Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 11, 2020 18:53:36 GMT -8
Adriel walked into the 24 Hour Fitness, hoping to get his membership transferred. He'd already been a member back home, but now that he was new to the area and trying to settle in, he needed to establish a routine at his new gym. He approached the receptionist and gave her an easy smile, trying to disguise his size and stature with his easy-going nature. "Hello there, miss. How are you doing today?" She looked him up and down, putting on a flirty smile, "I'm fine....daddy," she whispered the last word and raised her eyebrows suggestively. Adriel blinked a few times, surprised at her forwardness and the fact that she'd said it while at work at a front desk. He sighed inwardly, what is the obsession with daddies? It feels so wrong when you're actually a father. "I was hoping I could transfer my membership to this gym. I just moved here," he tried. The receptionist fluttered her eyelashes and leaned forward, attempting to display her cleavage, "I'll need you name to look you up...daddy," she said again. "Adriel Flowers, A-D-R-I-E-L," he said, monotone and looking up at the board behind her, distracted by the words "ice skating". "Yep, I have you right here," she said, pouting a little at his lack of response. "You want to change this location to your home gym?" Adriel looked back at the girl, now that she seemed to be doing her actual job, "yes, please." He pointed to the sign behind her, "this gym has an ice skating rink?" "Would you like a tour, daddy?" she asked, pushing her arms in the deepen her cleavage. "How old are you?" Adriel asked. He had an infinite amount of patience... usually, but the word 'daddy' was really grating on him. "I could probably actually be your father and I have a six year old daughter who'd probably love ice skating." He was trying to put the conversation back on topic. The girl sat up straight, properly admonished. "20..." she muttered. "I'm more than twice your age," he said before offering up a gentle smile. He didn't want to shame the girl, he just wanted her to stop flirting with him. He was one of the nice guys, others might take advantage, so he wanted her to learn a lesson while in safe company. "Can I speak to someone about the ice skating?" Sungyong Han
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 11, 2020 19:09:27 GMT -8
Sungyong was running early for his training afternoon with Liz. Which of course meant that he managed to come in past the front desk just in time to hear the most incredibly awkward exchange between the new receptionist and a polite man somewhat older than him at the reception. When he overheard the last bit of the exchange, instead of waiting for the receptionist to send someone his way, he decided that he was going to just go ahead and step in. Man, he missed having Thomas on the reception desk when he came in most days. He was glad that the kid was doing well in Korea, but he would have been internally flinching at the whole interaction. It would have actually been professional, even when Thomas had been sixteen and working there for his very first job.
Instead of strolling in past the reception like he normally might, he put on his best (still not very good) customer service smile and said to the man, "Hello, I was just on my way in, but I'm actually our head figure skating coach here, and I've got some time, so I'd be happy to show you around if you're interested in our program for your daughter."
He shot the receptionist a look to try to convey to her not to argue with his suggestion if the man, Adriel he was pretty sure was the name he'd caught, took him up on it. He wasn't sure that she'd actually listen. He'd not really talked to this new one. He added, "I'm Sungyong Han, it's nice to see someone come in and be interested in our figure skating."
He was still kind of feeling intensely sympathetically awkward, and he usually let other people handle the set up because this was more social than he usually preferred, especially with the parents, but he was pretty sure from the way the man had been reacting that he was doing a good deed to get him out of the situation.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
|
Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 11, 2020 19:30:17 GMT -8
Adriel turned around, relieved this man had come over to save him. "You're the head coach? Who better to show me the facility?" He turned back, smiled at the receptionist and gave her a little, "thanks for your help" before extending his hand to the other man, "My name is Adriel Flowers, nice to meet you Sungyong Han. How do you prefer parents and students refer to you?"
Because he was a teacher, he was more aware titles and name choices. Back home, he'd had many a single mother calling him by his first name or some oddly simpering version of Mr. Flowers.
"I've never seen a gym with an ice skating rink attached to it. I saw the lessons are for kids, do you allow adults on the rink? I only ask because I know my daughter will demand I skate with her at least once and I do not have the physique for gracefulness."
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 11, 2020 19:42:29 GMT -8
Sungyong was relieved that the exchange went smoothly and he'd read the awkwardness correctly. He smiled a little bit and said, "Most people, students and parents, just call me Sungyong, so that works. Do you prefer Adriel or Mr. Flowers or something else?"
He figured if the man was asking, he might as well double check himself.
