DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
RPG AI
HTML https://rpgai.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: The Academy
*****************************************************
#Post#: 177--------------------------------------------------
General Grounds
By: Mascii Date: April 11, 2013, 6:12 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML http://img2.findthebest.com/sites/default/files/1809/media/images/Hofstra_University_Arboretum_1.jpg
The Academy's grounds are similar to that of a median-level
university. There is an abundance of green foliage, and constant
upgrades are being completed under the increasing management's
orders. If you walk around outside, you really start to see the
old roots of the Academy. It used to be an extension of an old
branch of colleges, which explains the sometimes drab, worn out
layout of the buildings. Inside, there has already been many
advancements and technologies to make the students and faculty
as comfortable as possible. But outside still shows signs of
wear and tear.
There are many pathways around the school, some more open than
others. Always at least a few people are milling about, either
going about errands, heading to classes or rushing off to make
hard copies, or eating lunch on one of the numerous benches
around the school.
#Post#: 183--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Tigger Date: April 11, 2013, 7:09 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Seeley
Jessica sighed inwardly as she walked along the school’s
extremely dull grounds, a very slight limp in her step due to
her most recent fire incident. She was already slightly annoyed
because she had to wear flats instead of her usual high heels,
but the fact that she had bandages wrapped up to her ankle just
grated on her nerves even more. Originally, she was told to keep
the weight off the limb and to use crutches temporarily until it
was healed, but that just wasn’t going to happen. Hobbling
around on those metallic death traps was probably just what
those doctors wanted, to give them an excuse to cut into her
more and replace parts her body with little bits of technology
and she was not too fond of the idea of rusting in the rain. She
had, however, covered her injury up expertly. Wearing her
favorite black, tightly-fitting pants and a complimentary
strapless white top, she disguised any evidence of what had
happened as well as looking extremely fashionable, as usual. Her
hair was carefully pinned back with bobby pins to keep it out of
her eyes, and long, silver hoop earrings with black beads hung
from her ears. Overall, she was proud of the outfit.. except for
the darned flats.
Looking down to dig into her black and white designer handbag,
she kept walking. Classes were over and she had nowhere to
really go at the moment. Walking back home was fine, if she
wanted to go to an empty building… but that didn’t sound too
appealing to her, then. Lists of places she could go ran through
her mind on repeat, but nothing really sounded exciting to her
at the moment.
Suddenly, she felt herself bump into someone and her bag and
all its contents scattered on the ground. Color rushed to her
face as anger ran through her like a drug. Lip glosses, eye
shadows, eye liners, nail polish, compact mirrors, and her
wallet all fell away from her, some of them rolling across the
ground. Even one of the glass bottles of nail polish shattered,
it’s red contents spilling on the concrete. Biting her lower lip
hard, she bent down to gather what belongings she could, leaving
the broken vial on the ground for some school janitor or
something to pick it up. After all, it was their job, not hers.
“Sorry.” She muttered, knowing full well that no matter how
upset she was, it was her fault this whole thing happened. Jess
knew that she should have been looking where she was walking, it
was just one of those rare moments where she was caught
distracted.
#Post#: 185--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Mascii Date: April 11, 2013, 7:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Reese Middleton
It was one of those days that he felt a bit lonely. Reese was
very good at reading people's emotions, thanks to his
Enhancement. If it got tiring, that was okay. If he had to be
quiet about it, that was okay, too. It was all to benefit
others. But sometimes, Reese wished someone would see right
through his smile and say, "That was a lie, Reese. This really
upsets you, doesn't it?" or something like that. Just every once
in awhile, he wished he could be as transparent to others as
they were to him. He tried. He wanted to be honest with his
friends, as much as possible. But it was difficult, when others'
emotions ran rampant through his own, muddling his feelings up
like a rusty clock filled with knotted string just messing up
the works.
He looked down at his phone. Yukito hadn't texted him. They had
had plans to go to a video game store tonight together, hang out
for a bit, and find some cheap second-hand classic games. Reese
had been looking forward to it, had turned down offers of going
out to eat or go play some basketball.
But he had wanted to talk to Yukito, and tell him about some
things that had been on his mind. And he wanted to not talk with
Yukito, where his Enhancement felt its most useful..around a boy
who barely spoke his true feelings. And the fact that Reese
understood him better than anyone, but that he still wanted to
be around Reese, had meant the world. Yukito read Reese, too.
