#blaz brooks

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 22. Bowling mishaps~

I have NEVER been bowling before! But when I am feeling tipsy and am on a slippery surface...owwwwwwwww.

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 23. Bowling with friends~

We drank, we laughed, we fell, and we bowled. I won, but I am going to attribute that to my ‘lucky’ shirt that Howard said was dorky, but she liked it. We may have flirted a bit....that was definitely the drink! All in all, it was a good night. 

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 21. A night out~

At the end of a particularly long week of training, a few of us decided to go out, Hankins, Howard, and I. There was a bowling alley just across town, so we figured why not?

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 18. A chit-chat~

I miss my family. I still see them every single weekend and we text all the time, but it isn’t the same. I have learned that training isn’t just about physical fitness, but mental too. And mentally, I am struggling. The longer I am away the more I think of my sister. Does Marin miss us? Does she miss me? Is she okay? It seems I will never find out. I’m just...losing hope, a little at a time. 

I did my best to hide my struggles, but Hensley cornered me while I was catching up on the news. 

“Brooks! What’s up with you kid? If you want to get to space you got to suck it up!”

“Ah, yes sir. I want to go to space, yes I do! As for the sucking it up...I am working on it, sir.” 

“Good, that’s what I like to hear!” He barked, then quieted a little. “Ah hell, we’re off the clock. I understand where you’re coming from. I struggled during training myself, although they really didn’t care back then.”

I was shocked. “You sir? You...pardon me, but you don’t strike me as the struggling type, sir.”

Hensley laughed. “Yeah, well, shit hit’s the fan sometimes Brooks. My girlfriend was doing an internship at the time, and I was in training...and she got gunned down by a hit and run. My mom was with her at the time, they were having lunch. Both died that day.”

“I...wow, I am so sorry, sir.”

“Yeah, plummed me up, real good Brooks. REAL GOOD. I wanted to quit and go after the buggers myself who did that. They just wanted to send a message to the owners of that bistro, and didn’t care who they hurt. But, my mentor of the time told me about it, locked my butt in the training room and told me to go ham. Yell, scream, shout, beat crap up. Whatever it took to finish, cause then I could take the plummers down properly, so they couldn’t hurt anyone else’s family. I hated him with my entire being for that...”

“And what happened sir?” 

“He was right. I passed my course, bid my time. Then I nailed their entire operation. It didn’t bring them back. It didn’t even realllly make me feel better at the time, but it felt good to get them off the streets. To this day, that’s my greatest accomplishment. But it never would have happened if I quit. Do you understand Brooks?”

“I...think so sir.”

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 20. No longer a small french fry~

Well, dang. I look like my uncle Andi! Huge muscles. Will I be able to fit into my astronaut suit? They better make a triple X in the shoulders! Still, I feel good, healthier and stronger than I have in years...but still not that flexible. Oops. Maybe as I do yoga in these next final weeks my muscle mass will slim down, I’m having to borrow other’s clothes at this rate! 

But as spring ends and I plan to spend time with my family, like I do every weekend...I worry about Marin. Where is my sister?

~~~

Alston: “Hey, buck up trainees, it’s the weekend! Time for all those mad parties!”

“I just want to sleep.”

“Oh come now Bailee, you’re only 19, you can sleep when your dead!”

“...No, I think I’ll sleep now.”

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 19. Getting stronger~

After Hensley and I’s chit chat, I threw myself more than ever before into training. Slowly, it was all paying off. I was getting stronger, and now none of us were nearly drowning in the pool. I was beefing up. Most of us were doing strength training, and Alston was already warning us that the final weeks would be us rushing meditation and wellness, because being able to bend and flex in any situation was useful, but particularly in space, zero gravity and all. 

“Not to mention being able to keep a cool head and breathe calmly in stressful red alert situations keeps your oxygen supply longer.”

...Yeah, she’s got a good point. Time for me to do some yoga soon!

[kitdragonflight]

~Baz Brooks, entry 17.~

Blake is the only one who continuously trained, even at the dorms. She was far more driven than the rest of us, but she inspired me to keep going while the others gossiped and chatted at night. If Blake could do it, then I could keep going. For my sister.

[kitdragonflight]

~Blaz Brooks, entry 15. Sparring with Blake Howard~

The days become a blur here, cause all we do is sleep, eat, and train! But, Blake and I at least enjoy it! I am still very much a string bean, but I am noticing some toning in my arms now, so I consider that progress! 

Both of us for sure know what we want out of the five trainees, the others are sort of in the middle...so we took the initiative to cheer each other on kicking the plum out of our demons on the spar operator. 

Blake: “Take. THAT. and. THAT! Gotcha you ugly space alien!”

Blaz: “Isn’t Batuu filled with aliens, both good and bad?”

Blake: “Yep, but I will only fight the bad ones!”

Blaz: “Wise, not all aliens are bad after all!”

Blake: “You talk like you’ve got experience with them Brooks.”

Blaz: “A bit.” *initiates punching and kicking* “And down you go!”

Blake: “Who are you fighting?”

Blaz: “Whoever might be messing with my sister...or took her. She may have ran away, or she may have been kidnapped. We don’t know.”

Blake: “I’m sorry Brooks.”

Blaz: “Yeah, me too. But I will find her! I know I will.”

Blake: “And I’ll help, if I can. Okay?”

Blaz: “Okay, thanks Howard.”

Blake: “No problem Brooks, no problem.”