Why I Run {Prinxiety} - Book One of Why I Run Series

Chapter Seventeen

PREVIOUSLY:

"Hey, um," Prince started, stopping me on my tracks.

"I've been looking for a sparring buddy. In combat, like hand-to-hand and such. Would you be interested?"

I stared, dumbfounded. Why would he ask me?

"I usually practice with Logic, but Mor - Patton and him have been spending so much time cleaning and organizing Patton's room," Prince explained, answering my unasked question. "But if you like strategy related things... I dunno, could be fun."

...

"O.K.," I answered, right before he left. "I'm interested," I admitted.

...

"Fabulous! Meet me here at... does five-o-clock sound decent?" he asked, excitement bouncing off him.

"O.K."

...

I... I think Prince will be in for quite a surprise...

_____________________

P.O.V.: Virgil, First Person
Timeline: Flashback (cont.)

"Oh, you came," Prince smiled. I guess he didn't think that I would show.

Then again, I didn't even know if I was going to show.

"Are you ready?"

I shrugged, going for the non-verbal responses.

"Follow me," Prince said, leading me to his "training" area.

Along the way, I noticed that Prince was favoring his right leg. Had he hurt himself recently?

"What happened to your leg?" I asked, waving hand at his slight limp.

Prince looked confused for a second, glancing down his own leg before seeming to remember. "Oh, I must've been sitting a little funny before I came to meet you.  It's just a little tight or something for some reason," he said, shrugging. "It'll go away in a couple of minutes," he said, seeing me frown.  "It's not really that big of deal. Has it ever happened to you?" he asked.

I didn't answer.  And we continued on in silence. He talked too much.

Prince's practice area was much bigger than I expected - it was really quite a sight. The ceilings were high and vaulted slightly. The walls were covered in a long mat, stuck on with Velcro.  A rock wall was on the part of the ceiling though I couldn't imagine how anyone would get there.

"The mats can be torn down," Prince explained, without me having to ask. "Under the Velcro, there's more grips so you can get up there."

Oh.  Well okay then.

I went back to analyzing the practice area.

There was a massive climbing rope over a pit filled with foam cubes.  A set of a bunch of gymnastics things were in the farthest corner.  In another corner to my left, there was bunch of gym machines. It was a rather impressive collection, even I could see that.  Did he really use all of them?

"Anxiety? Are you coming?" Prince asked, and I realized that I had stopped walking to admire all the equipment.

"Uh - yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly, the faintest of blushes on my cheeks.

Prince walked me over to the final corner, which mostly had a lots of weights, a bench press, and a couple other machines I couldn't name.  But it also had a string of doors along the walls in that corner.