Aberrant: Mutant High - Trying to make a friend

[Ouchfest]

Frank is sitting alone at lunch, by the wall, again. He's got his hat and sunglasses on indoors, as usual. Not that anyone can see his eyes, but the movement of his head shows that he might be trying to watch everyone else in the cafeteria at the same time. He sits and eats and thinks to himself:

I am an experienced lurker. I have a second degree black belt in lurking. Get the lay of the land. Don't make waves. Don't stand out. Don't be a target. I hope this place might be different enough from what I'm used to to let me be a little different too. Baby steps.

We're all weird here, right? We're all targets? We've got that in common. We're on the same side. There have still been some fights, though. There are still the obvious cool kids, the jocks, the beautiful people, the elite. The kinds of people who treat the rest of us like trash. That Alex kid is like a damn anti-Frank. There's also Josh.

Josh is probably the only guy here less built than me, but he's got some balls. He tried to tell those punks to stop fighting. He seems really smart, always in the lab.

Frank sees Josh with his own lunch. Frank finishes up, and silently clears the table and disposes of his trash. Hunched over, seeming even shorter, he makes his way over to Josh.

"Hey, man. How's it going? I'm Frank. Do you play any games?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh rolled into the cafeteria. He'd been kicked out of the lab, again. This was one reason that he enjoyed breaks so much: there weren't other kids trying to use his the lab. As it stood, he could only use it early in the morning (Prof. Jensen was a morning person, luckily) before second period, or after last period when all the classes were gone. But, after all the regular classes were out was when all the college kids and students needing to write their thesis came into the lab. I mean, sure, they had their own lab, and theirs was mostly suited for them, but because Prof. Jensen and he used this lab, it had some... specialized equipment that the other didn't have. And since they were doing actual course work, instead of independent studies, they got priority.

Just because Josh understood it didn't mean that he liked it.

So, in his usual meal-time funk (honestly, you'd think he didn't get hungry for as much as he hated to leave the lab at meal time), Josh got his tray, loading up on the lasagna and garlic bread sticks, and headed to his table. His table was the one that was specifically handicapped accessible. That didn't mean that he couldn't sit at any of the others, this one was just easier to get to.

He looked around the lunchroom for Sonja, Alex or... Morri was her name. The only real semblance of real friends that he'd been able to make in his 3 years here. Not seeing them, he resigned himself to eating alone, when this 'new' kid walked up to him and tried to start a conversation.

Josh was taken aback, momentarily, by the blatant attempt at socialization. I mean, it wasn't everyday that someone just walked up to Josh and wanted to start a conversation... especially someone as apparently inept at socialization as he was.

Josh's reply was somewhat reserved and... cautious, maybe. "Hello Frank. Things are going well. I'm Josh, and I do play some games." His next statement was very inquisitive and somewhat less reserved, "You new here?"

He cut off a piece of lasagna and ate it. Chewing as he looked at Frank, waiting for his response.

[Ouchfest]

Frank stood a little awkwardly by the handicapped accessible table, slouching and small compared to most other boys his age at the academy, but a rare smile brightened his face. Josh did not blow him off.

"I am kinda new here, I guess. I got transferred from my last school because, well, uh... you know how it is for us sometimes."

The smile disappeared and Frank shuffled a little nervously, looking towards the floor, then scanning the cafeteria.

"Are there...uh, many fights here? It seems like this could be a dangerous place."

[Stargaizer]

Josh nodded at Frank's 'you know how it is for us' comment, then took another bite of lasagna as he shuffled. Josh swallowed before he answered in a more casual tone than he'd used so far. "No, not that many. In fact, there hasn't been one... all year... so far as I know." Of course, Josh left out the fact that it was just the end of the first month of the year, but that meant at least a month without any total meltdowns.

"So, are you going to stick around," Josh said as he motioned towards a seat, "or did you just want to ask me about games and fights?" He bit off half of a bread stick as he waited for the answer.

[Ouchfest]

Frank looked a bit relieved to hear that fighting was relatively rare. Maybe this would be a pleasant change from his old public high school, and he wouldn't have to defend himself again, get in trouble again. He wasn't even sure he could against some of these freaks. Easier to run and hide, watch and evaluate. He sat down in the seat that Josh had gestured to.

