Ollie leaned over to his instructor and whispered that he was going to the bathroom. With a gentle nod, the boy was let go from the conference room. He tucked his hands into his pockets and sauntered out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He found the boy—Jacks, was that his name?—sitting outside the door, he seemed to be talking himself through a relaxation technique. "You okay dude?"
Jacks' eyes flew open from being closed as he was relaxing, startled, having not been paying attention. He was stiffened up again, his breathing going rapid. He stared at Ollie as he tried to get words out before giving up and just puffing his inhaler again. After a minute he got himself under control. "S-sort of…."
(I gtg to trade school, so i usually am not on in the afternoon, I'm sorry! Bye!)
"Do you need some water or something?" Ollie's eyes softened, crouching down to Jacks' level, although he kept his distance so as to not scare the boy. "Come on, throw some water over your face. It will help you feel better." At least he hoped it would, he didn't really know if cold water was an asthmatic's trigger or not, but ti was worth a try.
(No it's okay, I completely understand!)
Jack nodded and stumbled to his feet, heading down the hallway towards a water fountain and drank some water and splashing a bit on his eyes. He took a few deep breaths as he dried his face off, visibly calmer. "Thanks. That was a good idea. Never tried that before."
“That’s alright mate.” Ollie sat by the side of the sink with a warm smile. “Just glad I could help.” he stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to properly meet you, we weren’t really introduced back in the conference room.”
Jacks chuckled and shook Ollie's hand. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Jacks. you're Ollie, right?"
“Yeah that’s right!” Jacks’ hand was cold from the water, while Ollie’s was unusually warm. He was always really warm inside buildings. “Guessing it’s short for Jackson?”
Jacks nodded, "Yep. What does Ollie stand for? Anything?" He withdrew his hand again, feeling a bit awkward. His hand was so soft….
"Ah, it stands for Oliver." The boy responded with an awkward chuckle. "Never really liked my name to be fair." He could tell that Jacks was feeling a little awkward, and didn't really know how to approach the situation. "So… What got you into dance?"
Jack smiled a little wider at this. "My little sister. She asked me when I was 9 and she was 6 if I would dance for her since she couldn't. She was born without the ability to walk. She has legs, but it's kinda like she's paralyzed from the waist, down. So I asked my mom if she would let me take up dancing. She was hesitant since we don't have a ton of money, buut when she heard why I wanted to do it she did everything she could to make sure I could and my little sister came to all my lessons to watch. She was my biggest fan even though I was a complete amateur." He laughed. "What about you?"
(Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, I've just been really busy!!)
(Hey, it's fine! Actually, I won't be on until Monday because my trade school is on winter break so my mom's making me stay home.)
(Ah that’s perfect, I’m not going to be on much until Monday either because my college is on a break until then, so my week is booked up by family)
(Ah. Have fun! Enjoy your break!)
(……bump?)
Ollie paused for a moment, gently rubbing his chin as he tried to recall the initial reason he started dancing to begin with. "Well, long story short," he started, looking at Jack with a slight frown. "My mother was a dancer. Ballerina, to be specific. I would watch her dance on stage, in the kitchen, even when she thought no one was watching her in the living room. After an accident she had a few years ago, she wasn't able to continue dancing. I wanted to continue my mother's passion for her and over time I developed my own love for the arts. After ballet it was only a matter of time before I took up other dance styles as well, those are the memories that are a little hazy. Now here we are!"