Work Text:
Age 18
Alex missed his high school gym. It was a good gym, it had everything there that he needed. Solid machines for every muscle.
He tried not to think about the gyms he'd seen when he went on recruiting visits to some of the colleges that'd wanted him. They'd been amazing. Not just the facilities themselves, but all the things that went with them. Luxury jacuzzis, cryotherapy rooms, huge players lounges filled with state of the art tools to help study the opposition. One place even had a river running through it for some reason.
Only, not getting into college meant he wouldn't be going to any of those places. There would be no massages, or spas, or rooms to help with his mental health or whatever. Instead he was stuck visiting Pelican Town's dingy spa that had next-to-nothing in it.
He'd tried hard not to dwell on it, but it was difficult. His recent exam failure was still raw in his memory. At least in there, in the gym, he felt like he was doing something, and he could shut the rest of the world out for a moment or two.
There was someone else on the path, someone unexpected. Sebastian, lighting a cigarette. Alex hated seeing him, they just never seemed to understand each other. They had nothing in common, nothing to talk about, and it was always awkward whenever they had to speak to each other. Usually he'd just give Sebastian a wide berth.
"You should quit that, its gross."
Shit, the words came out before Alex had even thought about them. Now Sebastian was glowering at him; that cold, stony glare of his. He hadn't even rolled his eyes yet.
"Fuck off, Mullner," then, surprisingly, "what're you doing all the way up here, anyway?"
Alex stopped in his tracks. Why did Sebastian care what he did up here?
"Training. Up at the spa. There's a gym back there."
"Oh yeah. Forgot about that."
They now stood together outside Sebastian's house, another awkward silence hanging with the cigarette smoke between them.
"So-"
"What're you training for?"
No idea, something to do? Because what am I doing if not this? "I don't want to get lazy," Alex mumbled instead. It was the truth, he didn't. If he could just maintain his physique while he worked out his next steps, maybe it'd be okay?
"So, umm… you going to college?"
Sebastian shrugged. "Nah. Not my thing."
The answer surprised him. Why wouldn't Sebastian want to go to college? To Alex, it made no sense. All he'd thought about since starting high school was getting into college. Winning that scholarship. Getting himself on a path to play gridball for the rest of his life. Not to mention all the other stuff he'd heard about. College sounded like freedom.
"Ugh, don't look at me like that, you look like my mom. Or Demetrius. Look, I just didn't want to, okay?"
It'd been drilled into Alex by his grandparents, by his coaches: go to college and get an education! It still made no sense, Sebastian was one of the ones with good grades, so why not just go? Get a good job, get out of here? It's what he'd do, if he could…
"What're you going to do?"
Sebastian sighed, flicking the ash from his cigarette. "I've already got work lined up. Freelance coding. Why go to college if I can be my own boss?"
Alex nodded, feeling inadequate and jealous. Yeah, why would you go to college if you could be your own boss already? But what could he do? How could he, Alex Mullner, be his own boss of something? And what? What was he good at outside of sports?
"Look," Sebastian continued, oblivious to the thoughts that were whirring round Alex's head. "They'll all go on and on at you about college like it's the only way. Times have changed, man. Do what you want!"
What he wanted was to go to college, but he didn't want to get into that with Sebastian. What else could he do to get in, other than play gridball?
"Be your own boss, huh?" Alex liked the sound of that. But how? "Alright for some."
Sebastian shrugged with an air of nonchalance. "You could do it. I mean, there's personal training, coaching, nutrition stuff. Although you might need to go to college for that. Community college would be fine."
He'd thought about that. He'd thought about all kinds of options. Without gridball to consider, and factoring in those poor grades, it was all really overwhelming.
"Is Sam going?"
"Nah, he wants to focus on the band, although he might look at some sound engineer stuff down the line. I think he's worried about his dad and leaving his mom."
Alex nodded sagely, not really knowing what to say to that. He'd heard on the news about the fighting at the border, potential invasion from the Gotoran Empire. He'd even thought briefly about enlisting, making himself useful that way, until his grandmother talked him out of it. Sam's dad had been sent out there already, everyone had been talking about it.
"We might get conscripted?"
"Fuck that," Sebastian retorted, taking another drag on his cigarette, and they both let out a nervous chuckle. The already cautious mood had dampened somewhat, but talking about war had a way of doing that. Alex hoped they wouldn't start conscripting people, that things wouldn't get that bad.
"Anyway, just take your time, think things over. Sam's working at the JojaMart while we get the band up and running, you could do that while you think things over?"
Coaching… Personal training… Being your own boss. Was that even possible for someone like him? The idea fizzed at the forefront of Alex's mind. Would any of those things be possible? Would he enjoy it? What about gridball?
Alex nodded, feeling a little bit better. Alright, maybe Sebastian wasn't so bad, after all. "Thanks, bro," he grinned and continued to make his way up the mountain path towards the spa.
Be your own boss, huh? Well, if Sebastian could do it…