"I'll stick around. Have you been at the academy long? Maybe you can tell me some of the things that are helpful to know that aren't included in the handbook. I can talk about whatever. I just figured maybe I should find a welcoming person and stop eating lunch by myself every day."

Frank glanced at the conspicuously empty seats at the handicapped-accessible table. His pale face reddened a bit.

"Not that eating alone is necessarily bad, you know, but sometimes company is good. Do you know many of the other kids? Anyone in particular to get to know or avoid?" Frank scanned the cafeteria again.

[Stargaizer]

Josh took a couple of bites of lasagna, and finished off his bread stick before he answered. His tone was the same as last time, but with a hint of sullenness. "Yeah, I've been here a while." He took a draw from his cup. "Guess it's been a few years now..." He let the end of the sentence hang as he free hand went down to rub one of his useless legs.

Josh gave a half chuckle half sigh and a half smile to Frank as he continued, cutting up his lasagna as he went. "Yeah I've been around a while; longer than most of the kids here. But if it's a social guide that you want, you've come to the wrong table." He motioned to the rest of the empty seats. "I spend most of my time in the lab with Ms. Jensen; she's my mentor. Otherwise I'm here, in my other classes, or in my room... pretty much. It wasn't until last week that I found a couple of partners to practice abilities with. If you want someone to show you the social ropes, I'd suggest Alex. Can't miss him, tall, built, solar aura around himself, most women are drooling over him... pretty easy to spot.

As far as who to stay away from, the two that started the fight would be a good start. Basically, due to what we all go through before we get here... some can't handle it as... well, some just deal with it more... physical/emotional. If you see someone getting upset, or threatening physically, just leave. That's the best advice that I can give for staying out of trouble."

Josh took another bite, chewed thoughtfully, and added, "So, what's your story?"

[Ouchfest]

Frank's head cocked slightly to the side when Josh mentioned Alex. He put his right elbow on the table and rested his chin on his knuckles in thought.

"My story relates directly to your advice. It's not as dramatic or interesting as most, I'm sure. I'd always been a target for harassment and bullying. I did a lot of "just leaving" to stay out of trouble, made myself scarce. Finally there was a coincidental intersection of me not being on the ball with a handful of jocks deciding to corner me in the locker room and kick my ass. My gene finally kicked in, or whatever happens. I don't understand yet. My skin got dark...and diffuse. The room got dark. I could still see, and I could tell that they couldn't. I just...finally had a good opportunity to get the revenge I always wanted. I moved more quickly and fluidly than ever. Only one didn't need hospitalization, and I'm lucky that none of them died because I'd be locked up instead of here. I don't want a repeat of that here, so I want to make sure I don't get in any situations in which I might do something to jeopardize my freedom any more than having to be here in the first place. Not that it's bad here.

"I'm surprised that you recommended talking to Alex. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd be helpful, but I'll take your word for it. Do you practice your abilities with him? That might be interesting..."

[Stargaizer]

Josh listened intently to Alex's story, taking in every detail and nodding at all the appropriate times. Once he was finished, Josh used a bite of lasagna, half a bread stick, and a swig of drink for the proper pause time.

"That actually sounds a lot like a lot of the stories here. A variation on a theme, if you will. But still, abilities aside, you're not as alone as you, or a lot of the people here think.

And, yeah, I've practiced powers with Alex and Sonja. You'll know her as soon as you see her," he added under his breath. "I would've suggested her as well as him, but she has so many guys drooling over her, that to add another would be... well, not friendly of me. I'm sure you understand." And Josh finished with a shrug.

"I don't know when we'll get together next, but you do know that, in gym class, you get to practice your powers, right? And you'll have teacher supervision and help, if you have any problems or questions."

[Ouchfest]

Frank's right eyebrow raises visibly over his sunglasses as Josh talks about Sonja, but he doesn't follow up. A scowl forms at the word "gym".

