Creative Writing: Stories & Poems

Writing Prompt #15: Senior Tales

This is the prompt given to us, typed out word for word;
Two old people (you can pick their gender), seemingly strangers, sit together in the lobby of their nursing home sharing stories to pass the day. Surprisingly, they realize that they aren't strangers after all. Tell their story...

Old Timey Rivals

   In the center of an old nursing home, two old gentlemen began having a light hearted conversation with one another. Everything was normal between them, they were just telling never-ending stories to one another about when they were younger. The two kept telling stories for hours and hours on end, as if the sun was never going to set. But it wasn't until they started talking about their high school life when they start to merge their point of view together to form a bigger story.

   "Ah, my lovely granddaughter," One of the seniors started off, "The last time I spoke with her was when she was still a high school student...her second year I believe." He sighs as he remembers, "She told me that she made the sport team, but I forgot which one it was, it was either soccer or basketball."

   "Basketball eh?" The other senior responded, "I used to play basketball in my youth. I was so great at it that I was the best player of my team, however one of the team members thought that he was the best on the team."

   "Heh heh," The other gentleman laughed, "You sound like my rival back then to, he was on the same team as I was and bragged how good he was at it like he was some celebrity."

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  It was my first year of being a highschool student when I decided to join our basketball team. My friend at the time said that I was good at the sport and wanting me to try and make it on the team, and I did. When I joined the team, this other boy did as well at the same time that I joined. It wasn't until then that we made eye contact with each other and a spark appeared between us, a spark of a friendly rivalry. Right then and there, the boy started to smack talk me by saying that he should join in because he was the best basketball player in the world, in which I retaliated by saying that I was the best in the whole universe.

  At that point on we were competing in every single thing in that highschool, we had the same gym class together and whatever sport we were doing we would be on opposite teams and try to out best each other in the best way we could. Basketball, soccer, flag football, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, kickball, even trying to do different races when we were out on the track field. We were as competitive as professional gamers and athletes, never backing down until and never giving up until I or the other person won.

  It wasn't until junior year when something else clicked between us...a crush. We had a crush on the same girl, and we both knew that the other person like the same girl. As before we were competing, but not for bragging rights, but for love. One after another we tried attempt after attempt to try and win this girl, and in the end of all of that...I won and got her to be my girlfriend, and he was not happy about it.

  "Hey! You stole my girl! She was going to be mine!" I remembered her shouting at me

  "You're not going to get her now, you have to get through me before you can lay a finger on her,"

  Unexpectedly, we started a fight right then and there. Real punches, real kicks, real insults, a real fight we gotten ourselves into. No one was able to break this fight up, instead everyone was watching and rooting for one of us to win, felt like an eternity that we were in that fist fight. All I could remember that I got a black eye, several bruises and a heck of a bloody nose by the end of it...I haven't seen him since because he went to the hospital and then transferred schools right after.

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  "Wow, all of that just from a little small talk," The senior who took it all in then responded after hearing his story

  "Why yes, little interactions can lead into a bigger ones later down the line,"

"What was his name by the way?"

"Oh...his name? I remember it being Carlos...yes, his name was Carlos."

"Carlos? That's my name....now wait a minute," The gentleman takes a closer look at the 'stranger' that sat across from him, "Are you....named Caleb by chance?"

"Why, I am!" Caleb answered back, "How did you know that?"

"I was that highschool boy you had a rivalry with," Caleb was in shock to hear it, after all of these years he's back to seeing an old student's face once more.

"Oh my, you are the same boy now that Im getting a good look at your face. Were you feeling alright after that fight we had way back when?"

"I was fine, I had to go to the hospital because you managed to break my arm in that struggle," Carlos slowly rolled up his shirt sleeve to show the scar there to prove that he wasn't lying, "I spent a full day recovering in that hospital, and my parents were so worried about me that I ended up switching schools so it won't happen again."

"I see, and if wanted to know what happened afterwards, she and I dated for another year until we broke up, we were going to different colleges and she couldn't handle having a long distance relationship with me, up to this very day I haven't seen her since."

"Heh heh," Carlos chuckled to himself, "If you found me here, there could be a chance that you might find her here as well."

"I doubt it, I can't even remember her face it's been so long, or her name to be exact. The puzzle pieces are there but they aren't lining up." Caleb's face then changed to a bit of a worried one as he looked off to the side, "You know, since we've met again, I just want to say that Im sorry for starting that fight with you,"

"No no, Im the one that should be sorry," The old man looked at Caleb with a smile, "If it weren't for my bragging and my competitive spirit, we would of been great friends back then. Its my fault that that didn't happen."

"Really?"

Carlos agreed with a simple nod, "I always thought you were better than me so I tried to show off to just make myself better. Looking back on it now, it was probably a bad idea to do that just for myself....Im sorry."

"Carlos, I forgave you an eternity ago, I had that thought in my head when you left the school for good, the whole time I wanted to be friends. That's sort of the reason why I liked competing with you in the first place. But with that kind of attitude, I thought you didn't like me. Do you want to try again, but with less aggression and a more of a calming tone."

Caleb extended his hand out in favor of a shaky handshake. The other old man, without hesitation extended his hand out as well and they shook on it that they would become friends in the last few years they had.