Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 6, 2021 19:56:17 GMT -5
Location: A East Coast city in the United States, along a coast. Fictional, but inspiration can be drawn from any coastal US city for elements (Seattle, New York City, Miami)
Viewpoint character: Henry Meeks; a 21 year old college student. Although nice guy, he is plagued with crippling social anxiety, and has found it difficult to connect with others; socially, romantically or otherwise.
Plot: Think "slice of life" where we go about the daily life of this young man, and the struggles he faces
Fantasy level: none, this takes place in a "real world"
..................
It was 7:30 a.m. when the alarm clock started blasting on the nightstand beside his bed. The young man's eyes shot open as he awoke with a startle. He had heard that sound so many times before, and yet he was still no more used to it; what he wouldn't give to have a nicer way to wake up, but that didn't exist. His arm finally woke up and turned off the blasted thing. At least he had gotten a good amount of sleep last night; one of the few benefits of being an introvert.
Henry Meeks wasn't a bad person. He wasn't one to be spiteful, he wasn't rude and he didn't hate people. But for as long as he could remember, he found that interacting with others was so, so difficult. It was almost as if once people made eye contact with him, he entered a state of nervousness that was really hard to get out of... and this semester he found himself in a course that could not have been a worse course for him.
Introduction to Public Speaking
Why, why did he find himself in such a predicament? But then again, it was required for the major, so flunking was not an option. Academics were no issue; he was doing extremely well and grades were no lower than B+ most of the time. The written tests were no issue... but he would have given anything not to take this course.
In the end, he sighed and went about his morning routine. Breakfast, a shower, and his day clothes, and he finally proceeded to head off to college. He opened his door a crack, and peeked outside. He was on the 11th floor of a 20 story building; there were 10 apartments on each floor. Checking for a clear hallway, he proceeded to head straight for the elevator. Thank goodness Mrs. Winslow wasn't there right now. He didn't hate her, but if there was one position he really didn't want to be in right now, it was in a one way conversation where she rambled on about her grandchildren or the old days; he was never sure how to contribute to the conversation, and other than the occasional "really?" or "that's quite nice" he couldn't really bring himself to say anything.
But it was 8:30 now, and that meant fortunately everyone who had work had already left. He headed down the hallway, and hit the button. Once inside, he stood at the corner and watched the sign as the numbers went down. At the ground floor he headed right for the exit, being mindful not to bump into anyone or to make direct eye contact.
"Just 10 blocks to campus... I can do this" Meeks said to himself. As usual, he went straight down the street... passing all the shops and businesses as he went along. He passed a clothing store that specialized in the latest fashion trends, and looked at the mannequins with their colorful, flashy colors and artistic designs.
"Not in a million years" he sighed; blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt with more subdued colors was good enough for him. Why would he want to attract attention anyway?
finally, he got to campus, and saw how lively things were. Groups of friends talking about shared interests, tables with seniors advertising clubs to join, and people handing out fliers for the events coming soon. He had no choice but to walk past them on the way to the lecture hall.
"Concert tonight! Want to see the group that's been trending?" One girl asked as she tried to hand him a flier.
"No...thank you" Meeks quietly said as he acknowledged her, but continued to walk away. Loud and crazy... precisely how he didn't like to spend a night.
"want to see our team play? If we win this game we go to the championship!" a guy asked as he tried to interest Meeks in tickets to the game.
"Sorry... I never was one for sports" Meeks said apologetically but politely and continued his walk to class. He passed by a table though, that did make him stop. A small group of students had set up a table and were raising money for donations to the local Children's Hospital. He walked over and saw the donation jar; he proceeded to take out a $5 bill and place it in the jar.
"Thank you for your donation" the student said from behind the table.
"It's something that means quite a bit to me" Meeks nodded before continuing on his journey. He had some time before class began, so he found himself largely walking around the campus in the vicinity of the building he would soon attend lecture in. Meeks was good at not drawing attention to himself... not that he wanted it to begin with. But then at that particular moment, he felt a hand come up on his back, startling him. "Oh... its you" Meeks said with a sigh.
"Still no luck on getting out there, eh?" the guy said with a grin.
"Give it a rest David, you know how Henry is" the other said as he came to Meeks' other side.
"Sorry Sean; you know I don't mean anything by it" David indicated with a thumbs up. David and Sean were the only people Meeks could call "friend" in this world; were it not for the fact that they had grown up so close to each other since kindergarten, Henry probably wouldn't be talking to them either.