But the other day, Erin had stolen a kiss from Yukito, while
they watched Carrie and ate M&Ms. And now, Yukito was in a dark
mood, and he had canceled their video game plans in a moment.
And now Reese had nothing to do.
He stood staring down at his phone, willing it to ring with a
text. Anybody was fine, he didn't care. Maybe Erin could ask him
to sample some dish she had just made, or Clarence would ask him
to go play something, or Chevy and Phoenix could take him out
for a bite to eat. He didn't care.
But nobody texted.
Someone did, however, bump into him. While he had been staring
down at his phone, blind to everything else, someone as equally
distracted had crashed into him. And it wasn't just a physical
bump, to Reese. He felt a heartbeat, slow and deliberate even
through the haphazard crash, and a strange, dull noise pulsating
through the stranger. He turned around, his expression
surprised. It was a tall, leggy blond girl, with a sharp look to
her expression. Reese didn't think he had met her before. "Oh,
I'm sorry!"
A myriad of female possessions scattered across the ground, and
Reese felt to the sidewalk in order to help her retrieve them. A
bottle of nail polish oozed out its blood-red contents onto the
warm cement. "Sorry." the girl muttered.
"No, no..I was just standing in the middle of the walkway like
an idiot, it was my fault." He handed several of her makeup
products to her, smiling apologetically. When he dropped them
into her purse, he accidentally bumped her arm. Another shock of
electricity, and Reese looked over at her in surprise. "You're
hurt, aren't you?! I can-"
Reese clamped his mouth shut like a crab's claws. It would be
too awkward to say I can feel the staunched blood flow, and your
lowered heartbeat, probably from some kind of painkillers.
"I'm..I'm sorry. It's my Enhancement...uh..are you okay?"
He paused. He was normally pretty good at reading people. This
girl didn't look overly friendly, but he still felt, in a way,
responsible. With a quieter voice, indicating that he wanted
seriousness, he added, "Really. Are you okay?"
#Post#: 187--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Tigger Date: April 11, 2013, 9:21 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Seeley
"Sorry." Jess muttered, only half meaning it despite her obvious
fault in the whole thing.
"No, no..I was just standing in the middle of the walkway like
an idiot, it was my fault." he said as she arched an eyebrow and
chuckled a little to herself. If he was just standing there,
then he was doing nothing wrong and essentially she was the one
to bump into him. It only made logical sense for her to
apologize and him and for him to say ‘no worries’ or something
along those lines. She really disliked it when people blamed
themselves for everything, even when they did nothing wrong.
Sometimes she just wanted to scream at them and tell them to get
mad, say F-You and blame the person who was ACTUALLY at fault.
But no. Those people never did, so really she knew that there
was no point in confronting them about it. Instead, she was the
person to let the wrong-doer know exactly what they had done and
how to fix it, in more or less words.
“Taking the blame for yourself when I wasn’t paying attention
where I was going will only get me ticked off at you. So for the
sake of my sanity and your physical health, let’s just keep it
at my fault.” She tilted her head up to give him a smirk and a
wink before she noticed he was helping to retrieve her fallen
items, dropping them back in her bag. ’Well at least he’s a
gentleman about it.’. She barely noticed when he bumped her arm,
but apparently he noticed and it was a huge ‘thing’ to him
because the look on his face was similar to someone who had just
encountered a circus freak with two heads and acid for spit. One
eyebrow arched slightly, she muttered a thank you, feeling
suddenly awkward under his gaze. “No need to freak out, it’s
just my arm.”
"You're hurt, aren't you?! I can-"
“Oh, don’t tell me they made you into some psychic, healing
cyborg thing and you can magically help? No, thank you. I’ve
seen enough ‘technology’ lately.” Jess said sarcastically,
putting extra emphasis on the word and keeping eye contact with
him as she stood upright again, offering him a hand to his feet
as well.
"I'm..I'm sorry. It's my Enhancement...uh..are you okay?"
Admittedly, she was shocked by the fact that he could somehow
tell what she was feeling.. in fact it was downright unnerving
for her. So instead, she tried lighten up the conversation, or
at least get his mind off of her injuries. Really, there was no
need for someone to worry that much about her, especially
someone she had just met. The very thought was ridiculous to
her.
“Well you’d be handy around the holidays, wouldn’t you? Everyone
would want their own miniature you to let them know if they’re
having a heart attack or just ate too much turkey fat.”
