Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
~Vina's POV~
I absolutely cannot believe it, I survived USC'S Doctor of Physical Therapy program AND graduated summa cum laude in my class! As a first generation college graduate and Filipino-American, this accomplishment comes with great honor to myself and family, or course. Even with the grueling hours of studying for Neuro-Anatomy and challenging lab practicals, I was able to gain a new found appreciation for this profession through my fulfilling experiences during my clinical internships as a student physical therapist.
I am currently sitting in my humble abode (and by this I mean tiny apartment) catching up of the latest season of Orphan Black. My roommate, Nicole, is also sitting next to me clutching the customary bowl of chips and guacamole. Nicole is also my best friend and fellow physical therapist. We met at USC's DPT orientation and completely bonded over our mutual love (some would call it obsession, but I digress) of Marvel and running. Ever since, we have been inseparable; she was my study partner throughout the DPT program and binge watch buddy. We both have a week to relax before we start our new jobs as physical therapists. Nicole will be continuing her studies at USC completing their pediatric residency program, while also working at their medical center. I am on a similar route, but have been accepted into Vitality Motion's Orthopedic Residency program. Vitality Motion is the premier facility for sports rehabilitation and athletic training center in Los Angeles. Because of its reputation, Vitality Motion caters to athletes, celebrities, and stunt doubles. How did I manage to get into their orthopedic residency program, might you ask? Well let me tell you, but first allow me to provide some background as to how I was able to work with this wonderful facility.
In the third year of the DPT program at USC, we are required to complete two 16 week internships of an approved physical therapy clinic. Since one of these internships had to be 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, I did my first internship at USCF Medical Center in San Francisco at the pediatric physical therapy department. Because of my location, my family was particularly excited since I was close to home and could have dinner with them every week. My second internship took place here in Los Angeles, at Vitality Motion. This assignment was lucky on my part, because it was the top facility that most of my classmates wanted, especially the guys. The way the internships are assigned is based on a lottery system based on your GPA. The higher your GPA, the more variety of internships you get to choose from. Since my GPA was high enough to get on the top 3, I chose Vitality Motion because of their physical therapy staff and advancements in the field, NOT because of their high profile clients.
On my first day of internship at Vitality Sports, I was blown away by the pristine environment: the physical therapy clinic had all the latest technology including a running gait analysis lab (which I almost cried when I first saw it), the gym where the clients and patients train and work out in. What really impacted me was not the equipment, but how the staff (both medical and fitness) collaborated with each other to create individualized rehab/training plans for each client and patient. During my time here, it felt as though I became part of a family that was encouraging and friendly as it was professional. While I did come into contact with some high profile clients (sorry, can't name anyone because of patient confidentiality), it was the atmosphere that motivated my to apply to their orthopedic residency program. I guess the staff and patients valued my time there because I found out about my program acceptance the day after I graduated from USC (best graduating gift ever!)
After binge watching Orphan Black and devouring the chips and guac, I still had a lot of energy and needed to go on a run.
"Nicole! Go on a run with me!" I exclaimed, reluctantly changing our of my pajamas and into my running capris and shirt.
"Ughh but whyyy?! We just ate and I'm feeling lazy!" She whined, not getting up from the couch.
"Come on, we'll jog and we can treat ourselves to some ice cream if we find the Cool Haus truck!" I said, pulling on my trusty turquoise Mizuno running shoes.
"OK, ya got me there- hold on, lemme change real quick!" Nicole said, running to her room to change.
4 miles into our run, Nicole and I were both struggling BIG time: we were running on the sand along the warm Santa Monica shores, with the sun beating down on our red, sweaty faces.
"OMG Vina, why do I always give in to these runs?!" Nicole exclaimed.
"I have NO idea, but look on the bright side, I see the Cool Haus truck!" I said happily.
Nicole, as if on que and forgetting her previous complaint, challenged, "Last one there has to pay for the ice cream sandwiches!" her eyes darting towards mine, as if to dare me.
I looked at the Cool Haus truck and its distance from us and estimated that the distance was about 100 meters away. I felt confident and agreed, "You are so on!" And from that point we sprinted as if our lives depended on it but not really, it's just that we are both broke college grads that like to live frugally. Cool Haus was a treat for us because of our past graduation.
I had a fast start and was leading the first 50 meters, but all the chips I ate gave me a stomach cramp. Nicole saw me slowly down and really took off past me. Mind you this whole situation was not a silent race, we were both laughing so this caused quite a scene on the relatively quiet beach. The beach was not empty per say, there was a group of guys playing ultimate frisbee that definitely stopped to watch me and Nicole race. Why the stopped is beyond me because Nicole and I were the total opposite of a sexy Baywatch scene. We were both red-faced, hysterical ladies sprinting across the beach. The description of crazy twenty four year old women running to an ice cream truck is pretty accurate.