"I'd love to be able to talk to others; but every time I try to talk to others I just become a deer in headlights" Henry said with a sigh.
"You just need to get out more; you could have accepted my invites to the beach you know" David pointed out.
"You know how my Irish skin gets in the sun; besides, I can only handle a beach when it isn't crowded" Henry explained.
"You don't have problems when we go to restaurants" Sean assured him.
"yea, its a booth with just the three of us, that I can handle. But those big mess hall type places like the student center... I always have to find a quiet corner" Henry pointed out.
"We need to get you out of your shell Henry; is this how you want to live the rest of your life?" David asked. Meeks looked at his friends, and managed to get out an affirmative response.
"Good, cause you're coming out with us tonight" David said with a grin.
"Oh... where are the three of us going?" Henry asked.
"Three? No, is a group of ten, including us" David said.
"Huh?" Henry asked, confused.
"Yea, its a get together; we need an even number of guys and girls. Why don't you come?" Sean explained.
"I don't know..." Henry said. But then he thought about it; if it was five males and five females, was it one of those "group dates" things he had heard about? The kind where no one who is in a relationship comes together, and if a pair "hit it off" they become a couple? Well, Meeks had no chance of that... but if he could be there as a "foil" to draw more attention to David and Sean, then maybe it was the least he could do to repay them for everything they had done for him.
"I'll think about it..." Henry told them.
"See? Progress already!" David said with a laugh. Henry decided that the time had come to head for his class, so after telling them that he would see them later, Meeks went to lecture.
............
In class, Meeks was taking notes, as the Professor finally came to the part he dreaded most, "And now, your first assignment for the semester- picking a speech from history and presenting it yourself. Who would like to go first?"
Henry watched four of his classmates give their speeches, and hoped that he could do even half as good as they did. Then came his turn. "Just don't look at their eyes, just don't look at their eyes" he thought to himself.
As he stood front and center in the classroom, Meeks looked up, and focused on one of the bookshelves in the back of the class; it allowed him to look in the direction of the class, but not look at their eyes. "Ok... this speech only takes three minutes... I can do this..." he thought to himself.
"Whenever you are ready, Mr. Meeks" Professor Jensen said.
Henry took a breath, and once focused on what he wanted to see, he began. "Four score, and seven years ago..."
Viewpoint character: Henry Meeks; a 21 year old college student. Although nice guy, he is plagued with crippling social anxiety, and has found it difficult to connect with others; socially, romantically or otherwise.
Plot: Think "slice of life" where we go about the daily life of this young man, and the struggles he faces
Fantasy level: none, this takes place in a "real world"
..................
It was 7:30 a.m. when the alarm clock started blasting on the nightstand beside his bed. The young man's eyes shot open as he awoke with a startle. He had heard that sound so many times before, and yet he was still no more used to it; what he wouldn't give to have a nicer way to wake up, but that didn't exist. His arm finally woke up and turned off the blasted thing. At least he had gotten a good amount of sleep last night; one of the few benefits of being an introvert.
Henry Meeks wasn't a bad person. He wasn't one to be spiteful, he wasn't rude and he didn't hate people. But for as long as he could remember, he found that interacting with others was so, so difficult. It was almost as if once people made eye contact with him, he entered a state of nervousness that was really hard to get out of... and this semester he found himself in a course that could not have been a worse course for him.
Introduction to Public Speaking
Why, why did he find himself in such a predicament? But then again, it was required for the major, so flunking was not an option. Academics were no issue; he was doing extremely well and grades were no lower than B+ most of the time. The written tests were no issue... but he would have given anything not to take this course.
In the end, he sighed and went about his morning routine. Breakfast, a shower, and his day clothes, and he finally proceeded to head off to college. He opened his door a crack, and peeked outside. He was on the 11th floor of a 20 story building; there were 10 apartments on each floor. Checking for a clear hallway, he proceeded to head straight for the elevator. Thank goodness Mrs. Winslow wasn't there right now. He didn't hate her, but if there was one position he really didn't want to be in right now, it was in a one way conversation where she rambled on about her grandchildren or the old days; he was never sure how to contribute to the conversation, and other than the occasional "really?" or "that's quite nice" he couldn't really bring himself to say anything.
But it was 8:30 now, and that meant fortunately everyone who had work had already left. He headed down the hallway, and hit the button. Once inside, he stood at the corner and watched the sign as the numbers went down. At the ground floor he headed right for the exit, being mindful not to bump into anyone or to make direct eye contact.