"I, uh, haven't been going to gym. I'm not eager to be in a locker room again. I would like some supervision and help, but I don't do so well during the day." Frank glanced towards the windows, then up at the lights. "I am really stumbling with a few things. Maybe I should ask about an evening class or some other special accommodation. I think that in most group settings my powers are either very limited or very disruptive, but it might be worthwhile to experiment with someone who can emit light. How does training work when everyone has such different abilities? I don't know what I was thinking. I guess you don't just play soccer or football here. Or do you?" Frank reddens again. "I mean...uh, how do you practice your powers?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri entered the cafeteria. She was daring to come alone, without Sonja or Kia because that morning, she'd realized that she hadn't wanted to go without them. She was getting used to them telling her what to do, and what not to do. That was unacceptable.

So she walked in with her head high, grabbed a tray and went through the line. She faltered only a moment when she saw that the table she liked was occupied. Morri started to choose another, but then realized that one of the seated people was known to her. She approached the table, stopping at the proper, non-threatening distance from them. Without looking directly at them, she waited for them to invite her over.

This could take some time; her classmates were woefully slow to catch proper body language. While she waited, she thought about dancing. She liked to think about things she liked. It was a new concept; before, she'd kept her mind blank, open and ready for danger. Now, she let herself be distracted, when she was somewhere she felt safe. Unconsciously, she swayed slightly to her song of choice.

[Ouchfest]

Frank lowered his voice, "Josh, that girl with the glowing red eyes looked like she was coming over here, but now she's just standing there. Is she okay?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh was just about to answer Frank's question about how they trained with their powers, when he said something about a red eyed girl...

Morri! It had to be.

Josh turned his chair around so that he could see the swaying girl, who was otherwise not moving, and not making eye contact. Josh still remembered their conversation on the porch of the boat house on New Year's Eve. The looks of this particular mutant weren't that easy to get around, but once you did... she wasn't half bad. A little slow on the uptake, but genuine and curious. Josh really admired those last two qualities.

He looked over his shoulder at Frank, to answer his question. "Yeah, she's cool." Then he turned back to Morri.

His tone started off quietly, as if he was afraid he'd be interrupting her, but increased to a normal, conversational tone relatively quickly. "Morri? Morri? If you have to go to the bathroom or something, we'll watch your food here; make sure no one touches it. You could even join us if you'd like; unless you have somewhere else you'd rather go." Josh didn't discuss letting Morri join them with Frank first because Frank had come over to his table... plus the idea never really crossed his mind.

He wouldn't quite call Morri a friend just yet, but he was already pretty sure that if she wasn't welcome that he wouldn't be, or want to be, either. So unless something changed, she'd always be welcome by him... of course, he had no idea just how crazy she could be.

[z-The Morrigan]

Josh didn't know dancing clearly, but Morri didn't mind. Josh wasn't bad, just broken. Still broken, she noted with worry. Would he really never get better? Maybe he wasn't trying to get better. Maybe he didn't know how to make his body make it better. She would teach him, but she couldn't say the right words. As always, her broken head made it hard to be or do what was needed.

Her thoughts were left safely in her head, due to her broken speech. She'd been invited to sit and she took the offer. She sat down, her eyes flicking to the stranger. "Morri," she grunted at him, then picked up a handful of Spanish rice and started to eat, the grains that got away dribbling back onto her plate.

Those red eyes swiveled to the boy in the chair. "Legs not better?" she asked Josh, and there was real concern in her eyes when she asked. Neither her question or her concern stopped her inhalation of her food, however.

[Ouchfest]

Frank sat up straighter, gave Morri a genuine smile and said, "I'm Frank. It is nice to meet you, Morri." It really was nice to meet someone so nonthreatening despite the ocular oddity. What in the heck is wrong with this girl? Whatever it is, there is probably not much to worry about with regard to someone who eats rice with her hands like that. There is something a little childlike in her. She seems to have really just asked if Josh's legs aren't better, as if they should be. Well, maybe she knows something I don't. Or maybe she has the rudeness inherent in innocence, like little kids pointing at fat people. Like I'm one to talk, though. I put my foot in my mouth twice already.

[Stargaizer]

Josh gave a short but genuinely mirthful laugh at Morri's question. He finished his bite of food as Frank introduced himself and then tried his best to answer.

"Morri, you know what a car is right? Ok, well, one was driving and hit me by accident while I was walking. That's when my mutant ability started. It took all the momentum?... energy?... uh, it took all the motion of the car and transferred it to me, and since I'm a lot smaller than the car, it knocked me really far away." Josh reached behind him to put his hand on his spine. "I hurt my spine, my backbone. It made my legs stop working. A hurt spine is a special injury; one that doesn't regrow, unless you're very special. I'm not that type of special, so I'll probably be in this chair, or one like it, for the rest of my life.

