: Cora arrives in California (late) and second guesses her decision to go in the first place.
Cora’s flight had been delayed, and after waiting for over an hour to get on a crowded super shuttle bus that reeked of someone’s nasty perfume, she finally arrived at the retreat center--two hours later than she planned. She was starving, tired, and just wanted to go to bed. But the time difference meant she had two extra hours to stay awake, so after she set her things down in her room, she trudged into the main room of the retreat center and prepared to introduce herself to the group.
The group was small. There were two leaders, and four other young adults that would be sharing the space with her. Dinner was, regrettably over, so she ignored her growling stomach and put on a smile to shake their hands. It was too many names at once and she had missed the formal introductions, so she quickly forgot the names and sat down at the table.
One of the leaders, Brian, she thought he said his name was, was passing out several sheets of paper around the table. “These are the different types of meditation,” he was saying while he handed another stack to the person on his left. “We’ll start with the easiest and work our way up to the more complex ones over time. By the time you leave, you’ll all be very proficient.”
Cora had never meditated before in her life, so she was curious to learn about it.
“Oh,” Brian said, suddenly looking at Cora. “We’ve already broken up into pairs, and since TJ is… sitting this one out, you’ll be his partner, Cora.”
Cora wondered what “sitting this one out” meant. “Okay…” she said and took the stack of papers from the girl beside her. “Where is he?”
“Outside,” the girl said. “He’s having a moment.”
Cora didn’t know what that meant either, but she bit her tongue while Brian finished handing out the papers. When they were breaking before another icebreaker session, he handed her another stack of papers. “Will you please give this to TJ when you see him?”
She reluctantly took the papers. “I don’t even know who he is, but when I find out I will…” God, this was already awkward. She was feeling as though it would have been better to tell her dad that she wanted to rent a cabin in the woods somewhere for a month, rather than go to a retreat.
Brian pointed down the hallway to the front door. “I think he’s sitting outside by the road. You might have saw him when you came in.”
Cora didn’t remember seeing him, but she smiled for Brian’s sake. “Okay. I’ll go give him the papers.”
“Maybe you can convince him to come inside. I don’t think he’s all that excited about being here.”
Great. It would be her luck to be paired with a difficult partner. But because she was so used to being an agreeable person, she took a step toward the front door. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good luck,” Brian said, the smile apparent in his voice while she walked away.
Prompt: Slowpoke
Word Count: 518
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original: The Song Inside Me
Pairings (if any): None
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/etc): None
Summary: Cora arrives in California (late) and second guesses her decision to go in the first place.
Cora’s flight had been delayed, and after waiting for over an hour to get on a crowded super shuttle bus that reeked of someone’s nasty perfume, she finally arrived at the retreat center--two hours later than she planned. She was starving, tired, and just wanted to go to bed. But the time difference meant she had two extra hours to stay awake, so after she set her things down in her room, she trudged into the main room of the retreat center and prepared to introduce herself to the group.
The group was small. There were two leaders, and four other young adults that would be sharing the space with her. Dinner was, regrettably over, so she ignored her growling stomach and put on a smile to shake their hands. It was too many names at once and she had missed the formal introductions, so she quickly forgot the names and sat down at the table.
One of the leaders, Brian, she thought he said his name was, was passing out several sheets of paper around the table. “These are the different types of meditation,” he was saying while he handed another stack to the person on his left. “We’ll start with the easiest and work our way up to the more complex ones over time. By the time you leave, you’ll all be very proficient.”
Cora had never meditated before in her life, so she was curious to learn about it.
“Oh,” Brian said, suddenly looking at Cora. “We’ve already broken up into pairs, and since TJ is… sitting this one out, you’ll be his partner, Cora.”
Cora wondered what “sitting this one out” meant. “Okay…” she said and took the stack of papers from the girl beside her. “Where is he?”
“Outside,” the girl said. “He’s having a moment.”
Cora didn’t know what that meant either, but she bit her tongue while Brian finished handing out the papers. When they were breaking before another icebreaker session, he handed her another stack of papers. “Will you please give this to TJ when you see him?”
She reluctantly took the papers. “I don’t even know who he is, but when I find out I will…” God, this was already awkward. She was feeling as though it would have been better to tell her dad that she wanted to rent a cabin in the woods somewhere for a month, rather than go to a retreat.
Brian pointed down the hallway to the front door. “I think he’s sitting outside by the road. You might have saw him when you came in.”
Cora didn’t remember seeing him, but she smiled for Brian’s sake. “Okay. I’ll go give him the papers.”
“Maybe you can convince him to come inside. I don’t think he’s all that excited about being here.”
Great. It would be her luck to be paired with a difficult partner. But because she was so used to being an agreeable person, she took a step toward the front door. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good luck,” Brian said, the smile apparent in his voice while she walked away.