"Just 10 blocks to campus... I can do this" Meeks said to himself. As usual, he went straight down the street... passing all the shops and businesses as he went along. He passed a clothing store that specialized in the latest fashion trends, and looked at the mannequins with their colorful, flashy colors and artistic designs.
"Not in a million years" he sighed; blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt with more subdued colors was good enough for him. Why would he want to attract attention anyway?
finally, he got to campus, and saw how lively things were. Groups of friends talking about shared interests, tables with seniors advertising clubs to join, and people handing out fliers for the events coming soon. He had no choice but to walk past them on the way to the lecture hall.
"Concert tonight! Want to see the group that's been trending?" One girl asked as she tried to hand him a flier.
"No...thank you" Meeks quietly said as he acknowledged her, but continued to walk away. Loud and crazy... precisely how he didn't like to spend a night.
"want to see our team play? If we win this game we go to the championship!" a guy asked as he tried to interest Meeks in tickets to the game.
"Sorry... I never was one for sports" Meeks said apologetically but politely and continued his walk to class. He passed by a table though, that did make him stop. A small group of students had set up a table and were raising money for donations to the local Children's Hospital. He walked over and saw the donation jar; he proceeded to take out a $5 bill and place it in the jar.
"Thank you for your donation" the student said from behind the table.
"It's something that means quite a bit to me" Meeks nodded before continuing on his journey. He had some time before class began, so he found himself largely walking around the campus in the vicinity of the building he would soon attend lecture in. Meeks was good at not drawing attention to himself... not that he wanted it to begin with. But then at that particular moment, he felt a hand come up on his back, startling him. "Oh... its you" Meeks said with a sigh.
"Still no luck on getting out there, eh?" the guy said with a grin.
"Give it a rest David, you know how Henry is" the other said as he came to Meeks' other side.
"Sorry Sean; you know I don't mean anything by it" David indicated with a thumbs up. David and Sean were the only people Meeks could call "friend" in this world; were it not for the fact that they had grown up so close to each other since kindergarten, Henry probably wouldn't be talking to them either.
"I'd love to be able to talk to others; but every time I try to talk to others I just become a deer in headlights" Henry said with a sigh.
"You just need to get out more; you could have accepted my invites to the beach you know" David pointed out.
"You know how my Irish skin gets in the sun; besides, I can only handle a beach when it isn't crowded" Henry explained.
"You don't have problems when we go to restaurants" Sean assured him.
"yea, its a booth with just the three of us, that I can handle. But those big mess hall type places like the student center... I always have to find a quiet corner" Henry pointed out.
"We need to get you out of your shell Henry; is this how you want to live the rest of your life?" David asked. Meeks looked at his friends, and managed to get out an affirmative response.
"Good, cause you're coming out with us tonight" David said with a grin.
"Oh... where are the three of us going?" Henry asked.
"Three? No, is a group of ten, including us" David said.
"Huh?" Henry asked, confused.
"Yea, its a get together; we need an even number of guys and girls. Why don't you come?" Sean explained.
"I don't know..." Henry said. But then he thought about it; if it was five males and five females, was it one of those "group dates" things he had heard about? The kind where no one who is in a relationship comes together, and if a pair "hit it off" they become a couple? Well, Meeks had no chance of that... but if he could be there as a "foil" to draw more attention to David and Sean, then maybe it was the least he could do to repay them for everything they had done for him.
"I'll think about it..." Henry told them.
"See? Progress already!" David said with a laugh. Henry decided that the time had come to head for his class, so after telling them that he would see them later, Meeks went to lecture.
............
In class, Meeks was taking notes, as the Professor finally came to the part he dreaded most, "And now, your first assignment for the semester- picking a speech from history and presenting it yourself. Who would like to go first?"
Henry watched four of his classmates give their speeches, and hoped that he could do even half as good as they did. Then came his turn. "Just don't look at their eyes, just don't look at their eyes" he thought to himself.
As he stood front and center in the classroom, Meeks looked up, and focused on one of the bookshelves in the back of the class; it allowed him to look in the direction of the class, but not look at their eyes. "Ok... this speech only takes three minutes... I can do this..." he thought to himself.
"Whenever you are ready, Mr. Meeks" Professor Jensen said.
Henry took a breath, and once focused on what he wanted to see, he began. "Four score, and seven years ago..."