angiebax

[angiebax]

For hours now, Angie had been painstakingly copying line for line, quote for quote, of Shakespeare text onto tiny note cards, not only to study but to provide evidence for whatever paper it is she had to write for class. By now she was slowly getting more and more tired, her hand cramping from the tiny writing and the flipping back and forth through the pages. Beyond this, she had her character position paper to write, plus reading the supplementary book for the quiz the next day. She broke her led pencil and, letting out a choice swear word, flung the pencil across the room. “I give up.” She declared, getting up from her desk and heading across the room to her bed, dropping face down onto the pillows. “I give up, I hate Shakespeare, I hate english, I’m going to drop out of school and become a train-hopping hobo. Or a “humanitarian”, either one.”

@kaelfk

[angiebax]

ohnixon:

“who even plays tennis isn’t it like and old people sport?” he asked turning around to face her “what is serving?”

“I play tennis. And no, golf is an old people sport.” She let out a mildly agitated sigh. “It’s when you throw the ball up in the air and hit it to the other side of the court. Like on tv?”

[angiebax]

sagcisms:

“hmm fair point maybe i just should stay away from it or be like i’ll film the video for you and you can give me that grand.. is that really weird? a lot of kids chew on stuff i used to chew on pens and stuff”

“That definitely sounds a bit sketchy.” Angie shrugged. “Yeah, but now I have these weird oral memories and when I look up old toys on the internet I’ll remember if I have them or not based on what part I chewed on and what the texture was like.”

[angiebax]

“Hey, don’t worry, it’s just me.” Angie held her hands up, squinting in the light. “Just coming back from the library, late night study session, everything’s okay. What’s got you so spooked?”

Standing in the middle of the courtyard, Josie froze as she heard a noise up ahead. She stepped forward tentatively, holding the flashlight from her phone up so she could see. “Who’s there?” she whispered, having not expected anyone to be out so late.

[angiebax]

sclvers:

“I told ya i’m not sporty i’m a musician and just that my hands are to create beautiful melodies not play with balls” she said turning around to face angie once more “alright i’m gonna use all my high school sports power right now” she said tossing the ball up before moving to serve it.

“Then don’t you think it’s time you learned to roughen up your hands a bit? You know, sportsmanship and all that good stuff.” She snorted at the entendre, whether intentional or not, before stepping back to watch the serve. “See? That wasn’t so bad at all.”

[angiebax]

sagcisms:

“But would the court case be in my favor so I get more money? College is pricey and i’m totally kidding. I just don’t want throw up on camera so I was gonna say no anyway. Have you ever put something in your mouth to know not to do it?”

“Well you willingly went through with it, so maybe not.” She shrugged. “I used to chew on toys and things, but that‘s just because I was weird.”

[angiebax]

astridpls:

“I cheer and swim not hold rackets” Astrid said with a groan as she listened to the girl and tried to pay attention sure she had played tennis with her mum but that was more so an excuse to drink wine in the afternoon. Looking over she nodded “or we could save me the embarrassment and say we did?”

“Well, now you can gain an extra skill. You just have to do it right.” Angie let out a sigh at Astrid’s suggestion, shaking her head. “No, come on, it’s not that difficult. I know you can do it.”

[angiebax]

ninamercier:

Nina grimaced, thinking very seriously about what Angie had said. She didn’t want her to think she wasn’t trying, she just wasn’t very apt for physical coordination. She wasn’t even sure why she’d asked her friend to teach her her trade, minus the fact that her father was adamant that she at least attempt to broaden her horizons. He was convinced she spent entirely too much time with her head in her books and shows. She scowled at the ball in determination, retrieving it from Angie and readying her racket once more. “Oof!” She grunted, watching with dismay as the tennis ball somehow shot behind her and over her head. Only she could accomplish something so utterly absurd. “I’m sorry, Ange. I’m really no good at this am I?”

“Jesus—” Angie shook her head again, hand pressed to her forehead in irritation. “Alright, you know what? How about we switch this up, hmm? How about you just practice hitting the ball rather than trying to serve it.” Grabbing the ball off the ground, Angie bounced it a few times against the court, trying not to lose her temper. “It’s not that you’re not good, I just don’t think you’re even listening to what I have to say to you. You think that you can’t do it so you’re not giving your all in trying to do it. That is what I’m seeing.”

