Flexibility (Open)

[Malachai Roen]

This was something new.  Kai, with some extra time now that he was on winter break, had decided to look into doing some lessons at the Institute just for the heck of it.  It wasn't for money, of course - he had plenty - but he was interested to see how things were going at Hammel and maybe make some younger connections with students he might be able to help as they adapted to becoming young adults.

And of course, he loved to spread the benefits that yoga could bring.  With all the studying, stress, and teenage hormones that the students had to deal with, he was sure they could gain a lot from the exercises.

His first lesson had gone well, he thought - the students here didn't know him, so he hadn't gotten a large crowd, but he had a feeling it would grow over time.  If he enjoyed it enough, he might just continue it for as long as people were interested.  After finishing up the last stretches and thanking everyone for coming, he dismissed them to go when they pleased and stood fluidly, walking over to grab his water bottle.  

Kai was dressed simply, in a fitted tank top and loose, light-colored sweatpants, with his feet bare.  He smiled pleasantly at everyone as they left, sticking around in case anyone had any questions or comments for him.

[Judah Linn]

People had been talking about yoga. What the benefits were, what kind of mental state they could be left in. Judah, curious, had taken action and joined one of the smaller classes. They had been correct. Certainly relaxing. Gave him some time to clear his thoughts. ...It kind of reminded him of stretching after conditioning sessions when he played lacrosse back in Chicago. It was there to cool off and relax the heavily worked muscles. Unsurprisingly, the most jumpy students had joined this class. Most were girls, but there were two other guys who he assumed were probably there just to see girls in yoga pants. Douche bags. Some people did it for fun. Otherwise, the group consisted of the twitchy, problematic students, and people that are stressing - AKA Judah. 

The focus on balance and form took his overactive mind off the classes he threatens to flunk and his impossible and obnoxious power that kept him from "walking." There were more positions that he could have ever thought. (The boys were joking about the positions being similar to sex positions, which made Judah roll his eyes.) The instructor was rather kind too. When the guy dismissed the class, Judah stayed behind, wanting to avoid the small crowd and socialization with his peers. The instructor had stayed behind as well, drinking his water, listening to the comments as his peers and underclassmen passed him. 

Judah approached the male, tugging at the bottom of his hoodie - his Junior Varsity jacket from his old school in Chicago. He'd manifested at fifteen, which would have put him through a year of public high school. "That was surprisingly... okay," He stated, seeming a bit timid. He didn't want to sound like a loser either. "..Do you do these classes often-- Kai? That's your name, right? I'm bad with names."

[Malachai Roen]

Kai took small, slow sips of his water as students passed by, answering the occasional question and making sure they all knew about when the next session would be. Some students left right away - presumably to never return - while others hung around and mingled with him and others for a few minutes before dispersing.

He picked up a washcloth and wiped at his slightly damp face, pulling it away a moment later to see another student approaching him, seeming somewhat shy. Kai smiled and let out a small laugh at the admittance. "I had the same reaction the first time I tried yoga," he replied, rustling a hand through his hair. "The more you do it, at least in my case, the more relaxing and enjoyable it is."

At the question, he dropped his hand and leaned against the wall, nodding slowly. "No problem - I don't think I caught your name, though," he replied with a small, sheepish smile. He hadn't asked for anyone's names; there'd been too many. "And this is actually my first time teaching a class here, but I've been teaching for a while in town. I'm hoping to start it regularly here if there's enough interest. I miss Hammel sometimes." He tilted his head. "Would you be interested in coming again? I'm trying to gauge how many students I can expect to return, but... Teenagers can be so hard to read," he chuckled with a knowing grin.

[Judah Linn]

Judah wrinkled his nose when Kai laughed at him. Probably not at him, probably the way that he was so ridiculously timid towards somebody so nice. Jesus, what's wrong with me? "I just.. didn't want to sound like a complete flunkiee. Y'know. A loser." He bit down on his lower lip and took a single step back. Judah was a loser, in a way. He didn't have very good social habits and hadn't graduated yet. Maybe he wasn't a loser. Maybe the right description was failure. Such an awful word.