Understand?" Josh was as gentle and sincere as he could be as he answered Morri's question. He also tried to put it in such a way that she would understand... for some reason he didn't think she was quite ready for Newton's laws of motion or the mathematical form of momentum quite yet.

Then he turned to Frank, continuing his story. "As it turns out, the guy driving the car was the mayor of New York City. Paid my family some big bucks to stay quiet. But once my parents found out I was a mutie, they dropped me like a hot potato. I was actually going to be kicked out of the hospital, during recovery, if Mr. Drumm and the LHA hadn't stepped in. My parents didn't want me anymore, so now LHA is my legal guardian."

He turned and looked back and forth between both Morri and Frank. "And there, now you two know more about me than any other student here. Use your knowledge wisely." The last was said in an almost secretive way, not threatening; though it'd be obvious (at least to Frank) that this was info he didn't really want out there or that he told just anybody.

[Suzume Demouy]

After her late arrival yesterday, and a good nights skulking about in her room, today was supposed to be Suzume’s first full day back in school, back in with familiar surroundings. She had banished yesterday’s woes to the surface, (quite literally, in the form of a few mournful Choka along the right side of her face and neck, a la this }. She was wearing her long black coat with Kimono-style sleeves and her custom red gloves, ready to make an entrance.

So of course today had given her nothing but the dreary appointments with the course counselors, a “discreet chat” with the therapist, the making arrangements to make up for missed work. Now with her completely disarranged schedule, she was about to have lunch with not one familiar face in the cafeteria.

Well, maybe one familiar face. They had never met, but stories had been passed along to her and images had been Googled. Catching a glimpse of a girl in front of her down the line, Suzume was hit with the memory of a the photo of a snarling face spattered with blood. Though a mask of rage distorted her features in the picture, the glowing red eyed were unmistakable. There was another heart wrenching photo of the poor girl as she lay bleeding in the sand. Suzume suspected that this image showed was the real girl.

The girl had apparently been facing the same seating issue as herself when she stopped abruptly in place. The nearest table was mostly empty, but by the looks of it she was going to wait for an invitation.

“Morri? Morri? ... ” One of the young men at the table finally extended a merciful invitation to the poor lass.

She was already determined to get to know this girl a little, and to remind herself that her own worries were sod all compared to some. Morri had sat at what was still the least crowded table in the cafeteria, so Suzume headed towards it.

She asked permission with a polite look toward the young man in the wheelchair, it seemed to be his table, before taking a seat.

[z-The Morrigan]

A car?! Morri stared as rice dribbled out of her hand. She looked aghast as Josh confessed that one of those metal monsters had taken away his ability to dance and walk. She'd always suspected that they were dangerous, traitorous beasts, and now she had the proof! She'd never ride in one of those again!

She was so intent on Josh that she almost missed the arrival of the new mutant. This girl was interesting, with strange, splashes of camouflage on her face. Morri wondered what powers she had that had given her such coloring. The other interesting thing was that her skin was similar in color to her own. That wasn't as unusual, but this was the first one that had come near her.

When the girl was granted permission to sit by Josh, Morri didn't worry. Josh seemed nice, insofar as the young mutant could determine. She did slide her tray a little farther from the new arrival, closer to Josh. Her hunch over her food was very protective as she finished off the rice and started on the peas.

[Stargaizer]

Josh didn't know what to do with himself; all of a sudden he had become extremely popular... or so it would seem. If the new girl wanted to sit with him, he'd let her. Maybe she and Frank could use the same socializing advice.

"Hello, my name is Josh. Are you new here?" he asked of the new, strangely marked girl.

He noticed Morri's movement away from the new girl, towards Josh, and how she protected her food, but he didn't say anything.

[Ouchfest]

Frank waved at the tiny, slightly glowing girl sitting down across the table. "Hi. I'm Frank. What does that stuff say?" He gestured with a finger towards the girl's face and cocked his head a bit to the left. He briefly held up his left hand in front of his face, palm out, then put it back down and leaned forward to examine the girl.