[angiebax]

lylahq:

“seriously?” the blonde quipped, her hazel orbs rolling at the other girl. “Pretty sure it doesn’t matter how I hold the racket, Ang, just as long as the ball gets over the net.” Lyla had been playing tennis for as long as she could remember. It was actually the only thing that she did with her mother that could be classified as bonding. Even when she wasn’t playing at the local country club, she was bringing home wins for her high school. “–You’re captain because you’re anal as fuck and coach wanted someone just as annoying as her running this team in her absence,” she offered as she turned and took her place. With the neon ball in her left hand and the racket properly held in the other, Lyla tossed the ball up and gave Angie the serve she had been asking for.

“It matters if you’re holding it too loosely and you could send the racket flying over the net like you just tossed it for no good reason.” Angie shot back, frowning. “Of course it maters, do you want everyone else to think we look like we don’t know what we’re doing? Because that’s what it seems like to me.” Folding her arms across her chest, Angie shook her head, more offended by the comment than she let on. “It’s cause I know what I’m doing. I wouldn’t have to be so annoying of people actually listened.” She stood to the side of the court, arms still folded, watching with an almost grim satisfaction as Lyla  hit the ball across the court. “There, that’s much better. Half of the people that want to try out this year don’t even know how to swing at a ball properly.”

[angiebax]

coriwth:

“Maybe I’m just not the type for sports. I feel like I’m just watching a small going back and forth? I’m honestly bad at trying to understand anything sports related. Probably why I’m only on the swim team,” she admitted and chewed on her lower lip, her fingers tapping on her hips. Her eyes slowly began to move around the court. “Is there something else I could help you with? Maybe take some of the load off of your shoulders so you don’t feel like you’re scraping your knees on the ground and about to collapse.” 

“...I mean yes, that’s essentially what it is, but it’s a lot more than that? I don’ know, it’s difficult to explain. Hey, swimming is a sport, I can barely keep myself afloat. I took tennis and piano lessons as a kid rather than swimming.” She began to pace to the length of the court, shaking her head. “Unless you feel like running a team, or doing my Shakespeare homework, or dealing with general life stuff I don’t know if you can help me.” At the mention of Shakespeare her eyes widened, and she cursed. “Fuck, I forgot to email my thesis to my professor fuck fuck fuck.”

[angiebax]

kclparker:

‘‘ isn’t that the point of the sport though?’‘ twirling the racket around in his hand, he accidentally drops it and acts so casual in picking it up again. ‘‘ by the way, me and wendy.. never talked at all about tennis. i think?’‘ he tries to remember, but shrugs and waves it off– before pausing and looking back up at her. ‘‘ so, even if i get it onto the other side as hard as i could, i.. i can still lose?’‘

Angie huffed as he dropped the racket, mumbling something about mishandling equipment. “That’s all I ever talk about with her, so I can’t imagine what else you could be up to.” She raised an eyebrow, suggesting there was more to what she had initially said. “Right. Because it’s not all about power, it’s about controlling where the ball goes in relation to the lines on the court as well.”

[angiebax]

ninamercier:

Nina stared into Angie’s bright blue eyes like a deer about to be hit by a car. She blushed. “Uh, tennis is very popular in France…but I never had the arms for it.” She admitted in her thick accent, trying very hard to keep up with her friend as she maneuvered her into the correct positions. When she heard Angie suggest she actually serve the ball, she blanched. Okay… She swung, ball thudding to the ground carelessly as she nearly hit herself in the face with her own racket. She laughed nervously. “Oops?” 

“Oops isn’t quite the word I’d use. More like disaster-in-the-making.” Angie frowned. “But that’s okay, we can fix it. Honestly, I don’t even feel like you’re trying, because you don’t think you can do i.” She picked up the ball that had thudded uselessly to the floor. “This is what I see.” She mimicked the girl’s actions, swinging wildly while she dropped the ball with her other hand. “It’s like you’re not properly trying to do a serve, just mimic what you see on tv. Here, watch.” Angie picked up the ball once more, tossing it in the air as she swung, delivering a powerful serve to the other side of the court. “That is what it’s supposed to look like.”

