Woodchuck (Nick)

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia was finding that life was getting somewhat easier. One might site that she had new skills and a new outlook under her belt now. It was true, those were major things, but right now she was thinking on a small scale. One of the most annoying things about the bars here was that she couldn’t smoke in them, she couldn’t smoke anywhere! Howeve3r since she had quit the struggle was considerably less. In fact now she could stop by for a drink and not worry about it. The place wasn’t huge, and the regular crowd that she knew was there for the most part. It was nice to see them, but she didn’t expect not to. They weren’t the sort of switch bars.

Lia wasn’t a huge drinker, so she was just there for a drink and a game of pool. She had always had a mind for angles, at least in her opinion. She had started playing which she was at treatment and things had just gone from there. Painting and pool, well a girl had to have hobbies besides work right? Well for now Lia had this and she was more that glad to indulge in it. So she had her hard cider in hand and her pool stick in the other. She was wrapping up a game against Ted, her third game against Ted that night actually. As such she was about to claim her third win against him.

Yulia sunk the eight ball and Ted groaned. Well if he wanted to win a game then maybe he should think about drinking a little less. Lia shrugged as he finally hung up his stick. She looked at the table, unsure if she wanted to play another round. Then again that would require some of challenger, and she felt a little played out. She leaned her stick against the table and took another swig of her drink. She could have a second one if she wanted, after all she was walking home. Still she didn’t want to stumble home from here, lightweight that she was. As a result no one could nurse a beer like Lia could.

[Nicholas Kells]

Nick was getting used to life in Pilot Ridge, but he had to admit that he was finding things a bit dull. His job was going well, he supposed. But he didn’t really have much to do after the work day was over. So although it wasn’t usually his custom, he had found himself frequenting bars most evenings. If nothing else it provided him some entertainment in watching some of the townsfolk make idiots of themselves. Although he wouldn’t admit it to himself, he was actually hoping that he could find someone who met his standards. Someone to spend his free time with.

No luck so far.

Tonight he had spent a majority of the evening shooting a few darts and watching people play pool. He had thought of joining in a game, but so far there hadn’t been any opening. People seemed to be playing with their friends. Of which Nick didn’t have any.

When he noticed a young woman glancing around the room for another competitor he stepped forward and picked up a stick. “Mind if I join you?” he asked. He could be polite when he felt like it. And initial meetings were usually occasions where he felt like it. No need to treat a person like an idiot until they proved to be one.

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia was still trying to decide as to whether or not she wanted to keep playing, but in all fairness she was stuck to the table since she had won. However she was fully willing to move out of the way if a group came through and wanted to play. However a single challenger came up and she was once again stuck to the table. “Not at all.” She didn’t mind really, she liked it and no practice was enough practice. Lia nodded and inserted a couple of quarters into the table in order to start up a new game. Words at current weren’t really needed, not for this kind of game. This was basic, this was simple.

Lia wasted no time in racking up the balls and lining it all up correctly. She wasn’t sure how he wanted to do this exactly. Then again there was really just one question left when it came to playing a game of pool. “Would you like to break or should I do it?” Lia personally thought you could tell a lot about a person based on their answer to that question.

“I’m Lia, by the way,” she added, extending a hand. “And you are?” She didn’t recognize him. Maybe he was new to town, or maybe she just hadn’t seen him around. For a few months before she even left Pilot Ridge she hadn’t been able to go out and about. After all given the damage done to her ankle it have been hard to walk anywhere, and Lia walked everywhere. She took a moment to chalk up the tip of her stick.

Maybe this would be a more challenging game than the last few she had participated in.

[Nicholas Kells]

Nick smiled slightly as the woman started setting up the game. He had been watching several of the games going on at the club and already knew that this woman seemed familiar around the pool table. At least she knew how to line it all up correctly. Which was a plus. Although Nick liked to think of himself as a gentleman, he wasn't much for allowing women to win at games simply because they were women. Going easy on someone was not his style.

"Go ahead," Nick said, gesturing towards the balls. "Ladies first." Really he just wanted to see how she would do on her first shot. He felt confident he could get the ball back in his court, so to speak. He wasn't usually a defensive player, but it was her table after all.

He leaned casually against the wall, sipping his beer, as she took her first shot. "Nick," he replied. "Been in Pilot Ridge long?" he asked. His eyes followed her shot and the pool balls as he waited for her reply.