He was relieved again when they moved on to talking about figure skating. He said, "Yeah, a lot of rinks around places are in malls or their own places. There don't seem to be a ton attached to gyms, but my understanding is that this place was a private local company before being bought by the big chain, and the rink was already there so they just decided to keep running it because it was popular. I got a job here right after I finished college."
He thought to himself, And thought that it was hilarious that my curtailed figure skating career is what started my career career and not my fancy four year degree.
He continued, "The fliers that they have up front are just for the kids classes because that's what's the most popular, but we have open rink times, and offer adult classes and private lessons. The kids group classes tends to be what gets families started coming though. Depending on how old your daughter is, some of our classes for little kids are kid and parent classes, but that's for like the three through five year old kids. My highest level student mostly teaches those ones these days."
As he led the way back towards the entrance to the rink at the back of the main lobby, he pointed out the different hallways. "The lockers and gym and entrance to the pool is over that way, and the studios for things like dance and aerobics classes and the weight rooms are down that opposite hall, and back here at the back we've got the rink."
He opened the door and a blast of relatively colder air came through. He added, "It's a little warmer in the office, and colder out on the ice itself, because you know, ice. There's a skate rental, so we don't need students to get their own skates before starting, and we've got a pretty good range of sizes for both adults and kids. He grabbed a few of the fliers, barely looking at them on the way in so that he could show them to the man."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 11, 2020 19:57:35 GMT -8
"Call me Adriel, please. Mr Flowers is just for my kids," he smiled then corrected himself, "my students. My daughter calls me dad, not Mr. Flowers," he laughed at himself. "Foot meet mouth," he said as he shook his head at himself.
He followed Sungyong, taking note of the locations within the rest of the gym. He had no desire to go back out and ask the receptionist for a gym tour, so this would have to serve as that. "Thanks, by the way. For the assist out there. I really appreciate you stepping in and saving me."
His breath was taken away by the cold blast of air, "something warm," he muttered to himself, mentally putting together a shopping list for Rochelle. "My daughter is six, but she's never skated before. What class would you recommend?" he reached out for the fliers.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 11, 2020 20:39:53 GMT -8
Sungyong chuckled and said, "Adriel it is then. Have I got the pronunciation on that right? I've got a name that enough people mispronounce that I feel like it's worth checking. And I get it, I call my students my kids all the time, and it occasionally leads to confusion, especially if I'm talking about Liz who's significantly too old to be my actual kid."
He glanced out on the ice, noting that Liz was in fact running the open session, though at the moment practicing her spins since it was pretty quiet. He gestured to her and said, "That's Liz, for context. She's skates at the international level for Mongolia, and she was my first ever private student."
He was tempted to brag about Liz. He was very very proud of her, but that wasn't what Adriel was here for.
He made a face about the receptionist's behavior and said, "Sorry you had to deal with that. I don't know what she was thinking, and it wasn't polite or professional."
He didn't mention that he was going to mention it to his boss. It had clearly made Adriel uncomfortable, but he didn't want to linger over the interaction too much.
At the mention of something warm to wear, Sungyong said, "Layers are generally a good idea. It's useful to have the warmth, but at the same time, you actually can get pretty warm exerting yourself out there on the ice."
At Adriel's question, he handed over the fliers and said, "A lot of the kids in our six and up beginners class have never skated before. It's geared for that. There are always a few who have been skating off and on for a while, but aren't quite ready for the second level class, but most of them start out with that with no experience before hand. That's also got the flier for adult classes, and there are more long term classes, but there are also a couple of crash courses for adults that are offered at the same time as the start of the beginners classes for kids so that parents who have never skated before can get on the ice with their kids, which might be what you're looking for if you don't want to commit to the longer set of classes for yourself."
He added, gesturing out at what was going on on the ice as well, "We also really encourage the kids to start coming to at least some open ice sessions once they get their feet under them, which is a great time for family skating time. There are always ice monitors out there to help out if someone is struggling. That's what Liz is out there for officially right now, though when it's quiet like now, it's also generally when a lot of advanced students get some extra practice in."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
|
Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 11, 2020 20:58:32 GMT -8
"Yep, that's right, that's how you say it. I've had plenty of people call me Adrian... I kind of, honestly just respond to it at this point, which is super awkward when there is actually an Adrian around and I kind of jump into their place." Adriel laughed at himself.
He looked over at the ice to see Liz, she seemed to really know what she was doing, and considering she skated at the international level, she probably did. "You must be very proud of her. If she's representing Mongolia and you're her coach... that's awesome."
He chose his next words carefully, "I don't know how my daughter will feel about ice skating. She might like it or maybe not, she's never tried it before. This isn't going to be a super competitive environment where she's kind of forced to pursue a career in ice skating, right?" He winced a little, "I really tried to make that question come out better, sorry."
