A Rich Pig with Issues, Lots of Issues

Techno Gets Hurt: His Spiral into the Depths of Frustration (Ensemble)

Word Count: 2138

Techno sighed quietly as he picked his way off the bus, careful to avoid the track bags that people laid halfway across the aisle. He hopped off and went into pure autopilot while ignoring the others around himself. Currently, he was getting his pole since they were off to the first track competition of the year. Techno wasn't anxious about it per say, but he always had a lingering amount of stress no matter what. He was the top male pole vaulter in his school, after all, so there was a lot of pressure on him to do well from the get-go.

When Techno tuned back into reality, he had already slid his long pole in through the back of the bus. Being the last one to do so, he made the decision to climb in through the open back door and shut it behind himself, then proceeded to walk back to his spot. Lucky for him, his seatmate was Dream. The other smiled and waved at Techno who offered a small smile back, hopping over Dream to get into the window seat.

"Excited for the competition?"

Techno blinked and glanced over, leaning back more and relaxing. "Eh, not really... the pole vaulters are only marginally above average here, and I'm not too hung up on any other events."

"Well, not everyone can be as good as you, Blood God."

"To be fair, there aren't that many pole vaulters at this school, and it's only known for its runners. If anythin' you're the one who should be excited about gettin' a good challenge."

Dream laughed at that and shook his head. "You know me too well, huh?"

"No, you just won't stop challengin' people to races and then complainin' to me about how it was "too easy""

This remark just made Dream wheeze even harder. "That's rich coming from you, mister "I set the pole vault school record"."

Techno huffed and rolled his eyes, playfully pushing Dream's shoulder. "I didn't choose to be the Blood God. I'm just surrounded by such casuals all the time that it was easy to get up there."

"But you're still seriously talented, even if no one else is."

This made the pinkette groan, taking his glasses off and rubbing his temples. "Bruh. I don't even know how I got sixteen feet. It's never gonna happen again, I'm tellin' you."

"It was fucking insane is what it was! And come on, Tech. It's the beginning of the season—I'm sure by the end of it you'll be able to nail fifteen and a half every time at least."

"Thanks, but your optimism is misplaced." He shook his head and replaced his glasses, searching through his bag for his phone and earbuds.

"Okay, rude. I'll just stop being a supportive friend then."

Now it was Techno's turn to laugh, subconsciously handing over an earbud to Dream who took it without thinking and popped it into his ear. "Oh no, what will I ever do without you..."

With that, the two settled into their own worlds: Techno stared silently out the window as music played in his left ear and Dream talked with the other people on the bus with music in his right ear. The two were much more similar than anyone gave them credit for, but neither cared about how others perceived their relationship.

—

Techno was now standing on the path which led up to the pole vault pit. His face was calm and emotionless, only staring at the thirteen foot bar he had to clear. This was his last chance—he had missed his first two jumps and the other guy he had been competing with was already out, leaving him with all the pressure (even if this competition was relatively inconsequential long term). In the stands, his friends and brother watched on with varying emotions and attitudes about them.