"Really. Are you okay?" She couldn’t deny the serious tone in
his lowered voice so she just rolled her eyes a little and
pulled up her pant leg a little to show him the bandages.
“It’ll be our little secret, ‘kay?” She only halfway smiled as
she straightened her jeans out once more. There was no use lying
to him, since he was all psychic and whatnot, so she just
decided to bite the bullet and be honest. “My Enhancement
backfires sometimes.” She shrugged, “Turns out fire is hard to
control! Who would have guessed?” Her question was once again
sarcastic, but it was quickly becoming more of a friendly tone
than anything else. In between her moments of talking, she
looked over him carefully but subtly. He seemed to dress rather
casually, but she could tell that he cared about his appearance,
if only a little bit. Either way, that was a plus in her book.
His hair was interesting, though. A mix between a dark brownish
to blonde, an edgy look, but it seemed to be well executed.
Possibly done professionally?He was thin, but not gangly. He had
a nice face, a little feminine if she were to be entirely
honest... but a nice face nonetheless. Silently, she wondered
what part of Asia he was from but considered it too rude to ask.
After all, he could be from the Philippines or New York for all
she knew. She had seen too many people get themselves into
awkward situations by assuming the nationality of someone else,
so there was no way on Earth that she was discussing his with
him.
Putting her arm straight out towards the guy for him to shake
her hand, she smiled broadly, showing off her brilliant white
teeth. “I’m Jessica, and I’m an accidental pyromaniac!”
#Post#: 194--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Mascii Date: April 12, 2013, 4:48 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Reese Middleton
There came an instant retort to his apology for loitering from
the girl, her voice smooth and her eyes distant. [B]“Taking the
blame for yourself when I wasn’t paying attention where I was
going will only get me ticked off at you. So for the sake of my
sanity and your physical health, let’s just keep it at my
fault.”[/b] They both crouched on the ground, picking up the
fallen items from her bag and trying to collect them all back up
again. While finishing up, Reese's arm bumped hers. Normally, he
was used to the pang of recognition, at the understanding of
someone else, at the feeling of each blood vessel in their body,
echoing but maddeningly out of sync with his own. However, he
had just been pulled out of a very self-centered haze, and he
sensed an odd, unnatural circulation in the girl's body, similar
to that of a severe injury. Stupidly, he assumed it was his own
fault.
Meanwhile, the girl was muttering a distracted thank you,
looking at him skeptically. “No need to freak out, it’s just my
arm.”
"You're hurt, aren't you?! I can-"
“Oh, don’t tell me they made you into some psychic, healing
cyborg thing and you can magically help? No, thank you. I’ve
seen enough ‘technology’ lately.” There was so much sarcasm
dripping from her voice, Reese wondered how many starving
African children could quench their thirst on it if he collected
it all up. She stood up, her eyes seeming to turn a bit stony,
even though her manner reminded him a little of Clarence.
Forceful, but cheerful. Like the kind of personality that
thought they could force happiness down their own through with a
hard, painful ray of sunshine, and then... then, they would
smile. He accepted her hand up, curious as to whether or not she
didn't realize his Enhancement was through touch, or whether she
had decided not to care.
“Well you’d be handy around the holidays, wouldn’t you? Everyone
would want their own miniature you to let them know if they’re
having a heart attack or just ate too much turkey fat.”
He smiled a little at that, "My friends have started to call me
Radar, actually. I'm proud to take on such a highly respected
title. But it doesn't exactly work that way. I'm not a
mind-reader or anything. More like...a stress-reader, I guess?
Like, I can tell your heart-rate, and I can tell that your blood
flow is more than a little off.. but I can't tell what you're
thinking or anything creepy like that, I promise." He paused,
then pointed toward her leg. "Really. Are you okay?"
When she had offered him her hand to help him up, he'd been able
to pinpoint the staunched blood flow to her leg. And there was
something else a bit off with her, too. If he could describe her
in a corny sort of metaphor, he would say that she was like a
rubber band pulled all the way taut, threatening to release and
show off its pent-up energy. Her heart hadn't even skipped a
beat, even though they'd crashed into each other, and her eyes
felt too distant, like she didn't want you to be able to tell
what she was thinking. Typically, he was against 'using' his
Enhancement with those he didn't know. But he could tell it was
more than a scratch. The girl rolled her eyes as though she'd
been caught passing notes in class, pulling her pant leg up to
reveal a series of bandages that covered a significant portion
of her leg. It's a burn, right? So the blood flow was odd...
