Serving Memories [Closed]

The old Tennis Courts... She missed them.

With her eight month or so hiatus from being on campus, it certainly would take a bit of time getting readjusted. The 'accident' during her own little tennis tournament had left her wounded and mentally scarred, yet she still dared to pick up that darned racket. She wore the summer version of the Spring house uniform, as the heat in the gymnasium certainly didn't fit with the winter version.

Looking down at her hand, and at the nasty scars it bore, she moved her fingers before pulling her black locks into a high ponytail. A sigh escaped her lips as she went to one side of the net, the bag that hung from her shoulder being dropped and unzipped.

Pulling out the racket and the infamous neon ball, she bounced it on the ground before tossing it into the air, and letting it bounce. Up and down, up and down. Her hetero eyes captivated by the movement, and she pulled herself out of the hypnotic bouncing before giving the idea of serving it a thought.

Catching the ball in her "good" hand, the racket twirled in the other before she gave another sigh. It was the first time she had picked up a tennis racket in just about a year, and the rubber grip felt so good to be in her hands again. Tightening her grip for a moment and then releasing it back to a normal tension, Taimi decided to stop delaying.

Throwing the ball up into the air, she slammed the racket into the ball, the all-too familiar thwack echoing throughout the otherwise empty room as it flew over to the other side of the net, off the wall, and stopping as it slammed into the other side of the white webbing. It was so good to be able to play again.

Hearing the door to the gym shut with a loud bang, her head snapped to see who it was entering the gym, her hand snatching the ball as she stood back up.

He hadn't expected anyone else to be in the gym, at least not outside of the weight rooms. When it was this close to the holidays, most were huddled in their dorm rooms beside the heater or hitting up the cafe in town. Only the real diligent athletes did any sort of sport, so far as he knew. He, for certain, was not one of those upbeat athletes. Once or twice a week, however, he had the decency of going to the gym and lifting for an hour or two. (He had to stay in shape for the most part. There was no lady alive he knew of who'd be interested in a flirt with a flabby beer belly.)

And so, Preston swung open the doors to the indoor courts, gym bag slung over his shoulder. He'd really only planned to pass through, wanting to avoid the cold as much as possible, as his sweats did little to protect him from the wind and snow. No sooner than he closed the door did he notice her, catching the green ball with a quick reflex. At first, he thought it was a stranger, shooting her a small nod and a wave. It wasn't until he'd gotten closer, passing by, that he realized who it was.

The Autumn paused, almost dropping his back and spinning around to face her. "... Taimi?"

From far away, the face of the young man entering the gym just looked like another student that had came during her absence. As he stepped closer, giving her a small nod and a wave, the look of familiarity dug at her mind and refused to get the hell out. Who the hell was this person? Why did they look so familiar?

It wasn't until he had gotten super close and had said her name that she recognized who it was. Man, her mind was complete shit. "P-Pres... uh, ...ton?" It took her a bit to spit out the name, but when she finally did it made her happy.

"S-Sorry, my... my memory isn't that... that good..."

He was left standing there for a moment, leaning awkwardly on one foot and shifting his weight to the other, seconding guessing himself with each passing second. Maybe he'd been mistaken after all? He'd thought he could recognize that face anywhere but this girl was staring at him like he was a complete stranger. However, when she finally spoke, he brightened up a little. "That's right," Preston said, offering a hand out, wanting to pull her in for a small hug - but the way she still looked at him, it caused him to be hesitant. "What happened to you? I haven't seen you in... Shit, how long has it been?" Something definitely seemed off about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Taimi felt a bit more secure when he confirmed her thoughts about his identity. Her mind was still furiously trying to remember everything on what had happened, and she looked down at her hand. Well, the artificial hand, rather.

Looking at his outstretched hand, she took it, stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around him momentarily. There couldn't be anything wrong with doing it, right? He had seemed happy to see her... She wanted to be friendly and mask anything about her that was different. Pfft, good fucking luck. At his mentioning of the accident popping back into her head, Taimi took in a breath. "About... About a year..." She answered him with the question of her absence.

Taking a step back from him and holding up the artificial hand, she moved the fingers. Small, mechanical noises could be heard as it moved, but nothing horrible. "Tennis... The match... Pole fell over, hit me, crushed my hand... Doctors couldn't save it..." Her words were a jumbled mess, whatever remained of that memory coming back to her in waves. "B-But I'm okay now..." She clasped a hand on her shoulder, her heterochromatic gaze looking away briefly and twirling the racket in her opposite hand.