He seemed a bit embarrassed that he hadn't asked for anybody's name. Hey, at least he was able to get in front of everybody and introduce himself. In his opinion, Kai had guts. "Judah Linn. ...How in the Hell do you miss this place? This place is a dump," There we go. Something Judah is actually passionate about. Hammel was probably his least favorite place. He had been forced, just like pretty much every student. He missed his old friends - especially Duncan, his lacrosse team, and even Chicago (as boring as that damn Illinois city is). He wanted out of this place, even if it mean he having to go to college here in Vermont.

"A-anyways.. yes. I would come back. It was a.. pleasant experience, let's leave it at that." He paused and hesitated touching his hair. It was a habit of his, touching his own hair. It just kept getting in his eyes and it annoyed the Hell out of him. At least, that was one of his many excuses. "So do you do anything else besides yoga? I don't mean classes, I mean just in general. Like.. I played lax." Judah pulled on the edge of his jacket to show to JV and CC badges. "I played Cross Country and Junior Varsity when I lived in Chicago."

[Malachai Roen]

Kai was unaware that his small, seemingly harmless laugh had set Judah's mind whirling with negative thoughts; he hadn't meant anything by it, he was just amused by the honesty. "Don't worry about it!" Why on earth would he think he was a loser? "I mean... If you're worried about looking silly in front of your peers or something, just know that everyone in here is at different levels and there are a lot of beginners that have no idea what they're doing." He was trying to offer support; he hoped he was on the right track, but he wasn't sure why, exactly, Judah felt like a 'failure'.

Judah.... Interesting name. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Judah," he replied kindly. At the question, he chuckled again and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahh... I felt that way sometimes too. But I have a lot of friends that work here now, and there are, if you can believe it or not, some good memories from my younger days." Back when he was a teenager he had wanted to get out of here, but looking back and comparing it to how hectic his life was now, he'd be glad to go back.

"Great," he smiled broadly, glad that at least someone had interest in returning. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've known many teenagers who would rather do anything than sit and do yoga for a half-hour." It required patience that not a lot of hot-blooded young adults could manage. Kai leaned against the door frame as Judah spoke again, rubbing absent-mindedly at his stubble as he pondered. "I do weight lifting," he offered,"And I run on occasion. Boring stuff like that - I was never much into team sports, unfortunately." He peeked at the badges. "That's really cool, though. I don't... Have anything like that to show off," he laughed again.

[Judah Linn]

"I would probably be that guy like: Ha! Yoga?! Are you serious?" Judah is that type, though. Negative and questioning. He is a pessimist and only finds activities such as yoga to be a huge waste of time. Another example is Hammel. Hammel really wastes his time. He hates this place, yet he still lives his life here. Every day. Every second. The idea of staying at Hammel until he graduated which was probably, um, never, almost made him cringe. He hated not being able to graduate. If he doesn't walk at graduation this year.. oh no. In no way was he staying here. It is the worst. The worst. 

So he worked out? Cool. Judah used to do that, but he really didn't have a choice at the time. Conditioning is required for lacrosse. "I loved what I did. which is why I worked so hard for JV and CC. And then I got moved here. It's one of the reasons I hate it here. I may have been living with the folks--" People Judah hadn't spoken to since he was fourteen because they shipped him off here without a goodbye. Fuck them. "--But it was still better than living here. Really, it was."

And he didn't favor team sports. Yoga is definitively not a team sport. No wonder he liked it. "Not all team sports are fun. I don't like football. I'd be slaughtered in football. Broken in half like a freakin' twig." Judah chuckled, revealing his respectable set of teeth again, "Track and Field is decent at Hammel, once you get used to the cold. Are the fields on your college campus decent? Where do you go, anyways?" Perhaps the local college? Maybe the University of Vermont? Either or, pretty cool. Soon, he'd have to pick someplace. If he graduated, he had to go straight to college. He would have.. literally nowhere else to go.