“It’ll be our little secret, ‘kay?” She gave a smile that didn't
reach her eyes, covering up the wound before. “My Enhancement
backfires sometimes.” She shrugged, and he had to think to
himself, Well, whose doesn't? “Turns out fire is hard to
control! Who would have guessed?” The reversion back to sarcasm
was a little different now, and he couldn't tell if she was
trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible, or if she was
trying to be nice to him. She was sort of confusing, that way.
She threw out her arm towards him, offering a handshake. A smile
flashed across her face, that playful, teasing gleam still in
her eyes, as she declared, "I’m Jessica, and I’m an accidental
pyromaniac!”
He dramatically took hold of her hand and gave it a firm shake,
a look of approval on his face as he replied, "I'm Reese, the
Stress-Radar. Nice to meet you. So tell me, Jessica," he
smirked, starting to fall into her contagiously flippant
sarcasm. "Were you attempting to use your fire to do some cool
tricks like a grade A Fire-Bender, or were you just trying to
heat up your morning hot pocket?"
#Post#: 202--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Tigger Date: April 12, 2013, 10:08 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Seeley
“Well you’d be handy around the holidays, wouldn’t you? Everyone
would want their own miniature you to let them know if they’re
having a heart attack or just ate too much turkey fat.”
He smiled, "My friends have started to call me Radar, actually.
I'm proud to take on such a highly respected title. But it
doesn't exactly work that way. I'm not a mind-reader or
anything. More like...a stress-reader, I guess? Like, I can tell
your heart-rate, and I can tell that your blood flow is more
than a little off.. but I can't tell what you're thinking or
anything creepy like that, I promise." Somehow, Jessica wasn’t
comforted by this. Someone who could tell when she’s stressed
out could start to ask questions. Questions that seriously
didn’t need to be answered. Deciding to put that thought out of
her mind for the moment wasn’t that difficult for her, since she
was already vaguely interested in how the creep doctor was able
to pull this particular Enhancement off. Was is some sort of
implant he put in his brain? If not, then where? Jessica was
never really into science, and was only interested in technology
when it was something useful to her- like a smart phone or a
tablet. So it was extremely simple for her to not ask him how
he did it. She also knew that prying into details of his
Enhancement may make him want to ask about hers.
"Really. Are you okay?" he asked, pointing to her leg this
time.
Rolling her eyes slightly, she knew that there was really no use
in hiding the burn from him. She still wasn’t convinced that he
wasn’t a psychic or something, though. In her mind, he could
have very easily lied so that she wouldn’t freak out and smack
him. She knew people, and people lied. It was just what they
did- like it was written in their genetic code or instilled in
them from a very young age. Some lied for money, some to get
ahead, and people like herself lied to hide- even from
themselves. Of course, she wasn’t unaware of the people that
didn’t tell the truth for no good reason, but in her mind, those
people were sick and needed psychiatric help. She had known this
ever since she was old enough to understand morals and their
place in society. All of that seemed to make more sense in her
mind than explaining how he could tell if she was stressed AND
the location of her injury.
“It’ll be our little secret, ‘kay?” Jess smiled a little as she
showed off the bandages wrapped around her leg for a brief
moment before covering it back up again. She may have felt a
need to show him- since he already knew generally what was wrong
but that didn’t mean she felt comfortable showing her lack of
control off to the whole school. To her, that was what it was.
It wasn’t an accident, a mistake, a stroke of bad luck or any of
that. To her, it was a sign of her weakness and lack of control.
“My Enhancement backfires sometimes.” She tried to explain as
she shrugged, keeping her facial features calm. “Turns out fire
is hard to control! Who would have guessed?” The sarcasm was
back in her voice. It was almost like her defense mechanism to
ward off all of the truly crappy things in the world. Things
that make her want to just curl up and cry for hours or punch
something nearby… hard. It was so much easier to pretend to
shrug everything off and have a smart a** attitude than to face
what was actually messed up about everything. So in a sense, it
was her way of coping with the world, her family and herself.
She threw out her arm towards him, offering a handshake as she
smiled broadly. "I’m Jessica, and I’m an accidental pyromaniac!”