[angiebax]

kclparker:

‘‘i… i mean, i was friends with her.. i was.. but.. we aren’t on speaking terms now?’‘ kol shrugged and shook his head at her question. ‘‘ i’ve been on BASKETBALL COURTS. never been on a tennis court in my life.’‘ he shrugs, nodding at her words once. ‘‘okay, okay– i think i got this.’‘ grabbing another spare ball nearby them, kol makes sure to distance himself in the proper stance she showed him. he tosses the ball up in the air, hitting it as hard as he could to the other side.

“Well, if you were friends with her long enough for her to teach you anything about tennis, you should have learned.” Again, Angie shook her head, hands on her hips as she stood to the side, waiting for him to show her what she just taught him to do. She watched as the ball soared through the air, nodding approvingly. “That’s better, good. But it’s not all about power, you know? It’s about execution, it’s about making sure it gets it to the other side, and if it’s powerful there’s a chance you could be counted out right away, and then you lose.”

[angiebax]

coriwth:

Cori’s hands fell down to her sides as Angie took the racket from her and she chewed on the side of her cheek as she watched and listened to her. “I don’t know anything about this game, honestly. I probably just grabbed the wrong thing. Probably one that hasn’t been touched since they decided to bring tennis here,” she shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. Picking her head up, she looked at the brunette and tilted her head to the side. “Do you need a drink? Probably not the best thing to be offering right now, but you look like you need to relax a bit and it’s the only thing I could offer right now besides a massage.”

“Tennis is very easy to understand, you just have to watch and pay attention. It’s not as complicated as other sports, and table tennis is even easier.” She shook her head, not in disagreement to what the girl was suggesting, but rather in hopes that some of her stress would clear if she shook it away. “I need to not have so many responsibilities. I wish I didn’t eel obligated to take everything on all on my own, you know?”

[angiebax]

coriwth:

As Angie went on, Cori looked down at the racket in her hand and pursed her lips before smiling and letting out a chuckle. “I’m sorry. I don’t think there’s a proper way to hold a broken tennis racket,” she said as she swirled it in her hand and her green eyes moved up to look at the female across the other way. “Are you okay? You seem a bit – tense. Usually I’m the tense one.” 

“Broken? What do you mean broken?” Angie stepped around to the front of the girl, taking her racket and inspecting it, finding a few of the strings cracked and loose. “Shit.” She cursed, grabbing the racket and meaning to toss it, only to pull back at the last second. “Shit equipment. You would think reaching the championship two years in a row would warrant new equipment and more money but nope, we get stuck with shit things.” Sighing, Angie dropped the racket to the ground, running her hands over her face. “I’m fine, just...there’s a lot riding on this season. And with that and school and just regular life I’m starting to feel burned out.”

[angiebax]

kclparker:

‘‘– is.. that.. now how you hold the thing?’‘ kol stares at it in his hand, brows furrowed for a moment. kol watched as she adjusted his arm to the proper position, a light sigh escaping him. ‘‘this sport is too confusing, i don’t.. i don’t get it.’‘ he grumbles, and watches her move to the other side of the net. ‘‘ …. how do i serve?’‘

“Jesus Christ.” Angie shook her head again. “Aren’t you friends with Wendy? She should have taught you this, you should know better than to have a shit hold.” Angie ducked slightly, ready to take the serve, before Kol asked her exactly how, and she groaned. “Oh my God, is this the first time you’ve even been on a court? First of all.” She walked back over to the other side, nudging the back of his knee with her own to get it back into place. “That. Second of all, you toss the ball up in the air and hit, or serve it to the other side.” She leaned down, picking up a ball and rolling it between her fingers. “Like so.” She threw the ball up, smacking it with a powerful force onto the other side of the court. “That is how you serve.”

[angiebax]

“Okay, pause. Is that how you think you hold a tennis racket?” Angie frowned slightly, arms folded, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “Who taught you that that was the proper form? I mean have you ever held a tennis racket in your life?” She stepped closer to the person, taking their arm and adjusting the racket in their hand, before walking around them and re-positioning their shoulders to the proper hold. “You know, there’s a reason I was made captain. So that people like you don’t make ridiculous mistakes like this.” Once she finished adjusting their hold, Angie grabbed her own racket, heading to the other side of the net. “Alright, now that you’ve actually got a proper hold, why don’t you show me how you serve a ball, hmm? We can fix that next.”