[Suzume Demouy]

Suzume noted how the Morrigan edged slightly away, Best to give her her own space, so she turned her attention to the others at the table.

"Hi Josh, I'm Suzume. Actually I'm n...", she paused at Frank's rather odd greeting gesture. "Uh...hello Frank. It's just some rather drawn out poetry. "

"Actually, I've been a fairly regular student here for some time, with some...interuptions. I've seen you about Josh, though I'm embarrassed that we have not said hello before. How about you Frank, are you new?"

[GDP_ST]

The lunch bell heralded the end of the English Lit class. Heads rose from where they had been bent over books, pupils blinked as they awoke either from their reveries... inspired by Yeats or by boredom, the appearance was much the same. Chair scraped, the teacher called out the required assignment for next time, and hungry stomachs shuffled off to lunch, rumbling softly.

Alex had been sitting by the window, getting as much benefit as he could from the pale but bright January sunshine. He also sat near the back of the class. This was something a lot of his teachers were catching on to as a good thing, since the solar mutant was a distraction at the best of times, and disaster for the lesson at the worst.

It wasn't that he was actively disruptive. On the contrary, Alex Andrews was attentive, polite, and a decent student even in the areas he wasn't so enthusiastic, such as Math and the Sciences. No, the distraction came from the fact that the female half of the class, more often than not, would frequently be stealing sideways glances at him. It didn't matter whether he was chewing the end of his pen while gazing out the window (common in Math), taking notes, engaging in group discussions (where he tended to be very engaging) or reading Shelley out loud with magnetic intensity in his blue eyes (in an upper class English accent, no less), there was no denying that Alex caught the eye. And on those rare winters days when there was sufficient sunlight, the surface of his skin scintillated very softly under the golden warmth of his aura.

Yes, he was hard to miss. And harder to ignore. Some guys get all the luck, right?

It wasn't all sunshine, though. The attention distracted him as much as it did his admirers. He had a small but growing collection of notes he'd found slipped into his bag, dropped onto his desk in passing, and even pushed under his dorm room door. If Warren found them first, he tended to either burn them, toss them onto Alex's bed, or in the case of the particularly gushy ones, read them aloud in a falsetto while Alex was trying to study. Ever since Sonja had clued him in about the effect he had on the fairer sex, though, the young mutant had been very preoccupied with the matter. It wasn't as though he hated the admiration... It was that he felt that something was expected of him. He was new to the co-ed environment, and was still trying to figure out the unwritten rules.

He thought that if he just acted normal and friendly, didn't come off as some Don Juan rock-star rake who swept women off their feet, and treated people with his usual amiable courtesy, then the small-but-growing group of admirers would realise that he wasn't anything special and lose interest.

Yes, that's actually what he thought. Amusing, isn't it?

Dressed in white shirt, khaki pants and sneakers today, long golden hair tied back loosely at the nape of his neck, he wandered into the cafeteria with his book bag over one shoulder. A preoccupied air clouding his deep blue eyes, he decided he wasn't really terribly hungry today, and opted for a small bowl of fruit salad and, after a moment's thought, a carton of milk. Behind him, buttons were surreptitiously undone, sweaters were pulled off or tugged flatteringly tighter, and hair was hurriedly primped in the worlds fastest stealth-makeover.

Alex turned around, trying not to catch any eyes as he scanned the seating for purple hair and amethyst eyes. No Violet today, it seemed. He momentarily considered his options, then smiled hopefully as he saw Josh and Morri sitting with two new faces. He moved over to their table, nodding affably to the few discreet waves and hellos he received on the way.

"Hello Morri, hello Josh. Anyone mind if I grab an empty space here?" he asked politely, then directed his azure gaze to the two strangers. "I'm Alex." he said with a smile, offering his hand to the nearest of the two ((OOC: Frank)) first.

[Ouchfest]

"This is my first semester," Frank replied to Suzume. "I don't really know anyone yet."

Then Alex came over to the table, asked if he could sit down, and introduced himself. Why does this handsome, cocksure asshole want to sit at the handicap table with us? Does he want to make it even more obvious how studly he is by comparison? Boost his ego even more? Sitting with us could just be the set-up. That fruit salad is going to end up decorating somebody so he and his goon squad can get their laughs. Well I'm done enduring that shit. I'm ready for him.

