Scene 3 — Cal

“Hey Cal, this is your partner Lindsey,” Laurie gestured towards the woman who followed her into the lodge.

Lindsey looked like she was probably in her late 20s to early 30s, brunette, a bit shorter than Cal but only by a few centimeters. She had a fit, athletic frame, but not the skinny frame of a runner; toned but still some curves. ‘Athletic, but not self-obsessed with her image to the point she won’t enjoy a post-game beer,’ was his first, and positive, impression. Lindsey was his type.

When Laurie had called him a few weeks ago about if having a female partner was ok with him he’d been concerned about what the dynamics might be like, but he figured he played all kinds of co-ed sports, and Laurie had explained they seemed like they’d make a good team based on their entry forms.

“Hi, Lindsey Granger, nice to meet you” the woman said, approaching Cal with hand extended.

“Hi Lindsey, I’m ... Thomas Jefferson”, Cal replied with a grimace. “This is why introductions terrify me”, he babbled, “my mom’s maiden name is Thomas and my parents met at the University of Virginia. Apparently it was destiny that this be my name. Luckily, they aren’t complete psychopaths, so they called me Cal since they lived in California when I was born, so let’s stick with that...” Cal trailed off, realizing he was rambling. ‘Real smooth first impression, champ’ he admonished himself internally.

Lindsey let out a relieved giggle. His slightly awkward, but funny intro, seemed to diffuse tension within her and there was an awkward silence. Lindsey laughed again, a bit awkwardly herself, and replied. “Well it’s more exciting than my Midwestern parents just picking a random Christian girl name, so I’m good with it ... TJ,” she said with a friendly, but slightly mocking, smirk.

Cal cringed with amusement and rolled his eyes. “Are we 100% settled on our partners for this weekend?” he pointedly, but sarcastically, asked Laurie.

“Haha, yes unfortunately for you two, we are. I hope you can overcome your name difficulties,” she answered, laughing at the encounter. “Your room is up the stairs, you two will be Team 2 this weekend so you’ll be in Suite 2. Please let me know if you have any issues. We’ll be kicking off with our first competition at 4:00 PM barring any late arrivals so please be ready out in the main field behind the base camp building on time and ready to go. I’ll swing by and give you a head’s up if there is any delay. I do want to let you know our first game is a mix of mind and fitness, so I would not recommend trying to game out a strategy. Here is your door access code,” she said, handing them each a slip of paper with a four digit code.

“Sounds good, thanks Laurie,” Lindsey said with a smile.

Cal shouldered his bag and they headed upstairs. It appeared the upstairs hallway actually ran along the ‘front’ side of the building facing the area where they came in, with the rooms all overlooking the ‘back’ of the building and the main field, as Laurie had referred to it. Cal punched in their code and politely opened the door for Lindsey.