Date: October 28th, early Location: The Court (closed to @alistan29)
Grayson wakes up before the sun, some internal clock refusing to adapt to the fact that he’s got nowhere to be right now. Back home, sleeping in was barely a pipe dream. There would always be hay to cut and stack, fences to mend, and yes, corrals to clean—and all that on a light day. Here, Grayson’s to-do list is considerably shorter. There’s practice during the week, and classes, but on a Sunday? There’s just too much time.
He could try to sleep again, or simply to relax, but hell—idle hands, and all that. Besides, he spent much of Saturday fighting off a hangover and reliving the night before, with the beach and the bonfire, and he’s not eager to do the same today. Grayson laces up his shoes and goes for a walk instead, eager to catch some of the sunrise, but on this cloudy morning like this one, it’s hardly worth it. Maybe Palmetto’s weather is finally turning towards fall. Maybe it’s just too early to tell.
He doesn’t want a fight, or a smoke, or any of the things he usually uses to burn off energy. He’s just—restless. Uncomfortable. Mostly he wants to call Jen, but even knowing they’re an early riser too, he can’t bring himself to do it. So, instead, he heaves a sigh, and drags himself to the Court, as if he’s a good Fox for once. This is far from his usual haunt, but Exy has always reliably helped when he’s coming out of his skin.
At first glance the Court seems empty, and then he realizes there’s a machine in the center, launching off Exy balls that collide uselessly into the wall with a solid thunk! One nearly collides with him as he enters, and Grayson barely manages to dodge it, letting off a surprised bark of a laugh as he does so. Even more bizarrely, his gaze lands on Alis next, motionless on the Court. She looks ready for practice, and it doesn’t take a genius to see why a goalkeeper would think this contraption is a good idea, but—“I’m pretty sure that’s for tennis,” he says, nodding towards the machine. “Unless you’re going the way of Moriyama and Day and creating some new bastardized version of this sport.”