But Josh said he was okay. And it could be very helpful to practice with him. Or maybe picking on a crippled kid is just too far, and the rest of us are fair game. Also, gym class is different from lunch. I'll keep my eyes open.

Frank leaned a little to the right, and tilted his head to briefly get a clear look at the front of Alex's hand, making sure there was nothing on it. He reached out in return and gave a perfunctory, less firm shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Frank."

[Stargaizer]

Josh's face brightened a little as Alex walked up (and not just from his aura). Josh was really unused to being around this many people, and having another familiar face amongst the crowd helped.

After Alex and Frank shook hands, Josh piped in. "Everyone, this is Alex. Alex is kind of new here, but he's already in on the social side of things. Alex, I'm pretty sure you know Morri, and you've already met Frank. And she is Suzume. Frank's new and Suzume... uh... I guess you just haven't gotten out a whole lot when you've been here?" The last was said/asked very tentatively, with a 'did I get that right?' look to Suzume.

Then he addressed Alex more directly. "Alex, I know that this is your first semester here, but you don't seem to have the problem socializing and getting to know people that some of the rest of us do..." It wasn't until it was out of his mouth that he realized that he was sitting at a table with 4 other people and socializing fairly well... not to mention how his statement might come across to Frank or Suzume. "Well, that I do anyways," Josh backpedaled before going on. "Frank here was wondering about some of the things that are helpful to know that aren't included in the handbook, and some of the kids that it would be helpful to know or avoid." Josh shrugged to show that he didn't really know the answers.

"I hope you don't mind, but you and Sonja really helped me out with my practice the other day and... well... I told him that you might be able to help him better than I can..." Josh just realized that, by announcing this to Alex, that he might've irreparably damaged their friendship.

Hopefully Alex would see this as a praise and not a burden...

[GDP_ST]

Frank's 'wary animal' handshake was a little odd, but Alex took it in his stride as he slid onto the bench next to Suzume while Josh introduced them. "Good to meet you." he murmured to her with a smile, offering his hand to her in turn and trying not to stare at the writing across her face. Then he turned his attention to what Josh was saying. As the brilliant young mutant finished, Alex blinked.

"Um..." he wittily began with a mildly embarrassed smile. "I wouldn't say I'm the sparkling socialite of the Academy." He froze, then looked down at his glowing hands. "Okay, bad metaphor. Starting again..." he took a breath, his sky-blue eyes moving over the others present while he collected his thoughts for a moment.

"Josh, you do just fine. Seriously. It's not that hard. If it was, there'd be classes for it." he stopped again. "Actually, they did have classes for it at my old school, but then there's nothing quite as socially maladjusted as five hundred pubescent spawn of the rich." he deadpanned, then sighed, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm (and incidentally causing heartstrings to twang around the room as a few dozen fingers itched to brush the stray lock of golden hair away from his face).

"Back to my point. And your question." he said with a wry grin. "We're social creatures, even those of us that like to pretend we aren't. Unless they're a true, pure sociopath... or a killer android... everyone cares about what someone thinks, even if they show that by saying and acting like they don't." He waved his other hand expressively. "So socialising is second nature, but we're so good at second-guessing our second nature that it makes us unsure."

"The main things are to be yourself and be interested in the person you're talking to, and try not to judge on first acquaintance." He shrugged. "It's not so complicated."

"Now, on the matter of who's who..." Alex looked around. "There's no-one here I would avoid, as such. My room-mate, for example, is on most people's Defcon lists. But actually I find him quite interesting company. The fellow he fought with here in the cafeteria, Kazuo? He swaggers a bit like an old black and white movie Samurai, but I'm sure he's not as bad as some say. Morri would be the expert there: she's his room-mate. That said, for the more delicate sensibility I would recommend Aradia. She's the girl with the glowing green eyes they call Cirque. Lots of fun to hang out with. Bloody good acrobat too." The Adonis pondered, regarding those with him. "Sonja's good people too. Very physical, but don't be intimidated. Solid gold heart, as Josh can attest. Violet's approachable and good to talk to. There's a fellow named Alek, or Shard if you prefer, who I've heard is pleasant." Alex sat back in his seat, taking a mouthful of his fruit salad.