A second after she was done speaking, she realized just how much
she had sounded like it was her first time going to an AA
meeting and she was having to introduce herself to the group of
junkies and the like. The corner of her lip twitched downward
for barely a second in dismay before she brought the smile back.
Silently, she half expected a group to pop up from seemingly
nowhere and simultaneously reply with a monotone ‘Hi, Jessica,’
like in the movies.
She was extremely surprised when he decided to play along,
dramatically taking her hand and shaking it firmly. "I'm Reese,
the Stress-Radar. Nice to meet you. So tell me, Jessica," he
smirked, and she could hear the pent up sarcasm in his voice.
"Were you attempting to use your fire to do some cool tricks
like a grade A Fire-Bender, or were you just trying to heat up
your morning hot pocket?"
She let out a little laugh, putting her hand over her mouth as
she shook her head a couple times. Silently, Jessica wondered if
she would have laughed at that under normal circumstances or if
the medicine the doctors gave her was messing with her more than
she had originally thought. “I wish it was something as epic as
heating up a hot pocket.” She paused a moment to push a stray
strand of hair out of her face before continuing with a slightly
more serious tone. She didn’t like answering these kinds of
questions, but it couldn’t be helped whenever the person wanting
to know may be a psychic and can find out the truth anyway. “But
I was asleep and moved the wrong way. My leg paid the price.”
She shrugged again as if to convey to him that it really wasn’t
all that serious.
“So Reese,” she tested out the name, knowing that it was too
weird to just be him playing a joke on her. “I’ve never seen you
around here before. You’re not new, because you already have
that chip in your head –or whatever it is.. and I don’t see any
stitches.” Jessica playfully stood up on her toes, pretending to
look around his head for any signs of a recent surgery. “So am I
just shamefully unobservant or have you seen me around the
school before?”
Thoughtlessly, she ran her left hand up her right arm, feeling
the slight bumps where the sacks of chemicals and junk were
located. It had come to be a habit of hers- something she always
did but never realized. At first, they were itchy and swollen,
looking a lot like she had some sort of cancer growing in her
arms and she hated it. The first time she had seen them, she got
physically ill and wouldn’t come out of the bathroom for hours.
In time, though, the swelling went down and they became more
natural to her. Like it was a part of her or a challenge
involving control that she would have to face and get used to.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “Your Enhancement must
drive you completely crazy.” Her eyebrows furrowed together
slightly for just a moment before she lifted her hand and poked
him with her index finger right in the middle of the forehead.
“Emotions are a b**** without having to worry about everyone
else’s. I mean, this is a school for god’s sake. Where there is
school, there are students and with students there is a ton of
stress. For tests, dramatic breakups, overachievers and the
occasional emotionally disturbed...” She counted all of the
stress factors on her hands, looking up like she was actually
thinking hard about listing them all off when in reality she
knew all too well exactly what might stress a person out in a
school setting. Without warning, Jess stopped her verbal list
and changed her expression to one of mock surprise momentarily,
putting a hand up to her mouth. “You’re going to end up in a
psych ward, aren’t you? Man, that’s bad luck. I mean, I may end
up a burn victim but at least I don’t have to end up trying to
have a conversation with someone who thinks that the right way
to color is to stick crayons up their nose and sneeze.” She
stopped a moment to wink at him, letting him know that she was
just joking in her own way.
“On the plus side, I hear they have excellent food and you’ll
never have to worry about homework again!”
#Post#: 214--------------------------------------------------
Re: Academy - General Grounds
By: Mascii Date: April 14, 2013, 1:12 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Reese Middleton
"So tell me, Jessica," he smirked, "Were you attempting to use
your fire to do some cool tricks like a grade A Fire-Bender, or
were you just trying to heat up your morning hot pocket?"
That caused a real sort of laugh from her, and Reese gave her a
cheeky grin."I wish it was something as epic as heating up a hot
pocket.” She brushed her hand across her face as though she had
felt a stray hair, although Reese didn't see a hair out of place
on her. “But I was asleep and moved the wrong way. My leg paid
the price.” She shrugged again as if to convey to him that it
really wasn’t all that serious.
Reese let out a little hissing sound, as if he had the memory of
that pain with her, "Ouch...that had to suck.. And I thought
having my brother falling off his bunk bed onto mine was a rude
awakening..But I have to admit, I've done stupider things with
my own Enhancement, so..." he chuckled, "I'm not gonna hate."