He wanted that question answered before considering any classes. Though he thought the open sessions would be fun for them try together.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 11, 2020 21:21:53 GMT -8
Sungyong grinned at his comment about Liz and said, "I'm very proud of her. I've been working with her since she was 11, and I was a brand new coach here. At this point she's gotten farther and with less injury in her own career than I ever did in mine."
He was almost relieved at Adriel's question about the competitive nature of the rink. He said, "Honestly, I am always concerned when parents come in wanting it to be a competitive environment right away. The group classes are just for learning how to skate, learning the basics, and then some cool tricks and things. A lot of it is what competitive skating builds upon, but I hate seeing kids pushed to compete if they don't want to."
He tried to think of how to phrase it right and then continued, "Even with private lessons, those are geared towards what the student is there for. I've got about half a dozen competitive students total, and Liz is the only one at particularly high levels of competition, but a few of the others compete at the Novices level and have been doing pretty well. I've got about twice as many private students as that, and the rest of them are just learning it for the fun of it. Maybe some of them will decide they want to try competing or doing some of the more artistic theater on ice things, but they're kids, and the goal is for them to learn and have some fun."
Sungyong hated it when parents were insistent that their kid was going to be able to win competitions if they just got enough training. It was too much pressure for a kid who didn't have their own competitive drive. Liz had wanted to compete when she'd first started, practicing huge amounts on her own to get to the point she was today, and that was almost his model for the type of reaction from the kid that he wanted if they were going to go into coaching to be a competitive skater.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
|
Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 11, 2020 21:31:18 GMT -8
Adriel grinned broadly, "those were the magic words my friend! Learn and have fun, where do we sign up?" He took Sungyong's hand again and shook it enthusiastically, happy that this place seemed to have the best intentions for the kids. He thought Rochelle would do well here.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 11, 2020 21:50:19 GMT -8
Sungyong stared down at his hand being shaken in slight confusion. Adriel did seem enthusiastic and pleased at least, but Sungyong just kind of let his hand get shaken. He wasn't usually terribly inclined with any sort of physical contact that he wasn't prepared for like shaking hands in greeting with people he didn't know well. He did his best to let the interaction slide off him and not to seem too bothered. Adriel seemed like a good dad, and Sungyong liked getting new students. He would just have to file this interaction away as, this one occasionally is sudden about touching, but not like in an impolite way.
Once that was over, he smiled again and pointed out a door with a window in it at the back of the lobby for the rink, past the counter that did skate rentals. He said, "That's the office. All of us who coach and teach share it for the rink, and I can get you set up for the next round of classes back there."
He glanced up at the clock in the lobby and said, "I've got about an hour until my next coaching session starts. I meant it when I said I was running early. So I figure that I can get you all set up with no trouble and answer any other questions that you might have. You're actually pretty lucky on timing. The next set of classes starts next week, and they run for eight week units, so if you're ready to start for next week, you'll be able to have her get started pretty efficiently instead of having to wait. We'll sometimes work kids in partway through if the class isn't super full, but that's never a guarantee."
He led the way back to the office, greeting a few students along the way who were in the lobby or coming off the ice. There were thankfully not that many parents around, just a few watching their kids over by the window and the ones who went out on the ice with their kids. It was far enough from the end of the session that they'd not started showing up to pick up their kids. He held open the door and said, "After you, feel free to grab a seat on this side of the desk."
It was a comfortable enough little office, though definitely an office at a gym, but at least the chairs had some padding. Sungyong was glad that the chair behind the desk was also adjustable because he was a lot taller than anyone else who worked in the office, and his knee hated it when he sat in too low of chairs. As he sat down in the chair, he winced a little bit as his knee informed him it didn't like the angle until he readjusted the chair to his preferred height. As he waited for Adriel to indicate that he was ready, he gathered the sign up forms so that he could walk Adriel through them.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 12, 2020 17:15:21 GMT -8
Adriel took note of Sungyong eyeing their hands, "sorry about that," he retracted his hand quickly. "I get super excited about any place that genuinely cares for the well being of others, especially kids." He scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile, mentally reprimanding himself for letting his enthusiasm get the better of him.
He followed Sungyong into the office and sat in the indicated chair. He noticed the wince of pain and stopped himself from saying anything. His need to make himself less threatening made him hyper aware of other's moods and subtle facial expressions. Normally, he'd ask about it, but Sungyong seemed a little more guarded than most and in an effort to keep him comfortable, he decided against it.