"But you know, this list of mine is always growing, and to single out certain people is to be unfair to the hundreds I haven't mentioned." he smiled, shrugging apologetically. "Best thing to do is just be open to meeting folks." He popped a grape into his mouth and grinned shyly. "And now I'll stop preaching. Hope that helped a bit."

[Suzume Demouy]

"Hardly just preaching Alex, you make some very good points." Suzume spoke up.

Indeed he had struck very close to home when he mentioned paying attention to others. Had Frank even finished his sentence before she allowed the radiant new mutant to captivate her attention? On top of that, she realized that this had probably been her first real effort to socialize outside of her normal group. People (well other Mutants at least) were never difficult for her, in fact she always found them fascinating, All to often though, she found she would simply fall back on observing them, like exhibits in a museum, rather than putting forth the energy of actually interacting.

"As Josh has mentioned, I myself probably spend to much time holed up in the studio then in socializing."

Well perhaps she could make amends for her earlier faux pas, and turned her attention back to Frank, "So what do you think of the Academy so far?"

[Ouchfest]

Frank was a little disappointed in Alex's advice. Blah blah blah. He actually said "be yourself," like this is a cheesy afterschool special or he's the clitoris from the South Park movie. And of course Alex's experiences with other students have been almost entirely positive; he looks like a god. It's different for others of us. On the plus side, though, it did seem like he was trying to be helpful. He responded honestly to Josh from his perspective without condescension or blowing him off. I can see why Josh said he was a nice guy. That's good. So far.

Suzume asked Frank what he thought of the Academy. Frank was surprised that she chose to talk to him again, and it made him feel good. "I'm impressed with the facilities, and also how much some of you use them. I should probably take more advantage of them. I've been staying in my room mostly. It sounds like you guys keep busy in the labs or studio. I guess I should also start going to gym class to practice a few things. I'm still learning how this place is different and the same as my last school. It's also weird being away from my parents. It's strange to live here, but I guess I would have moved out in a couple years anyway. What are your favorite things about the Academy? What don't you like?"

[z-The Morrigan]

"Curtis bad," Morri suddenly announced, having both caught up to the conversation and swallowed the peas in her mouth. "He rub bad," she added to the table - and those close enough to hear.

The others frowned at her, but she was watching Alex, to see what he would say. He needed to eat more, she decided. He looked a bit lean, and without preamble, she moved the cupcake from her tray to his, leaning around Suzame to do so. "Eat more," she ordered him, a fussy as a mother hen.

[GDP_ST]

Alex blinked at Morri's gesture and expression, then smiled politely and started to shake his head. "That's okay, Morri. I'm not really-"

"Eat!" she insisted, cutting him off mid-sentence and pointing a stern finger in his direction, a curiously maternal gesture that brooked no refusal. Alex was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled warmly, flashing the red-eyed girl a radiant smile.

"Okay then." he said, taking a big bite of the cupcake, blue eyes sparkling merrily. "Yes, Curtis is somewhat bad." he agreed with her after swallowing the mouthful. Glancing at the others, he explained a little. "He can be a little full of himself. Almost a stereotype math geek, though I dislike the term. When I first arrived-"

"No talk." Morri scolded him. "Eat." Chuckling again, Alex mimed zipping his lip and continued to devour the cupcake.

[Stargaizer]

Josh just finished his tray and listened to the socializing going on at what had, at one time, been his table. Lightheartedly he guessed that he couldn't claim 'ownership' any more, not with this many people around.

He listened to Alex's 'sermon', nodded at all the appropriate places. He was glad that Alex hadn't taken what he'd said the wrong way. He'd have to be more careful about stuff like that in the future. Not everybody would be that forgiving. Then he listened to all of the following comments, and marveled at Morri's insistence that Alex eat her cupcake. It was a surprising gesture, especially seeing how she reacted when Suzume sat down.

He decided to join in, at least a little, before he had to run back to his classes. "Curtis doesn't seem too bad, if you can get past his ego. That's one fact that the smart kids usually have trouble remembering; 'The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of uncertainty.' I forget who said that, but it's true." It wouldn't be until after he left the table that he'd realize that most of the students considered him 'one of the smart kids'.