"So Reese,” she started, “I’ve never seen you around here
before. You’re not new, because you already have that chip in
your head –or whatever it is.. and I don’t see any stitches.”
Jessica playfully stood up on her toes, pretending to look
around his head for any signs of a recent surgery. “So am I just
shamefully unobservant or have you seen me around the school
before?”
"Maybe we're just both unobservant.." he shrugged, not bothering
to correct her 'chip' theory. "Because I don't really remember
you either, to be honest."
She studied his face for a moment, her hand running up and down
her arm as though it itched. “Your Enhancement must drive you
completely crazy.” Her eyebrows furrowed together slightly for
just a moment before she lifted her hand and poked him with her
index finger right in the middle of the forehead. He arched an
eyebrow at her, but otherwise continued with his expression of
sarcastic amusement. “Emotions are a b**** without having to
worry about everyone else’s. I mean, this is a school for god’s
sake. Where there is school, there are students and with
students there is a ton of stress. For tests, dramatic breakups,
overachievers and the occasional emotionally disturbed...” She
held up her fingers as she listed off the reasons his
Enhancement would suck, like a child trying to figure out how
many pieces of candy she had managed to steal. Suddenly, she
lifted her hand in a look of playful mockery, “You’re going to
end up in a psych ward, aren’t you? Man, that’s bad luck. I
mean, I may end up a burn victim but at least I don’t have to
end up trying to have a conversation with someone who thinks
that the right way to color is to stick crayons up their nose
and sneeze.” She winked at him mischievously, “On the plus side,
I hear they have excellent food and you’ll never have to worry
about homework again!”
Reese had a severe delayed reaction to that. He stared at her,
eyes wide open, before he fell into a hearty laugh that had him
doubled over. "Yes, yes yes! That's totally what I look forward
to after graduation. Nice, comfortable jackets and
crazy-crayon-nose art. But don't forget - there's also all the
pudding you can eat! That's one of the best parts, you know." It
was his turn to wink at her. At the same time, however, he felt
something in his chest constrict so tightly, it was like his
heart skipped a beat. That's it exactly, he wanted to say, It
can get so stressful, all the time. You have physical burns, but
I have a burning migraine in my head every single day. It's
painful, and painfully lonely and confusing. A part of him was
glad that she seemed to understand that, but a part of him was
glad she played it off as a joke. It made it easier to slip past
it onto the next topic of conversation. "Maybe I should use my
mental powers to steal your Fire-Bending skills, like on X-MEN,
and then I can burn my way through the crayon-using victims and
escape with my life. Unless they put me in a test lab, like in
the game PORTAL. Then, I don't think I'm smart of agile enough
to escape a horrifying computer system that's trying to kill
me...hmm.."
#Post#: 321--------------------------------------------------
Re: General Grounds
By: Tigger Date: April 18, 2013, 8:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Seeley
Reese let out a little hissing sound, almost as if he had felt
the pain that she had- which was absolutely ridiculous is
Jessica’s mind. Even with a brain-chippy thing, he wouldn’t be
able to feel pain quite like anyone else. He may understand or
attempt to imagine what it was like but he would never be able
to know the true extent of the pain a person can go through.
"Ouch...that had to suck.. And I thought having my brother
falling off his bunk bed onto mine was a rude awakening..But I
have to admit, I've done stupider things with my own
Enhancement, so..." he chuckled and she couldn’t deny the spark
of curiosity that flashed across her mind. "I'm not gonna
hate."
“No offense,” she began, trying to be careful at how she phrased
the question. What she wanted to ask was how the hell he managed
to do something stupid with his psychic thing and how that could
compare to damaging a limb.. Something in her mind told her to
be a little more tactful this time around, though. “But what
could be more stupid than accidentally harming yourself?”
"So Reese,” she started, “I’ve never seen you around here
before. You’re not new, because you already have that chip in
your head –or whatever it is.. and I don’t see any stitches.”
Jessica playfully stood up on her toes, pretending to look
around his head for any signs of a recent surgery. “So am I just
shamefully unobservant or have you seen me around the school
before?”
"Maybe we're just both unobservant.." he shrugged, "Because I
don't really remember you either, to be honest."
“Well it’s good I’m not the only one then.” She added while her
hand ran up her ‘Enhanced’ arm.
