Participants:
| Title | Energy meets Serenity |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Xian meets Jamie, and they get to talking about Jamie's interests. |
The famed Central Park, an area that at times, has come to be known as the oasis of NYC. One of the great pleasures New Yorkers and tourists enjoy is getting away from it all inside Central Park. Stretching 51 blocks between 59th and 110th streets, this 843 acre, green rectangle has served its city well since 1859. From famous statues to castles, there is so much to see within this pastoral landmark. One of the more famous stops is The Dairy, built in 1870 as a milk bar, it now serves as the main Visitor Center. There is also the posh Tavern on the Green restaurant nearby. On the more romantic side of the park, Hansom Cabs can be found lined up across from the Plaza Hotel at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, offering a romantic journey through the park. To the north lies a large, fenced-in body of water. with walking and jogging trails offered along the perimeter path.
The wonderful springtime air wafted over Central Park. It was the middle of the day, people from all over New York walking through the park to get to their destination as well as trying to see the sights. One lone young woman, however, seemed to be different from the rest. There were tourists, of course, as they were wont to visit Central Park, and the businessmen taking a detour to get to their office buildings, and a plethora of men and women from all walks of life, minding their own business. Xian was sitting in a bench in her little nook of the park, watching people as they passed, the usual serene, calm on her face as she cradled her cheek on her hand, leaning forward. As usual, she was dressed in a black mini-dress, the sleeves lacy and see-through. People watching had been her favorite pastime to get the stresses of everyday life out of her head.
Jamie kind of stands out from the crowd too, mainly because she's moving so fast. Jumping up to a bench that's surrounded by tourists talking, she gets past the knot by stepping quickly along the ledge of the back and down the other side. Spinning around a person that gets in her way, jump-rebounding off a tree, on she goes, only to finally stop at a chalk mark on the walkway near Xian, panting a little. She checks her watch then and gives a sudden cheer, "New record!"
The sudden sight of something bounding and jumping from a crowd of tourists near her bench was something that made Xian's eyes widen in panic. Her hand was about to twitch into the large bag at her side which carried her Crescents. With wide eyes she was about to pull it out to throw it into the bounding, leaping object - but the rush of fear subsided when she realized that the tourists weren't in any immediate danger. A sudden rush of blonde and suddenly, a young woman bounded right in front of her, whooping. Xian was… incredulous, to say the least. She was about to throw her weapon at a young athlete! Sighing and quickly letting the twitch subside, Xian tilted her head to look at the woman, but said nothing.
Jamie brushes hair back over her ear as she pulls her phone out of a pocket with her other hand, sending a quick text, or perhaps a tweet, with a grin. The she looks up, noticing the attention on her and gives the stranger a friendly smile, "Hi."
Xianliang found herself fighting back the urge to chastise the friendly young woman. Instead, the slightest annoyed twitch of her eyebrow was seen - but immediately she went back into a look of calm. "Hello," she replied - her voice even, calm and serene in tone. "That was quite a leap you did. Do you need to sit down?" She offered, gesturing to her free bench with a little smile.
Jamie smiles and nods, "Thanks." She moves to take a seat and says, "The leap wasn't much special, but it was a long run. My best time ever, and been making that run since I was a kid." Then she offers a hand and adds, "I'm Jamie."
The look of surprise on her face registered as both eyebrows rising with her calm smile still plastered on her face. She took Jamie's hand firmly - a grip that spoke volumes of the tiny, 5'3" girl's strength, without seeming like she was trying to hurt the younger woman. "I'm Xian." She replied softly. "You must be an athlete…?" Well, duh. Obvious fact was obvious. Xian was clearly not very good at small talk.
Not really that tiny next to Jamie, the teenager maybe only an inch or two taller than the older woman. Her grip isn't nearlt as strong, but she grins. "Nice to meet you, Xian." She nods with a grin, "Yep. I mean, I do other stuff too, but I do play a lot of sports. Gymnastics, fencing, soccer, basketball, freerunning."
Xianliang smiled. "I think the only sport I excelled in was discus and darts. Which are clearly not sports a young woman should do, anyway." She replied with a little shrug. "What can I say? I'm gifted with the ability to… throw." She replied, moving to the side to afford Jamie more space. "The pleasure is mine." She said to Jamie. She had a strong grip - definitely, the woman in front of Xian was going to grow to become a good athlete. "But what's your favorite sport… or which one would you focus on?"
Jamie grins, "Hey, women can play any sport men can! Darts are cool. They take precision. I think that's awesome." She considers at the question, and says, "I dunno. I'd love to be the first woman to play regular season in the NHL, but really, think I'm kind of split between gymnastics and fencing. Been an acrobat long as I can remember, I almost learned to walk on a high wire. But fencing is *so* much fun, defeating opponents with a sword? Or well, kind of a sword anyway. That's just awesome."
"There's a special kind of precision and artistry that goes with being able to defeat your opponent with a precise thrust of a rapier." Xian said with a nod, as if accepting this viewpoint. "I can definitely see why people would like it. I myself, respect it as a sport… I'm not sure I'd be any good, to be completely honest." She added with a little rub of her cheek, chuckling. "I'm sorry. I'm sure a lot of people ask you questions about this sort of thing already. I don't mean to be a bore. Truthfully, I'm not very good at this sort of talk."
Jamie nods and grins again, "There is. 'Course, I'm still an acrobat. If they ever make a sport of trapeze or highwire fencing, *that*'d be my sport," she jokes. "But I like anything where I can hear the crowd cheering," she adds more seriously, shrugging. Then she giggles and says, "You're doing fine. And hardly anybody does, actually."
Xianliang was visibly surprised. Her usually calm expression changed to a pensive one before nodding. "Really? I wouldn't have known people wouldn't ask this sort of thing." She said before going back to her usual serene expression, both hands clamped at her lap. The young Chinese girl crossed her legs, tucking her ankles together as she gave a small smile to the young girl. "Perhaps one day I'll be able to see your show. Trapeze or high wire acts… I'm reminded of Cirque de Soleil."
Jamie shakes her head and says, "At school I'm kinda a freak. Well, reporters ask me about it when I do really good, but that's about it." Then she grins and says, "Clancy Carnival, actually. We went all around the world. But yeah, if I could get a job with Cirque de Soleil that'd be awesome. Except I dunno if any one person in that show can get famous. I wanna be the most famous."
Xianliang chuckles. "That's true, you would be part of a team. Not so much the main attraction. But sometimes, a well-oiled machine works just as well as a main attraction. The latter tends to engender malice from your coworkers." She replies, almost sounding like a wise old sage. It wasn't that she was familiar with the situation, but more that she was familiar with the workings of emotions. People who rose above the rest engendered jealousy, envy, all sorts of bad feelings… With a little purse of her lips, she shook her head slowly. "But… that's not something you should think about."
Jamie nods, thinking about that, and then says, "Yeah… but I'd rather be a Sidney Crosby. Someone who's a main attraction but also helps out on a team too." Her phone suddenly rings and she blinks, pulling it out again to answer, "Hi? Oh, sure, I can be there. Bye." She hangs up, hopping to her feet, "That was my foster mom. I gotta get home. It was nice meeting you!" With a wave, she turns to hurry off, not quite as fast as she arrived.
The sound of a sudden ringing of the phone made Xian realize that she may have been detaining the young woman too long. Barely able to respond with a goodbye, she stood to wave, but Jamie ran off quite too fast. With a little sigh and a smile, Xian slowly stands, walking the other way and looking about pensively, as usual.