"I'd be happy to have you walk me through the forms and what she'll need for the class." He said, leaning forward so he could see the forms.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 12, 2020 18:36:38 GMT -8
Sungyong was somewhat relieved to get down to the business of filling out the forms and going over the requirements for the class. The other man seemed friendly and personable, but Sungyong was slow to warm up to people, and this was an interaction with familiar rules.
He put the first form down in front of Adriel and said, "This is the basic registration form. It just needs parent or guardian information and student information and agreement to pay for the class."
He put down the next one and said, "Then there's also the payment form, there are options for cash, check, card, and automatic withdrawal, and it can be paid all up front or on a payment plan. Payment plan is only on card or automatic withdrawal though."
He put down a third form and said, a touch sheepishly, "I know it's a lot of forms, but there's also the emergency contact form that also includes what you want us to do if you're ever running late. We request at least one secondary emergency contact. One of the options that we have is if you're ever running later than the teacher normally waits after the class, we can have someone from staff walk her over to the daycare in the main part of the gym, which is over near the weight rooms, and she can wait there for you. If you choose that option, it also includes us giving them a copy of emergency contacts and the fourth form, which I promise is the last."
He placed the final form, the the second to last of the pieces of paper that he had on the table and continued, "This is for any medical concerns basically. If there are allergies that we need to be aware of or students with asthma or anything that might need an immediate response so that we know what to do."
He placed the final paper on the table and said, "And this one's not a form, it's just a list of required and recommended but optional supplies."
He realized that that had probably been a lot of information to process, and added, sheepish again, "Um, I can definitely answer questions on each form as you go. The cost of the 8 week beginner class is $250 because I forgot to say that earlier even if it is on the flier. Some of the higher level classes are more expensive, but there are some need based scholarships that we offer."
He realized he'd forgotten something and pulled out one more piece of paper and said, "Oh, and this is the class schedule. There's a few time options to choose from for the beginners class because it's always the most crowded class, and you'll need to choose one for the first form, but if you ever need to do a make up class, you can do it in a different time slot."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 12, 2020 19:06:58 GMT -8
Adriel looked over the forms as they were placed in front of him, "we just moved to town and I'm her only family, so there's not really a back up emergency contact in the area, just me."
He started filling in the basic registration form and his payment information. He'd long since memorized all his card and banking information, something his father had drilled into him when he was a teenager and he had started making his own money.
"If possible, I'd like to see the daycare facility before I allow her to stay there. Just doing my due diligence," he said, hoping his request hadn't come off as offensive.
He moved on to the medical form, marking "no" pretty much everywhere. Rochelle was a bundle of energy and fit as a fiddle for a six year old.
"Which time is usually the least crowded and most crowded for the beginners class?" he asked, hoping to either set his daughter up with a lot of potential friends or with a lot of focus from the instructor.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Jul 12, 2020 20:27:17 GMT -8
Sungyong nodded as Adriel explained the lack of back up emergency contact and said, "You can always update it later, but is there someone right now who would work as someone that we could call who could make decisions over the phone in case of an emergency situation? This is the sort of thing that we don't want to have to worry about, but it's important to have."
He didn't want to bring up the liability insurance and all that if he didn't have to, but he figured since it sounded like Adriel was a teacher, he'd probably understand.
He added, "I can absolutely show you over to the daycare center, and you can make the decision about that once you've seen it. It makes perfect sense to want to do your due diligence and make sure it would be a good fit for your daughter."
He was pretty sure that he approved of this man a fair amount, despite the overly enthusiastic hand shaking. He clearly wanted what was best for his daughter.
Sungyong explained, "The Monday afternoon classes are usually the quietest, and the Friday afternoon sessions are usually the busiest. Wednesdays are generally somewhere in between. Since it's summer, they're closer to equal than they sometimes are though. We have them at the same times year round, but the classes are designed to happen enough after school lets out during the school year to be easy to get to."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
|
Post by Adriel Flowers on Jul 12, 2020 20:37:35 GMT -8
Adriel understood and put down his own mother's contact information as Rochelle's emergency contact. If worse came to worst, that woman would fly out here at a moment's notice to take care of Rochelle.
"Thanks for the information regarding class sizes. I think I'll go for the Goldilocks special and choose the Wednesday class." He shook his head, "I apologize... Dad jokes slip out sometimes. I don't know where they come from, but I was apparently gifted them along with my daughter."
He finished signing all the forms except for the one that would allow Rochelle to stay at the daycare, "do you have time to show me the daycare now? Or do you need to start your class? I can come back if needed."
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