“Your Enhancement must drive you completely crazy.” Her eyebrows
furrowed together slightly in thought for just a moment before
she lifted her hand and poked him with her index finger right in
the middle of the forehead. His eyebrow arched, and his
expression reminded her a lot of her own. Truth be told, if
someone had touched her without permission when she hardly knew
them, they would get punched in the face. Her own private space
was precious to her, but when it came to physical contact with
others Jess rarely held back. She had realized this before and
just decided that she could live with a double-standard type
thing. Plus, no one had ever complained when she touched them
before.
“Emotions are a b**** without having to worry about everyone
else’s. I mean, this is a school for god’s sake. Where there is
school, there are students and with students there is a ton of
stress. For tests, dramatic breakups, overachievers and the
occasional emotionally disturbed...” She held up her fingers as
she listed off the reasons his Enhancement would suck. Suddenly,
she lifted her hand in a look of playful mockery, “You’re going
to end up in a psych ward, aren’t you? Man, that’s bad luck. I
mean, I may end up a burn victim but at least I don’t have to
end up trying to have a conversation with someone who thinks
that the right way to color is to stick crayons up their nose
and sneeze.” She winked at him, conveying in her own way that
she was just joking. “On the plus side, I hear they have
excellent food and you’ll never have to worry about homework
again!”
Reese’s expression suddenly reminded her of what other people
would call a “deer in headlights” look. It was almost like his
brain was having a hard time processing the words to create an
adequate response. Like the wheel was still turning but the
hamster had died of exhaustion. When what she had said finally
clicked with him, he doubled over in laughter. Jess would never
admit it, but she always felt a sense of pride when she could
make someone laugh like that. The people in her family weren’t
ones for big laughs because of the serious roles that they had
to play in their jobs and social outings so when she could make
someone happy enough to double over and clutch their sides, it
was a good day. "Yes, yes yes! That's totally what I look
forward to after graduation. Nice, comfortable jackets and
crazy-crayon-nose art. But don't forget - there's also all the
pudding you can eat! That's one of the best parts, you know." It
was his turn to wink at her, but a glimpse of something in his
eyes caught her attention. It was both familiar to her and
completely indescribable. It wasn’t quite loneliness and it
wasn’t quite a sad sort of recognition. It was the look she got
whenever someone heard about her family’s absence or the burns
across her skin. Like there was a bit of.. something deep inside
everyone that people could relate to-no matter who they were or
what they were going through. Like a mutual hole everyone felt
but no one could explain or help to fill. Even Jess, the girl
who could control almost every emotion she showed still had a
hint of it sometimes. She never could figure out if it was the
slight way the corner of her mouth twitched from her usual smile
or if it was something in her eyes. Silently, she wondered if
anyone else noticed that look the same way she noticed it in
others.
"Maybe I should use my mental powers to steal your Fire-Bending
skills, like on X-MEN, and then I can burn my way through the
crayon-using victims and escape with my life. Unless they put me
in a test lab, like in the game PORTAL. Then, I don't think I'm
smart of agile enough to escape a horrifying computer system
that's trying to kill me...hmm.." Her eyebrows twitched slightly
upward in interest, but common sense told her that he wouldn’t
be able to steal her Enhancement. The encasements and such were
in her body, not his. Unless he used a scalpel, she was stuck
with this ‘power.’
“What on Earth is Portal?” she asked, not entirely sure if she
wanted to know. To be honest, Jessica had no idea what half the
stuff he referenced was. ‘Fire-bending’ was a strange way to
explain what she could do, so she only assumed that it was a
reference to something. She had heard of X-Men, but had never
watched the movies. And well… Portal sounded like some sort of
magic card game or something nerdy people liked to play in their
spare time. She had nothing against nerds, but she found them
extremely difficult to understand. It was like her vocabulary
stretched widely when it came to name brands, designers, and
clothing and their vocabulary was on the complete opposite side
of the spectrum. Technology and video games were never her
forte. As a child, she was taken to fashion shows, art exhibits,
and operas. Every event her mother thought of as ‘high class’
instantly became her schedule. She remembered the phone calls
her parents would make to the nannies, telling them where and
when to be and what Jessica needed to wear to each social
outing. She never really thought about playing video games,
because making outfits and guessing designers names were her
games.
“I suppose while we’re on the topic of ‘Things Jess doesn’t
know..’” she paused a moment, regretting saying her nickname out
loud. “Where did you get the whole fire-bending thing from?”