By this time, Nicole was already at the truck, waiting in line, laughing hysterically at me. I finished 80 meters of the race and spent the rest of the 20 meters doing some dynamic stretches and walked over to Nicole.
"Damn girl, I am so out of shape- I can't even sprint a 100m like I used to!" I said to Nicole.
"HAHA that's because you are a distance runner and I'm a sprinter!" Nicole said proudly.
"Too true!" I said, happy that it was our turn to order.
Nicole and I settled on a bench on the dock overlooking the beach and contently ate our ice cream sandwiches. Whenever we did this, it was routine to people watch and make up their background stories. Since the only interesting people at this time were the guys playing ultimate frisbee, we focused our descriptions on them.
I went first and described the first man I saw. He was tall probably about 6'0, had a toned body, wearing red swimming trunks, and had on sunglasses. What struck me the most was that this man was slightly pale in comparison to the LA aesthetic to being well tanned and having blond hair. This man had dark brown hair, pulled into a tiny man bun. This intrigued me because this was the same man I smiled at while I walked over to the dock.
"He was staring at you when you were making your way over ya know" Nicole said to me, disturbing my thoughts.
"Huh? Well I guess that makes sense since you beat me" I teased.
"Yeah, he got hit by the frisbee staring at you!" Nicole chuckled.
"Oh my goodness, that is super embarrassing and I feel so bad, I must have looked like a crazy lady running for ice cream!" I joked.
"Well if you feel so bad, you should probably go over and apologize for looking hysterical and distracting" Nicole thoughtfully said.
"Nah, I mean it wasn't exactly my fault, HE was not paying attention!" I reasoned.
"Ok true, can we please go back to our apartment, I'm so tired" Nicole asked.
"Yes, I am in desperate need of a shower" I agreed. Nicole an I got off our bench and walked the 2 mile shortcut back to our apartment.
~Sebastian's POV~
"What a perfect day to play ultimate frisbee" I thought to myself. I am currently at Santa Monica beach playing with my college buddies from Rutgers. It was the first time in years that I was able to meet up with them, due to my packed filming schedule. I had some down time today to relax and my friends were down in LA for mutual friend's wedding. We were one of the few people on the beach, which surprised me because it was such a perfect day, it was sunny and warm, but not scorching hot. As we were playing ultimate frisbee, we hear girls laughing. We stop playing for a bit to see where is is coming from, and we come to find that the laughter is from two ladies in their twenties racing across the beach.
"Damn, those girls are hella fast!" my friend Gary exclaimed, ogling the two ladies racing across the beach.
"Jesus Gary, stop it with the ogling! You're married!" I exclaimed.
"I know and I adore my wife, it's just that it's rare to see two ladies engaged in friendly competition nowadays" Gary explained.
"Whatever you say man!" I said.
"Out of all of us present, you are the one that should be staring Seb- you are 34 years old and STILL single!" my other buddy James exclaimed.
"Yeah man, go ask one of them out, I dare you!" my friend Ethan said.
"Aw come on guys, I love being single!" I said
"Oh my god, stop being such a drama king! We'll let it go man!" James said. We continued to play frisbee and I couldn't help but feel a little lonely. Out of my group here, I was the only one left single. One of the young ladies was entering my peripheral vision and I couldn't help but stare. Her other friend, the red head was ahead, making her way to the Cool Haus truck. This girl, 15 ft in front of me, was so captivating. She had long black hair that was pulled back into an intricate braid. She had beautiful tan skin and shapely, strong, athletic legs outlined by her running leggings. She was doing some stretches and made her way over to the dock. As if she felt my stare, she turned around, looked into my blue eyes with her dark brown eyes, smiled and returned to her friend. Her smile and first impression did things to me that I've never experienced with another person before. It is as if the world stopped and I felt her smile light up my soul. At the exact moment she made her way over, before I had the chance to return her smile, the frisbee crashed into my chest.
"JESUS SEB PAY ATTENTION!" Ethan yelled.
"Are you okay Seb?!" James and Gary laughed.
"Yeah, I'm fine guys!" I said, reluctantly returning my focus to the my friends.
"What happened? It was like you were in another universe.." Gary said knowingly.
"I think I met the love of my life and I don't even know her name" I exclaimed sadly.
"You mean the girl you were ogling at before the frisbee hit you?" Ethan asked, laughingly.
"Yes." I said embarrassingly.
"Well, Seb they are still sitting at the bench on the dock. You need to introduce yourself, you'll regret it if you don't!" James exclaimed proudly.
"I will!" I said. As I ran over across the dock, I looked over to the bench and sadly found that the mystery girl and her friend were nowhere to be found.