#Post#: 327--------------------------------------------------
Re: General Grounds
By: Mascii Date: April 20, 2013, 1:25 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Reese Middleton
He laughed long and hard at her comment about going crazy, using
it as a shield to cover up one of his worst fears. It pained him
to even think that one day, he would come across something, or
someone, whose emotions would pound in his head and never stop
until he just gave up. "Maybe I should use my mental powers to
steal your Fire-Bending skills, like on X-MEN, and then I can
burn my way through the crayon-using victims and escape with my
life. Unless they put me in a test lab, like in the game PORTAL.
Then, I don't think I'm smart of agile enough to escape a
horrifying computer system that's trying to kill me...hmm.." Her
eyebrows gave a cute little twitch, caught between disbelieving
and disconcerting. He realized that he had spoken more and more
quickly as he had gotten increasingly excited about the
references.
“What on Earth is Portal?” she asked, her voice indicating her
skepticism about his possible answers. "I suppose while we’re on
the topic of ‘Things Jess doesn’t know..’” She paused a moment,
and he shrugged. “Where did you get the whole fire-bending thing
from?”
"That's alright..." he smiled, "Portal is an old video game. You
have a gun that shoots portals to different places and you use
them to escape this crazy lab. And the fire-bending thing is
from this cartoon series called Avatar: The Last Air-Bender.
It's not the most intelligent of shows, but it's certainly
amusing. These kids can each morph some type of element. Fire,
water, air, earth. It's pretty cool." He smirked. "But really,
it's not so popular. I'm just kind of addicted to watching
shows. Making references is a bit of a hobby of mine."
"I don't suppose you're much into that kind of thing..." he
shrugged, still smiling, his air non-judgmental, merely making a
statement, "But hey, if you're ever interested in studying
another fire-bender, I'm your reference guy. I've got them all
on DVD, even."
#Post#: 342--------------------------------------------------
Re: General Grounds
By: Tigger Date: April 23, 2013, 4:09 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Seeley
"That's alright..." Reese smiled, "Portal is an old video game.
You have a gun that shoots portals to different places and you
use them to escape this crazy lab. And the fire-bending thing is
from this cartoon series called Avatar: The Last Air-Bender.
It's not the most intelligent of shows, but it's certainly
amusing. These kids can each morph some type of element. Fire,
water, air, earth. It's pretty cool." She noticed the way his
words sped up when he was talking about the references he made.
It was obvious that he was really into what he spoke about, and
it reminded her of when someone would ask her about her outfits.
Jessica would normally go into so much detail about what it’s
made of, where she got it, what designer, etc. By the end of her
mini rants she could swear that she saw the other person’s mind
reeling, trying to keep up with hers. He smirked.
"But really, it's not so popular. I'm just kind of addicted to
watching shows. Making references is a bit of a hobby of mine."
“I can tell.” She added immediately, trying to convey that she
really didn’t need him to point out the obvious.
"I don't suppose you're much into that kind of thing..." he
shrugged, still smiling, “But hey, if you're ever interested in
studying another fire-bender, I'm your reference guy. I've got
them all on DVD, even."
“Just say when and where.” It was her turn to shrug, “I have a
big screen at my place, but it can get pretty boring. Big house,
not much to do.” It didn’t cross her mind to mention that her
‘big screen’ was more like a mini theater in her basement,
complete with mini fridge, projector, surround sound and her
own popcorn maker that she got a couple of years before. All of
those things just seemed trivial to her, even though she knew
that not many other people had them. A thought occurred to her,
then and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Maybe you should
bring some of your friends. It could be a whole group thing.
Less awkward moments and such.”
“I know this awesome bakery that sells the best cupcakes, but
they’re really formal- flashy designs and such. If I told them
to make a um.. Avatar themed something, I bet they could. I’m
pretty sure that’s their whole thing. But we could make a mini
event of it or something. Maybe a sleepover? Maybe not because I
have this thing about people I don’t really know being around me
while I sleep. The last thing I need is some creepster...” Her
ramblings trailed off as she met his eyes and sent him an ‘oops’
sort of half smile. “Aaand I don’t even know if you would want
to or not.” She couldn’t help but to laugh at herself a little.
Apparently the medicine did do more to her than she originally
thought. “Just let me know, ‘kay?”
Straightening her shoulders a little, Jessica tried to regain
what little dignity she felt that she had left.
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page